Latest V540 info - WTF???

[Jay2TheRescue]

Ok, as most know already I've been trying to track down a Motorola V540. I had already emailed Motorola reguarding the release date and I got the following response.

Discussion Thread Response 08/11/2005 08:56 PM Dear Jay Sincavage, Thank you for contacting Motorola e-mail support, we appreciate your request. Thank you very much for your considerations and interest in our products. Regarding your concern, we want to let you know that the Motorola V540 cellular phone is available in the US market. You may contact Cingular Wireless at 1-866-246-4852 for further assistance or you may visit the link below: http://motorola.digitalriver.com/ser...38400&Env=BASE We hope that you find this information helpful. We remain at your entire disposal for any future questions you may wish to ask. If you have further questions or need additional assistance, please contact our Cellular Information Center at 1-800-331-6456. Our business hours are Monday through Friday from 7am to 10pm CST and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm CST. For information about Motorola products and services, please locate http://www.motorola.com/ If you cannot hyperlink, please copy/paste the link into your browser Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to be of service to you. Best Regards,

Well, it has been a couple of weeks and I had called and stopped by the local retail store with no results. I emailed Cingular today and this is what I got.

Dear Mr. Sincavage, Thank you for e-mailing Cingular Wireless regarding the Motorola V540 phone. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I understand the urgency of resolving this quickly for you, and I will be happy to review your account and assist you with this information. On July 15, 2005, Cingular launched the Motorola V540. The Motorola V540 includes the same features and functionality as the Motorola V551 but the Motorola V540 does not include a camera. The Motorola V540 will only be available for individual business groups. Unfortunately at this time Cingular does not offer this phone for sale to individual only business groups. I hope this addresses the concerns you have. If you need any additional assistance please don't hesitate to contact me or you may call Customer Service at 1-800-331-0500, and a representative will be happy to assist you.

Now, why is this? We have the phone you want, but we're not going to sell it to you... If anyone out there works for a Cingular dealer and wants to sell new service to my friend w/ a V540 please let me know. So far the only way I see to do it is to go to Motorola.com, but she doesn't want to pay retail, she wants to sign a contract for a lower price. Surely someone out there can help her!

Thanks, Jay

[ronnieg56]

You know that the 540 is the exact clone of the 551 without a camera?

--
rg56

[Critic]

Originally Posted by ronnieg56 You know that the 540 is the exact clone of the 551 without a camera? -- rg56

Ronnie - I guess you didn't pick up the earlier thread Jay started that lead to our discovery of the V540, but Jay's friend works in a government building where cameraphones aren't permitted beyond the lobby. So it's either no camera, or no phone. So a V551 without a camera is exactly what the doctor ordered in this case.

[ronnieg56]

Thanks for the update.

--
rg56

[Fire14]

Wow, that stinks that they only sell it to business user's, but the price ($185.99) from Moto isn't that bad for a brand new unbranded version, and you wouldn't need to sign a contract. Depending on your finacial status that is.
I think Cingular sells the phones to business customers 1st before making it available to the general public, part of that extra benefit they have.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by Fire14 Wow, that stinks that they only sell it to business user's, but the price ($185.99) from Moto isn't that bad for a brand new unbranded version, and you wouldn't need to sign a contract. Depending on your finacial status that is. I think Cingular sells the phones to business customers 1st before making it available to the general public, part of that extra benefit they have.

Yeah, she would like a contract as she just went through a divorce earlier this year and funds are extremely tight. Nextel was her husband's carrier and her contract is up in a week or so. She wants to jump ship ASAP. I worked out her calliing history and switching to cingular will lower her monthly bill by about $30/mo. I'm hoping someone out there on these fourms is in a position to sell her service and sneak in a V540. Thanks, Jay

[bobolito]

Why don't you just buy it from Ebay and avoid a contract?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by bobolito Why don't you just buy it from Ebay and avoid a contract?

I've checked. It is not available on Ebay.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Sure enough on Cingular's B2B website, look what I find... (Notice how they need to rotate the pic, they posted it sideways and their webpage squeezed it to fit.) I don't see what the big deal why they can't sell us a V540.

[Critic]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue Sure enough on Cingular's B2B website, look what I find... (Notice how they need to rotate the pic, they posted it sideways and their webpage squeezed it to fit.) I don't see what the big deal why they can't sell us a V540.

Jay - has she tried going into a Cingular corporate store and discussing her situation with someone there? I'd have to imagine they could make an exception to the rule in her case. Maybe if she also had documentation from the building management highlighting the fact that she can't have a camera phone...?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by Critic Jay - has she tried going into a Cingular corporate store and discussing her situation with someone there? I'd have to imagine they could make an exception to the rule in her case. Maybe if she also had documentation from the building management highlighting the fact that she can't have a camera phone...?

I haven't thought of that route. The local store here is an independent dealer. I know the store in Fredericksburg is corporate. Maybe I can try contacting them and seeing what they can do, maybe stop by next time I'm visiting Mom. I've been working my way up Cingular's chain of command via email, but I haven't had any success yet. i will also ask her to have her office write a letter stating that cameraphones are prohibited to supply to them.

Thanks again, Jay

[Jay2TheRescue]

I think I'm pissing this guy off at Cingular. I got a reply back from my email asking for an exception...

Dear Mr. Sincavage, Thank you for e-mailing Cingular Wireless again regarding the Motorola V540. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I understand the urgency of resolving this quickly for you, and I will be happy to review your account and assist you with this information. As I previously stated this phone is not available for retail sales. If your friend would like to start service with Cingular there are other phones available that can be shipped to her. You can view these online or at a Cingular Store. I hope this addresses the concerns you have. If you need any additional assistance please dont hesitate to contact me or you may call Customer Service at 1-800-331-0500, and a representative will be happy to assist you. Did you know as a Cingular Customer could earn up to $125 in Cingular Gift Cards per year by referring family and friends to Cingular Wireless via a Web-based referral program. Both the referring customer and the new customer will receive a $25 Cingular Gift Card once a qualifying activation has been authenticated. New customers must sign up on a Cingular Wireless price plan of $39.99 or higher to be eligible to earn a referral Cingular Gift Card. To sign up just go to our referral Web site at http://www.referral.cingular.com. I would also like to remind you of our new * Services. There are three services that we currently offer. Using your wireless phone: - You can check your minutes by pressing *MIN#, then Call. - You can check your balance by pressing *BAL#, then Call. - You can even make a payment by dialing *PAY#, then Call. * Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week free of charge. There may be delays processing network call records. Minutes Used may not include airtime used within the last two to five days and does not include recent roaming minutes due to delayed processing. Roaming airtime and roaming long distance minutes used are based on call records received from other carriers and processed by Cingular. A delay of two to ten days at minimum is usual. A delay of up to 60 days or longer is possible. Results for Family Talk customers may not involve all minutes for the entire Family Talk group. Prepaid customers will not have access to *Services I encourage you to visit us at www.cingular.com often to view your monthly account statements, make payments and shop for new products and services. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve you. Thank you for choosing Cingular Wireless. Sincerely, ***Name Deleted*** Cingular Wireless Online Customer Care Professional Help Cingular improve our service to you! Please complete our short survey about your e-mail Customer Service experience. Click on: http://support.cingular.com/survey/e...&id=okBarbaraB The information provided in this e-mail is intended for the view and use of the authorized Cingular Wireless subscriber only. Content may not be shared or relied upon by third parties. Cingular, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to amend, modify or replace the written content of this message to correct or update answers provided to Subscriber. No term of Subscriber's Customer Service Agreement is altered, waived, or modified by this message unless expressly agreed by an authorized Cingular representative. Original Message Follows: ------------------------ There isn't any way we can work it out so my friend can get a V540? She wants to dump Nextel at the end of the month when her contract expires, and wants to go with Cingular as many of her friends are Cingular customers. She has just gone through a divorce and cannot afford to pay retail for this phone through Motorola. I understand the low demand for this phone in the individual market and the reasoning for not stocking it in retail stores. Is there a way we can work it out so that she can sign up and you can ship her the phone? Thanks again for all your help, J. Sincavage

I called a corporate store, the salesman I talked to seemed willing to help, but said that they didn't stock the V540. I told them I didn't care, they could ship the phone as long as they could sell the contract w/ the V540. He said he'd have to talk to his manager to see if he could do it. I think He'll call back tomorrow.

[ronnieg56]

I found a link to a discussion on this phone. Didn't read it all, maybe you can get some useful info from it.

http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/681604-1.html

[ShoresGuy]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue I think I'm pissing this guy off at Cingular. I got a reply back from my email asking for an exception... I called a corporate store, the salesman I talked to seemed willing to help, but said that they didn't stock the V540. I told them I didn't care, they could ship the phone as long as they could sell the contract w/ the V540. He said he'd have to talk to his manager to see if he could do it. I think He'll call back tomorrow.

Hmmm that's not the kind of e-mail I would send to a potential Cingular customer. What kind of logic is being practiced by sending more sales pitches instead of a more on-topic e-mail? Why not spam more people from the start with that irrelevant info? (not a rant directed at anyone here who works for Cingular) A bit of advertising is definitely ok but that e-mail exceeds a reasonable level.

I couldn't pull up the V540 by following the link in the attachment, is this due to needing to be a Cingular Business customer, Jay?

Hope you can get it worked out

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy Hmmm that's not the kind of e-mail I would send to a potential Cingular customer. What kind of logic is being practiced by sending more sales pitches instead of a more on-topic e-mail? Why not spam more people from the start with that irrelevant info? (not a rant directed at anyone here who works for Cingular) A bit of advertising is definitely ok but that e-mail exceeds a reasonable level. I couldn't pull up the V540 by following the link in the attachment, is this due to needing to be a Cingular Business customer, Jay? Hope you can get it worked out

I've been looking into merging my family's accounts into a business account, it would save us 5%/month to do it. I haven't done it yet though. Here is a link that should work for you to view the V540. It is at the bottom of this page: http://www.cingular.com/sbusiness/phones

[ShoresGuy]

Ok the link worked .

[Jay2TheRescue]

I guess Cingular didn't like me giving that webpage out. Now when you go to the link it asks for a username & password before they show you the phones. Little do they know that I have an image of the page stored on the website.

[ShoresGuy]

The link still works for me, Jay. At which point does it ask you for a username/password?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy The link still works for me, Jay. At which point does it ask you for a username/password?

When I checked the page today I got the screen attached to this post. Maybe your computer read a cached version from your hard drive? Hold down your CTRL key and click reload at the same time and see what you get.

[ShoresGuy]

I'm using Firefox as my primary browser. I still get past the password requirement. With IE, it's the same result since I hadn't visited the site before using IE. So, it wasn't cached for IE beforehand.

[Fire14]

I just used the Link and had no problems seeing the devices and other information. I didn't go there prior to today and am using IE, so it wasn't cached for me either.

[fb]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue When I checked the page today I got the screen attached to this post. Maybe your computer read a cached version from your hard drive? Hold down your CTRL key and click reload at the same time and see what you get.

Using Internet Explorer. The link still works, even with the CTRL-Reload.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by fb Using Internet Explorer. The link still works, even with the CTRL-Reload.

I have no idea what's going on here. I checked it from my home computer and there was no request for password. The computer I have at home is exactly the same as the computers I bought for work. Dell P4's w/ WIN XP & svc pk 2.

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue I have no idea what's going on here. I checked it from my home computer and there was no request for password. The computer I have at home is exactly the same as the computers I bought for work. Dell P4's w/ WIN XP & svc pk 2.

Try clearing out your Cookies, Temp files autocomplete & such, then try it.

[Jay2TheRescue]

From what I can tell now the V540 is only available to blue Cingular customers. Even the ones purchased directly from Motorola seem to be locked to the Cingular blue network. I was reading on another forum that a guy bought one from Motorola and then had to get it unlocked so he could use it.