I think this is a very valid point. The thing is, people want cool phones. Period. We live in a day and age where a phone should be super fast, super smooth and sexy to boot. However, there are zero options that fit these criteria in the dumbphone range, so you can see why people want the form factor of a smartphone without the $30/month cost of always being connected. If I could use my phone on wi-fi and have it double as a decent size screen PMP and video player too, that's all I'd need. (And also the potential point of saying that smartphones require data plans because they are more expensive due to these features doesn't hold water either because the cost of ownership of a smartphone over its life is light years higher than the retail cost between dumbphones and smartphones).
Basically, telling someone they need a data plan for a smartphone is like saying you can't buy a laptop without 3G.
I guess you don't understand that Android phones, for example, use background data. Sure it can be disabled, but from VzW's perspective, it's not going to be a good customer experience when people forget to disable it and run up a huge bill and than not get a credit for it.
sigh... I feel like Verizon is stuck in time and everybody else is movin along
Guess what... that's how forum people are on every network. "OMGGGGG Verizon got the Droid. I can't believe that ATT only got the Backflip. UGHHHH My life is over, someone please comfort me."
Im just gonna say, if VZW doesn't release this thing like now. They are digging themselves a hole. Apple to have the iPhone event in 3 days is going to stir up a TON of news and followers, Microsoft is having an event April 12th which can be anything special, Winows phone 7, natal, etc....
VZW GET THIS THING OUT ALREADY BEFORE YOU KILL YOURSELF!!!
Did you ever stop and think that customers aren't supposed to know about phones this far in advance? This is exactly why. They will release it when it's ready. You would be complaining just as much if they rushed to release it and it had a ton of problems. Than everyone would bitch that the phone was rushed and blah blah blah.
Even though nobody here really wants to hear this, I can think of no other place where anyone would understand the significance and disappointment of the thought which occurred to me sometime in the middle of last night.
What if the "2nd Android Phone" on the calendar is the Saygus VPhone and not my Incredible?
The thought alone is punishment enough so no need to shoot me.
I don't know where people think we are getting that phone. I have heard nothing about it. I am not the be all end all, but people that would know what is and isn't coming out haven't mentioned it to me.
No, they want to be able to choose between convenience of having 3G availability for $30 a month ($360 a year before taxes, and fees), or using the data only when they have Wifi available, which for some people may be 98% of the time that they are using their phone.
Why must we be forced something that should be optional?
Again, background data. You pay to play, basically.
This is in reference to all the reports about the Incredibles sitting in inventory at VZW warehouse. If these reports are true, VZW routinely releases ALL new phones (usually smartphones) to B2B (business to business) customers first. B2B customers have a minimum of 50 phones under contract and they will get first shot at any Incredibles before regular customers. This is not advertised anywhere and notices are sent directly to these business customers.
B2B channel will not be getting these first.
I agree there should be a choice for everything like the other networks.. t-mobile has some smart phones that do not have to have data but I've not seen this on verizon..
Oh yeah, the Pearl Flip, Pearl, and Wing were just awesome phones that didn't require data. I worked there, all the phones after that required data.
The screen shot shows 150K+ units in 'On Order' status.
Given that the screen shot is kosher, it is not clear that they are shipped from HTC and in a VZW warehouse. Its possible that they are awaiting shipment from HTC subject to clearing some final test and/or final release software build. We have seen Android builds specifically for VZW/HTC Inc as recently as March24. NKT & I agreed that this may mean they have not yet shipped.
The frustration here is that we are dealing with a raft of dubious data which suggests a lot but confirms very little. Bottom line is we don't have anything solid to predict a release data, but all the signs are there that something is coming soon[ish].
That is not a VzW system, so I'm not sure where that screenshot would have come from, for the record.
Verizon simply doesn't care about you or us. They have more than enough support from corporate business phone plans that everyday users are just surplus income for them. Our needs of an Android device comes in a meager 3rd place compared to getting business devices like BBs.
If users would start leaving Verizon for other carriers they MIGHT get some kind of hint, but as long as they have the whole "we're the best network in America" mentality, nothing will change.
Ever hear of the iPhone? People left. Ok....... and? Guess who is still the largest carrier in the US? It's not all about the phones to some people.
I think its because they depend on the data package to cover the cost of the phone subsidy.
/business background talking.
Of course it is. Do you know what VzW looses when you buy a BB at a 2yr price? Over $300 dollars. Yes, they are going to get that back.
I just barely got my 2.1 upgrade from Verizon last night...Verizon moves at the speed of smell
They roll it out slowly so if there is a problem, they aren't dealing with 500,000+ bricked devices.
So I'm at the VZW store now typing on an Eris. Very tempted to walk out with it. I NEED A FIX!!!
I wouldn't, the joke is on you. Kinda like the guy who stole the Rival in our store. He was probably pissed
Why don't you overclock it to 1.1ghz using that custom kernel/ROM. It's completely stable from what i've heard.
Ya know the DROID can be just as fast as Snapdragon/faster right?
That's how my Droid is setup. Freakin' moves!
I almost did over the weekend. My BB 8330 keeps freezing and rebooting multiple times a day

. It wouldn't be so bad but the thing takes a good 8 minutes to reboot. The doofus' in my local vzw "authorized" retailer couldn't get their story straight about the Incredible. One denied existence and was pushing the Droid. The other overhears us talking about the Incredible and rushes over to say, "oh yeah, that thing is gonna be GREAT!". The guy pushing the droid could have punched him and probably did after i said i would wait and left. Vz keeps holding on to this thing while the world is passing by... Apple is announcing their 4G technology and Moto is up to something as well. I'm as hopeful as most of you guys but I'm starting to experience an little "incredible fatigue". Maybe some good news will come out today to lift our spirits. Let's go already.
They're an indirect store, they don't have real techs and they're not kept in the loop like the Corporate stores are.
the HTC- DoestMatterAnyMore since everyones leaving Verizon for other carriers who care about bringing new devices to their customers in a timely manner.
Again, you guys make a big deal about a phone you shouldn't even know about yet. They will bring it once it's been tested and working how they want it to be working.
Yes but it updated about 10 minutes after I first turned it on so I had 2.01 for that brief period of time. The phone itself is pretty nice.
I haven't noticed any lag but I also use Advanced Task Killer every time I close out an app or task so that really helps. I also am not using live wallpapers (who cares) but the touchscreen works really well. The pinch to zoom works really good as well and the onscreen keyboard isn't half bad either.
I have Lotus Notes at work (for now) but once we go Outlook next month it will have everything I need. I am still getting the Incredible and I am prepared to return this on day 27 in order to get my NE2 and other stuff back. I am happy that I did it.
Don't forget about the restocking fee.
Do you think there will be a way to play Pandora from the Incredible thru the car stereo?
Yes, it will have a 3.5mm headset jack.
I'm almost convinced the device doesn't exist...Verizon is letting little tidbits out about some kind of device that never made the cut just so their name will stay in the media during the iPad release and other carriers devices.
Yea, everything you have seen so far was made up... no, a JOKE that VzW decided to waste their time on just for fun. Tinfoil hat much?
Armbar, you got 2.1 on your Eris? I bought Motorola Droid (tired of waiting) and did an immediate update to 2.1, but didn't realize I could have gotten it for Eris too. I might want to switch if the 30 days pass and no Incredible.
2.1 on the Eris is only if you hack it, at the moment. Again, restocking fee as well for you too if you switch.
Why would you switch the DROID for the Eris??
The Eris screen is tinyy and it's slow/outdated specs. Keep your DROID, you won't regret it in the long run, Flash player support etc....and if you root it/overclock it to 1.1ghz, you will be happy that it's just as fast as Snapdragon if not faster since the GPU is still a lot better than snapdragons AMD one.
+1
Only problem with this is Verizon dosen't have 4g and never will!!!!!
Wrong, that's what LTE will be. That's our 4G.
The tech support guy at VZ told me that wimax (sprint) is not truly 4g. it is 3.5 g. Don't yell at me that's what he told me or possibly was told to tell me.
Technically, it is 4G, it's just going to be significantly slower than our 4G.
if this phone turns out to be the saygus vphone.... well... you won't wanna be around me. Dad's gonna be on on the warpath for sure.
It's not.
Here are 2 phones rumored to launch in April for Verizon
Samsung Reality SCH-U820 April 30th
LG VS750 April ?
Upcoming Verizon phones (Phone Arena)
That's a semi-good list
Actually, I heard that they MIGHT- keyword MIGHT- start giving customers the option of either the $10 data plan or the $10 texting plan- one or the other would have to be required- on the multimedia phones, because of the backlash regarding the data plan requirements.. Nothing concrete yet, but i wouldnt be surprised..
Doubtful. Haven't heard anything about it either. And since they have the Talk and Text plans, they're not going to say oh just drop the data since you have unlimited text. Not gonna happen.
Just fyi... My verizon source told me today that as of the 18th of this month any return or exchange to verizon will result in a 35 dollar restocking fee... even if you cancel your service all together within that 30 days! that kinda sucks...
That is correct. However, we have had the policy that if you completely cancel within 30 days, you pay for what you used for a while. This is gonna suck for people who order their device online to try it out before activation and than return it.
What do you want to bet that Verizon does indeed read these boards, and with everyone talking about buying other Android devices then returning them, that's part of the reason they are upping the restock fee?
Yeah, probably. They have a whole team dedicated to this.
Man, your posts are useless.
So I read that thread .. so "Testers" test them for a while. .. then they are tested again by some "Verizon Customer Council"???
Is this factual? anyone?
They do have Friendly User Trials, but that is done by internal VzW employees. Certain people in the company carry the phones a few months before they launch. You don't even know how early I saw the Devour before it launched.