Frustrated with Verizon

I’ve been a loyal Verizon customer for 5 years.  I have told other people to sign up.  I now feel as though I led my friends astray only to create a stronger In Network for me to enjoy. 

Now, I know Verizon has a superior network.  They use their own CDMA towers (Spring also piggy-backs on them) while the rest of the world uses GSM.  Verizon has more control over their own towers, and has created a more reliable, more clear cellular experience.  I have always heard this and it has been the number two reason I’ve stayed with Verizon.  The number one reason is the in Network.  Most of the people I talk with on a consistent basis are Verizon (Brogan, Ringo, Mom, Dad, 6’6″) with a few exceptions (GF, Sister, Fancy Pants, Mount Vernon).  I have to purchase less minutes and text messages because of this. 

Where is my dissappointment?  It’s with the phones.  Verizon is constantly crippling capable phones, and big cell phone manufacturers/inovators are not interested in the Verizon market. Can you blame the manufacturers?  They have the choice to develop a CDMA phone that will have a “Verizon” American exposure or create a GSM phone that can be used in all the world markets.  The Koreans are doing WAYYY more with their mobile phones.  It makes us look like we are in the 90′s.

LaptopMag visited Seoul to glean a sense of where South Korea is driving its mobile phone technology and what direction we can expect the industry to take on the home front.

“Koreans spend an average of $500 on a new handset (phones aren’t subsidized by carriers like they are in the US) and replace them more often than American consumers, resulting in extremely rapid adoption of new technologies. We wandered the Techno Mart, a mega-mall dedicated solely to electronics that fills most of a high-rise building and makes a visit to Best Buy feel like browsing a 7-Eleven, and we came to appreciate the gusto with which Koreans consume phones.”  

My contract is up in August of ’09.  I am available for upgrade with Verizon now, and can get a new phone if I commit to another 2 year contract.  I was in the store yesterday, and there are NO phones I would want to upgrade to.  None of those phones are worth being with Verizon for another 2 years.  My ace in the hole was the HTC Touch Diamond, which I read today was going to be significantly crippled for it’s Verizon debut.  Sprint’s version is getting “a slightly speedier CPU, an aluminum frame, accelerometer, 4GB of internal memory and EV-DO Rev. A support. As for Verizon’s, expect it to boast half the RAM (128MB), a wimpier CPU, microSD expansion slot and a stainless steel frame.”  Why would I want to stay with a company that delivers a weaker product to their customers.  It infuriates me. 

So I’m left with my damaged LG VX8600 for another year –constantly craving the iPhone.

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