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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?"
That said, surely you have some friends? Find out what they're using, and give their equipment a listen. You'll find phones to get or avoid, and your friends will usually be quite candid about them if they've had the phone a while.
That said, AVOID AT&T. They outright lie to you about their network. In Chicago at least, you get crap, no matter which phone you choose if you're looking at the new 3G (mMode) network. The 3G phones can be rate throttled to take care of congestion, resulting in ass-quality calls, which lets AT&T put off getting new towers forever. And they *do*. They lied to me about "improving the network shortly" for most of a year before I called the local tower owners to find out where AT&T was expanding their presence. None of them were, and when I took this to AT&T, they not only let me avoid the $200 contract termination fee, but bought back the phone and refunded me for 10 months of service.
Also, avoid the places offering "free" nights and weekends on 3G phones. They all play the AT&T game. The calls are "free," but only to the folks willing to put up with sounding as though they're calling from a reverberating sewer tunnel.
Lastly, get a business plan. These get preferential bandwidth, and usually for the same price as consumer phones. You don't need to show a business license or do anything other than requesting the business unit. You get better phone support and better call quality. I'm guessing that their thinking is that if they make a business customer happy, it's likely to mean hundreds more phones, whereas customers always buy on price alone and will put up with being jerked around.
Also, while I'm at it -- try to deal with a small dealer, the places that specialize in phones and car stereos are the best. You can just about always get the unlock code with the phone from these guys if you make it clear that you're only buying the phone under those conditions. They'd rather break a Sprint/AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile rule than lose a sale.
the radioshack's that i've been in, both in boston and pennsylvania, have fully working models of samsung, ericsson, and nokia phones, possibly others. perhaps there is a radioshack in your area which might also have working models as displays?
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Return it if it doesn't meet your needs or expectations. Do it enough, and you have created an incentive for them to provide working demos again.
A number of manufacturers provide website demos of their phones. For example, I bought a phone this week, for the first time doing so on-line rather than in a store. I was comfortable doing so because Sony provides a demo of the phone (the T610) on their website. In addition, the provider to which I have switched, T-Mobile, provides demos of the phones on their site.
It ain't as good as the real thing. Just yesterday -- after ordering my T610 but before getting it (I'm anxiously awaiting its Monday delivery) -- I saw a T610 in person for the first time. I was surprised at how tiny that it was. But there were no surprises -- it functioned just as the demonstration showed that it would.
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Every Sprint Store I've been to had working models. Not those little kiosks in the mall, but brick & mortar stores. A link to their store locator.
I have noticed in the past that some smaller independent dealers will let you play with the phones.
Good luck
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I haven't seen any store with working demos on display, but if I ask nicely they always let me try the phone out before deciding. I bought two phones last year, one in Sweden and one in France, and I think I played with at least 5 to 10 phones in the process.
Good luck!
Just go to a store location, preferably not a mall kiosk, and ask the rep there.
That's what I did when I wanted to find out if the carriers had a signal in my apartment.
I simply asked to borrow a unit. They let me take one home although they did take a deposit that was refunded when I returned the phone. You probably wouldn't have to do that just to try it out in the store.
Cingular was the coolest about this, it's a shame they had the crappiest reception in my apartment. They had the phone I wanted too. Sigh
Cheers,
Lasz