This was originally posted by czarcastic in the PDAPhoneHome.com > Pocket PC PDAPhones > Samsung SCH-i760 > Samsung i760 - Release/Rumor Thread.

While I have a 6800 and am waiting for the XV6800, I am interested in the i760. Having noticed the angst many of us waiting for VZW PDA Phones have endured and that KBAM has at times addressed in a eloquent way, I am posting this info which I got today and posted at HoFo.

We have for too long assumed we who are PDA Phone users are a small minority of customers with no significant financial impact on VZW, so we just have to wait and take whatever Big Red doles out, whenever they decide to do so. Turns out we have been wrong. We are the the money machine, not the family plans, and there is real data to demonstrate this is so. If VZW wants to make the most money and the highest margins they need to focus on the smartphone market, not selling ringtones.

InStat studies have put a fine point on what many have long suspected, business users, and particularly road warriors are the money machine for carriers.

Press Release: In-Stat Survey Reveals Heavy Wireless Business Users Churn More Because They Feel Unappreciated by Carriers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 6 -- Wireless operators are failing to make high average revenue per user (ARPU) users in North America feel special, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). More than 60% of these users do not feel that their wireless operator appreciates their business, and 80% believe that operators should do more, the high-tech market research firm says.

“The kind of appreciation these users would like to see include loyalty programs where subscribers earn points for awards, free or low-cost directory assistance, and free batteries and travel chargers,” says Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst. “The good news for operators is that these three awards could be turned into even more revenue. For example, directory assistance directly encourages more calling, and offering more batteries and charging options ensures that heavy users can always make a call.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

* Compared to all business users, road warriors are three times more likely to have an ARPU over $150, own a smartphone, and use several mobile data services.
* The ARPU for road warriors who are also smartphone users is over $200. This is more than four times the monthly revenue for US mobile phone users.

However, the greatest factor for higher ARPU is the use of a smartphone. The expected revenue of a smartphone subscriber is $3,500 higher than for a cellular phone user that travels the same amount. It would more than pay for itself for a wireless operator to simply give the most expensive smartphone in the catalog to a high-ARPU mobile phone user.

The immediate challenge is making these users more satisfied and less likely to churn. There has been little effort to discriminate on behalf of these users. The wireless operator with the best high-ARPU loyalty program will see the benefits on the bottom line.

Based upon the surveys in several recent reports, In-Stat has found that the conventional wisdom in the wireless industry significantly underestimates the value of mobile business usage. Corporate-liable customers produce the majority of profit and individually liable subscribers contribute most of the remaining profit for wireless operators. Converting corporate customers to assume corporate liability is also in their best interests. Whatever the operators' current strategy for attracting mobile business, the profitability of this segment, along with the growth of mobile data applications for business, indicates that devoting more resources to retain these customers is money well-spent.

Failure to address this market has the potential to leave wireless operators vulnerable to the coming wave of new mobile data operators that will serve the rapidly growing mobile data needs of these customers if given the chance.

As many have suspected for some time, VZW gets more revenue (and more profitable revenue) from smartphone and corporate users and the associated corporate backend services (server based, etc) than all the GIN and BREW garbage they can cram down a Chocolate's throat. It's time VZW wakes up and takes care of the real money machine or they may just end up with a bunch of family plans wondering how they are ever going to sell enough ringtones and games to make up for the loss of their smartphone users.

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VZW, It's 2008! Time to embrace technology, not suppress it. - oops too late I've moved on over to the iPhone w/ AT$T!

Nice clip originaly posted by GadgetNut here.

CNN.com Video

Yeah baby!

Mark

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VZW, It's 2008! Time to embrace technology, not suppress it. - oops too late I've moved on over to the iPhone w/ AT$T!

Here we are still waiting for good devices from VZW.

I cant wait to see what 2008 brings.

May be will even get to see 2006 technology in 2008... the samsung i760 and the XV6800........

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VZW, It's 2008! Time to embrace technology, not suppress it. - oops too late I've moved on over to the iPhone w/ AT$T!

Of course AT&T endorses it, the GSM standard already allows users to use any compatible GSM device on their network. The fact that so few users do so makes me wonder why the carriers are even worried about this. If the FCC told Verizon and Sprint to allow stop blocking certain ESDNs just because they can, or God forbid, let the customers have cards that they can put into any phone they like (a la SIM cards), very few customers would take advantage of this freedom. And, the ones who did might even increase data and calling usage.

Case in point: Verizon has the best coverage in my area. I'm not going to another carrier. However, I hate Verizon's selections of PDA phones. I put off purchasing one for this reason. They lost years of data plan, text plan, and increased minute usage from me because of their crappy selection. If I had been able to purchase any phone from any manufacturer, I would have spent bought a PDA phone a long time ago which would have meant more money for Verizon.

Federal Communications Commission - FCC Consumer Complaint Form - (Form 475)

Let the FCC know that you want more consumer freedom. At the moment, the wireless carriers have their little monopolies. Let's end it.

Thank you for the link (I have now filed my complaint) and thank you Mark_A_K for the point to this thread! Just what I was looking for!

Bill

FCC fast-tracking 700MHz open-access rule changes under intense Verizon lobbying? - Engadget Mobile

Verizon lobbying..... come on Google get in the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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VZW, It's 2008! Time to embrace technology, not suppress it. - oops too late I've moved on over to the iPhone w/ AT$T!

Yea Google needs to do something. I wonder how the phone will be though.

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Discount PDA Accessories / Verizon Lover