Verizon's Weak Phone Designs

[Listen2Me]

Verizon needs to run a contest and let the customers build a phone. I don't know who is creating the phones now, but they are horrible. Verizon's trademark is the red check. I can count on one hand how many red phones have been released. The consumers know more about what functions and capabilities they want in a phone than the employees who create them. Why not run a contest and allow customers to vote through the Verizon Wireless website after they log in? Sales would soar through the roof...

[apb91781]

I think that would be good for ANY provider... They should totally do that.

[Unregistered]

That might be a good idea if Verizon actually designed the phones. They have some input but you'd really need to direct that to companies like Motorola, Nokia..... As a whole industry though, I think allot of the phone out there suck. I want my StarTac back.

[Anomalies]

I don't know who is creating the phones now, but they are horrible.

Well current manufacturers are LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, RIM and Palm.

I'll leave the sarcasm at that.

p.s. Blame manufacturers, not VZW.

[apb91781]

Well current manufacturers are LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, RIM and Palm.

I'll leave the sarcasm at that.

p.s. Blame manufacturers, not VZW.

VZW still has some control over the final design. I mean if I was gonna design a phone that looked like a dog turd but worked great, would vzw accept the design or would they have me redo it?
:p

[Unregistered]

i've actually created quite a few designs... for motorola and one LG. Its mostly the Manufactuer that has the say in what the phone looks like, but VZW or any other carrier can tell them what they want(if the two have a good relationship which VZW and LG seem to have) and the manufactuer will do theire best to match it.

[DallasKnox]

It seems to me that the industry as a whole is driven by numbers (Obviously). Verizon just doesn't have a vested interest in getting the manufacturers to release quality products due to the fact that the products they do release sell.

VZW is not in the business of innovation they dont sell technology as it would appear at the surface. They sell service. For the last decade that has been their focus and it will continue to be for another decade.

This is evident in their technology available. Every new phone that the technophile consumer would be exited about is nerfed by VZW. GPS,WIFI,OS, it all posses a threat to the services they sell. GPS affects the turn by turn service and the WIFI would compete against their data cards.

The one ray of hope in this rant is that VZW is catching a lot of heat for opting out of the IPHONE. The stock holders are seeing all the residual sales beyond just the phone sales (Increased Data plans,APP Store, NEW CUSTOMERS) and they are having heart attacks. VZW is going to be forced into the OpenSource market very soon, especially when they upgrade to that LTE network they were testing last year. I guess time will tell

Just my Opinion of Course

Dallas Knox

[GDawgtuk]

It seems to me that the industry as a whole is driven by numbers (Obviously). Verizon just doesn't have a vested interest in getting the manufacturers to release quality products due to the fact that the products they do release sell.

VZW is not in the business of innovation they dont sell technology as it would appear at the surface. They sell service. For the last decade that has been their focus and it will continue to be for another decade.

This is evident in their technology available. Every new phone that the technophile consumer would be exited about is nerfed by VZW. GPS,WIFI,OS, it all posses a threat to the services they sell. GPS affects the turn by turn service and the WIFI would compete against their data cards.

The one ray of hope in this rant is that VZW is catching a lot of heat for opting out of the IPHONE. The stock holders are seeing all the residual sales beyond just the phone sales (Increased Data plans,APP Store, NEW CUSTOMERS) and they are having heart attacks. VZW is going to be forced into the OpenSource market very soon, especially when they upgrade to that LTE network they were testing last year. I guess time will tell

Just my Opinion of Course

Dallas Knox


At first glance, I really thought I was going to agree with your post, but I don't....at all. I'd like to debate this a bit:

It seems to me that the industry as a whole is driven by numbers (Obviously). Verizon just doesn't have a vested interest in getting the manufacturers to release quality products due to the fact that the products they do release sell.

The numbers talk reigns true of course, because any business is about the numbers, that’s how it's a business and not a shop on the side of the road. The problem I had was the talk about Verizon, or any cell phone company not caring if their phones are quality. Yes, Verizon does sell services and in fact loses money on the phones, but it is important that the phone itself is able to function properly in order for the customer to use the service they subscribe to. Not only does the device have to appeal to a customer, but also it has to live up to the expectations set by the customer after it is purchased. Contracts are two years as well, which further strengthens the need for those phones to be of quality so they can last. A company also purchases the manufacturer replacements so in order for the company to reduce their loses they need a product that will not have to be replaced.

VZW is not in the business of innovation they dont sell technology as it would appear at the surface. They sell service. For the last decade that has been their focus and it will continue to be for another decade.

WHAT?! This one stuck me as odd. I went to Dictionary.com and threw in your word to see what I came up with; you may be intrigued as to what I found:

the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"

1. something new or different introduced: numerous innovations in the high-school curriculum.
2. the act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods.

The act of introducing something new.
Something newly introduced.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/innovation

So what I am getting from this and what I definitely hope you are is the fact that the term "innovation" and the process of innovation doesn't belong to merely one industry. Just because a new cell phone service like VCast can't be held in your hand without it being on a phone made by another company doesn’t mean that Verizon didn’t innovate the market with being the first company with over the air downloads of music from the handset. Verizon leads the way with a lot of different innovations like the previously mentioned VCast, Rhapsody, VZNavigator......I'm drawing a blank for the rest but I am sure this board could fill me in on the rest.

Without innovation, this company wouldn't be what it is today and without Verizon's innovations, cell phone companies at as a whole might not be where they are today as far as features and services are concerned.

This is evident in their technology available. Every new phone that the technophile consumer would be exited about is nerfed by VZW. GPS,WIFI,OS, it all posses a threat to the services they sell. GPS affects the turn by turn service and the WIFI would compete against their data cards.

It is true that Verizon puts their own UI on each phone for what they claim is a way to reduce the learning curve on a new phone. The actual features that are "nerfed" are limited to things like Bluetooth, custom java apps *tear*, and other perks of the manufacturer’s custom UI. I wont deny that the lack of options for putting your own programs on the phone is a drag, but you made a point to point out that this is a business, and they are doing smart business by making customers subscribe to things instead of opening up ways for them to do it themselves. Btw as a petty correction, WIFI on the phone would compete against the 3G data features (broadband access) on the phone itself not the aircards ^_^.


The one ray of hope in this rant is that VZW is catching a lot of heat for opting out of the IPHONE. The stock holders are seeing all the residual sales beyond just the phone sales (Increased Data plans,APP Store, NEW CUSTOMERS) and they are having heart attacks. VZW is going to be forced into the OpenSource market very soon, especially when they upgrade to that LTE network they were testing last year. I guess time will tell

http://www.alliphonecomplaints.com/

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5583416&page=1

"Analyst Says That iPhone Recall Could Be Possible"

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/07/iphone-3g-users.html

There is a yin to every yang and that increased data plan you are mentioning is AT&T’s way for making up the cost on the iPhone being half the price. The App store pays apple and new customers that are being added are 2 years away from being with another company (if not sooner). There are other reasons why Verizon turned down the iPhone than you may be aware of. This is what I wrote on another post:

I am not sure if you remember this at all, or you may not even be aware depending how old you are; but there was a time when Best Buy sold Apple computers and then completely stopped. The reason?: Apple requires that they manage the price that is set and with every sale a set commission goes to them. The store has no say in the pricing of the unit and apple sets their own commission (which I can assume isn’t a variable since I am sure no company would agree with that). Verizon prices their units competitively and prices fluctuate constantly. For a company to come along and say, "Hi, I want to offer my phone through you guys but I will always control the pricing and not only do you buy the phones from my company but for everyone you sell AT MY SET PRICING I also will take a commission because you are oh so lucky enough anyway to be selling my awesome generally glossy product(s)" is unacceptable. This is why the data plan is required with the device and they had the "price cut" which has the service nearly doubled resulting in the phone costing the customer more in the end. And this "ENORMOUS" success is riddled with issues resulting in customers needing a lot of service which directs them to their nearest apple store which is losing a lot of business for AT&T (unsatisfied customers due to customer service, etc).

You mentioned earlier that cell phone companies do not care if they sell quality but you defend the iPhone. The phone is having its fair share of issues and then some and it is accented by the massive popularity it has. When the customer has issues, not only do they get redirected from the place they actually bought the phone but they generally have to send their phone into service anyway. Even to take out the battery the phone has to be sent in. The company is not standing behind the product and even Apple isn’t being as helpful as they should be. Your right when you said stock holders are having heart attacks, but I think you may have misread who was having the heart attacks and what it was over.

VZW saved themselves a lot of trouble and Churn by avoiding the iPhone

As far as the open source point you made, I have a feeling VZW is going to be forced to do it either way. In October they are opening up the network to other carriers phones, or at least they are suppose to. Unless they are going to require a software upgrade to put their custom UI on the phone they are going to run into situations where the Bluetooth will be unlocked, or people can have their custom programs on the phone. Open source comes with an open network even if they might not plan it that way.

I hope so at least......

[Unregistered]

LG had a contest to design a phone.

If I were to design a phone, here's what it would be:

-An LG Chocolate slider, based off of the Chocolate II VX-8550.
-Up to, but not more, than 10 colors to choose from.
-A fair price, something like $99.99.
-A touch screen.
-WiFi.
-V Cast Mobile TV.
-HTML browser.
-Soft keys similar to the LG Decoy VX-8610.
-A built-in Bluetooth headset, similar to the LG Decoy VX-8610.
-Handwriting recognition, similar to the LG Dare VX-9700.
-A navigation jog dial thing, similar to the LG Decoy VX-8610.
-A long battery life and standby time.
-The middle alphanumeric keys have a rectangle around them, others don't.
-The alphanumeric keys are a different color than the phone itself.
-A 2.0 MP camera, similar to the LG enV2 VX-9100.
-A chrome color, similar to the LG Decoy VX-8610.
-Dual speakers.
-More.

[Unregistered]

You want all of that and only have the price be around $99.99?? Good luck getting a manufacturer to agree to that!!

[Unregistered]

If I were to design a phone, heres what it wold be.

-Both GSM and CDMA
-LG.
-Slider(Number Pad), and Flip(QWERTY Keyboard)*Almost like the duo for att but instead of sliding into a qwerty, it flips like the voyager.
-Touch Screen.
-VCast/ATT Cellular Video
-GPS
-3.2 Mega Pixel Camera with Flash and Video Share.
-World Phone(GSM)
-Speaker phone
-4 colors (Black, Red, Blue, and Green)
-Dumbphone, not a smart phone.
-129.99 After 75$ Mail in rebate.

Price may need to alter... may end up being 149.99 After Mail in.

But sounds good? A phone everyone could like.