A RIMarkable reader sent me a profanity laden email that I won’t post here, however, they did ask me a valid question.
Why do I seem to be so hard on RIM when they have network outages but seem to be willing to put up with all of “Verizon’s crap” when it comes to them being more expensive, locking down their devices, and a year behind everyone else when it comes to the release of new devices?
Rant Alert…
It’s very simple actually. I get exactly what I expect and pay for from Verizon. Superior call quality and network coverage just about everywhere. I am not going to debate whether this is true or not for the masses. It’s true for me and quite honestly that is all that really matters.
I have a Verizon BlackBerry and an iPhone running on AT&T on me at almost all times. I freely admit that AT&T’s network coverage is much better than I thought it was, but, the coverage simply is not as good as Verizon’s.
At the end of the day I don’t really care which network I use and if AT&T or T-Mobile allowed me to do my job, I would switch to them in a heartbeat. The simple truth, however, is they don’t, so, I choose to go with a carrier who does.
As for RIM. What I expect from them from them is for my email to work all the time. Are there going to be outages. Yes. Should there have been three major ones in less than 6 months. No.
I am not getting what I pay for from RIM. Reliable email that works all the time.
Granted, I’ve written about BlackBerries almost daily for the last three years. I am not, however, a fanboy. If RIM is messing up I will call them on it in a heartbeat. If they keep messing up I will keep calling them on it.
Rob,
I enjoy your blog and read it daily. However, I have to disagree with you on your take that you are not a fanboy. According to the entry for fanboy in wikipedia, you are in fact a RIM/Blackberry fanboy.
“Fanboy is a term used to describe an individual (usually male, though the feminine version fangirl may be used for females) who is utterly devoted to a single fannish subject, or to a single point of view within that subject, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. Fanboys remain loyal to their particular obsession, disregarding any factors (often including logic) that differ from their point of view.” -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanboy
I only used wikipedia because I doubt fanboy is in any modern dictionary.
It’s ok Rob, its ok to be a fanboy. If you are not one you wouldnt blog about it every day.
It’s the disregarding logic that I hope I don’t do. I like to think that I call a spade a spade. I invite everyone to call me out via the comment section whenever I drift off into fantasy land.
Good Post Rob,
I have always enjoyed your website and check it every day for new news about Blackberry’s. I have Verizon and if it wasnt for there great network and the fact almost everyone I know has Verizon and I can talk and text to them for free, I would leave them ! The guy who sent the email was right, Verizon is ALWAYS behind when it comes to new phones and Blackberrys. Talk about stupid – Its almost a 100% sure thing that the Curve will be a huge hit on Verizon. If they would ever bring it out! We dont even have the Pearl yet and still have to wait until November to see that. So ya great service on verizon, but thats all Verizon has going for it.
AF your argument is flawed. You say a fanboy, “… remains loyal to their particular obsession, disregarding any factors (often including logic) that differ from their point of view.” That would mean Rob would neither own, nor admit, that the iPhone is a great product. He infact has. Also Rob’s calling out of RIM for outages is against Fanboy’ism. Fanboys are the people who say Apple is the greatest product ever and the fact that their iPod battery died in 6 months was due to everything but Apple’s fault. Fanboys never find flaws the the “co” they are a fanboy of. Time and time again Rob has called RIM out when they haven’t produced what their products are supposed to do. Rob is infact a loyal customer to RIM because they offer a product he needs and until there’s a better product out there Rob won’t leave.
A couple of things…
No! The email was not from from Hellno. He is, in fact, a valued and welcome commentator here on RIMarkable. Although we may disagree on if AT&T’s network has as good of coverage as Verizon, he probably would agree with me that RIM has to do better.
No! I will not post the email. The jist of it was given in this post.
In the final analysis, people just want a device that works. That’s why so many put up with Verizon…in spite of all of their flaws, it seems that you can pick up their signal virtually everywhere in the US. RIM is known for reliability, and if that is compromised, then they will have problems in the marketplace.
There is no doubt that when it comes to email, the BB is the way to go. But that means it must just work. That is why these service outages need to be taken seriously by RIM.
I will agree with others… good post Robb. I also would have thought that it was hellno who sent it! haha.
I can more easily deal with AT&T’s lack of coverage in my area then I can deal with the call quality/clarity. In the two weeks that I was using an iPhone I found the coverage to be ‘okay’ (and better then when I had previously used Cingular), but it still was not up to Verizon’s coverage (again I will say ‘in my area’.. other people who swear by AT&T probably have better coverage). I live in Southern California and with Verizon I can drive from LAX to Orange County and be on the same call the entire way and never drop. I could not do that with Sprint (multiple drops) or Cingular/AT&T (one or two drops).
I do wish something could be done about the tin can sound though that I hear whenever I have used AT&T phones. A friend of mine who also tried an iPhone (and returned it like I did) said the same thing.
A: because verizon actually answers their phones and you get someone to talk to.
B: Verizon doesn’t charge you $90 an hour for tech support.
Hi Robb. I’m a frequent reader, usually mon-fri on this site. But I have to disagree with you on the Verizon thing. I’ve been with T-Mobile for the past 5 years and I’ve had every blackberry they offer, as well as sidekicks. I admitt that about 2 years ago, Coverage was shady. But I would never go to any other carrier besides T-mobile because they always satisfy me with new devices, as well as Great service and Great service plans. To switch to verizon for me, would be HWY Roberry!
I’m a new reader to your blog Robb and like what you post and what others here have to say.
Being new to the RIM market I can’t comment on them quite yet but I have been a Verizon customer even before they were Verizon (Airtouch cellular). I have several friends and acquaintances who have had all the others and their coverage just can not compete with Verizon. Sure they charge more for service but just like anything else you get what you pay for. And just like any other provider there are areas where they could and should improve.
Not a fanboy just someone who wants his moneys worth.
Amen brother. That is all that matters.
I think most of us would love to have the latest and greatest devices on VZW now. However, I also know that manufacturers grant exclusivity deals to carriers. Years ago, when I was with Sprint, we got Treos first. Now ATT gets BB’s and iPhones first. It is based on many things including past sales and carrier concessions (especially in the case of iPhone). So do not be surprised if you find out that ATT is paying for the privilege, one way or the other. It is what it is….
Now lets not sugar coat the truth, or FUD. There are many reasons why verizon lags way behind when it comes to devices, some are verizon’s fault, some are not. Lucky for everyone soon verizon’s righting the wrongs and moving on up the LTE from the GSM family of technologies, which should bring more devices into the verizon mix. Where there are positives, when speaking about verizon there are also deep dark negative.
verizon’s device branding, feature and function crippling keeps manufactures away.
qualcomm’s greed and arrogance keeps manufactures away from cdma too.
The fact that device manufactures can get a whole lot more bang for the buck designing devices which are capable of being used by the over 2.6 Billion GSM consumers vrs. the much smaller pop for the penny when designing for a much much smaller cdma consumer base.
Robb, THANK YOU for pointing out I had no part in whatever email it was you got. Think most of my fellow RIMarkable readers know I have strong beliefs when it comes to carrier technology and how I expect service providers to respect consumers, but a email to a web site owner, swearing because I don’t agree with his or her views is TOTALY out of line. Robb I enjoy coming here to your place to read your view, most are dead on by the way, but when they stray you are more than fair and allow others to tell you how we think. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if it’s you or any other fellow member nothing is or should be taken personal.
I still say GSM is as good if not better than any cdma networks, for various reasons 🙂
agree that RIM does have lots of work ahead of them to catch up with the much higher bar that Apple that set with the iPhone. RIM has positioned itself as secure and reliable, when they fail to live up to those expectations they deserve all the bad, along with all the good they get when RIM exceedes our expectations.
Robb, forgot to say thanks for the kind words.
Excellent post Rob, and agree 100%.
Every time I think of switching away from Verizon (and I’ve been with them for 14 years now, back to my original Bell Atlantic Mobile bag phone), “the network” keeps me from switching. Horror stories abound from my co-workers nationwide of dropped calls that simply don’t happen on Verizon in those places we go. And so many of those co-workers (and most of my friends) are on Verizon so calls and texts are free.
I too am VERY frustrated by Verizon’s slow adoption of new devices, and the crippling of them once released. Much of that though you can’t blame on Verizon, for those complaining about Verizon or Sprint not offering a Pearl or Curve, well how could they when RIM hasn’t BUILT one yet!?! The disabled GPS on the 8830 really burns me up though, sure wish someone could start some sort of “internet campaign” on all these BB forums in some manner that would wake up Verizon (their “security” argument as the reason is flawed IMHO).
“stories” are just that, first person experience and the facts are what should count. I can’t believe some feel “you can’t blame verizon” for crippling and the slow, if ever release of devices. WAKE UP. Is it OK to push away the facts to continue to pay a service providing company which cripples and removes functions from consumers handsets most times in order to nickle and dime? verizon’s FUD games are not at all pro-consumer. A “internet campaign” is stupid, why with several other real and valid options for service provider should the consumer have to bend over and take verizon’s nonsense? Perhaps a “psychologist campaign” for those out there which continue to believe the verizon FUD while blocking the FACTS that other providers not only have networks as good if not better than what is claimed as verizon’s, but also use standard, open, global GSM, and because of the use of GSM the consumer has the freedom of choice of thousands of devices.
Screw blaming RIM or any other top tier device manufacture for not catering to verizon’s demands. There is no return in doing so, and even if there was some return the customer backlash when verizon try’s to FUD consumers into thinking the missing and crippled functions are the fault of the manufacture would be a deal breaker. As a RIM fan I applaud then and other manufactures for not bowing down to verizon and also for keeping qualcomm as far away as possible, all of which are very positive moves for RIM.
Consumer rights and feedom’s should not be taking a back seat to verizon FUD and games. Whats sad is knowing the FACT that the company your paying to provide service is taking advantage of consumer stupidity and gulliblity.
http://www.techdirt.com/search.php?site=&q=verizon+wireless&tid=&aid=&searchin=stories
http://www.techdirt.com/search.php?site=&q=verizon
Rival Asks FCC to Sanction Verizon
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070929/tc_pcworld/137829
More verizon anti-consumer games