Tag Archives: Blackberry Curve

Activation: It feels so good!

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*sigh of relief* Yes, that is a sigh you hear, after a few additional weeks attempting to purchase a Blackberry online using EBay, I have activated my $.99 Blackberry 8330 Curve this morning. I have had nothing but problems and complications with the Android based Droid X since I purchased it last November. In defense of Verizon, I did not push them to replace the phone, but their troubleshooting didn’t consist of anything more than a soft or hard reset, which were allegedly the solution to the problem.

As I posted last week in Mobile Scam on their recommendation I should purchased a used mobile device since I refused to pay their asinine prices in the store. So I found a seller who sold me a $10.00 Blackberry 8330 Curve. Unfortunately the ESN had been reported and the mobile device was nothing more than a brick. Thankfully I was refunded my $15.99 (shipping included).

Late last week I found another Blackberry 8330 Curve for $.99 and put a maximum bid of $10.00 in. I won the EBay auction for $.99 plus $5.99 for shipping. Upon receiving the phone I found this device too, had an ESN still that was still active. I contacted the seller, who responded to me in a timely manner and after 2 days the active ESN was resolved.

I was able to active my new (used) Blackberry this morning and the Droid will now be sold. I will wipe it clean of my data and information, but never again will I be conned into purchasing this sort of device. I blame myself for the poor decision to purchase a Droid. I should have paid better attention to users who had issues with the smart phone as opposed to all those raving about what it CAN do. Then again, that can be said of many sites that offer reviews.

Done with Droid!

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As reported last week, “Droid Doesn’t” for me. I am through with these new do all phone that are damn near more powerful than my aging laptop. By far there is too much on these smart devices that I don’t need and won’t use. Unfortunately, my plan came back to bite me in the ass.

I won an EBay auction for a Blackberry 8330 Curve, which was the mobile device I had before it met it’s fate against a wall. I spent $10 on the winning bid and another $5.99 for shipping. When I took the phone to Verizon for activation, I was told the ESN (electronic serial number) had an open claim and the newly acquired device could not be activated (read: Mobile Scam).

Thankful the company I purchased the Blackberry from sent me an electronic RMA (return merchandise authorization) and I sent the phone back. Just this past weekend I won another Blackberry 8330 Curve for $.99 and $5.99 shipping. $6.98 out the door and the phone should be here before Friday. Will I get what I paid for? Another device with a dirty ESN? We will see. Hopefully not, but anything is possible.

I believe the most upset person out of this entire deal will be my 5-year son, Zoom who will lose the ability to play Angry Birds by Rovio.

Mobile Scam

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I wish I would have done a bit more homework before I plunked down my hard earned cash, after 2 years of very average service from Verizon. I made a common mistake, I bought the “latest and greatest” that being the Droid X. To date, this mobile phone, in my opinion has not lived up to the hype it’s received. Then again, I have not had much luck with AT&T or Sprint either when I was locked into their agreements. It could be the area we live in when it comes to the actual service. As it stands right now, I rarely get the ‘3G’ icon on my mobile phone at home, which is accompanied by a bar or bar and a half on a good day.

I went in to the local Verizon store last week to price a bottom of the line mobile phone. Not a smart phone. Not a hand held computer, just a phone that does what a phone should, make phone calls. Unfortunately, the sales associate stated the obvious, which I knew, I was not eligible for an upgrade until July, 2012. Verizon wanted $289.99 for a base model phone when purchased separate from an upgrade or 2-year service.

On the recommendation, from the associate, “I would buy a mobile phone off EBay and bring it in. We can activate and move your data for you.” So that day I went home, won an EBay action for a Blackberry 8330 Curve for $10 plus $5.99 shipping and handling. Couldn’t beat $15.99 for a mobile device that I actually enjoyed using before it met its end by hitting a wall.

I received the new (used) Blackberry yesterday and go to Verizon. They proceed to tell me they cannot activate the phone because there is a claim against it (active ESN). This means the mobile device was either lost or stolen, but regardless the pending claim prevents Verizon from doing anything with it. So in reality I was sold a brick.

I have sent 2 emails in two days to the EBay seller, All Tech Wholesale. They claim “30 day money back, seller pays return shipping.” I expect, not hope, but expect this is the case and they replace my brick with another used Blackberry 8330 Curve that does not have the same problem without changing the total sale price of $15.99.

Am I expecting too much? Yeah, probably especially these days when there is no such thing as customer service, especially when it comes to mobile carriers. I say this because, unlike my wife, I won’t push and make demands. Maybe that helped her get a new Droid X after having ongoing issues with her Storm. The only help Verizon would provide me was either a soft or hard reset. No mention ever made to replace the phone. Guess it would have been beneficial for me to pay the extra money, get the insurance plan and the literally break the phone in order to get a new one.

Droid Doesn’t

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Put a fork in my Motorola Droid X, I’m done! I lay partial blame on Verizon, since their wireless network in our area is terrible, their customer service lacks the “service” part, especially in store. Of course they won’t hesitate to call or text you when you are late on your bill now, will they? I don’t believe this smart phone lives up to it’s motto of “Droid Does” because in my case it doesn’t.

But I won’t leave Verizon shouldering all the blame, I must accept some of the responsibility because I did not spend enough time reading the negative comments from users when this phone was introduced at Verizon. Anyone can give accolades when it comes to a good product, but I don’t believe I bought a quality product in my Droid X.

First, I was coming from a Blackberry Curve, which met it fate when it hit a wall. Long story, don’t ask. Prior to that I had a Blackberry 8703e, which unfortunately slipped out of shirt pocket into the toilet back and was ruined. I guess I knew better, but I decided to move away from RIM and their Blackberry line. That was my first mistake.

The Droid X might be a good phone for those who use it to it’s full potential, but I don’t. Very few of the features are actually used. I finally downloaded music to the internal storage device, but even now I don’t listen to them, going with Pandora (streaming audio) on a regular basis. The 8 megapixel camera is nice, but the picture quality is not great. I think my son uses the camera more than I do. If I want to take pictures, then I will use my digital camera, not a phone.

It’s nice to have Internet access and a ability to turn the phone sideways, but problems arise. A majority of the time when I change how I view the phone, it will restart. The operating system must sense a problem and it shuts down and reboots. This happens 5-10 times a day! A day! Even attempt to use the touch screen to enter a phone number, a text message or a URL and the phone does it’s own thing.

There are also far to many applications that come pre-installed I don’t want on my phone and unfortunately you can’t completely delete these useless bloatware. I did look into “rooting” the Droid X, but I was not about to spend more time attempting to fix the phone illegally to get it work correctly. Nor should I have to run third party applications to stop unnecessary processes from running in the background.

My wife continues to say I should have taken it back months ago, when I bought it and traded it in for a new one. Guess this could teach me a lesson in actually buying the insurance, then I could literally break the phone and get a new one, no questions asked. In reality it could just be a lemon, it happens especially these days with technology moving as fast as it is.

At this point I won’t put any more effort into talking with Verizon or attempting to find a solution to my problem. I picked up a $10 Blackberry Curve yesterday off EBay, add $5.99 for shipping. You can’t beat a $15.99 smart phone that is a proven winner. I say proven because the Curve was a very good upgrade from the 8703 I had previously.

Sorry Motorola, guess it will take a few upgrades in the Droid X to see a better, more reliable product on the market. Chances are I won’t go back to a phone of this type in the future.