Why so few decent smartphones?

**tryan77** · 10-20-2009, 08:26 PM

Why is it that USCC has not recieved any decent smartphones. Especially blackberry. I know that a couple, thats right - 2!!! (Tour / TP2) are "coming soon" but why is thier selection of phones so poor. I love thier service here in Wisconsin but man its like living in 2003 with the choices they have. Are they so concerned with reliability that they think thier customers just dont care for the newer technology?

I recently had to port back to USCC from Big Red because of a new job so I went from a Tour down to an 8330 and wow this thing seems like an old typewriter. Its absolutely awful in regards to screen res and functionality.

I remember reading an article about Verizon have a poor choice of smartphones - the author was either bent on going after Verizon or they simply overlooked USCC because USCC takes the cake.

Any ideas as to why thier selection is so poor?

**BigE** · 10-20-2009, 09:03 PM

What exactly would you like to see USCC carry?

**neb1211** · 10-20-2009, 10:16 PM

Well I think it has a lot to do with the way USCC operates to tell you the truth. I remember only about 4 years ago, when other carriers had a variety of smartphones, USCC only had 2 and both of those were Blackberries. At this time, when other carriers were already launching network-wide EVDO, USCC held the line that they were a voice carrier, not a data carrier. Evidently somewhere along the lines, US Cellular finally realized that data was going to be the future of the wireless industry. It wasn't until just recently that they finally launched network wide EVDO so needless to say, they have a little catching up to do.

Also if you take a look at US Cellular's phone lineup, it has historically been a little on the conservative side. While other carriers had tons of phones to choose from, USCC only had a select handful in their lineup. USCC is finally starting to catch up in this regard as well, in part because they seem to be targeting so much energy on attracting the younger generation to them. It always seemed like when I worked for USCC, most of the customers I worked with were 35 - 40+ years old so phone choice wasn't as big of a deal to them as it is the younger generations.

Please note that this is not to be taken as fact but merely my observations from when I worked at USCC.

**phonernerd24** · 10-20-2009, 11:37 PM

us cellular is catching up, this year especially us cellular has stepped up its game and you will see that continue in 2010, with new products like android. i think they finally realized that they have to play like the big dogs to get noticed. no worries this will be a great holiday season with 2 motorolas, 2 htc's and a new blackberry on the lineup.

**tearsonurcheek** · 10-21-2009, 01:43 AM

Oh, and if it really were 2003, we'd be about 5 years ahead of the curve (pun intended) with the 8330, which first launched (on Alltel, Verizon, and Sprint) in May of '08. We picked it up a whopping...1 month later, in June of '08.

I'm just saying...

Since we launched the Curve, we've yet to be more than 3 months behind the majors with a BB launch (that would be the 8830). The Flip, we were less than 2 weeks behind.

**tsduke03** · 10-21-2009, 07:31 AM

Originally Posted by neb1211

It always seemed like when I worked for USCC, most of the customers I worked with were 35 - 40+ years old so phone choice wasn't as big of a deal to them as it is the younger generations.

You make it sound like I'm old.

**cellguy030** · 10-21-2009, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by BigE

What exactly would you like to see USCC carry?

+1

besides the lack of the obvious droid, iphone and storm, what dont we have?

**BigE** · 10-21-2009, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by cellguy030

+1

besides the lack of the obvious droid, iphone and storm, what dont we have?

Exactly.

Android - been discussed, it's on the way.

iPhone - let's not, it comes every couple weeks.

Storm - VZW exclusive

WinMo - rather than carrying a myriad of throw-away devices USCC just carries the best of breed (TP, TP2, Snap for the WM Standard fans)

That's it for CDMA.

**Hollister Boy** · 10-21-2009, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by BigE

Exactly.

Android - been discussed, it's on the way.

iPhone - let's not, it comes every couple weeks.

Storm - VZW exclusive

WinMo - rather than carrying a myriad of throw-away devices USCC just carries the best of breed (TP, TP2, Snap for the WM Standard fans)

That's it for CDMA.

The Storm 2 isn't VZW exclusive (:

**BigE** · 10-21-2009, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Hollister Boy

The Storm 2 isn't VZW exclusive (:

Nor is it yet available for Verizon.

**imacg32007** · 10-21-2009, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by phonernerd24

us cellular is catching up, this year especially us cellular has stepped up its game and you will see that continue in 2010, with new products like android. i think they finally realized that they have to play like the big dogs to get noticed. no worries this will be a great holiday season with 2 motorolas, 2 htc's and a new blackberry on the lineup.

what are the two motorolas?