Posted by Mike Dell at 10:55 PM on December 7, 2009
Verizon Wireless is rolling out the first droid update starting today.
From the Verizon webiste: The following enhancements to the Droid by Motorola have been made:
* OS stability is improved.
* Battery life is improved.
* Camera auto focus functionality is improved, and time between shots is reduced.
* Enhancements for three-way calling.
* Audio for incoming calls is improved.
* When receiving a call on call waiting, the speakerphone now
* remains on.
* Bluetooth® functionality is improved; background echo is eliminated.
* Improved Bluetooth phone book transfer of contacts to in-vehicle
* Bluetooth solutions.
* After closing a GPS application, the GPS icon will now automatically be removed from the notification panel.
* Users can now receive SMS and MMS messages after an EMS
* message is received.
* SMS and MMS may now be sent to seven-digit addresses.
* Google® contact merging has been updated to accommodate
* seven-digit numbers.
* Visual Voice Mail notices now arrive instantaneously.
* The corporate calendar widget user interface is updated.
The new firmware will be 2.0.1 and will be rolled out over the new few days. Someone over at the Droidforums.net has posted a map of where the updates are coming in. Google Maps – Droid updates.
As far as anyone knows now, it’s just updating the Droid by Motorola and not the Droid Eris or other android handsets.
I, for one, hope the battery life improves. So far I love the phone and I’m sure it will just get better with time.
Posted by susabelle at 9:55 AM on November 5, 2009
Verizon announced yesterday that they are doubling their early terminations fees, to reach as much as $350 for some users. I have never understood the use of early termination fees as an alternative to providing service people want in the way that they want it. I also do not buy into the claim that all those long-term contracts are supporting expensive hardware that users are getting at a reduced rate.
There are a dozen reasons why someone might need to cancel a phone contract. A job transfer could take them to a location that doesn’t have good service on their existing plan. The loss of a job can mean that the cell thing is the first thing to go. Poor customer service, or not getting full value out of the service you thought you purchased could be another reason to drop a plan and go with another. Cost can also be a factor; comparing your current plan against other carriers can often show you where you can save a little money. None of these things are unusual, unexpected, nor should they be punishable. If I change brands of cat food, I don’t get penalized. If I stop eating at one restaurant in favor of another, I am not penalized. We like to change our minds, and we like to have the freedom and choice to do so.
Adding hefty early termination fees to already ridiculously inflated service plans isn’t the best way to get me as a customer. You can market me until you’re blue in the face, but if I feel like I’m going to be taken advantage of, I am going to walk away. I don’t mind paying a fair and reasonable price for decent service, and I don’t mind that wireless carriers are making a little profit. What I do mind is that wireless carriers are making billions of dollars in profit, yet fuss that they do not have the capital to invest in expanding their infrastructure and wireless architecture to give us better service. It is like the brother-in-law who borrows $300 to pay his electric bill, doesn’t pay you back, but shows up at your house the next month with a new car. I don’t have much sympathy for that kind of economic game-playing in people, I certainly don’t want to see it in my wireless carrier.
When wireless carriers can show me that a cell phone, even a smart one, costs several thousand dollars to produce, then I might change my mind. But until then, I am going to ride my carriers hard and expect a lot out of them. That is what I’m paying for, and I expect to get it. Doubling up on early termination fees just took one carrier out of the running, in my mind.
Verizon and AT&T are going to transfer their systems over to the 4G LTE systems throughout 2010 according to past releases. It appears that Verizon could be accelerating that time schedule according to a report on Appleinsider. Could it be to accomodate a new 4G equipped Apple product? Who knows. Anyway I digress.
So I was in my local Verizon store switching up some details of our family plan (one family member now moving on to their own plan. Yeah!) And naturally, being an Apple fan, I slipped in a bit about the iPhone. The salesmen said, “Well you know it won’t be with only AT&T forever. It could be here some day.” I added that it certainly would as Apple is greedy and wants to sell more phones, but that it wouldn’t happen until the change to 4G later in 2010 and early 2011. He suddenly became coy with a slight smile. Hmm. Could it be word is sifting down that the change over is accelerating?
Posted by geeknews at 11:35 AM on December 16, 2006
A frustrated Verizon customer spent a good twenty minutes and then some trying to explain to several Verizon customer service reps simple math. He was misquoted on a usage charge and they just didn’t seem to get it. For our amusement he recorded and posted the whole conversation. Eventually Verizon refunded the guys money and sent him a letter admitting the confusion as well as a new pricing policy. It’s a great listen! [link to original call] [link to concession letter]
Last week one of the readers to this blog and a listener of the podcast sent me e-mail about a new surcharge that Verizon is charging it’s DSL-Only subscribers, I covered it in the podcast but not on the blog, well it seems the story has made it onto the radar screen of other blogs and news wires.
Last year a ruling did away with the Federal Universal Service Fund charge for DSL subscribers. The Federal Universal Service Fund was set up to help communities in need gain access to the Internet. The fund helps schools, libraries get Internet access, in turn companies like Verizon received some of the USF subsidy back in a round about way. In the end the telco was a large benefactor of the USF. Don’t get me wrong the scope of the USF is larger than schools and libraries getting net connectivity subsidies. Verizon and other telecommunications companies have been collecting this surcharge since 1996.
With the ruling last year that the telcos could not collect the fee from DSL customers Verizon and other telcos had to stop the collections. But in the place of the Tax, Verizon has added a new surcharge that is almost exactly the same amount as the USF. They think most people will be to stupid to notice the change in description of the charge.
Their cover story for this “Rate Hike”, aka special surcharge is said to help cover unexpected cost. When a company normally has unexpected cost don’t they announce a base subscription fee increase instead of a sneaky surcharge?
I can very easily deduct this as a sinister motives, that smell of anti competition and fraud in the worst way. My advice is that if you are a Verizon DSL customer that you call the company, and get mad. Demand the removal of the surcharge and demand that they call it what it is “Rate Hike”
When will companies figure out that back room deals and shadowy terminology on bills may have worked in the past but todays consumers do not put up with this monkey business. [DSL Reports]
This show is packed end to end with a lot of content with a special appearance of Chris the two year old who brings the house down. We have a new spokes person for GoDaddy in his segment!
Well with a gift like that it makes you wonder what they do when they send a collection agency or fire someone as an employee. What company in there right mind would say that reporting your late payment is a gift. Sure we all don’t like to see negative stuff on our credit report but it is hardly a gift. So I suppose this post is a gift to Verizon, I wonder what other kinds of gifts I can give them. [Free-Gift]
What is the deal with this company. Check out the comments coming out of Verizon.
“A Verizon Communications Inc. executive yesterday accused Google Inc. of freeloading for gaining access to people’s homes using a network of lines and cables the phone company spent billions of dollars to build. The comments by John Thorne, a Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel, came as lawmakers prepared to debate legislation that could let phone and cable companies charge Internet firms additional fees for using their high-speed lines.”
Whats this all about well Verizon wants to charge Google a tool. Hey Verizon let me break it down for you..
1. Verizon Customers Pay for Internet Access
2. Verizon Customers go to Google Pages
3. Verizon has been given Billons in subsidies to build a Public Infrastructure. (Look at your Phone Bill)
4. Verizon wants to double dip and Charge Google for content that their customers have paid for.
Verizon is going to do everything to make sure that they maintain control of their monopoly on telecommunications and data lines. But I tell you what Verizon why don’t you pay me for the pleasure of allowing your customers access to my website. Simply a bunch of blathering greedy suits. [Washington Post]
