Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NC
Posts: 6

$49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

Being a 2 year Visor customer and a 2 year Cingular customer is preventing me from taking advantage of the $49 Visor Phone.

I called Handspring on July 16 and asked them if I could buy the phone for $49 and extend my Cingular Contract for another 12 months and they said only *new* Cingular customers can take advantage of this offer. I told them I'm already a Cingular customer and would extend my contract for a year (my current contract runs out at the end of Sept.) to get the phone at the $49 price--and they still said "NO". I'm waiting for a *manager* from Handspring to call me back and explain why I can't get the phone if I sign up for a 1-year contract with Cingular.

The sales rep at Handspring did not want to budge or deviate from her procedures at all! I would have to buy the Visor phone at $499 without a service plan. No phone is worth $499 unless it comes with free service for a year.

I also called Cingular and they had no clue about the agreement between Handspring and Cingular.

I think these big companies should *wake-up* and realize retaining existing customers is a lot cheaper than going after new ones.

So my only options are:
1. Get another Cingular account with a new number --NOT!
2. Cancel my existing contract with Cingular and pay $20 per month penalty for each month left on the contract ($40).
3. Wait for my current contract to expire, call Cingular and tell them do delete me from their system and then buy the Visor Phone and get a new Cingular account and phone number --another BIG NOT!

I think this is "crap" on Handspring's part for leaving their existing customer's out in the cold. To me the Visor phone appeals to "hardcore" PDA and Cellular users that have existing cellular service.

Is is just me or is this situation irritating?

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Rob Baker
Webcentric Applications Developer

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

Originally posted by NetPoser:
[...] I also called Cingular and they had no clue about the agreement between Handspring and Cingular. [...]
Is is just me or is this situation irritating?

It's an irritating situation, but I think the rep at Cingular you talked to is either lying or clueless. This is SOP for most cellular companies. Some of their promotions are only open to new activations. They set the terms. I doubt if Handspring has much of any control over it (your service contract is with the cellular company after all, eh?).

Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 268

what may work is:

1. sign up for a new cingular account with new number.
2. call cingular to cancel the old account, and whatever months you have left on the old contract, have them add that many months to the new account you created on #1.

i used to have two cingular accounts (one for me and one for my then gf). she wasn't using her phone much, so we decided to cancel one account, but both accounts had 3 months left on the contracts. i went to the local cingular office and asked them to cancel one account and to put the 3 months on the other account, leaving me with 6 months left on one account. they did it for me.

if you have a local cingular office, see if this is feasible. if they say yes, then get that salesperson's business card and tell him/her that you'll be back in a few weeks to do that. then do what i suggested above, #1 and #2.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 19

I went through the same thing with Cingular - I am an existing customer with no time left on a contract and wanted to use my same cell phone number. I was told I couldn't do this because the deal was for "new" activations. So I figured the deal was too good to pass up and therefore have settled on getting a new cell phone number. Yes, a slight inconvenience since I will need to let people know of the change, but not that big of a deal to me.

And you can use your old phone in instances where you don't want to take your VisorPhone - just take out the SIM card and insert it into your old phone. I often visit construction sites and therefore don't want to subject my Prism to the harsh environment. And I just learned you can write your speed dial numbers to the SIM. So you will have those key numbers handy. You won't have to buy that little phone attachment that is supposed to be available soon.

I did also find out that you can take advantage of Cingular's Special Olympic promotion by doing the following:

Sign up for the Cingular 150 plan. Activate it. Then upgrade to the Special Olympics plan for the $20 donation. You get 200 more anytime minutes for only $5 more. Since this is an upgrade, Cingular says it is okay.

Mike

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

quote:

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Originally posted by NetPoser
I think these big companies should *wake-up* and realize retaining existing customers is a lot cheaper than going after new ones.
Is is just me or is this situation irritating?

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Registered: Feb 2001
Location:
Posts: 138

quote:

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Originally posted by ginmtb
I did also find out that you can take advantage of Cingular's Special Olympic promotion by doing the following:

Sign up for the Cingular 150 plan. Activate it. Then upgrade to the Special Olympics plan for the $20 donation. You get 200 more anytime minutes for only $5 more. Since this is an upgrade, Cingular says it is okay.

Mike

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When I get a little money I buy books; if any is left, I buy food and clothes.

Registered: Feb 2000
Location: El Segundo,CA
Posts: 374

Re: Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

quote:

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[i](snip) because they haven't set up any plans here. handspring's thought-processes on this price drop are myopic to say the least. mc

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My Treo has more memory than I do.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Re: Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

quote:

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Originally posted by j762538


I don't think Handspring can take all the blame for this. We don't know what the 2 or 3 GSM carriers in Canada want out of the deal.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: Re: Re: Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

Originally posted by mensachicken:
to some extent, i agree. however, i still see no reason why they can't sell the phone to me at a reasonable price if i live in an area where a service plan is not offered. this is basically my biggest gripe. they're imposing restrictions that i would follow if i could, but i can't so i miss out altogether.

One very simple reason: Handspring's not making the offer. The cellular company is the one offering the incentive here. They're the ones eating the $250 savings, not Handspring. If you live in a GSM area and can get a Nokia 8290 for $50, why should Nokia sell me an 8290 for the same or a reduced price if I can't get that deal locally?

Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NC
Posts: 6

Handspring Makes the Deal not Cingular

This is a Handspring deal. Each sale of a Visor Phone is subsidized thru the one-year contract thru Cingular. This is the same way DirectTV subsidizes DSS's.

If you talk to Cingular they'll tell you that buying from Handspring is like buying from a non-Cingular retailer. This means that the same warranties do not apply. If I buy direct from Cingular I can return the phone within 30 days. Cingular only provides the cellular service. If you have a problem or question about your phone you have to contact the reseller that sold you the phone--not Cingular.

You can only buy the Visor Phone thru the Handspring website.

The whole process is stupid. It should be "sign-up for a one-year contract with Cingular and get the Visor Phone for $49"
- NOT -
"Hey, all you loyal Visor customers and longtime Cingular customers, screw you, we want new customers because were stooopid marketing types that don't understand it's cheaper to keep existing customers rather than got out and find new ones".

Argh!

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Rob Baker
Webcentric Applications Developer

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: $49 Visor Phone not For existing customers?

quote:

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Originally posted by Toby
[i]Originally posted by mensachicken:
One very simple reason: Handspring's not making the offer. The cellular company is the one offering the incentive here. They're the ones eating the $250 savings, not Handspring. If you live in a GSM area and can get a Nokia 8290 for $50, why should Nokia sell me an 8290 for the same or a reduced price if I can't get that deal locally?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Ultimately the questions are these: 1) Who is your service contract through? and 2) Who gets the penalty money if you terminate your contract early? If it's Handspring, then you've got a case. If it's Cingular/whoever, then they're the one your beef should be with.

Originally posted by mensachicken:
but Toby, your analogy is incomplete.

Yes, it is, but there was a point to that.

if i go to my local cell phone company and buy a phone from them, it's cheaper than buying it from nokia. however, i don't go to nokia's web site and see the phone for the low price. i see it for the regular price.

No, actually you don't see it for any price. Nokia doesn't even give you that option. That was the point. At least Handspring is giving you that option. Further considering that they're selling the phone with no contract at the price that some people paid _with_ a contract not long ago, the complaints seem a bit hollow to me. If you think the price is too high, don't buy it. Maybe I should complain to Handspring about there being no GSM providers in my area, and demand they make a TDMA version.

Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NC
Posts: 6

Here is the Point

Handspring gets their money from Cingular based on a one-year contract. So who cares if the one year (same price) contract is from an existing Cingular customer or a new Cingular customer?

I don't think Cingular approached Handspring with this, but rather Handspring approached Cingular. So what's the big deal? Handspring sells the phone for $49 and Cingular gets a one-year contract. Cingular subsidizes the price of the phone to get a service contract thru Handspring.

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Rob Baker
Webcentric Applications Developer

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: Here is the Point

Originally posted by NetPoser:
Handspring gets their money from Cingular based on a one-year contract. So who cares if the one year (same price) contract is from an existing Cingular customer or a new Cingular customer?

I certainly don't, but evidently someone does. All I'm saying is that it isn't necessarily Handspring. Cellular companies do this sort of thing all the time. A couple months ago, the local cellular company ran a promo where you could get two phones for $49 with 1000 free minutes on each. The catch was that at least one of them had to be a new activation. No amount of talking or cajoling would work around the deal (and I work for the landline side of the same company). Ultimately, the cellular company decides what the terms of the contract will be (whether it's purchased through them or a reseller, they have all the cards).

I don't think Cingular approached Handspring with this, but rather Handspring approached Cingular.

I think Handspring approached Cingular for a partnership deal, but I highly doubt they set the terms of the contract. Who has more to gain under these terms? Certainly not Handspring. Maybe Cingular's banking on your not disconnecting an existing number, but instead getting a second one.

So what's the big deal?

Good question. Maybe you should ride Cingular a bit harder, too?

Handspring sells the phone for $49 and Cingular gets a one-year contract. Cingular subsidizes the price of the phone to get a service contract thru Handspring.

Except Cingular has some overhead to do that (ESN changes, maybe some software changes on their switches were necessary, etc.). They're the ones with something to lose/gain in the deal depending on the terms of the contract. Handspring probably breaks even either way.

Registered: Jul 2001
Location: NC
Posts: 6

Toby,

I agree with what you say.

But wouldn't it be better for Cingular to extend my existing contract for another year rather then cancelling my existing account and setting up a new one? By keeping me they eliminate the entire new customer activation costs?

Anyway it just bogs my brain to see a company that appeals to techies but leaves them out in the cold. Just look at the posts at this forum. You can see a good cross-section of Handspring's target market. Hmmmm... I wonder if Handspring's or Cingular's marketing and exectutive types even know about this?

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Rob Baker
Webcentric Applications Developer

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Originally posted by NetPoser:
But wouldn't it be better for Cingular to extend my existing contract for another year rather then cancelling my existing account and setting up a new one?

Well, it'd certainly be better for you. Seriously, I understand what you're trying to say, but IME, logic and reason seldom play into these decisions. Remember, the Marketing department has a two drink minimum.

By keeping me they eliminate the entire new customer activation costs?

Well, like I said, they don't necessarily eliminate all of them. I think GSM's SIM card would eliminate the ESN change that's necessary for other cellular services, but there may be other costs associated with supporting the VisorPhone that they're trying to recoup.

Registered: Jul 2001
Location: Providence, RI
Posts: 78

Making No Sense

Some of the complaints I hear here regarding existing customers are pointless. You guys are thrashing Handspring for not having a contract with a provider in your area, namley Canada. Well maybe the service providers in that particular area were not willing to support the VisorPhone so what was Handspring supposed to do, cancel the whole concept because some region of Canada doesn't have a provider. I can understand why Handspring won't sell it cheaper without a contract because this would undermine the contracts it holds with Cingular and Voicestream. It's like when you go to Staples and you see a Nokia costing $99.99, then it says underneath in REALLY REALLY small print that it is $400.00 without activation! This practice has been used for years and years in the cellular/wirless phone industry. C'mon guys!

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Re: Making No Sense

quote:

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Originally posted by RedSoxPDAer
Some of the complaints I hear here regarding existing customers are pointless. You guys are thrashing Handspring for not having a contract with a provider in your area, namley Canada.

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 46

for the love of j.h.c.

it's only $249 without activation...not $499.

Oi.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Re: Re: Making No Sense

Originally posted by mensachicken:
not sure what you mean by "support" but if you mean "won't allow it on their networks" this is simply not the case. fido (in toronto) has said no problem to the visorphone. [...]

Well, why don't you ask them to set up a deal with Handspring, or get a contact number and forward it to Handspring?

if i buy the phone at $499, i'm paying pretty much the same amount for my year long contract that you are, but i have to pay 10 x the amount for the phone. it's silly.

Either you haven't been paying attention, or the conversion rate between US and Canadian dollars is pretty bad. The cost with no contract was dropped also. It's at $299 currently (the same price that people were paying with a contract a few months ago).