Service and support?

[HawgWyld]

First off, let me mention that I've never owned a smartphone other than an iPhone. Well, there was that Sony-Ericsson Xperia X10 that I had for about a week in the summer of 2010 that sported such dreadful hardware that I took it back and got an iPhone 4, but that's another story.

At any rate, I've got a 4S and had the opportunity to mess around with an iPhone 5. I don't want an iPhone 5, but I'll not rant about that here (I'm sure others have done that already).

A couple of phones that look really great to me are the Samsung Galaxy SIII (of course) and the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 2. I ran across a problem earlier today that raises a concern I've not thought of before -- how is the service and support on those things? Are some companies selling Android phones great while others are terrible?

I took my 4S to the AT&T store I've been dealing with for some time and they couldn't fix a problem I was having. I was sent to an Apple store and they had my problem fixed quickly.

Assuming that my local vendor won't be much help in dealing with any phone problems I have, which hardware manufacturers offer outstanding service for phones sporting the Android OS? Apple's got great service, but not good enough to cause me to consider making the somewhat lateral move from my 4S to a 5.

 

[chanchan05]

I would think it would depend entirely on how is service in the US. Here in Asia, service in actual Samsung stores (not carriers) is great. The staff is very accomodating and they review the device right there in front of you (opening and checking the stuff) and show you what they saw was the problem. You'd have to actually find someone who has went to a Samsung service center and get their opinion.

 

[HawgWyld]

I would think it would depend entirely on how is service in the US. Here in Asia, service in actual Samsung stores (not carriers) is great. The staff is very accomodating and they review the device right there in front of you (opening and checking the stuff) and show you what they saw was the problem. You'd have to actually find someone who has went to a Samsung service center and get their opinion.

Great point. Here's the problem -- I'm almost certain there's not a Samsung store here in central Arkansas. Rather, I'd probably have to rely on the local vendor and then send the phone to Samsung if something was wrong. I wouldn't mind waiting a bit because I've dealt with the local vendor for years and I'm certain I could get a loaner if I had to send a phone back for service. That said, how hard is Samsung (or anyone else) to deal with when a phone is sent in for a warranty repair?

 

[chanchan05]

Hmm. I had a phone break down on me after 6mos. It was a free giveaway phone from my carrier when I got my sister a service contract plan. It was one of those $70 worth dumbphones from Samsung. I just sent it in and got it back after like a week working good as new. Again however I am in Asia and service here may be different.