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.

OMFG - Bell, What the hell. The horror never stops!!!

I have to say, I wouldn't wish Bell's billing and customer service on my worst enemy. Really, and I'm sure I have Bell shares in some international mutual fund some place, and that's even more disappointing. It's non stop f@#$ up a after f@#$ up after f@#$ up. How can a company run on such a messed up billing system? HOWWWWWW. Inquiring minds wanna know.

I called at the end of December to cancel Internet for my aunt in southern Ontario. I knew that there is this 30 day fine print bullshit that they make you cancel ahead of time. At least I knew cuz I got dinged by Rogers for that once. I thought when you're done a service you're done, but not in Canadian telco land. So, I gave 30 days noticed because I heard the local cable provider Cogeco finally had cable service where she lived.

Let me state first the reason for the switch was simple - for $35 we got low bandwidth and a cap of 2G. The only people that use is are my extended family when they visit my aunt. That's not competitive. And thank God the dipshits at Bell have some competition. For a better speed we get 7G of data at a better price. Great. So Bell could kiss my ass and I was happy to switch over. Not so easy, it's Bell remember. The worst F@#$%'n billing system the world has yes known. Naturally the call centre plebe didn't put the f'n order in, and it wasnt' cancelled. Even with my 30 days.

I knew, in advance, based on my experience living in Toronto, how f'd up Bell can and would be, so I called to follow up. A little too late though. Indeed no order went through. I went down for a visit and packed up the modem for my aunt. Bell also charges a rental for a wireless modem rather than letting you use your own. So, there was some data that went on, whether from my smart phone, or that her computer was still plugged in to the modem, but nominal, like next to nothing. I'll define nothing as less than a meg for the month of February.

So I call Bell, sure as shit the f@#$ it up, and because it showed the modem in use for Feb, the mothers count February, and now apply 3o days in advance, so in April, if they don't F@#$ it up again, it'll be over. BUT, Bell reaps an extra $75 in revenue for their F@#$ up and my aunt, a pensioner, is out another $75 because of the telco behemoth's lack of competence. I can't help but wonder, given the consistent nature of their f@#$up over and over if this is planned, at some level. So that the company can make more $$ from people leaving. It's appalling. Even if you get a mega deal from Bell and despite how much you may dislike your local cable provider, I have to say, I'm hard pressed to think of a telco, here or in the USA so fricked up and difficult to deal with as Bell. I would never use them again. I've wasted sooooooo much time on the phone with them. I'm aghast at what a clusterf@#$ of a billing system they have and that they continue to be in business. Gotta love Canada's telco oligopoly.

And, ok, so get this, the call center guy tells me he can't cancel the whole account. And he can't see notes from other departments. Funny, but my aunt get's one bill from Bell, but when you call in, you have to call each department separately to cancel. At least that's what the CSR said. Really?

I hope the cable guys clean Bell's clock and that maybe one day in the future, if they're around, they can get their shit together, and do it in a way where they don't screw the customer as strategy for staying in business.
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If you're a shareholder and concerned about the long term viability and profitability of Bell given the substandard product offering and unfreakin believably terrible billing and customer service systems, WRITE INVESTOR RELATIONS AND COMPLAIN. A company this bad can't be a good long term investment.

FOR INQUIRIES FROM INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS

Lyne Roy
1, Carrefour Alexander Graham Bell, Building A, 6th Floor
Verdun (Quebec), H3E 3B3

Telephone:
1 800 339-6353

Fax:
(514) 786-3970

Email:
investor.relations@bce.ca