Hello Moto Q Forums

[ChrisS]

According to a study released by Best Buy, about half of all prospective smartphone purchasers do not complete their purchase simply out of confusion from all the smart phone models out there. 47% of people who didn’t already own a smartphone said they were simply “too confused” by the sheer number of phones and features. 63% of all those studied didn’t own one because they thought the phones were too expensive, and 39% simply said they hated the shopping experience.

The study also showed that over half of those that 58 percent want one to play music; 41 percent want social networking and 36 percent value games.

Some other interesting statistics from the study include

“An unusual gender split also exists for apps, Best Buy adds. Women almost always valued apps more than men. They were also more likely than men to value built-in features like SMS messaging (71 percent versus 46 percent), photography (55 percent versus 30 percent), music (44 percent to 25 percent) and GPS (51 percent versus 33 percent). Men only valued calendars more than women did, with 46 percent putting a value on the organizer where 39 percent of women put the same importance on the feature.”

[Via electronista]

[coolpoete]

I think there are too many phones that people are unsatisfied with because these manufacturers always manage to leave off items or block useages or restrictions. Who likes being told that they can only use $400 worth of your $500 phone? Then they place blame on the carriers saying it's their restrictions and the carriers in turn place blame on the manufacturers.

Over the span of years though they have come very far in meeting customers demand. Once upon a time touch screen phones had crappy batteries, now they are wisening up to the idea that people want to have more than 3 hours of use on their phones in a day.

Data plans need to be simplified. People shy away from choosing a smartphone because plans are (still) too expensive and complicated. At the same time though I think that people need to spend more time researching what they are getting so that they make the best choices. There is plenty of reviews and customer experiences that alot of people just glaze over before making their purchase.

[The-Teej]

Amen

[ChrisS]

colpoete you work for verizon? I've read reliable articles of AT&T bullying manufacturers into taking off certain features. Honestly the whole carrier manufacturer customer relation is all messed up. I'm actually happy apple pushed forward with the iPhone, it seriously is changing the perceptions of what a phone should do. and now for $99?? Do you guys remember what you use to get for that price? NOTHING hah.

[coolpoete]

No, I don't work for VZW, just happen to have service through them. I wouldn't mind working for them, I think they have the best data network. I guess I am soured by the fact that every Q9 has had an update to Windows Mobile 6.1 except for the Q9M. Why Verizon or Motorola never pushed through an official 6.1 release is beyond me. Then there's the discussion of the aGPS restrictions on several VZW handsets.. that they had to recant this year and release updates to release the restriction, so yeah, I'm a bit soured on that.

I would agree that the Iphone was a game changer and really, the consumer does have alot of influence in how manufacturers make future phones. This is how you make a successful product and ensure that people want your product going forward. I hope every time Motorola sees a HTC Snap/Ozone or a Samsung Jack they hit themselves in the head and go "DOH!!" Yeah.. you pioneered it but no follow through. Shame.

How long did it take VZW to provide an affordable WM phone that does it all: Wi-Fi, good processor/memory, decent battery, AND world phone that's cheaper than other carriers? Are we saying this was not affordable before? People been asking for all of these features for a long time.

[THE-COPS]

Verizon IS the restrictor of all carriers and one of the most expensive in the market, aside from the big fruits Iphone through At&T. The only reason I use VZW would be because they are the only ones who have decent service where I live. Forget the restricted pix/sound messages or the overpriced and ridiculous tethering fee. as if that isn't bad enough. I got them and had them since my first green screen phone in 2003, and just don't feel like going through the bull of a carrier switch , let alone take the chance of service not working well in my area of residence.

As for the bazillions of different phones out, it's always been like that. Of all the times I ever went phone shopping, they always had TONS of phones lining the walls of the VZW store. I would spend over an hour, sometimes 2 , messing with them just to see if they are worth buying. My first phone was easy, just a simple handset with texting capabilities and no camera. Very simple, very easy and straight forward. It was the reps choice. After that, it's been a royal PITA just looking for another one. And now, it's the same way with the smartphones/pda handsets. So I really can't see what all the fuss is about. Just more of this, and more of that. newer camers, better speakers, more RAM, better screens, easier to push buttons , better battery life. Or it could be the other way around. Buggy and user unfriendly. And then people whine cause they can't take the phone back due to carrier return policies. So now they are stuck with it and have to really learn to live with that phone with the new tech that just doesn't work like it should. Too bad there isn't a place where you could try before you buy. I'm sure if there were then carriers wouldn't sell very many phones. People wouldn't give half the handsets a chance and not buy as much because they found out this...THIS ...and ...THIS sucks really bad on that.....THAT....and .....THAT new handset.

This very same confusion exists in many other areas of the electronics market. Look at digital cameras. Especially the compacts. Have you seen just how friggin many of them there are to choose from at a local Best Buy? And the same with Video cameras. Just way too many to choose. Don't know what the heck is even good because there are so many models with either the same features or slightly different ones but have different prices or different memory storage mediums or different CCD/CMOS sensors...it's NOT funny. it's ridiculous!

And how long did it take VZW to get a phone that does it all? i'm fishing through my date book and counting the years. Do digital clocks go back that far? :P

Oh, and where the heck did they run this so called phone survey? Men and calendars? Huh? where did that come from? Most guys don't even use the camera or music players? Say what?? Man I think they need to re-run that survey on about half this country. Those things are NEVER near correct.

[ChrisS]

Hah, well it came from a Best Buy survey.

To all of you who are fed up with your carriers... I got four letters: SERO

Sprint Everything Plus Referral Program: Everything Plus(SM) Referral Program
EMAIL: russ.s.mcguire@sprint.com
CID: 383

This is by far the best deal out there

[THE-COPS]

Hey Chris, I heard Sprint put a stop on the outside referral process. All current SERO members can keep their plan, but new outside referrals are no longer allowed. This is supposedly being done to curb usage of the SERO plan by non Sprint employees. Means Sprint don't want us regular folks getting their cheap employee discounts. Sounds like Sprint is pulling a Verizon

[ChrisS]

They canceled the old SERO plan but the new one (SEPRP, I guess you can call it) works.

They upgraded it, with a new price of $59.99 (SERO's cheapest plan was ~$35.00). To give a reference, the simply everything plan which includes almost everything the SEPRP has costs $99.99. THATS A $40.00 A MONTH SAVINGS!!!

If your broke like me it makes a huge difference.

Here are some of the specs:

Everything your phone can do — chirp, text, surf, watch, email, listen, find and, of course, talk — on one simple plan.

This plan includes

• Data: Web surfing, email, GPS Navigation (NEW), Sprint Music Premier (NEW), Sprint TV Premier (NEW), BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS)
• Direct Connect: Direct Connect and Group Connect (for capable phones)
• Messages: Text, pictures and video (NEW)
• Talk: Unlimited mobile to mobile, night calling starting at 7 p.m. and weekends, domestic long distance and no roaming charges (NEW?)

I've been using the SERO plan for about 1.8 years, I have no complaints! Well, service wasn't so good at first... but they are working really hard on that. Seriously, they should make this plan available to everyone. Dan Hesse is doing an awesome job, I don't know anyone else who could do better.This plan truly lets you get the most out of your phone.

[coolpoete]

It is a great plan to include GPS and TV/Music service into the data plan, it's worth to me for that alone. Problem lies in the choice of windows mobile phones for me. That's where they make up the money cause you'd pretty much end up paying more and having to wait for that $100 rebate. And the promise of new HTC and Samsung devices coming out you would be (stuck) with a Diamond/Touch Pro. Granted, moving up from a Q/Q9 is definitely a big step up.