The LG P505 Social & Chatr

At a new provider here in the Great White North, the telco oligopoly mecca, Chatr and have a new phone from them -  the LG "The Social" P505.

I should know by now, don't be such a cheap wad. So, what you get for 1/4 the price of an iPhone is a phone that is 1/4 as good..... What else can I say.

People at LG don't "get it" like Apple does.

The phone is smaller and the screen size is smaller, but it still tries to be a smart phone.

What does this mean - in real terms, it means everything is too small to be user friendly. From sending a txt message, to being able to read news or browse a site, it's ridiculously small. Few news apps have the ability to expand text, although you can use the apps Font increase feature, the screen is so small you need glasses to read it.

From a performance perspective, I wonder what engineers where thinking when they launched it, and whether or not any one at LG actually uses this phone. I use it for business. The phone is so slow it takes on avg a few minutes to send a txt message. When doing a search for a contact it takes around 30 seconds to locate it. The overall performance is slow, it actually lags, whether trying to browse, send a message, play a game, there is at least a 1-2 second lag in response.

The other issue is when i get an email, I get  dropped call, or when the phone downloads anything, it hangs. I've had to take the battery out just to use the phone again, as it hung while I was retrieving voice mail. On average the phone force quits 3-5 times a day.

For Chatr, overall, I'm happy with the rate plan, and service, a few dropped calls, but nothing like the crazy Bird sounds I heard when I was with WIND. But they're a discount provider so you get discount service. You only have 15 days to swap out a phone.

If you have a problem with your phone they punt you to the manufacturer, they don't take ownership.
I spoke with a guy at the Chatr call center who thought he was doing me the biggest favor in the world suggesting that I reset the phone. Like all these guys go to the same call center school. Whether it's a modem or a phone or a PC, the first response is 'turn it off and on again.'

I hard reset, the phone still has issues. Unfortunately there are no phones from Chatr that are good. I guess Rogers doesn't want to cannibalize the business of gouging customers through its Rogers Wireless service.

My other beef is that they won't provide the unlock code for my phone. This, I'm sure, it not unique to Chatr, but it is a collective @#$% you from the Canadian wireless companies to the consumer. If we bought the phone outright, either upfront, or paid out a plan, you own it. There is no reason for them to restrict how you use the phone. Like a PC manufacture saying you can only use your computer with certain Internet providers. It's ludicrous. Why!!! Why do we take it.
We shouldn't.

[Here is a link to Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). Let them know that we should not have to be beholden to a provider after we've bought the phone out.]

If only we have the rate plan friendly and service centric WIND join with the quality network of Chatr there might actually be a viable option in Canada to not get screwed on your cell phone service.

Don't buy the LG P505 if you're thinking you're getting a 'smart phone'. It's not that smart. Although on Android, you'll spend more time '@#$%ing around with it that is warranted.

Here's a link to equally poor ratings on Amazon in the US.

The Witching Hour for Wind Mobile

Well, good news for WIND in today's Globe and Mail. They'll be allowed to buy spectrum and they'll be allowed to grow and have foreign ownership.

Theoretically this is a win for customers. I, being one. However, as it goes, even at a low price, when you can't actually use your phone, the service is not worth it.

I think 5pm is the witching hour for WIND mobile. It just seems to be the time when their service sucks the most. That said, it's 2:30 pm on a Friday here in downtown Toronto and I have to dial a number 3-5 times before the call actually goes through. More often than not - that be 50 -80% of the time I get "Call Failed".

I hate to leave a good 'deal' and I truly admire their no nonsense approach to billing in what is otherwise and oligopolistic market where the major encumbents really @#$% over Canadians with some of the world's highest telco charges, BUT - I use my phone for business. If I can't make and receive calls - no matter how cheap WIND's service is, it's not worth it.

Sorry WIND, your service just blows too much. Or should I say suck?

When you can figure out the basics, happy to reconsider and come back. But until I can make and receive calls reliably, your service is just too expensive from a lost business perspective, not to mention the mental frustration at dealing with this as an issue.

Bye!

It's WIND Mobile Roulette!!!

Wednesday night, 9ish, it's now what I call WIND Mobile roulette.

Basically - how many times do you have a to dial a phone number before you actually get through. Tonight I got lucky, I only had to call three times before the line went out, as in, my call when through vs. "Call Failed". The other night is was five times before I could access my voice mail.

No, I don't live in the basement. I have to go to the front of the house, or back, but usually outside to have a phone call. Kinda sucks when it's a business phone call and it's -20 out. Even worse with the....WIND chill factor. Ha ha, couldn't resist.

Anyway, I'm decide to make this blog more of a WIND journal for how bad reception is. Please don't get my wrong - I laud what the company is doing from a) challenging the major incumbents who really do screw the consumer, and b) from having really simple plans. But alas, at the end of the day - if you can make or receive calls - it's not a good deal.

Another WIND Day

When I read the Globe and Mail this morning and saw WIND is trying to offer a quad play - meaning - phone, internet, tv and cell phone, I couldn't help but wonder if their TV service is as unreliable as their cell service, exactly what that would look like......

6:00 pm to 6:15 pm. made 9 calls to a 1800 number, not one went through. Oddly, when I call on skype out (a great service for 2.99Euros a month) i get through. What happened along the way where I can call people over the internet and actually talk with better reception than cell phone. Actually - I stand corrected - I got through on the Internet I couldn't even call out with WIND.

If you're reading this dear WIND management, whatever you have to do, to improve your service, DO IT. Get it done right in Toronto before you try expanding other places, otherwise you'll have a nation full of customers wondering WTF. And with the likes of Chatr on your heels, people have low cost options....

I'm just sayin.....

February 15, 2012 - Another crappy day with WIND Mobile and my Blackberry 9300

It's that time of day again. 3:00pm EST. The low point for WIND, and/or Blackberry.
That stupid little icon in the upper right of my phone scrolling crazily, making me think data is preventing me from making a call, or it's just an icon that makes us wonder, WTF is that thing for.....

I made 5 consecutive calls, all failed, 3 numbers, tried one number once, another number twice, another number once and then my voice mail. Every call failed.
Yeh! And I should complain for $40 a month? Back in the USA, I'm sure I'd have no problem making a call in a major city and not need to pay twice what I'm paying just for reliable service. But alas, in Canada, you're hosed. A fair and reasonable price, with horrible reception, or you get screwed by the majors for twice the cost for more reliable service. Why does a telephone and service have to cost so much. Crazy that a freakin iPhone costs more than a freakin flat screen TV. or home theatre system. Why is call my neighbour less expensive than calling Vancouver. Like email and technology age, does is matter where I'm located? Or is this just a bullshit thing that telco's 'make up' as way to charge you more.

Anyway - I'm near ready for the next low fee provider, Chatr Wireless.

I look forward to the day when WIND's service doesn't blow as badly as it does.

As for RIM, we'll see if they're around. Or maybe they'll realize it's not cool to make people figure out their design and that the design goal, should be simplicity of use, to the point where a manual would not be required. At least easier than what they did with the 9300.

Wind - Still Blowing & Rim has joined the Party

I think this blog should really be a survey of the best of the worst, but cheaper than the overall best.....

I have a Blackberry 9300 now, I went through 5 HTC Maples in less than a year, what piece of @#$% of a phone, how could HTC so screw up?

Now, with a Blackberry, and I just bought a Playbook, I understand why their stock is in the tank, and Apple is the world's largest corporation and it's stock is pushing $500. Not only do they make 1 phone, a great phone, it's game changer. As was the iPod, as was the iPad, when they get it right, the really knock it out of the park.

So I don't know who to be more pissed at RIM with it's poor design and zero attention to usability, or Wind Mobile, with it's consumer friendly pricing but horrific service reminiscent of the late 80's.....

I like the data service on my call, except for, uh, let's see, oh yea, when you get email or you see RIM's funny little data icon spinning, you lose your call over 50% of the time. Or, you just cut out. This phone and company are ok for personal use because they're so cheap, but for business, not so.

My RIM does not work with wifi - or if it does, it's not obvious how it can work without the overall data being on, in which case, if you're roaming, which is when you might wanna use wifi, it doesn't work. My RIM 9300 hangs. I drove back from the US and must have sat on it funny hitting certain keys, and alas, my phone stopped scrolling.

I got a Blackberry Playbook, and you'd think RIM would have automatically included plug ins for their own phones, but alas, no. That was a process too.
And it hangs, and crashes. Given it's weight I might have thought they configure the device to be used with your thumbs more. There's no skyp app. No netflix app. With Gmail I just the one account set up, don't know how to add more.

But I digress. I'm kvetching today because I'm tired of having so many dropped calls - this is an anathema for WIND, their service really sucks, unless of course, it's RIM and they hadn't figured out how to deliver an email or text message without dropping a call. Either way, dealing with my RIM is a daily piss off.

They should learn from Apple, it's about usability stupid.