I just got off the phone with a Telus rep. I added a new bundle to my account, and after that was complete, she noticed by contract expires July 22nd.

She of course asked if I wanted to re-sign, and then asked if I was looking at other companies or phones (hmm, wonder what she meant?) I bit, and told her I was looking at the iPhone, but was unsure if I wanted to double my bill at this point in time.

She then told me the iPhone is a great phone, but:
- the iPhone's battery only charges 400 times and then it dies
- you have to send the phone back for a new one and it costs over $100
- you HAVE to subscribe to MobileMe for $99 to use e-mail and data the
way it is meant to be used

She then tried to sell me on the Touch Diamond or a BlackBerry, although they still do not have a definitive release date, and told me it would only be $45/month for unlimited everything. And I would get a good price on the phone when she sent me to retentions.

Now, I appreciate them trying to keep me as a customer, but basically everything she was saying was a lie. I did the math in the other thread, and I would save just about $445 over the three years. If I believe her, I would be saving more than double that, but that just is not the case.

I do have a great voice plan (200mins, unlimited 6pm evenings/weekends, unlimited Telus-to-Telus for $20), and they have been great to me, with little to no billing errors, free calendars, PERKS, etc. etc.

Hmmm.

$445 over 3 years? You are able to get a comparable plan with Rogers and the Iphone for just $12.36 more than the $45/mo that Telus was offering you? I would like to see that math!

Note that a lot of details are emerging on the $30/mo Iphone data addition, and there is more to consider, such as paying more for visual voicemail $8/mo, no word on texting rates (possibly another $5/mo if not in your regular plan), or the CallerID+text package $15/20 mo.

It may just depend on what "unlimited everything" means from Telus. If you're able to get some significant LD, daytime, texting, plus all normal features (like callerID), and truly unlimited data for your phone, you may be better off because you're going to have a very hard time getting all that from Rogers for under $60/mo.

You are able to get a comparable plan with Rogers and the Iphone for just $12.36 more than the $45/mo that Telus was offering you? I would like to see that math!

Because she was mistaken - it would be $45/mo ON TOP OF my $20 voice plan, which is $65. The Rogers plan would be $75 with the value pack add on.

The difference would be the 400mb vs. "unlimited" and the 150mins@9pm vs. 200mins@6pm.

Her point about battery replacement is correct, but the iPhone battery is not inherently better or worse than that found in any Telus phones. If you shut off the 3G service in the iPhone, the battery will need charging less often than it will on a Telus phone (at the cost of some Internet data speed, of course).

Lithium batteries can take many more than 400 charges if they are treated right (topped up frequently). If they are drained completely before each charge, then 400 charges may be optimistic. That's true irrespective of the device that uses the battery.

Her point about battery replacement is correct

There have been tests to show that the original iPhone battery still holds 80% of its charge after 400 cycles. I do not think the battery will be completely depleted and in need of replacement after 400 charges, or even twice that.

Lithium ion tends to lose its charge over time and not so much based on the number of cycles. You should be able to use it thousands of times but eventually time will catch up, after 3-4 years you'll definitely be under 50% of its capacity.

My Treo LiOn batter is fine, after likely over 1000 charge cycles. Capacity is down but that is expected as mentioned above.

Telus is at the bottom of my list of wireless providers. They would not let me change plans when I wanted to UPGRADE my plan after graduating university to a plan with more daytime minutes.

Rogers at least lets you change plans at will, with some penalties if you drop down too much but its a one time fee IIRC.

HMMMMMM....I tried Bell for a while and had nothing but problems with billing CSR, and less than stellar plans (luckily I bought the phone outright and was able to cancel my plan). The CSRs were ill-informed and actually signed me up to a plan that didn't exist and when I got my first bill my eyes bugged out at the total.


Telus on the other hand has bent over backwards for me. I've been a client of theirs since 2001. The have given me special plans (employee plans and I'm not an employee) and they have even contacted me and informed me, based on my past six months of usage , that I could save money by switching plans, which I did and I did save money. I had an issue with an EVDO signal in my community and they gave me a six month reprieve offering me the unlimited data plan for $50 a month and threw in 100 min of free long distance for the remainder of my regular phone contract (another 18 months). It was such a great deal that I kept it for a couple of months but the signal strength was great but the quality/consistency of the signal was so poor it actually performed worse than dialup. In other towns, that EVDO card ROCKED! BTW they still honor the long distance freebie.

I now have a phone plan that is perfectly suited to my average monthly usage for $28.01/month after SAF, 911 and taxes. It includes 200 anytime minutes, CD, unlimited txt, unlimited evening after 6pm. 100 min LD and let's not forget the ever popular free all day on your birthday ;) I've had this plan now for 3 months and I haven't gone over any of my limits and it's been $28.01/month.

I think more of thess cell companies should implement this "based on average monthly usage" concept to tailor a plan that meets your needs. They certainly have the logistics based on your usage.

After all this Telus would have to screw up pretty bad to send me packing. Next, to see if I can get the HTC Diamond with my current plan and add on a data bundle????? I think I need a minimum of a $30 plan to add a data plan though.:rolleyes:

I haven't tried Rogers. Only because they don't service any of the towns and cities in my neck of the woods. Thank goodness they aren't here yet because I'm one of those guys that NEEDS to get the latest gadgets and I know i'd be chomping at the bit for an iphone.

Personally, I think Telus has Rogers beat on the data plan. Now I got a deal myself, $15 add on for unlimited data, IM, email. Typically that add on is $30. I dont understand how Rogers, even with its special, 6GB plan, is going to get customers. You'd think in this present time, you could offer unlimited data to your customers,, how dont see how it costs them more if you use 2GB and month or 10GB a month.

To the mate thinking of renewing your contract, call Telus back, you can get a better deal then that, get a $30 voice package if you dont spend that amount already, and demand you want like free caller id, voice mail and unlimited txt, and with that you'll agree to get a smartphone with a data package. Besides after 12 month, your allowed to downgrade your package to whatever you want, yes even if you signed a three year agreement, the minimum that you must keep the package you chose the day you signed the contract is 12month.

Besides after 12 month, your allowed to downgrade your package to whatever you want, yes even if you signed a three year agreement, the minimum that you must keep the package you chose the day you signed the contract is 12month.

Wow, that's news to me! And I don't mean that in a jerky kinda way. Has this always been the case?

Yes, I know that this was the case from when I worked for Bell. It must be some kind of law, or else you know they would keep you locked in.

I'm not sure but if you downgrade you may risk loosing some of the "extras" or "freebees" you got when you signed up.

For instance i think i could risk loosing:
-telus to telus
-50 bonus minutes
-voice mail
All 3 i asked for to get me to stay with them when my wife renewed and i decided to get a phone for myself..

Ill be calling them soon to see if they can be maybe set me up with a diamond or instinct phone if i suggest to them im willing to take the penalty to get an iphone. o got just over 2years on my contract so they may call my bluff...

But would it be far fetched for them to maybe give me a small deal on either phone keep my 45$ plan and just resign for 3 years? Heck i would go 4 year! My fav5nationwide-$30talk with 15$data is sweet