Cell Phones: The Blackberry Curve 8520
Imagine my excitement with my most recent upgrade, to learn that I was now eligible for a Blackberry!
Email Push technology! Saving me the additional keystroke energy usually required, to retrieve my email!
Free unlimited on-device browsing!
My Facebook friends could be suitably informed as to my up to the minute whereabouts, REALLY up to the minute!
With this technology, I would soon have more Twitter followers than Oprah !
I could catch up on work emails whilst on a school run! (That is, being parked outside the school, not whilst driving to it of course).
So I dispatched the husband to the local cell phone outlet to order my upgrade (universal suffrage is all very well, but men are still better at this sort of thing, than even the geekiest of women – I include myself in that category of course) ONLY to be told that the offer in question, was only valid for NEW subscribers to the network in question, NOT EXISTING CUSTOMERS…
Hmmpf.
Double hmmpf.
This is exactly why I *had* dispatched the husband to do the legwork in this case, because I knew that such trivialities would not soon put him off the scent of my elusive Blackberry upgrade.
I would probably have hung my head in disappointment and had my happy mood evaporate, and resign myself to the fact that now, not only did I not have an iPhone, and now, I could not get a Blackberry either AND that pesky new customers were still getting better treatment than existing ones…a concept in this country which never fails to baffle me.
My husband on the other hand took exactly three steps out of the mobile phone store in question, and placed a call from his cell phone directly to the upgrade department of our service provider, who informed him that the cell phone store in question was talking absolute TOSH, and that we were in fact entitled to said upgrades and that they could process everything on the phone, and would simply deliver our brand new Blackberries during the course of the coming week (it was a Saturday).
Hurray!!
An end to embarrassment when having to answer my NOT smartphone mobile phone was in sight!
Husband returned home to a heroes welcome of hot tea and freshly baked biscuits. (Well they were freshly baked at the factory a few weeks ago, so really, it’s of little consequence).
A few moments later, we received notification that our upgrades had been processed and approved. Hurray!
A few moments after that, we received notification that our handsets were on back order and that an sms/text message would be sent shortly with an update…
Triple Hmmpf!
Three days go by.
Another text message comes in to say that our handsets were still on back order…
A week goes by.
In geekish desperation I place a call to the upgrade centre who inform me in cheerful tones that a new shipment of Blackberry Curve 8520′s were due in the following morning, and that we would receive our sms confirmation just as soon as they were on their way to the courier ready for dispatch to us.
48 hrs go by, and we receive text messages saying that our handsets were on back order, and that we would receive a text message advising us of a delivery date.
In horror I thought that our little darlings had not been in the shipment in question, and I placed yet another call to the upgrade centre to let them know in NO uncertain terms that they were to appropriate two other (less desperate) customers phones, and ship them to us, but before I could begin my “I have been wronged by your company so hear my wrath before I put Carte Blanche on your backs” tirade, yet another cheerful upgrade employee (no idea what’s in their kool-aid, but I want some) assured me that our phones were in fact in the shipment, that had just left their premises for the courier and that we could expect to take delivery of our little darlings, no later than Friday.
The Friday in question dawned bright and clear and promptly at 11am the doorbell rang, I realised in horror, wrapped in a towel on my way to a leisurely bath, that when the doorbell went, that it was a case of a) go get my new phone half naked at the front gate, or b) wait even longer for phone. Then I remembered that it was in fact a long weekend, and my husband could get another opportunity to play the hero and simply fetch it for me.
Ahh, bliss!
Here are some of the awesome features of my new baby:
- 2.0MP Digital Camera
- Video Camera Capabilities
- Supports BlackBerry App World™
- 256MB Flash Memory
- Wi-Fi® enabled
- Bluetooth® enabled
- Multimedia Player
- Wireless Email
- Organizer
- Browser
- Phone
- SMS/MMS
Right now, both Vodacom and MTN are offering very similar packages for this awesome phone, and it’s the lowest price entry point if you are keen to upgrade to a smart phone and don’t want your cell phone bill to be the same as your bond repayment each month.
At the time of writing this it’s going for R149.00 a month including the Blackberry Data Bolt on, which gives you the unlimited on device browsing and email etc. Remember that you will be charged extra for Itemised Billing, Caller Line Identity and VAT. Though again, I’m at a loss to explain why you have to PAY to see your bill in full, because that, is yet another ridiculous thing that we have to deal with in this country.
But, at least I have my Blackberry!
What funny stories do you have to share about your mobile phone upgrade experiences?
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