(originally uploaded by MobileBurn)
It’s a crime that cell phone shopping is so damn frustrating, especially if you’re tied to your phone for business like myself. Finding a device you need that is offered by your current provider seems to be an impossible task.
Reverse serendipity, I call it.
So for the past two years, I’ve been stuck with both a service (Sprint) that I’ve come to despise for its horrible customer service and a phone (Treo 650) that has terrible clarity — amplifying my already present Jersey marble mouth — and tends to reset at completely random intervals. Well, with my Sprint contract running out on the 22nd of this month, I made the move to both a new service, a new phone and the same $99 unlimited plan offered by Sprint.
The Helio Ocean has a tactile qwerty keyboard, a partnership with Google and all the multimedia bells and whistles I’ll ever need. I got a $49 price for a refurbished Ocean by simply calling their 888 number; no need for a promo code. The unlimited plan is a straight monthly $99 and covers all data transfers, text messages and daytime calls w/ nights and weekends free as with all plans. For this particular moment in time, I actually feel good about my cell plan.
Come on, Helio, make it last. I beg of you.
UPDATE: First interaction w/ Helio customer service to transfer my existing number was decent. Not too painful. The second interaction — I was told to call back after three hours to get an activation code — wasn’t good at all. The guy didn’t understand my initial request and sent the conversation into a 30 minute loop. I now have up to a 72 hour window for my phone to become activated. And sometime over the next three days, I have to guesstimate when it will be completed to call in and receive my activation code.
So far, not too smart of a service.
UPDATE II: Activation went through in a few hours, so I’m back to happy. Until my phone rang for the first time and it sounded like a carnival act. Apparently, the ringtones included in the Ocean were designed for 15 year-old kids with no chance of ever getting laid. I just spent the last hour searching for, downloading and converting an old fashioned telephone ring into a mmf ringtone file.
If you desire simplicity, here’s the sound file and the instructions for installing it in the Ocean.