![]() But alas, while it was “aīook”, it wasn’t cool. “Oh”, I thought, “some marketing material. Two weeks later a large (8.5 x 11 by 2″ thick) envelope was delivered, from Helio. I returned the phone, paid my $175 cancellation fee and moved on to a Blackberry. At first a mild entertainment, it eventually became a nuisance as I tried to use it as, gasp!,īy the end of March I had had enough. These seizures, perplexed as I witnessed a handheld device commit suicide and strangely reboot in front of my eyes. As it sat on my desk during the day it would go into a curious state, displaying odd screens and eventually crashing. So I did.īy late March I was noticing a disturbing trend on my phone. What’s this ‘Helio on Top’ application? Oh, I got it – it’s a screen saver that is alsoĪn RSS reader (can you say PointCast – I knew you could :) Cool, let’s turn that on. Look at these maps! Check out this network connection!īy March I was into experimenting. I went around and demo’d my phone to everyone. How could I go wrong?īy February I was pretty happy. For $80/mo I got an ‘all you can eat’ data plan, a pretty cool phone, and GPS. In January I signed up for a Helio account (you know, the phone that isn’t a phone :). Let me tell you a story to illustrate the problem: This really isn’t AT&T’s fault – thank your government regulations for this. Ok, forgive the lengthy post, but you might as well hear it all (editing perfectly ok by me :) I really hope that Apple offers it for Verizon. I get a full set of bars at home and everywhere else in the city, their bills are simple and easy to read, and the CSR’s are helpful and friendly. On the other hand, my personal cel phone service through Verizon is amazing. My second favorite moment with a CSR was, upon complaining that I barely get 1 bar on my work cell phone in my apartment, that they do not guarantee that their service will work in my apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. When I asked for his supervisor he hung up on me. My favorite moment with Cingular/AT&T was calling a CSR who was very rude, had a thick, unintelligible accent and simply insisted I was wrong. Incorrect billing while travelling abroad Accidental removal of a text message plan that was simply supposed to be increased incorrect billing data usage on a Blackberry even though the user signed up for an unlimited plan Our company has been credited almost $1,000 in incorrect billing the past six months for a If you think their billing is confusing, wait till you find yourself calling them every month to correct billing errors. This development illustrates yet another clash between Apple’s typical philosophy of elegance and simplicity–and the unprepared, cluelessness of its cellular partner. They should stick it on the Web, for crying out loud. It helps no one dudes, we’re all on unlimited data plans! Who the heck needs a breakdown like this? If AT&T thinks anyone cares, It’s an unadulterated waste of paper, ink, and fuel to deliver it. One of the hundreds of listings says the same thing: “Data Transfer” of type “Data” at rate code “MBRF,” along with how many kilobytes it was (usually 1K or 3K). Not as anything helpful like NYTIMES.COM HOME PAGE or EMAIL–no, no. Graphic on every Web page, every message sent or received–it’s all carefully listed by date and time. But then–get this–I get SIX PAGES of listings of data tidbits that the iPhone has downloaded in the form of email and Web pages–KILOBYTE BY KILOBYTE! Every It’s filled with unexplained services and features that were never mentioned during the signup process, like MEDIA MAX, EXPD M2M, VOICE PRIVACY, and AT&TĪfter studying this thing for 20 minutes, I think I’ve got it figured out: activation charge ($36), prorated monthly fee for June ($26 for voice, $13 for Internet use), taxes and fees ($15), plus July billedĪll of that fits on three dense pages. The first bill, believe it or not, comes to $150. It’s a staggeringly, hatefully complex document, designed by some Monty Pythoneseque committee in charge of consumer confusion.įor starters, although I signed up for what iTunes told me was a $60 plan (450 minutes, unlimited Internet), the bill says I have a $40 voice plan and a $20 Internet plan, and lists them on separate pages. (Apple loaned me an iPhone to review, but I paid for the service myself so I could go through the setup process like the average Joe. I just got my first AT&T bill for my iPhone.
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