Friday, January 22, 2010

Third "Tour's" a Charm?

Back in late October 2009, my husband and I entered the world of smartphones.  Since both of us would rather yank our toe nails completely off than switch to AT&T, we knew that iPhones weren't an option.  We reluctantly settled for two BlackBerry Curves from T-Mobile.

We saw right away that yes, smartphones really are all they're cracked up to be.  Especially when it comes to staying connected in business... having a tiny computer in your hand is VERY convenient.

After having the Curve only 1 week, the trackball just stopped working out of nowhere.  For those of you unfamiliar with BlackBerry phones, a Curve without a functioning trackball is like a computer without a mouse.  You pretty much can't do a durn thing without it.  Returned it to the store for a full refund.  Goodbye, BlackBerry #1!

The very next day we paid big $$$ to get out of our contract with T-Mobile and switched to Verizon.  GREAT DECISION!  They had a nice BOGO deal going on with their Blackberry devices, so we walked out with two Tours in hand.

New Blackberry Tour 9630 Unlocked Cell Phone

Fast forward to mid-January 2010... While downloading a new application from Blackberry App World, the phone suddenly died.  Gone.  Kaput.  This was a really big deal for several reasons-- 1) We don't have a home phone, only cell phones. 2) We had just launched our new business and had already become very reliant on having email, contacts lists, etc. right in the palm of our hand.  I bundled up my toddler, who was running a fever, and drove to the nearest Verizon Wireless store.  Their solution?  "Go home and we'll mail you a new one."  Ummmmm.... EXCUSE ME?!  No. No. No.

Long story short, I refused to leave until I could leave with a phone in my hand.  After two hours and many choice words with an incredibly rude manager (Hey Jermaine... find a new job!!!), I was handed another Tour.

Here I am today, ten days after receiving the replacement Tour, and the headphone jack suddenly stops working.

Seriously, BlackBerry?!  Are your phones really this cheaply made or am I having an awful string of bad luck?

So fourth Blackberry, third Tour, is on its way to my house via Fed Ex.  I'm anxious to see what will happen next.  Will the third time really be lucky?  Or three strikes, you're out?  I guess only time will tell.

I'd love to hear any and all comments from BlackBerry users.  What have been your experiences, especially with the Tour?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband had bad luck with Blackberry, too. We have Verizon and he got the Droid smartphone and he LOVES it!! He has to have a smartphone for work (it's actually required) and this is his favorite one ever, and he has been through some phones!! I *think* Droid is Motorola, but I'm not 100% sure. Good luck!
(Alicia from SG)

Carmen Klapper said...

Thanks for the comment, Alicia! If Verizon doesn't get an iPhone this year, then I'm sure we'll be switching to the Droid. We started to wait until the Droid came out but decided to go with the Tours just a few weeks before.