Switching to iPhone
In early April I called my old mobile provider to ask if I could renew my contract that day, only to be told I had to wait two more days to reach my upgrade point. No big deal, except I’d previously killed my Blackberry and was going away so really needed to be able to check my mail while I was out and about.
Explaining this to the customer services agent I was again told I’d need to wait the 30 hours because their computer couldn’t process the order until the specified date. In true Little Britain style it was a case of “the computer says no”.
Now, I can sometimes be an awkward customer though I rarely intend to be but I really couldn’t understand the logic of telling a customer they couldn’t tie themselves to the network for another 24 months just to avoid upsetting the all powerful computer.
When I pointed out that I’d have to look elsewhere as I really needed the Blackberry I was told: “A lot of people say they’ll move, the rarely do”. That comment ensured I would move providers but, thanks to the loan of a Blackberry from someone, I was able to spend a couple of weeks checking out my options.
I looked at the Revo-like experia X1 and HTC Touch Pro2 but being a Mac user I was already leaning towards the iPhone 3G for the simplicity in syncing with my MacBook. As I’ve been thinking of getting an iPod Touch for a while, when I saw 02 were offering the 16GB iPhone 3G at no charge on selected contracts the decision was a no brainer.
Now, I know everyone’s expecting a new iPhone sometime soon but I figured I’d be better getting a free handset now and then, depending on what’s actually released, upgrading later on once the inevitable stock shortages and queues are over.
After a week of playing around with it I’m pretty happy with the iPhone, there are some shortcomings such as the lack of cut and paste but I knew about this before I got the handset and as it’ll be remedied in the new 3.0 OS it’s hardly worth worrying about.
The onscreen keyboard is a lot easier to use then the G1’s and the easy, native syncing with iTunes and my Mac’s calendar and address book is a welcome escape from the world of third party plugins.
Use of Apple’s MobileMe service means I can keep the iPhone in sync with iCal and Address Book without ever remembering to connect the two and the iPod function means I can finally catchup on my backlog of titles from Audible.co.uk
Plus, it has to be said, the CS staff at O2 have been very friendly and helpful. When I ported my number over a couple of things needed resetting, advice on how to do this was proactively offered and an agent made sure everything was up and running to my satisfaction.
As for my old network, when I called them for my PAC code so I could keep my number they went into hyper-friendly mode. Would I like a discount on my tariff? A choice of handset? A discount on a second service? No, what I’d wanted was to renew my contract 30 hours sooner then it suited their computer, a request which would have cost them a lot less than any of the incentives they offered in a doomed attempt to retain my business.
