The Dodge Retort

Verizon pitched me recently on doing a post on its Friends & Family calling program launched in February. That’s where qualifying customers can exclude five or ten numbers from counting against their plan minutes.

So I asked Verizon how many have taken advantage of the “free” program and what does Verizon get out of it. Verizon New England spokesman Mike Murphy didn’t answer either question, but did extol the benefits of F&F. So I am left to speculate.

My guess F&F sweetens the pot for customers to upgrade their basic plans to the $60 a month Nationwide Single Line plan which is required for the five F&F package or the $90 Nationwide Family SharePlan for the ten. Or to switch to Verizon from another carrier (a quick check of AT&T plans shows it still only has unlimited inter-network mobile to mobile by comparison). While Verizon says F&F is “free,” the company isn’t giving away anything because you have to sign up for the qualifying plans.

Still, F&F for minute gobblers is a good deal and should not be overlooked especially if you already qualify (Shame on me – I qualify for the ten, but have yet to take advantage of it).

Murphy did have a few interesting things to say about what Verizon has invested in its 3G network in New England -$240 million last year and $2.4 billion since 2000. The motive here is spread the word about the huge capital investment it takes to build these networks to assuage the sting of $40 or $60 a month for 3G wireless broadband, for example. Hey, these networks don’t grow on trees so we all have to pay.

Indeed, Verizon is on a roll with its 86.6 million wireless customers which makes one other of Murphy’s comment all the more intriguing. Besides things like its network and F&F, Verizon, he says, has curried customer favor with the company’s aggressive lawsuits against spammers.

“Maybe some of that loyalty is due in part to these lawsuits against spammers!?!” Murphy says. In early May, the company filed suit against a mortgage company for allegedly sending 800,000 spam text messages to Verizon customers.

PC Connection  and Motorola released quarterly earnings today both reflect troublesome trends within  PC and handset markets as well as hope for the future.

Indeed, netbooks are not saviors for giant direct sales companies like PC Connections. Its notebook and PDA sales were off by 26% in the first quarter with average selling price taking a hit from “competitive pricing pressure” and “netbooks.”  I have a call into CFO Steve Bainbridge to get some details on just how steep the decline in ASP which is good news for buyers.

Interestingly, I searched PC Connections’ netbook page by most popular models. Number one was Lenovo’s Ideapad S10e model  41872NU with three stars from two user reviews. Second was the Acer Aspire One 150-1447 with 48 reviews and five stars. How does the number one most popular model only get two mediocre user reviews and number two model get 48 glowing assessments? It makes  you wonder about user reviews and whose writing them.

I recall that at one magazine where I worked that invited reader feedback in annual product excellence contests, it was assumed that at some companies, droves of employees would vote glowingly early and often for their own products. That’s why I am a big fan of reviews by indepedent journalists. PC Connection reported that sales in the first quarter dropped 23% over the same quarter in 2008 to $326.2, but the company managed to weather the downturn with a relatively small net loss of $1.6 million.

Meanwhile, Motorola reported a steep drop in handset sales with dollar volume off 45 per cent from the year ago quarter, but the interesting news is that it plans to introduce several new Android-based handsets  for the Christmas selling season which begins early in the fourth quarter. “We plan to have differentiated Android-based devices in stores in time for the fourth-quarter holiday season,” said Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola and CEO of Mobile Devices.

Android is a highly customizable operating system based on Linux that promises to break down boundaries between applications so they appear more integrated and cohesive.  Stay tuned for some reviews.

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The Universal Charging Solution (UCS) that will allow all mobile phones to be charged with the same charging unit also promises to standardize the data connection between such things as headsets and connection in cars. The plan is to implement such devices on a wide scale by Jan. 1, 2012. Seventeen 17 major makers of mobile phones are backing and  it appears some will beat that deadline (much of the same functionality and connectors can be found in a Blackberry today).

The standard charger will untether users from proprietary chargers for each model of phone. If you went on a business trip and forgot your charger, you could use anyone else’s under UCS.

I wondered why it will take so long and got the following response from the CTIA- The Wireless Association which on April 1 agreed to back the UCS. Here’s the explanation sent to me by a CTIA spokeswoman:

The 2012 date reflects the time it takes to design a wireless device, source new battery packs, obtain regulatory approval from the FCC, manufacture and ship new phones. Between now and them, consumers will see more and more devices with USB chargers (like the Blackberry). The chargers will be manufactured by the same companies which make them today and whether or not chargers will be included in the box with the phone will depend on consumer preferences.”

The work is being overseen by the five-year-old Open Mobile Terminal Platform consortium comprised of eight mobile phone makers. Below are all the conveniences and functionality that will be afforded to mobile phone users under UCS, according to an OMTP white paper.

Charging

-Phone can charge on any UCS charger

- User can keep old charger when buying a new phone

-User can charge phone through laptop or any device with USB Standard A port

-Chargers are brand independent. For instance, a Nokia phone could use a Motorola charger

- Connector can be used for data while phone is charging

Data

-User can connect to any PC or entertainment system supporting USB

- Use port with a headset

- Phone charges while data cable is in use

- Allows phone to be used as a data modem

- Can stream Standard Definition video, High Definition video, digital audio and digital still pictures

- Phone can connect to a car-kit