lynnpreston,

You said:
I'm very disappointed by the continued use of "profit" as a bad word in our society (and to a certain extent in this thread). Profit is what makes society function, not "good will".

With all due respect, lynn, precious few socialists live among us. Right out of the box, PPCs are largely tools of capitalist warfare.

Let us assure you that folks don't begrudge wireless carriers or device suppliers a healthy profit. The stridency you observe here (and presumably, elsewhere) is contempt for 1) indefensible business decisions, such as those that have humbled Sprint Nextel and Motorola, and 2) disingenuous, imitative sincerity and arrogant, predatory practices that tyrannize customers. Let's highlight just two:

1) ETFs: A carrier has the absolute right to recover its so-called "handset subsidy"--to the extent a subscriber fails to meet its corresponding service-agreement term obligation. But if said subscriber pays full price, or activates a used handset, the customer is still generally subject to the ETF. Q. Why? A. Greed, abuse, racketeering, fraud, misrep...expletives deleted.

2) Data Plan Offers: Nobody requires that VZW offer "Unlimited" data. This is a voluntary creature (and one not very competitive with Sprint at that). Still, promotional language must serve the expectation of reliance. If a data package is represented as "Unlimited," it must be "Unlimited." A 4- or 5-GB "incredible shrinking Hershey bar" (whose uses are then, via endless disclaimers, arbitrarily constrained) just doesn't cut it with Webster's or the FTC. Q. Ditto. A. Ditto.

VZW apparently thinks (from what little we know) that waiting a bit longer to release this phone will be more profitable for them. We can argue the validity of that logic, but we can't blame them for their intent.

There can be no profit-maximizing motive for the i760's ever-slipping release date. While there can be any number of other explanations, none is economic and none is pleasant. The device is just l-a-t-e.

Thus, we ask that you weigh context and allow for legitimacy in "profit" challenges.


onusigep,

You said:
The testing they are doing is most likely testing the stuff they broke while crippling the device.

Good call. And even if it doesn't apply here, it has before and will again.

--BAM