I have been playing with my new phone from T-Mobile. As you know I was having quite a struggle deciding which cell phone company to go with. I did not want to get a phone in the first place but my wife was insistent that she be able to get a hold of me when needed and I finally agreed. After carrying it around for a couple of weeks if it was up to me I would still be phoneless. The one or two times it is useful, do not make up for the pain of hauling it around, making sure it is charged, and trying to call at just the right time of day to avoid creating excessive charges.
Anyway, I got on line today to check the status of my usage. There is a charge for a text message. Why I do not know. I know that the ones from T-Mobile are free and I don’t open are look at or request any from anywhere so why have I got a charge for a text message on a brand new phone?
I decided to call and ask about this. This was also a test of the customer service department and I must say that any and all of my dealings with them have been great. They really do have a good customer service. The people are people. They are friendly, cheerful, considerate, and they really are trying to help. I like that. This is such a vast difference compared to dealing with AT&T that I once again have hope for the communications industry.
The one thing my customer service rep could not do was change T-Mobile policy in the one area that needs to be changed. I do not want text messaging. I do not want to receive it; I do not want to send it. I do not want it, period, end of story.
But even more important, I do not want to pay for it. And I shouldn’t have to. No one should have to pay for a service that is neither requested, nor desired and at this point pay for something they have no control over. You see, T-Mobile like many or all cell phone companies charges you for incoming and outgoing text messages at a per message rate or if you get flooded you can always upgrade to unlimited for about $20 a month, but they will charge you whether you want it or not. You can not opt out. There is no place to go, no setting you can make, and no switch they can throw that will kill text messaging for you. You are stuck with it.
I really dislike that fact. The person I spoke with was very apologetic for that and said that T-Mobile may change that in the future but for now that is just the way things are. T-Mobile evidently gets quite a few calls concerning this. The person I spoke with said it comes up all the time. “HELLO”. It is time to wake up and listen. People want the ability to turn this off. A communication company of all companies should be able to listen. Give the people what they want. It would certainly make me happier if I thought I was in control of my expenses.
Other than that how do I like my Blackberry Pearl? (You can’t see it but my hand is wavering back and forth). So far, so, so. The phone is simple in some areas and needlessly complicated in others. I know we haven’t begun to stretch it’s capabilities so far but I am still trying to figure out how to block text messaging. Set up is taking some time. It is not as intuitive as I had hoped. Battery life is shorter than planned so you are always trying to remember to put it on the charger about every third or fourth night. It really sucks up the juice if you are actually using it. This is a worry if you travel much. Will I be able to find access to power on the road? What about overseas? What will it be like if I use the media player functions on it? Will I ever be able to figure out how to use the media player functions on it?
I also go the Motorola H700 bluetooth ear piece headset with it. Again, so far, so, so. The earpiece is noisy like I got a bad speaker in it. When you turn your head away from the phone, which is in my pocket, it seems to get worse. Again, battery life seems less that adequate with no real way of knowing how much life is left. This means that it could die on you in the middle of doing something, which it did to me and that is how I know. The range of the unit is not great but I don’t recall ever reading what to expect so maybe that is normal for these things. I pretty much have to stay within a cubicle distance. I have also been told that I sound like I am speaking in a barrel. I find myself repeating myself more than I should. Not an ideal situation.
This is disappointing because being able to talk hands free is a very good thing. Especially when driving. I still do not recommend anyone drive while under the influence of cell phone but if you have to hands free is the only way to go.
I hope to report later that all is well and that it has become a useful tool but for now I is just so much dead weight. I feel like I have to baby sit it as much as it is babysitting me. Until there is a better way, I guess we just have to go with what we’ve got.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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