V710 class action lawsuit - anyone heard anything definitive?

Alright, I think we all know the story at this point - VZW got sued in a whole bunch of jurisdictions over the BT capabilities on the V710. That was back in January or February.

Over at HoFo, lots of threads have been posted about the 'potential' settlement, which is supposedly only a judge's signature away. It's hard to tell what's truth, what's rumor, and what's somewhere in between. So, I'm going to put this question out there...

Has anyone heard anything definitive about whether a settlement actually exists, and what it might entail?

I'd like to keep the speculation and VZW flaming to a minimum, if possible. But my curiousity is getting the better of me with regard to this alleged lawsuit.

 

The problem there is that the 'Bluetooth' name is actually gaining wide acceptance among consumers - and with BT becoming more ubiquitous (comes with many new laptops, will power controllers on PS3, etc.), name recognition is an important thing.

 

***UPDATE***
Well, it looks like the cat's out of the bag as of today...
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/footer/legalNotices/v710.jsp

You can view the entire settlement or just skim the important details. Here's the lowdown, tho: You have to certify under penalty of purjury that you are the person to whom the 'notice of class action settlement' was mailed; you purchased a V710 from VZW before 1/31/05; you purchased the V710 believing it would support OBEX/file transfer; and that you own or intended to purchase another Bluetooth-enabled device that supports OBEX/file transfer. You'll need to list the amount of 'credits' received resulting to complaints to VZW regarding BT; and you have one of three options for 'relief' (most of this was already known):

OPTION 1: Keep the V710 and your existing VZW service, get a $25 service credit.
OPTION 2: Cancel VZW service w/o ETF and return V710 and applicable accessories for refund up to purchase price.
OPTION 3: Keep VZW service but return V710 and applicable accessories for a refund "up to the purchase price of a new cellular phone" (vague, isn't it?).

It also appears there may be a means for former VZW subscribers to recoup ETF.

Here's the direct link to a copy of the claim form, but you should probably wait until you get it in the mail before you do anything.

One of the downsides to all this is that the claim form must be postmarked by December 9, 2005, which means anyone holding out for the 2006 phones may end up disappointed.

 

The rumors over at HoFo (so take this for what it's worth) is that the settlement is a done deal, and the packets are being sent to everyone who got the first round of mailings last year. I've yet to receive anything myself, and honestly, I'm not sure who at HoFo has actually received paperwork and who is full of crap, so for now we'll leave it at that.

 

A friend of mine (who also bought a V710 and falls into phase one of the lawsuit) got his packet on Wednesday. I'm in New Orleans right now, but I suspect that my packet is waiting for me at home.

The thing is, honestly, I'm not sure I will take the exchange. Putting aside the whole "you lose your NE2" issue, there just aren't any VZW phones I want right now. I considered the Treo 700w, but it's inability to voicedial via BT headset is a HUGE problem for me. (And before anyone asks, it's a WM5 problem, so the XV6700 has the same issue.) The only other phone I might CONSIDER trading for is the E815, because it's the only one that doesn't have VZW's verison 1.0 UI. (Although I will say this - the new skins for the updated UI rolling out with the LG VX8300 are pretty sexy.) And I don't know that I can see my way clear to locking myself into an E815 for another 2 years.

I'm curious to know if the new Nokia clamshell from CTIA (I forget the model number, but it's the one with BT 2.0 and an internal antenna) is going to show up on VZW - I could see carrying that...

Sorry - got sidetracked. Anyway, regarding the exchange...
I suppose I could just wait for my contract to run out in August and port to CingulATT, but I've got reservations about that too. Ugh. I'm just not sure what to do here.

 

jrrpd34: If you purchase a new phone through the settlement offer, you do not receive your NE2 credit on this purchase, AND your NE2 eligibility is reset for 2 years from the date of THIS purchase. So if I take a phone through the settlement website AND renew my contract for 2 years, the next time I'm eligible for the (REDUCED) NE2 credit is in April 2008.

Phase 1 refers to the fact that the original settlement agreement (where you choose option 1, 2, or 3) was sent out in multiple waves. Phase 1 customers received their agreements in November of last year; I know that there was at least a phase 2, who only recently received their agreements.

Hooligan: I'm starting to lean towards your suggestion - just take a pass on the settlement and wait for August to either NE2/bolt. It kills me that this whole lawsuit was about deceptive advertising and business practices, and yet the VZW lawyers are really doing a number on the very same V710 early adopters.

I haven't checked in a while, but the last time I asked around, TMo still wasn't particularly great in the Princeton area. Cingy and VZW are probably about even, but TMo lags behind. (I'm not even considering Sprint - the nearest Sprint store is over 30 miles away!)

 

If you go over to Howardforums.com and check out the VZW Moto subforum, you'll find a sticky with all this information already detailed.

Incidentally, I got my settlement packet in the mail while I was travelling. I'm still leaning towards passing on the settlement, especially since CingulATT will be rolling out more UMTS/HSPDA handsets and VZW is saving all of their new EVDO rollouts for the second half of the year.

 

It's a white 9x12 envelope, addressed to the VZW account holder, from "VZW V710 Settlement Administrator", or something similar.

 

bhill - which group were you in when you received the settlement notice - group 1 or group 2? Also, which option did you check off? (Keep phone, take $25 credit/Give back phone, get new phone/Give back phone, leave VZW) My understanding from the coverage at HoFo is that the last round of group 1 packets went out this week.

 

My understanding is that no one who selected option 2 (leave VZW w/ no ETF) has received information yet. It seems like the settlement administrator is trying to deal with all the customers who are staying with VZW first.

Regarding accessories: the V710's wall charger and belt clip were included with the phone, so obviously they're not valid for a refund, and the car charger is compatible with the E815 and other Moto models, so they're not offering a refund on that one.

Truth of the matter is that the settlement may look like a great deal for Joe Cellular, but for those of us who follow the industry and call VZW and the others out on their shady business practices, etc., the settlement is a lousy deal.