[Jon Davis]

For the last year, the Tour has been my living nightmare. I went through 4 different tours. Between bad track balls and poor reception, none of them have worked properly.

The phone drops out all the time in my home. I live in a sunny apt. My fiancee's Iphone works fine...my old World Phone - which is too dilapidated to switch back to - worked fine. I seriously think it's the Tour phone.

I'm a freelancer going through tough times. I don't have a ton of disposable income. It's additionally inconvenient that my Tour forces me outside my house to make and receive business calls in fear of the frequent call drop.

With this new Bold coming out, it looks like it could solve my problems if I could perhaps just try it... however, my upgrade doesn't come until 13 months after I bought the Tour... which is next August.

While it's true that I'd rather have a Verizon BB over an ATT Iphone, I'd rather an Iphone that works over a BB that doesn't. And I'm tempted to take advantage of the 99 dollar Iphones at Walmart.

Does anyone have any tips to help get me an earlier upgrade before Verizon loses me as a customer? I called Verizon, told them my situation - and they were polite but their solution was "wait it out for another two months." I guess they want me to complete my Tour penance. It was kind of disheartening.

[nyyankeefan1021]

I'm guessing that they want you to wait until your first year is up and then you'll qualify for the annual upgrade, which will give you the phone at the promotional price of $149.99?

In my only similar experience, another one of the lines on my account had an LG enV 3, which was not a smart phone. It kept shutting off, and after three phones in the first year, I called and was able to get them to give me a free Storm 2. I'm guessing that Vzw did that because I was willing to upgrade to a smartphone so they would get the $30/mo data charges. My only suggestion from this story would perhaps be to tell Vzw that if they are unable to give you the Bold, you will downgrade to a "dumbphone" and they'll lose the $30/mo data fee.

It doesn't sound fair to me, especially after going through 4 phones. They need a lemon law for cell phones, if you ask me.

Good luck

[californiablackberry]

Go into the store, ask about it.
I upgraded my BB to an 8530 in November 2009; 4 days after the release. In Mid-April, I got a $20 Early Upgrade to a Droid...

[papped]

I don't get it though...

How much would you pay for ETF + new phone, just to skip 2.5 months of contract?
You could probably buy the damn 9650 outright for similar (I paid $368 shortly after release).

Or you could buy a 8530 used (about $150), use it till the upgrade, get the 9650, sell the 8530.

[Jon Davis]

Yes. Exactly. They wanted me to wait till my first year was up. Which is 13 months after I rushed out to get the Tour - and my phone life has been **** ever since.

They did offer me the opportunity to get a pre-bought BB curve for 150 bucks - which wouldn't affect my contract. And yet, this is the same price I'd be paying for a brand new bold in two months. Not helpful.

And - I can't handle yet another lemon. They will politely assure me that prebought phones are "refurbished to be as good as new" and I always say "But the last one didn't work.." and they will say "We're sorry about that, but it's highly unlikely something like that will happen again." And then it happens again.

I never complained during my two years with the World Phone but now I think now I'm in their "annoying customer" file. If there is such a file. And it's all because their Tour has been a phone crapshoot and I'm getting bad dice rolls.

I also want to say that the above post goes to show that Red Sox and Yankees fans can get along.

[papped]

They did offer me the opportunity to get a pre-bought BB curve for 150 bucks - which wouldn't affect my contract. And yet, this is the same price I'd be paying for a brand new bold in two months. Not helpful.

Buying a phone and selling it later is not $150 out of your pocket, only temporarily.

[Jon Davis]

I don't get it though...

"How much would you pay for ETF + new phone, just to skip 2.5 months of contract? You could probably buy the damn 9650 outright for similar (I paid $368 shortly after release)."

My ETF fee has gotta be about 100 then I'm thinking the Walmart Iphones are 100.00... so about 200.00... 50 dollars more than the upgrade in two months. And yet... my phone will work two months earlier. And it will be an Iphone - and it will be all smudgey because I can't work that keyboard. So yes, I'd rather upgrade early, obviously.

"Or you could buy a 8530 used (about $150), use it till the upgrade, get the 9650, sell the 8530."

This is interesting. Assuming the used 8530 isn't a lemon... and I've been seriously spooked, do people really buy these - or would I be sitting on, I assume, ebay, watching my used two month prebought 8530 go for about, oh, ten dollars? I'm genuinely asking, cause I have never sold phones.