There are those of us who are not zombies walking around fingering a stupid phone, nor do we want to be. Email can wait and so can Farcebook and {word filter avoidance}.. I want a phone to make and receive calls.
Verizon has already alienated me by not carrying the Razr2! Their Samsung phones are pure junk with the worse reception in the industry!
Go ahead Verizon, drop the basic phones. There are other cell phone companies out there. I have been a customer for over 10 years but believe me I'll drop you in a heartbeat!
Verizon wants "Basic Phone" users to disappear! If a basic phone user is not going to upgrade to a "Smart Phone" they do not want you as a customer. I think it is pretty obvious due to the fact that they have yet to introduce a "Basic Phone" in 2 years that is worth a plug nickel, much less put on an advertising campaign for one.
They have bought out 15 to 20 "Smart Phones in the last 6 months and advertised the hell out of all of them. I hoped this kind of stupid **bleep** management comes back to bite them good!
LOL, I went to a Verizon store Saturday to see the non-smart phones. They had TWO. I asked the guy where the other ones were. He said 'Oh most people buy smart phones now'. I told him that was pure B.S. and that the majority of people still do not have or want smart phones. The reason they don't carry many basic phones anymore is cause Verizon wants to FORCE you into a $30 dollar data plan. Verizon couldn't care less about customers, all they want is your money. They are trying to build off the reputation of a better network and what they really are building is a better way to screw the customers. Unfortunately this is not uncommon. When a company rises to the top, they tend to get big fat and arrogant. This is exactly where Verizon is going. Before this upgrade, I thought long and hard about switching to AT&T. Almost did it with four phones. Maybe next time. Until then our choices are AT&T with horrible phone and data service, or Verizon with horrible customer service, greed, and a so-so 3G data network. Sure LTE is great but it isn't there yet and won't be for some time. The way they are treating customers WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT THEM. It always happens to big greedy companies WHO THINK THEY ARE INVINCIBLE. Just watch over the next few years.................
It's pretty evident that Verizon does not actually care about the what their customers. I've read countless forums about how people do not need/want data plans and are irate about being pushed in that direction. Moderators in this forum like SuzyQ have said time again that anyone is free to change companies as soon as their contracts are up if they so desire....clearly this is a comment of a CS rep who is concerned with keeping customers happy.
Moderators will also tell you that they currently have a wide selection of basic phones on their website that you are welcome to choose from instead of a smartphone that do not require data. However, these phones either look like children's toys, have extremely low customer ratings, or are have self-destruct timers built in so that after 8 months you need a new one. Personally, I would love to have a smart phone, not because I want or need any of the featuers a smart phone has, but because I want a phone that had money spent on development and was intended for an adult to use. I currently have a Samsung Reality, which is a nice device, but half the features on it quit working after about 6-8 months!
Additionally, Verizon has recently made changes to their account management page of their website so that you cannot make changes to the number of minutes/texts on your plan without selecting a data plan. I currently have a Block on data for my plan and would like to keep it that way. So, when I went over on my texts, i had to call customer service to make the change, which they were happy to do, and one of the first things the rep said to me was, "Oh, I see you're elidgeable for an upgrade, shall I go ahead and order you the new iPhone?" Excuse me, but I just told you I have a BLOCK on data and I wanted to keep it that way! Sure, I'll get the iPhone, as long as you keep my data block on it.
Honestly, I just can't understand what happened to the world when customers no longer have any control over products and services. Its my phone, my service plan, and my money. If I don't want your crummy data service, I'm not going to pay for it! I've done some serious reserch into changing plans, but with the recent changes other companies have made to their pricing plans, it's just not worth the hassel. AT&T just made a change that the only messaging option you have is to go $20 unlimited and then tack on data or whatever else on top of that. Sprint has cheaper plans for talk and data, but forces you to get the more expensive of the plans for certain phones (sounds like someone else, doesn't it). The only other option I have is to go to a company like Tmobile or one of those pre-paid plans like Boost or Virgin and have virtually no service outside of a certain radius of big cities.
It just sucks that we're paying top-dollar for bottom-line service on a bottom-of-the-barrel device.
WoodHokie4 wrote: Moderators in this forum like SuzyQ [...]
Moderators in this forum like SuzyQ [...]
SuzyQ is a customer and is not a moderator.
http://community.vzw.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/23509
The Samsung Convoy and Convoy 2 and Casio Ravine seem overall from the customer reviews (at these sites below) to be reliable flip phones.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1728421-Samsung-Convoy-2
http://www.phonescoop.com/ , http://www.phonearena.com/ , http://www.cnet.com/
and Verizon's website
And there's a Casio Ravine 2 that might be coming out soon.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/01/samsung-illusion-casio-gzone-ravine-2-and-blackberry-curve-937/
@ MojaveMoon_
Lets not get caught up in titles of user/moderator. The point was that SuzyQ (whatever her "Official" profile says) acts as a moderator, IN ADDITION TO many registered moderators that have official titles, and tries to play Big Red up like some hero of the communications industry. I honestly could care less if she is being paid by Big Red to moderate these communities or if she just wants to do it for fun. A moderator is as a moderator does.
As for the convoy, convoy2, and ravine....You are correct in that they appear to be reliable clam-shells and seem to hold up. Their biggest down-fall is their price. The Convoy2 is currently the only phone offered in a 1st-hand state, which would indicate that VZW has discontinued these devices. Yes, I can still get a Convoy and Ravine (one free, the other $20) if I choose a pre-owned option, but if we're going that route, I'd rather go on ebay and get an LG Dare, Voyager, or something that has the slightest hint of style to it. Additionally, I work with a guy who has the Casio phone with the QWERTY keyboard (Can't remember the name of it right now) and absolutely hates the overall UI of it....which I can only assume means that it would be similar for the Ravine. I also read several reviews about the Convoys which described them as Mediocre at best.
You are absolutely correct (and I commend you thoroughly for your suggestions) that these would have been very good phones for strictly making calls. Unfortunately, they do not measure up to the "multimedia phones," which would later be called "Feature Phones" of the last couple years. I would also like to point out that out of the 19 available Basic Phones, there were only 3 you could name off hand as possible suggestion.
The entire point is that Verizon is phasing out Quality Simplicity to move towards Decadent Frivolity. All the while, ignoring the requests of their constituents and customers. We just want the option to decline a data plan with whatever device we choose and not have it forced down our throats.
