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.
