If carrier is not a problem, you're probably better off with this Blackberry deal.
I already got my 7100 and am very happy with it. I posted some pics in that thread.
I already got my 7100 and am very happy with it. I posted some pics in that thread.
Well, finally jumped in yesterday, ordered 2 Motorola v265 camera phones and got the Verizon family plan.
Hopefully it goes alright, will update when all is said and done.
Hopefully it goes alright, will update when all is said and done.
Originally posted by: TEEZLE
wirefly sent me my phone last week Monday. they sent accessories for another phone by mistake. I called them about the belt clip and the charger for the wrong phone on Tuesday last week, they say they will send them out. Still haven't received them to this day. I'm going to have to call them again
BTW: This was for the Motorola A630
Now two weeks ago since I received my phone!
just think of it as a loss.
I doubt you'll receive it.
I hope you don't have any outstanding rebates by them, cuz most likely you won't receive them.
I doubt you'll receive it.
I hope you don't have any outstanding rebates by them, cuz most likely you won't receive them.
My accessories came in the same box as the phone, but they are pretty much crap. I didn't buy the phone because of them so it really doesn't matter.
I've read through most of this thread, but just want to be sure...
My wife and two daughters have a family plan with t-mobile right now under my wife's name.
If I order a phone at these prices with a t-mobile plan, I can turn around and add the phone to the family plan almost immediately? Am I able to get the rebate when I do this, or do I become ineligible for the rebate but still get the great price?
What do I need to watch out for? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
My wife and two daughters have a family plan with t-mobile right now under my wife's name.
If I order a phone at these prices with a t-mobile plan, I can turn around and add the phone to the family plan almost immediately? Am I able to get the rebate when I do this, or do I become ineligible for the rebate but still get the great price?
What do I need to watch out for? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
@CherryBomb.... hollaz from STL!!!
For the rest of you who are not familiar with the cellular phones / networks / rules etc ... I'm gonna attempt to make a quick guide:
Networks
GSM: AT&T(850,1900), Cingular (850,1900), T-Mobile (1900 only)(and a few other smaller companies ie SunCom, Cincinati Wireless, and a ton of prepaid companies ex: EzLink) In the US these phones use the 850, 1900 bands. Rest of the world uses 900,1800. When a phone is considered Dual band or Tri band that means its capable of receiving one or more of these bands. To see if you have a GSM phone, find out if there is a SIM slot in the back of ur phone behind the battery.
These phones are best if you plan on doing alot of travel because u can easily swap SIM's w/o having to call the company to change info etc. One problem is.. if you do travel overseas you will need the phone to be unlocked (this has nothing to do with locked keypads or user security code locks).
Unlocking is 100% legal... providers put network locks on phones so that they could keep ahead of the game by offering certain special phones to sell their service plans. ie Currently Cingular has Treo 650 which is locked so that people can't just buy and then use on T-Mobile. Etc etc... (If you need help with unlocking u can PM me) Locking a phone also forced alot of customers to have no choice but pay ROAMING fees... EVEN WITH THE AT&T/CINGULAR AQUISITION YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE A DIFFERENT PROVIDER'S SIM UNTIL YOU UNLOCK YOUR PHONE.... Finally locking forces customers to always buy new phones when they plan on switching companies... efectively forcing customer loyalty.
CDMA,TDMA: Include Sprint, Verizon, Nextel. I don't know exactly which companies use which mode but I do know that they run off of older technology. These phones typically do not have a SIM slot and they all have ESN numbers. In order to change phones with these carriers you will have to call them. These companies run on Digital technology and theoretically have better signal. It is true, Verizon has one of the best reception and thus their high pricing. These phones can be unlocked but are very tricky and not easily interchangeable between companies (so don't expect to switch a Sprint phone to Nextel etc etc...). The few countries out there still using CDMA,TDMA have been phasing them out. Very inflexible if you plan to use these phones overseas.
Q/A
Can you keep your number and open up a new plan under the same company?
--Physically its possible, but most co's refuse to because the promotions are aimed at aquiring new customers.
Can you port numbers within the same company to a different account?
--Ex: Wife opens family plan. After a year Husband creates a new family plan to get promotional advantages. Family wants to keep their number. No matter how high up the chain you speak, you're just wasting time and hella frustration because their answer will be NO. Company policy no exceptions (I usta pull one over because I was military and had to go overseas but now even that is difficult). Why you ask? As far as I know its to make life difficult if you wanted to take advantage of promotions.
--THE WORK AROUND!!! If you have any prepaid celluar companies around find out about their number portability policy. Here we have a big one called EZ LINK. What I did was open up a prepaid line, bought a $30 card good for 30 days (w. free nites and weekends lolz) and ported my existing number over (from my end of contract account). I opened up a new account with the same carrier and transferred the number from EZ LINK to my new account with the same carrier as before. A bit of work but a lot less headache and not shady as to buy a new plan from company knowing u will be returning the phones to them just so you could port a number.
Can I purchase 2 or more different phones in a family plan?
-- Call the company, most of the time they will accomodate this. Its much less headache than to get two separate lines then have them merge.
Will I get the same rebates when I merge accounts?
-- I have gotten away with this through both Amazon and www.mobilecitydirect.com. Sometimes it amazes me how they still make commission because 2 separate plans make more commission than a Family Plan of 2... even worse Family Plan of 3. But to answer the question... most likely not...
Somethings to know:
When you buy on the web, there is much more exposure for a webstore (a good one that is) than a local independant rep store so that is why you are able to get good deals (most of the time in forms of rebates).
An average activation commission (opening up 1 line) is anywhere from $250-$350 per line. Bonus commission for each additional line ($20-$50), Data Plans, Etc. If a phone cost a B&M supplier $400, they are usually willing to sacrifice part of the commision by giving u a discount on the phone, hoping that they could sell you a service plan. (in other words they are giving u a discount on the phone off of their commission). This is usually why at B&M stores, the independent rep (authorize sellers) you could get a better deal and able to bargain on the phone than if you goto a Corporate Store or Corporate Kiosk at the mall... corporate store prices are firm.
Webstores totally take this to a newer level by pawning off sometimes 90% of their commission into offering you a phone at a drastically lower price. Sometimes they make about $10-$25 on commission as oppose to the normal $250-$350. Commissions for every dealer (like selling real estate) takes 60,90,-180 days to be processed. This is the reason why the amazing discounts you see on webstores require that you submit your 4th,6th month bill along with the rebate form. They want to make sure that you dont cancel before 30 days otherwise they would make no comission.
It gets deeper... but that is the gist of commission... enough to answer a few questions I hope.
So just think... there is no such thing as a free phone. Someone had to pay for it somewhere. If you dont buy a service plan, don't expect to pay the promotional prices on any phone. To get a good idea of what the market value of a phone is... your best bet is to find the average price on ebay. Technology sells... A new phone they can ask $499 no problem... a few months down the line its worth like $199.
Well sorry for the long guide... hope some of u can make use of this information.
-JR
For the rest of you who are not familiar with the cellular phones / networks / rules etc ... I'm gonna attempt to make a quick guide:
Networks
GSM: AT&T(850,1900), Cingular (850,1900), T-Mobile (1900 only)(and a few other smaller companies ie SunCom, Cincinati Wireless, and a ton of prepaid companies ex: EzLink) In the US these phones use the 850, 1900 bands. Rest of the world uses 900,1800. When a phone is considered Dual band or Tri band that means its capable of receiving one or more of these bands. To see if you have a GSM phone, find out if there is a SIM slot in the back of ur phone behind the battery.
These phones are best if you plan on doing alot of travel because u can easily swap SIM's w/o having to call the company to change info etc. One problem is.. if you do travel overseas you will need the phone to be unlocked (this has nothing to do with locked keypads or user security code locks).
Unlocking is 100% legal... providers put network locks on phones so that they could keep ahead of the game by offering certain special phones to sell their service plans. ie Currently Cingular has Treo 650 which is locked so that people can't just buy and then use on T-Mobile. Etc etc... (If you need help with unlocking u can PM me) Locking a phone also forced alot of customers to have no choice but pay ROAMING fees... EVEN WITH THE AT&T/CINGULAR AQUISITION YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE A DIFFERENT PROVIDER'S SIM UNTIL YOU UNLOCK YOUR PHONE.... Finally locking forces customers to always buy new phones when they plan on switching companies... efectively forcing customer loyalty.
CDMA,TDMA: Include Sprint, Verizon, Nextel. I don't know exactly which companies use which mode but I do know that they run off of older technology. These phones typically do not have a SIM slot and they all have ESN numbers. In order to change phones with these carriers you will have to call them. These companies run on Digital technology and theoretically have better signal. It is true, Verizon has one of the best reception and thus their high pricing. These phones can be unlocked but are very tricky and not easily interchangeable between companies (so don't expect to switch a Sprint phone to Nextel etc etc...). The few countries out there still using CDMA,TDMA have been phasing them out. Very inflexible if you plan to use these phones overseas.
Q/A
Can you keep your number and open up a new plan under the same company?
--Physically its possible, but most co's refuse to because the promotions are aimed at aquiring new customers.
Can you port numbers within the same company to a different account?
--Ex: Wife opens family plan. After a year Husband creates a new family plan to get promotional advantages. Family wants to keep their number. No matter how high up the chain you speak, you're just wasting time and hella frustration because their answer will be NO. Company policy no exceptions (I usta pull one over because I was military and had to go overseas but now even that is difficult). Why you ask? As far as I know its to make life difficult if you wanted to take advantage of promotions.
--THE WORK AROUND!!! If you have any prepaid celluar companies around find out about their number portability policy. Here we have a big one called EZ LINK. What I did was open up a prepaid line, bought a $30 card good for 30 days (w. free nites and weekends lolz) and ported my existing number over (from my end of contract account). I opened up a new account with the same carrier and transferred the number from EZ LINK to my new account with the same carrier as before. A bit of work but a lot less headache and not shady as to buy a new plan from company knowing u will be returning the phones to them just so you could port a number.
Can I purchase 2 or more different phones in a family plan?
-- Call the company, most of the time they will accomodate this. Its much less headache than to get two separate lines then have them merge.
Will I get the same rebates when I merge accounts?
-- I have gotten away with this through both Amazon and www.mobilecitydirect.com. Sometimes it amazes me how they still make commission because 2 separate plans make more commission than a Family Plan of 2... even worse Family Plan of 3. But to answer the question... most likely not...
Somethings to know:
When you buy on the web, there is much more exposure for a webstore (a good one that is) than a local independant rep store so that is why you are able to get good deals (most of the time in forms of rebates).
An average activation commission (opening up 1 line) is anywhere from $250-$350 per line. Bonus commission for each additional line ($20-$50), Data Plans, Etc. If a phone cost a B&M supplier $400, they are usually willing to sacrifice part of the commision by giving u a discount on the phone, hoping that they could sell you a service plan. (in other words they are giving u a discount on the phone off of their commission). This is usually why at B&M stores, the independent rep (authorize sellers) you could get a better deal and able to bargain on the phone than if you goto a Corporate Store or Corporate Kiosk at the mall... corporate store prices are firm.
Webstores totally take this to a newer level by pawning off sometimes 90% of their commission into offering you a phone at a drastically lower price. Sometimes they make about $10-$25 on commission as oppose to the normal $250-$350. Commissions for every dealer (like selling real estate) takes 60,90,-180 days to be processed. This is the reason why the amazing discounts you see on webstores require that you submit your 4th,6th month bill along with the rebate form. They want to make sure that you dont cancel before 30 days otherwise they would make no comission.
It gets deeper... but that is the gist of commission... enough to answer a few questions I hope.
So just think... there is no such thing as a free phone. Someone had to pay for it somewhere. If you dont buy a service plan, don't expect to pay the promotional prices on any phone. To get a good idea of what the market value of a phone is... your best bet is to find the average price on ebay. Technology sells... A new phone they can ask $499 no problem... a few months down the line its worth like $199.
Well sorry for the long guide... hope some of u can make use of this information.
-JR
Another :thumbsup:,
Although, most newer Nextel's use SIM cards, also they are based on iDEN technology, which has some similarities to the T/CDMA but is different. Actually, wikipedia is good to look at for a fairly thorough explanation.
Anyway, got our 2 Motorola v265 Verizon phones today, they are both already activated and fiddled with to my liking, (ordered on Sunday evening got them today only 3 days later).
Came with more extras than I was expecting actually, both came with a travel wall charger (although we will be using my standard wall charger I got with my Nextel i60), a car charger, belt clip, and handsfree earpiece thingy.
1 year family plan contract.
EDIT:
I should look at wikipedia before posting. iDEN is basically a tweaked TDMA. Also it will be phased out with the Sprint/Nextel merger, as they transition to CDMA2000.
Okay, I went ahead and ordered a phone with a new T-mobile plan at a very low price before rebate, using the same information for the new account as I had on the old account.
Once I get the phone, my plan is to call and have this new plan absorbed into my existing t-mobile family plan that still supports two more lines on it.
I'm not clear as to whether I can still get the rebate? Anyone?
Once I get the phone, my plan is to call and have this new plan absorbed into my existing t-mobile family plan that still supports two more lines on it.
I'm not clear as to whether I can still get the rebate? Anyone?
You most likely won't qualify for the Wirefly rebates.
You have to keep the new plan for a certain number of months in order to qualify.
Also how do you planning on merging the account ?
I assume you ordered the new phones in your name and the previous account is in the Wife's name.
You'll have to go to the T-mobile store to do a change of responsibility in order to merge those accounts.
The new t-mobile account will have to be in your wife's name.
If its a reseller specific rebate (ie wirefly) you might not qualify (not to mention that ppl have bad experiences with them... all my rebates from www.mobilecitydirect.com came... as with nething keep accurate receipts of ur item if rebates = more than 50 bux u should invest in signature confirmation or some kinda tracking)... If its a tmobile rebate they all came when I did a merger...
The account that is accepting the merger will be the party responsible for the bill from there on... Also note that the new account's contract time will not be shortened... prexisting phones on the family plan will not lengthen...
-JR
@Everyone else... Glad my other info was good use =o)
I ordered the new phone in my wife's name, which is the same name as on the existing family plan.
I'm assuming I just need to call T-mobile to merge the new plan into the existing family plan. Is there something else I need to know here? Do I need to wait any length of time before I try to merge the plans?
I promised my daughter a phone upgrade for her birthday, so I'm getting this phone and will switch the SIM cards with her phone. I'll use her phone for a couple of months, then give it to my youngest daughter when she turns 12 and be without a phone again. I don't carry a phone because I'm 1) protesting the cost, which we can't afford, and 2) don't want anyone to be able to find me anyway. :-D
I'll submit the rebate, but won't really care if I get it or not since I paid so little for the phone to begin with.
Just ordered a V600 with TMobile service.
Was $60 out the door (-$40 with $100 rebate) through the referral link, no accessories.
Was $175 out the door ($-75 with $100+$75+$75 rebate) through the normal link, accessories included.
- $100 rebate was immediate, but the 2 additional $75 rebates required at least 3 months of service.
Was $60 out the door (-$40 with $100 rebate) through the referral link, no accessories.
Was $175 out the door ($-75 with $100+$75+$75 rebate) through the normal link, accessories included.
- $100 rebate was immediate, but the 2 additional $75 rebates required at least 3 months of service.
i ordered a nokia 6230 + cingular plan + number port last monday and got the phone wednesday... good deal. thanks to original poster, this was an excellent offer =)
Update on my purchase after a few days with the phones (Motorola v265):
which I did get for free--they tend to be running about $50 at the moment.
Good reception (detroit area), clear, a little quiet (too used to Nextel's and their loudness) but the phones are a lot smaller (which may or not be a good thing--I can be a little rough on things).
Picture quality--pretty much unknown as I've only viewed the pics on the phones themselves as it will cost to get the pics off through Verizon. There is a computer link up thing which costs some change though, I might get it if it means I can get the pics off the phones.
Ringtones...uuurggghh they are hideous. Mine is usually on vibrate anyway, but there aren't any good rings really in my opinion.
Display(s): Inside screen is nice, but hard to see in daylight. Outside one is practical and clear.
Wirefly: great job at updating website, tracking info, plenty of emails at every step of the way.
Verizon: called them as I am a tard, walked me through the final activation steps and gave me a quick rundown of my account and key features on the phone for checking minutes used and billing info. Was good to hear competent sounding tech-support, hopefully I'll never need to talk to them again, but still reassuring.
Overall :thumbsup:, thanks Fis and all the other guinea pigs who ordered before me and posted their thoughts, if there hadn't been good reviews I probably would have shaded away from this deal!
which I did get for free--they tend to be running about $50 at the moment.
Good reception (detroit area), clear, a little quiet (too used to Nextel's and their loudness) but the phones are a lot smaller (which may or not be a good thing--I can be a little rough on things).
Picture quality--pretty much unknown as I've only viewed the pics on the phones themselves as it will cost to get the pics off through Verizon. There is a computer link up thing which costs some change though, I might get it if it means I can get the pics off the phones.
Ringtones...uuurggghh they are hideous. Mine is usually on vibrate anyway, but there aren't any good rings really in my opinion.
Display(s): Inside screen is nice, but hard to see in daylight. Outside one is practical and clear.
Wirefly: great job at updating website, tracking info, plenty of emails at every step of the way.
Verizon: called them as I am a tard, walked me through the final activation steps and gave me a quick rundown of my account and key features on the phone for checking minutes used and billing info. Was good to hear competent sounding tech-support, hopefully I'll never need to talk to them again, but still reassuring.
Overall :thumbsup:, thanks Fis and all the other guinea pigs who ordered before me and posted their thoughts, if there hadn't been good reviews I probably would have shaded away from this deal!
Argh, I broke down and ordered a Cingular 7100g, $120 w/o rebates is a rockin price. I didn't want to mess with rebates.
Credit approved... but they're out of stock on the phone. DOH.
Credit approved... but they're out of stock on the phone. DOH.
For what it's worth, I just got off the phone with a Sprint PCS CSR, and she told me that all of Wirefly's phones are refurbs, which is why they are able to undercut everyone else. Curiously, I can't find and info one way or the other about this on their website. Also, I've noticed they don't list a warranty for any of their phones. Can anyone confirm whether or not these are refurbs?
Java Cafe
Senior member
- Mar 15, 2005
- 302
- 0
- 76
Got a Motorola V551 from them about a week ago. Nice quad-band phone. Very happy with the set. Does nice blue tooth with a cute head set too.
BUT . . .
After using it for about 5 days, I called Cingular to give me the unlock for this phone so that I may use it overseas next month. After all, that is why I got this *quad* band. (Only a week ago, Cingular sent me the codes to unlock the two V220s in my family.)
This is when things started going South!
After a total of three gruelling hours with four Cingular reps and two AT&T reps, I know now that neither Cingular nor AT&T can help me with this matter . . . because THIS WAS ORIGINALLY AN AT&T BRANDED PHONE ! Wirefly (or Infonics) repackaged it (including changing the logo insert on the handset) and putting it in a Cingular box, to make it work with Cingular.
Cingular tried to be helpful . . but their last suggestion was, "Return the phone and exchange it from the retailer for a true Cingular-branded phone." So, that is why the prices are so low!
So, if you are planning to use this overseas (with a Quad-band) and use have bought a Motorola phone from Wirefly, you may be out of luck, if you too have been given one of these "switched" phones.
Trying to contact Wirefly is painful. They do not reply to email. They have a phone number deep in their web site, which you are supposed to call if you wish to exchange your phone. When I called the number, an automated voice asked me to enter the Order number, which I did. Surprisingly, the automated voice said, "Your order has now been cancelled!" What the . . !!! No way, it seems, of getting a live person.
Anyhow, my five days of joy with this phone is now history. Just curious if anyone has a similar experience.
~ JC ~
BUT . . .
After using it for about 5 days, I called Cingular to give me the unlock for this phone so that I may use it overseas next month. After all, that is why I got this *quad* band. (Only a week ago, Cingular sent me the codes to unlock the two V220s in my family.)
This is when things started going South!
After a total of three gruelling hours with four Cingular reps and two AT&T reps, I know now that neither Cingular nor AT&T can help me with this matter . . . because THIS WAS ORIGINALLY AN AT&T BRANDED PHONE ! Wirefly (or Infonics) repackaged it (including changing the logo insert on the handset) and putting it in a Cingular box, to make it work with Cingular.
Cingular tried to be helpful . . but their last suggestion was, "Return the phone and exchange it from the retailer for a true Cingular-branded phone." So, that is why the prices are so low!
So, if you are planning to use this overseas (with a Quad-band) and use have bought a Motorola phone from Wirefly, you may be out of luck, if you too have been given one of these "switched" phones.
Trying to contact Wirefly is painful. They do not reply to email. They have a phone number deep in their web site, which you are supposed to call if you wish to exchange your phone. When I called the number, an automated voice asked me to enter the Order number, which I did. Surprisingly, the automated voice said, "Your order has now been cancelled!" What the . . !!! No way, it seems, of getting a live person.
Anyhow, my five days of joy with this phone is now history. Just curious if anyone has a similar experience.
~ JC ~
Originally posted by: Java Cafe
Got a Motorola V551 from them about a week ago. Nice quad-band phone. Very happy with the set. Does nice blue tooth with a cute head set too.
BUT . . .
After using it for about 5 days, I called Cingular to give me the unlock for this phone so that I may use it overseas next month. After all, that is why I got this *quad* band. (Only a week ago, Cingular sent me the codes to unlock the two V220s in my family.)
This is when things started going South!
After a total of three gruelling hours with four Cingular reps and two AT&T reps, I know now that neither Cingular nor AT&T can help me with this matter . . . because THIS WAS ORIGINALLY AN AT&T BRANDED PHONE ! Wirefly (or Infonics) repackaged it (including changing the logo insert on the handset) and putting it in a Cingular box, to make it work with Cingular.
Cingular tried to be helpful . . but their last suggestion was, "Return the phone and exchange it from the retailer for a true Cingular-branded phone." So, that is why the prices are so low!
So, if you are planning to use this overseas (with a Quad-band) and use have bought a Motorola phone from Wirefly, you may be out of luck, if you too have been given one of these "switched" phones.
Trying to contact Wirefly is painful. They do not reply to email. They have a phone number deep in their web site, which you are supposed to call if you wish to exchange your phone. When I called the number, an automated voice asked me to enter the Order number, which I did. Surprisingly, the automated voice said, "Your order has now been cancelled!" What the . . !!! No way, it seems, of getting a live person.
Anyhow, my five days of joy with this phone is now history. Just curious if anyone has a similar experience.
~ JC ~
Inphonic has four numbers listed with the Better Business Bureau. Once you actually do get a live human being on the other end, you can be sure to tell them where you got the number.
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