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Do Working Cell Phone Demos Exist Anymore?
Peridriga asks: "I've been using the same cell phone now for going on about 4 years. I personally love it but, new technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, etc leave me wanting more from my 24/7 tool. I haven't gotten rid of it because I can work it in almost any condition (dark, drunk, asleep), with only occasional glances at the screen. Menu functionality, layout, ergonomics, and button layout are of real importance simply because I want a phone I don't have to think about using. The problem comes in that none of the cell stores/kiosks/provider retail outlets/etc have working demos of phones available. Simply shells of the phone model physically attached to the displays. How am I supposed to drop down $200-$500 on a top-of-the-line phone when I can't even see how it works? Does anybody know of a provider that has working demo models of phones on display so you can actually see what your buying? How about websites that review phones with their function and purpose in mind, not just the specs and the manufacturer provided marketing fluff?"
It certainly was a lovely model of a phone, small and nice weight. But when asking to see a working version so I could check out the PIM features, he replied 'We only do last-minute ordering because the prices are always dropping and we don't want to be stuck with inventory that costs too much'.
Bit annoying really, but understandable.
Any celluar engineers out there that can validate Darl's claims that during peak congestion periods a lower quality of service is provided in order to allow more calls to be terminated? I was under the impression that GSM used TDMA (Time Division Multiplexing) as the physical carrier, and as a result there are a finite number of sessions established at the same time; one per timeslot, correct?
If AT&T is able to throttle bandwidth (wait, voice is circuit switched...) do they really offer higher quality service to businesses? I'd like to get confirmation of this from an actual accredited engineer rather than taking Darl's speculation as fact.
If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and cover head.
You don't even need to be particularily nice, these places are trying to sell you some fairly expensive equipment after all. Ask if you can try some real phones and they will bend over backwards to get you the real deal.
Nowhere shows the real phones on the stands because they're so prone to being nicked, but if you show some real interest they'll bring out the real things for you to try.
Other people's advice isn't bad though - see what people with the phone's you're looking at think of them, because in a few minutes of playing about with a phone you're not going to find out all the things that'll drive you mad in the long run..
Most RadioShack locations have fully working units of every model they have underneath their glass case, just walk anywhere near said glass case and a salespersion will attac.. er, assist you. You'll have the rep's attention because selling a phone earns them a bonus that usually doubles their pay for the shift.
I have seen some pretty comprehensive demos on the vendor's site. You do not see them for every phone or every phone maker, but they are around. I remember a really good one for a new Series 60 phone... cannot remember which though. It was an almost perfect emulation of the phone and a lot of its functions.
Not sure how rare they are- I haven't been shopping for phones- but it may be worth checking for.
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