Why AT&T Lost My Voice

I have been a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) customer for decades.

My original service consisted of basic POTS: dial-tone and long distance; then came caller-ID, I paid for that. For a small additional fee call waiting caller-ID followed. Enhanced calling features came next, busy redial, three-way calling, call forwarding, selective call forwarding, and I paid for them too. With my phone service bill bloating, I called 611 and was introduced to bundled pricing for about a 30% saving. Privacy Manager and Unified Messaging were late entrants that helped rebloat my monthly bill bringing telemarketeer freedom, our voice messages in email as attachments and incoming FAXes. We had it all - for about $48/month. I've paid at that level for more years than I care to remember.

Then came U-Verse - AT&T's new bundled service delivering TV, broadband and VoIP on a single copper pair. In late April - U-Verse became available and the AT&T tech verified that I was the first one on the block to help light the fiber to our curb.

With UVerse installed on May 7th, I found the voice service much below par. I could hear myself talk, my own voice was clipped and came with a chirp - a call to 611 helped a little. There was no Privacy Manager, but that was acceptable. They allowed an online address book, but there was no way to import - like they think users were going to type in contacts by hand. Not happening. The killer was voicemail which did not come as an attachment - a feature my wife and I had gotten used to. No FAX either - an entire service removed. And I was now paying $30 per month. Considering the service reduction, I was not really saving anything. How does AT&T expect to introduce a lesser product and keep customers?

So - I have gone with Ooma and AT&T lost my voice business. For $229 one time charge, I get almost everything. Voicemail as an email attachment is part of their $99/yr annual option and I'll have to give up on receiving FAXes. My 20 year old number is currently being ported over to Ooma for a one time $39.99 fee - and then I am done! No more monthly bills.

What are you doing with your landline service? Are you as apprehensive letting go of POTS for VoIP as some of us? From up to $600/year to nothing - is that incentive enough to switch? Does the Ooma business model have legs?

In a future post, I'll talk about my Ooma experience. Stay tuned.

PS: In AT&T's defence - I have to say, UVerse broadband and TV service are excellent.

About the banner: A fascinating piece of architecture - if you recognize it, leave your answer in a comment!

Did the iPhone Stay?

When my last smart-phone, the Sony Ericsson P910 began to die mid last year after four and a half years, I went hunting. A friend, (thanks, Joel), let me use his Nokia N95 after he took on the then new iPhone 3G qualifying that the N95 was the best he'd ever owned. Soon after I heard of the Nokia N96 and decided to order that. The N95 went back to Joel in December when I got the N96.

Unfortunately, the N96 took a back seat to the N95 in usability, so while still able, I sent the N96 packing. Right around then, Google gave out their annual bonus in kind - the unlocked G1. I got to use the G1 on the AT&T network for a few months (thanks, SBG). Nokia had announced the N97 in Dec 08 just as I had got the N96.

To cut the story short, SBG wanted his annual bonus back before the N97 was shipping, to fill the gap, I borrowed an old SE P1i - ouch! I got antsy, ordered the Nokia 5800XM which some claimed to be an iPhone killer - NOT! That went back and I then got the Nokia E75. I have to admit, I liked the E75 - a solid player if you are ok with a non-touch, small screen phone. Solid performer. I had pre-ordered the N97 so the E75 had to go. Then Nokia messed up my pre-order - long story - and in retaliation, I found myself in line on June 22nd at the Apple store.

Brandyn J at the Valley Fair Apple store took great care of me as a customer - I was totally impressed, he assured me I'd have no trouble bringing it back after trying it for 30 days - that's now! Will I go back to the Apple store today?

To all who read my last blog, 'i' Feel Squished by the iPhone thank you! Special thanks to reinharden for his elaborate comments, and PBG - you have it spot on - you captured how I feel and I too hope companies put products out there that are not artificially debilitated like the 3Gs.

If I were to take the iPhone back, I would have to get the N97 from Nokia nothing else comes close on the AT&T network. Unfortunately, being a gen-1 device, it needs much work - the blog post:

• 4 Bugs on Nokia N97 That Give Me a Headache along with the
• PCMagazine article by Sean Ludwig
  

sealed the deal. Sean says it well and while he has not taken "the iPhone plunge (blasted contracts!)", I completely relate.

The iPhone deserves to be my 1st contract phone on over 10 years and my very 1st Apple product EVER - and I will continue to rile about my displeasure with the hope of getting others to join in make noise; collectively becoming the squeaky wheel.

My iPhone stays!

About the Banner: Tioga Lake looking looking West from the Eastern shore in June, 2009.

'i' Feel Squished by the iPhone

The iPhone 3Gs - I've had it now for just under a month and in the next couple of days I must decide if I am to keep it.

Why is it that such a remarkable piece of technology leaves me feeling squished and small inside? Like being given rules to live by that you fundamentally disagree with. In order to keep using the iPhone, I must surrender to the whims of, not one but two, corporations: AT&T and Apple. Let me express my thoughts - so you can share my dilemma.

• iPhones require the $30/mo for unlimited data plan, instead of $15/mo; and if I select podcasts larger than 10Mb, the download is unilaterally blocked until I connect to iTunes or have a WiFi connection. No recourse; No options; no way out. Leaves me feeling cheated.
• Being able to tether a laptop while traveling is a huge benefit - i was able to get it working during my last trip, but with the next update it will be shutdown; Leaves me feeling cheated, again. Unfortunately, I could jailbreak, but I feel subjecting users to need to do so is just plain wrong.
  
• Oh, the new 3Gs has video capture! I shoot a video and there is no way, that I know, to pull the video off in its raw form so I can edit it using tools of my choice. I'm told, if I have iMovie on a Mac, I'm home free. Not happening.
• Try sending a picture you just took with the camera - without warning, the picture is down sampled to 800x600 before being sent. Come on, give me a choice! Ask, seek permission - give the user the credit he is due, allow user to set defaults. Respect the user.
  
• iTunes - an iPhone user is FORCED to use iTunes - iTunes tries to take over my music library and promptly begins to convert my files.I have to iTunes to subscribe to podcasts and use sync to refresh the iPhone. I have not found a way to have the iPhone refresh over the air... I feel cheated, yet again.
• Frankly, I can't stand iTunes - how did it get to be so popular. Or perhaps it isnt, just because everyone has a ball and chain around their ankle wouldn't make it "popular". Why should I need iTunes even to delete consumed content on the iPhone?
• The processor on the iPhone 3Gs is plenty powerful - why can't I listen to streaming music while checking my email? Why must each application quit, most without keeping context, when a new activity is started. Multi-tasking and task switching is painfully absent on the iPhone.
• Battery life leaves much to be desired - I have had to resort to keeping the iPhone plugged in whenever I'm near a source and using an external battery pack.
• And then there is this: ATT has had system wide iPhone visual voicemail failures: http://shar.es/JzvV

There is more. Don't get me wrong, I could expand on things likable about the iPhone too: the App Store the UI, the browser, are all top notch; none of them would be empowering though and would make for a very long first blog!

So, without further ado, would you share your thoughts? What should I do about feeling 2nd class, about being subjected to arbitrary restrictions, about paying for undelivered service, about being 'squished'?

Please take the poll, add a comment and share your thoughts about the subject AND my very 1st blog! Thanks!

About the Banner: A Partially frozen Saddlebag Lake, off 120 Tioga Pass Road, late June, 2009.