This is Broken: October
PhoneFingers. You know you want them.
Welcome to Skydeck’s monthly roundup of all that’s broken in the cell phone market.
It’s been a bad month for Verizon, what with the Senate hearings, House investigations, and blogstorms about advertising. But they did accomplish something that no one had thought possible: they united both sides of the abortion debate.
The Consumerist highlights some details that you may have missed in your contract: AT&T charges you if the phone you’re calling rings for more than 30 seconds, even if the person you are calling never picks up. And Verizon charges you when their telemarketers call you.
We knew that Apple would fight unlocking, but limiting purchases to two per customer and refusing to accept cash? Are they prepared to sue their own customers, like the music industry?
Good news (market forces edition): To match AT&T, Verizon Wireless will let customers change plan from month to month without penalty. To match Verizon Wireless, AT&T will prorate early termination fees.
Good news (lawsuits edition): Verizon Wireless agreed to stop calling their limited services unlimited. To settle a class-action lawsuit, Sprint will unlock phones for departing customers and accept non-Sprint phones on their network.
Finally, just in time for Halloween: Phantom Vibrations.
> We knew that Apple would fight unlocking, but limiting
> purchases to two per customer and refusing to accept cash?
> Are they prepared to sue their own customers, like the
> music industry?
Yes.