Last week, while at The House of Mouse, my daughter got her cellphone (an Audiovox CDM 8940) wet. Luckily, it didn’t get the stickers wet, so Verizon replaced it. But she was still annoyed, as the phone was too large for her to use easily, and wanted us to get her a new one. We said she had to pay for a new one.
Today, my wife went up to the Verizon store to transfer her number to the new phone Verizon sent us. Evidently, she couldn’t do that, because the battery from the old phone didn’t charge (it turns out my daughter forgot to turn on the power bar). But while there, my wife discovered that both she and I were eligible for “new every two”. Now, I’m completely happy with my phone (a Nokia 2128i). So, she decided to replace her phone (a Motorola V710) with an LG enV ($99 and change, after discount). While doing so, she took advantage of a promotion to get a 2nd phone free (using my “new every two”)… so my daughter got a Samsung Juke (more info). Well, it wasn’t free — but my daughter will willingly pay us back the sales tax.
Of course, no one ever leaves the Verizon store cheaply. My wife got a Bluetooth package (which is good — no more holding the phone while driving for her), a car charger, a case, and a 4GB Memory Card for pictures, but my 15% Circle A Ranch discount saved us some (although we probably could have gotten the accessories cheaper on the web–but I wasn’t there and she didn’t have the time).
As for me… I can’t get a new phone for a year or so, but that’s fine by me. I’m quite happy with my Nokia — one of the last made for Verizon. Yup, it’s a candy bar phone. Yup, it has no camera (which is great for work). Yup, it has no real data capability or games. But who needs all that extra stuff. It works great, lasts forever on its battery, has a good quality speakerphone…. and a flashlight (which has come in quite handy). Not many phones have a flashlight! [And worst comes to worst, I just switch to the Audiovox or the Motorola that we’re keeping as spares]
