Veriz-On or Off?

The Samsung Galaxy S II is currently the top selling phone in the world. And it’s not a popularity thing, the device is genuinely exceptional. Reviews across the web have effectively hailed it as, “… the best smartphone, period.” What’s notable about this, is that various US carrier shenanigans have guaranteed we get it dead last, right after India and Mexico. And Verizon? Won’t be carrying it at all.

Of course, rumors suggest Verizon may be getting the semi-upgraded version of the GSII, dubbed the Droid Prime, with a faster processor, higher density screen, and a few other tweaks. Unfortunately, those same rumors claimed Verizon would carry the GSII. Worse, they won’t be getting it until October at the earliest. Is this because they’re pushing the Droid Bionic as their new flagship? The phone that was supposed to be released back in June?

With Samsung’s recent press conference announcing the US release, Verizon now has a problem. If the Bionic isn’t absolutely everything they claim, they may very well lose more than a few customers who favor the GSII. I happen to be one of them. I’ve waited patiently for four months for the US carries to get their acts together, and at least three of them have. Even if the rumors concerning the Droid Prime are true, the October release date is hardly set in stone. I already waited four months to be ultimately let down; adding another four without some kind of official statement is foolish.

And let’s face it, I’ve been getting fed up with Verizon anyway. They stopped their New Every Two, early upgrade, and the Verizon VIP programs within the last year. Gone are 1-year contracts. Introduced are tiered data plans. All of that on top of having the most expensive plans and phones of all the major US carriers. Oh, but they finally got the iPhone, so there’s that. Apparently Verizon believes customer incentives are passé.

I’d like to think you can judge a company by the incentives it retains even after they’re no longer necessary. It’s a level of respect for the same people that makes it successful. I could easily just run around foaming at the mouth and yelling about how much Verizon sucks, but I have concrete, substantial reasons to abandon them as my mobile provider. A lot of their current phones are minor upgrades to phones that were old on other carriers months ago. They add more unnecessary unremovable applications than other vendors, giving people a bad impression of Android’s performance and stability. And my company is implementing Good for Enterprise for our enterprise email, and Verizon is the only carrier that requires a special code to enable it. A code which only works on their more expensive corporate data plans. No, corporate plans add no other functionality, data limits, or perks… they just cost more.

So, no. No, Verizon. I don’t support your policies, decisions, or lack of respect for your customers. Maybe Sprint or AT&T; are worse in that regard, but I can’t know that yet. What I do know is that you suck. Please die in a fire.

Until Tomorrow