Why Do Verizon Phones Lack?

[CoreyTheGent]

If you know me on this Forum, you know I am a die-hard Verizon lover. But, I am sorry, their phones, even the newest ones, lack horribly and don't have any real fun and new features. They are getting some color ones in, good, but then I look at some of these phones that are coming out on Sprint and they are generations ahead of Verizon's. Does anybody know why this is? I want logical answers, truthful, not bashing bullsh*t like I see on this Forum everyday. Is it because of their technology that limits the kind of phones they can get, their reception? What?

Thank you, Ahead of Time.

Verizon is not really aiming heavily for the teenage market like Sprint and other companies are. To see who a company's target market is look at their advertising. It'll tell you a lot.

[007]

Even though I agree with the last post, I feel that Verizon is looking to acquire the most market share and exposure as possible. I believe that current Verizon Wireless advertisements...especially their spots for "Free Up"....are becoming a bit more focused on the teenage/young adult market. Remeber, Verizon Wireless is actually an old company with a new name and when the parent companies (i.e. GTE Wireless and Bell Atlantic Mobil) were first starting to offer wireless phone services, the only people that could afford them were businesses. This is no longer the case and I think that Verizon Wireless is just taking a bit longer to get used to this given it's history.

The reason, in my opinion, VZW doesn't have some of the newer, cooler phones is because they are looking to create a stability that isn't found with other wireless carriers. Verizon makes their phone and software providers test extensively before they will release a product. Although this isn't true all the time (i.e. Motorola T720...you could count the bugs instead of sheep to fall asleep at night) it does slow down acceptance of newer technologies but they will eventually catch up. I can't tell you how many times I wished my Verizon phone had the ability to download ringtones and games before "Get It Now" was released so I understand the frustration. However, I would rather adopt a technology later when a good portion of the bugs are fixed rather than dealing with the problems associated with being on the "bleeding" edge of technology.

I think Verizon has started to catch on that their technology is lagging, which is why they rushed out the T720... and now they're paying for it by releasing a buggy phone. I traded my Sprint Vision phone in on a nice, boring Verizon V60 because I wanted the ability to make calls above all else. So, from my perspective, Verizon has far better technology because i can place calls from everywhere, vs. Sprint's half-assed network. A ton of people my age (I'm 20) have Verizon, and swear by it, because all of their friends on T-Mobile or Sprint always complain about never being able to make a call.

[TDC]

IN BIG WORDS, (CDMA). THE AMOUNT OF DATA YOUR PHONES SOFTWARE CAN RECEIVE. Verizon Wireless USES THIS FREQUENCY. CDMA. IF THEY DON'T UPGRADE THEIR NETWORK THEIR PHONES WILL ALWAYS BE LIGHT YEARS BEHIND. (THEY WANT TELL YOU THIS THOUGH)
THE WORLD IS ON A GSM FREQUENCY, IN WHICH, A COUPLE OF CARRIERS LIKE T-MOBILE, ATT WIRELESS, AND SOME OF CINGULAR NOW INCORPORATE INTO THEIR NETWORKS. ALTHOUGH, ALL OF T-MOBILE USES THE GSM FREQUENCY. WITH THIS GSM NETWORK, PHONES ARE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HIGHER BANDWIDTH OF DATA AND COLOR GRAPHICS THAT ARE USED OVER THE GSM NETWORK, THEREFORE, THEY ARE ABLE TO OFFER YOU BETTER PHONES THAT CAN BE BE SENT AND RECEIVED OVER THE GSM FREQUENCY.
IT'S LIKE GOING FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL, NOW TO GSM

TDC,

Is there any particular reason you are screaming?

Next time, get rid of the cap lock key.

[dammitbosco]

GSM <u>does</u> feature higher bandwidth for greater data transfer speeds, but with increased bandwidth comes decreased voice transmission quality. Verizon would benefit greatly from a GSM transition, but logistically and financially, it would be impractical. (GSM is TDMA based, not CDMA). Any transition on Verizon's part would most likely be to WCDMA (or CDMA 2000). WCDMA has a lot of the features of GSM (broadband, encryption) but lacks one of GSM's most attractive features: GPRS. While WCDMA looked promising in theory, it basically fell flat after unsuccessful trials in test markets like Japan and Hong Kong, with those countries looking to return to GSM 900 and add the 1800 or 1900 mhz frequencies to improve channel allocation.

Verizon's compensating with 1xRTT, though. GSM may be the standard, but just because something's the standard doesn't mean it's better than everything else. Just look at Microsoft Windows.

[LowTech]

Originally posted by: TDC
IN BIG WORDS, (CDMA). THE AMOUNT OF DATA YOUR PHONES SOFTWARE CAN RECEIVE. Verizon Wireless USES THIS FREQUENCY. CDMA. IF THEY DON'T UPGRADE THEIR NETWORK THEIR PHONES WILL ALWAYS BE LIGHT YEARS BEHIND. (THEY WANT TELL YOU THIS THOUGH)
THE WORLD IS ON A GSM FREQUENCY, IN WHICH, A COUPLE OF CARRIERS LIKE T-MOBILE, ATT WIRELESS, AND SOME OF CINGULAR NOW INCORPORATE INTO THEIR NETWORKS. ALTHOUGH, ALL OF T-MOBILE USES THE GSM FREQUENCY. WITH THIS GSM NETWORK, PHONES ARE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HIGHER BANDWIDTH OF DATA AND COLOR GRAPHICS THAT ARE USED OVER THE GSM NETWORK, THEREFORE, THEY ARE ABLE TO OFFER YOU BETTER PHONES THAT CAN BE BE SENT AND RECEIVED OVER THE GSM FREQUENCY.
IT'S LIKE GOING FROM ANALOG TO DIGITAL, NOW TO GSM

well than how come cdma phones are the best ones out? china and korea as I understand are both for the most part cdma. They have far better phones than europe. nokia and erricson are probably two of the largest gsm makers, but where are all the cool phones? yah erricson came out with the t68 a while ago but it is not up to par. Nokia is now starting to make cool phones. samsung and sanyo have had really cool phones for quite a while now. I figured that the reason Verizon is behind in phones is because they are hesitant to have digital only phones. Now with the a530 and maybe other new phones coming to market, things might change.

[PaulG]

Sprint gets phones to market in advance of in-house quality tests whereas Verizon adds several test requirements that delay a phone introduction but brings better reliability. Sprint is targeting a certain demographic with phone features that do not appeal to the "older" set of which I am a member[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

The t720 is a stretch phone designed to cover the feature gap until Verizon comes to market with a clear strategy as opposed to a reactive one. The t720 sucks anyway...wait until new models appear later in December.

[cg1492]

dammitbosco:
WCDMA has a lot of the features of GSM (broadband, encryption) but lacks one of GSM's most attractive features: GPRS.

Then what is the point of Verizon introduceing a phone with that capability if it will never be used?

GSM may be new to the US, but is not a newer or superior technology to CDMA. GSM has been in Europe for years now. In fact, in many tests CDMA has outperformed GSM and has been predicted by many experts to take over GSM as the world's standard. And perhaps most importantly, CDMA offers noticeably better voice quality and maintains better voice quality in low signal areas than GSM. Also for the carriers, CDMA networks are cheaper to maintain and upgrade.

[CoreyTheGent]

Well, I must say, all of your answers were helpful. It helped me, because I was beginning to lose faith in Verizon, and you all, particularly 007, restored it by letting me see the light.

I know for certain that Verizon will never switch to GSM. There are already too many people using it, and if Verizon switches technologies, they will want something that no other/very few carriers use, perhaps CDMA2000?

GSM may be better when it comes to Data transfer, but Verizon is more concerned in voice quality, another reason they'd never switch to GSM.

Most of the answers you gave, like 007's, were what I figured to be the truth, in that Verizon wants a more stable company, etc. But even the most conservative of business-men get tired of boring phones. So, I believe Verizon is just hesitant to go to the "fun side" of the spectrum, also being careful that they do it right.

Also, you must keep in mind that Verizon is the biggest of all cell phone companies, and they have plenty of money and manpower to do whatever they want, including extensive research into which technology is the best. So whatever move they make, I'm sure it will be good for the company.

I also thought that perhaps Sprint was beating Verizon in their war until I found out that Sprint has lost 70,000+ (I first heard 78,000) customers in their latest financial reports while Verizon Wireless has gained 800,000+. So, obviously, Verizon is doing something right, and the American people aren't stupid enough to fall for a company simply because they have the biggest and brightest phones. That includes myself.

Thank you all again, and by all means continue to post your thoughts.

Eventually, I think CDMA will replace GSM simply by virtue of the fact that CDMA can handle 3x the amount of cellular traffic.

[dammitbosco]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a carrier whose pitchman goes around constantly asking, "Can you hear me now?!" I want a carrier who KNOWS their subscribers can be heard. I swear to God, this board is owned by Verizon. They probably hired a team of "specialists" (recent college grads) to post on it in their favor. Has to be the case, because all over the PA-NJ-DE area, Verizon blows HARD. It's a well known fact here, ask anyone. Only decent companies in the area are either Cingular or AT&T, and I'd rather have Rollover. My money (and my job) stays with Cingular.

Originally posted by: dammitbosco
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a carrier whose pitchman goes around constantly asking, "Can you hear me now?!" I want a carrier who KNOWS their subscribers can be heard. I swear to God, this board is owned by Verizon. They probably hired a team of "specialists" (recent college grads) to post on it in their favor. Has to be the case, because all over the PA-NJ-DE area, Verizon blows HARD. It's a well known fact here, ask anyone. Only decent companies in the area are either Cingular or AT&T, and I'd rather have Rollover. My money (and my job) stays with Cingular.

My friends in NJ are all on Verizon and they say they have no problems at all. I hope you never have to travel with Cingular or you'll be carrying a phone with no coverage. Their coverage is anemic which is why they came up with that rollover scheme - to make you feel like you are actually getting something.

[LowTech]

Originally posted by: dammitbosco
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a carrier whose pitchman goes around constantly asking, "Can you hear me now?!" I want a carrier who KNOWS their subscribers can be heard. I swear to God, this board is owned by Verizon. They probably hired a team of "specialists" (recent college grads) to post on it in their favor. Has to be the case, because all over the PA-NJ-DE area, Verizon blows HARD. It's a well known fact here, ask anyone. Only decent companies in the area are either Cingular or AT&T, and I'd rather have Rollover. My money (and my job) stays with Cingular.

I used to have Cingular, and I do travel an awful lot all over the country. I really liked that cingular worked pretty much everywhere that I went. Then however, my phone broke and my contract was also up. I tried to get some special deal outa cingular but they were just like "okay go if you want" They had this "Your business is not that important" attitude. At that time Cingular didnt have good rate plans and Verizon for a little while did have good plans. So I got a phone with them, let me tell you that voice quality is far superior for the most part. It works where even cingular wouldnt before. Now there are a few places where cingular worked better. But for the most part verizon has better signal strength and clarity in most of the country. So while it may be possible that the PA, NJ, DE area might be better for cingular customers. For most of the country its the other way around. The only problem with verizon is that once in a while, like 2 or 3 calls a month, I'll get an echo sound.

The only problem with Verizon is that once in a while, like 2 or 3 calls a month, I'll get an echo sound.

I think that is an issue with the tower your are on or possibly the local network in your area. I've had Verizon for 3 years in Ohio and not once ever experienced the echo issue I see some people mentioning. However, my wife has T-Mobile and I have experienced it once or twice on her phone.

[Airb330]

dammitbosco you are full of crap! Verizon does not blow hard in Delaware and this region, it the best carrier tied along with Cingular. Both are very good in this area, I prefer Verizon since I don't get system busies like Cingular does here alot. Both are very good here (Sprint is OK), don't make these wild accusations. Verizon and Cingular are both #1 in the Delaware Valley. P.S. really please DO ask anyone who lives here, they will say Verizon or Cingular. ATT is very laughable...barely any coverage in Delaware and weak coverage in Philly.

Originally posted by: Airb330
dammitbosco you are full of crap! Verizon does not blow hard in Delaware and this region, it the best carrier tied along with Cingular. Both are very good in this area, I prefer Verizon since I don't get system busies like Cingular does here alot. Both are very good here (Sprint is OK), don't make these wild accusations. Verizon and Cingular are both #1 in the Delaware Valley.

Bosco works for Cingular apparently which is why he's trashing Verizon.

Verizon does blow....Cingular's nose that is.

[CoreyTheGent]

Why do people like Bosco and ALBUNDY keep mentioning the damn Verizon motto? You seem to forget something: after the guys asks "Can You Me Now?" he also says "Good!" If it was Sprint or Cingular, his next words would be "Hello? You there?"

Stop thinking that their motto constitutes everything that goes on with Verizon. And Bosco, you're full of sh*t, because I live in Philadelphia (the only real city in PA, Pittsburgh being #2) and Verizon is number #1 here. Not to mention if you have to travel all around the PA area, because Verizon is the only one with coverage to reach the more rural parts. And whether it's analog or digital, it's a lot better than no service at all like Sprint.

If you want to state your opinion on this Forum, then do so. But don't state facts that you can't back up. If Sprint or Cingular was #1 in PA, then I'd be on Sprint or Cingular.

[oboom]

Originally posted by: dammitbosco
Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a carrier whose pitchman goes around constantly asking, "Can you hear me now?!" I want a carrier who KNOWS their subscribers can be heard. I swear to God, this board is owned by Verizon. They probably hired a team of "specialists" (recent college grads) to post on it in their favor. Has to be the case, because all over the PA-NJ-DE area, Verizon blows HARD. It's a well known fact here, ask anyone. Only decent companies in the area are either Cingular or AT&T, and I'd rather have Rollover. My money (and my job) stays with Cingular.

I've had no problems with Verizon when travelling in PA and DE. It may very well just be you. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[CoreyTheGent]

I forgot to answer to one more thing: The reason it seems like Verizon owns this forum is because Verizon OWNS the cellular phone market. The number of their customers is far, far greater than that of Sprint's, or Cingular's, or T-Mobile's. The ratio of people of this forum on each of these networks is simply a representation of the nation, so naturally, Verizon is going to have more people speaking for them.

And to oboom: from the looks of it, I'd say he/she just made all of that crap up.

[jpd]

hi, i live in central jersey and i'm looking to get phones for a family plan. 4 phones actually.
and i went shopping around for prices.
does anyone know anywhere that has cheaper Verizon phones.
i know the service is great and coverage is awesome. and i even like the plan this time.
but the phones are way expensive. and the rep at the Verizon store wouldn't let me talk to the manager because she said there was no way he'd give anyone a deal on phones.
so i went around the mall and everyone is giving me discounts on phones. and not just like oh 10-20 dollars off. but like 2 phones for free and the other two half off and $50 rebates on the last two phones.
Just wondering... does anyone know where i can get a deal on Verizon phones. please tell me~~
oh and we were looking at the v60i phone or similar flip phones.
any advice would be appreciated! thanks![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Originally posted by: jpd
hi, i live in central jersey and i'm looking to get phones for a family plan. 4 phones actually.
and i went shopping around for prices.
does anyone know anywhere that has cheaper Verizon phones.
i know the service is great and coverage is awesome. and i even like the plan this time.
but the phones are way expensive. and the rep at the Verizon store wouldn't let me talk to the manager because she said there was no way he'd give anyone a deal on phones.
so i went around the mall and everyone is giving me discounts on phones. and not just like oh 10-20 dollars off. but like 2 phones for free and the other two half off and $50 rebates on the last two phones.
Just wondering... does anyone know where i can get a deal on Verizon phones. please tell me~~
oh and we were looking at the v60i phone or similar flip phones.
any advice would be appreciated! thanks![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Go back to Verizon and ask to see the manager. Chances are a different salesperson will be there.

[ScandaLEX]

Originally posted by: jpd
......and the rep at the Verizon store wouldn't let me talk to the manager because she said there was no way he'd give anyone a deal on phones.

It doesnt matter what the rep's opinion of the manager is; her first responsibility should have been to get off her butt and get the manager for you; simply because <u>YOU</u> asked to speak with one.

I would go back to that same store and again ask to speak to the manager!

Originally posted by: jpd
hi, i live in central jersey and i'm looking to get phones for a family plan. 4 phones actually.
and i went shopping around for prices.
does anyone know anywhere that has cheaper Verizon phones.
i know the service is great and coverage is awesome. and i even like the plan this time.
but the phones are way expensive. and the rep at the Verizon store wouldn't let me talk to the manager because she said there was no way he'd give anyone a deal on phones.
so i went around the mall and everyone is giving me discounts on phones. and not just like oh 10-20 dollars off. but like 2 phones for free and the other two half off and $50 rebates on the last two phones.
Just wondering... does anyone know where i can get a deal on Verizon phones. please tell me~~
oh and we were looking at the v60i phone or similar flip phones.
any advice would be appreciated! thanks![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I was just at Verizon today and they have some promo buy 1 phone get 1 free.

[danny boi]

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] It sounds like the representative who helped you wasn't very professional. But let me tell you this...I worked for VZW for close to three years. A VZW retail store and those guys in the mall represent different companies. The retail stores are corporate owned; whose responsibilities go beyond new activations. The guys in the mall grabbing you when you walk by with "free phones" have to do this because they are strictly commission based and 99% of them work for authorized agents who simply sell VZW service. Their phones they sell do not have to go through the rigerous tests' that you see in the retail stores. Sometimes, even if the phones look identical, many times the software inside is not. For example, when VZW was selling the Nokia 5185 series phone, the retail stores sold a "tri-mode" version while the authorized dealers in the mall were selling a "dual-mode" version. The retail stores charged $ 79.99 per activation while the agents were giving them away for free. To the consumer who isn't aware of the difference ('cause the guys in the mall won't tell you) between the phones, it's frustrating when you think your paying more for the something your friend got for free somewhere else. Find out exactly what your getting when you get your "free" or majorly discounted phone from a kiosk. If the salesman can't tell you what your getting, I wouldn't buy it. Do some research or ask around...Good luck...

[rallykid]

Your Daddy - Very good point. However there are some advantages of purchasing at an authorized reseller, 2 that I can think of right off the top of my head. When Verizon sells a Nokia 3285, the personal slots for ringtones are locked out on it. Now I am not sure if there is even a way to add tones to this phone without going through your provider (such as SMS) but it is still a fact that Verizon locked those features out. The other reason, The t61c. You can only buy this phone at an authorized reseller or Radio Shack (Good luck finding one, I have looked everywhere).


JPD - I bet if you went back to that same Verizon store and talked to the manager, explained to him what happened, and told him that is the reason you were going down the road to Cingular/Sprint/TMobile but you just wanted to let him know about what one of his employees did, that you would get a better deal than you ever thought possible on the phones you want. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Verizon will do just about anything to earn a customers business. They know that once they get you, that you are probably not going to go anyhwere else because you are not going to find better service or a better company to deal with. I would give it a shot, I would be willing to bet that you either pay nothing for your phones, get better phones for the same price, or at least get the pnes you were going to purchase at a seriously discounted price.