Where should I buy this awesome phone?

[dwhip25]

I am new to the smartphone scene. I have an ipod touch and know I don't want an iphone. The inspire looks incredible and I really want to get it. Should I get it at ATT, Radio Shack, or Best Buy? I was soured on ATT because my phone died 4 days after my warranty and they wouldn't help me out. Who offers the best/least expensive warranty program? What's the difference in buying at these places? I have an update coming on 3/11 and can't wait. Will give me time to read reviews. Go STEELERS!!!

 

[AndreaCristiano]

I am new to the smartphone scene. I have an ipod touch and know I don't want an iphone. The inspire looks incredible and I really want to get it. Should I get it at ATT, Radio Shack, or Best Buy? I was soured on ATT because my phone died 4 days after my warranty and they wouldn't help me out. Who offers the best/least expensive warranty program? What's the difference in buying at these places? I have an update coming on 3/11 and can't wait. Will give me time to read reviews. Go STEELERS!!!

For me I have had nothing but good experiences with Best buy. If I was you i would check them out and see where you feel like they got their stuff together

 

[dwhip25]

For me I have had nothing but good experiences with Best buy. If I was you i would check them out and see where you feel like they got their stuff together

Somewhat negative on best buy because I had a friend who worked there and said most of their people were full of crap. What's their warranty program like? Like I said, my phone stopped working 4 days after warranty, so I feel I need to get some type of protection.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

Somewhat negative on best buy because I had a friend who worked there and said most of their people were full of crap. What's their warranty program like? Like I said, my phone stopped working 4 days after warranty, so I feel I need to get some type of protection.

the black tie protection is pretty good and lets be honest no protection plan is perfect and most ( not all )of the employees at AT&T, Best buy and the shack are idiots making minimum wage

 

[thoffland]

If I end up buying the phone from Best Buy or Radioshack... all I'd have to do is pop the sim into the Inspire right? Or is there some change in plan that's needed like it used to be coming from Blackberry? Or will I need to visit the ATT store no matter what to activate it or anything else?

There's a best buy 5 minutes from my house, but ATT and Radioshack are about 20 minutes... so just wondering how to plan my day on Sunday.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

If I end up buying the phone from Best Buy or Radioshack... all I'd have to do is pop the sim into the Inspire right? Or is there some change in plan that's needed like it used to be coming from Blackberry? Or will I need to visit the ATT store no matter what to activate it or anything else?

There's a best buy 5 minutes from my house, but ATT and Radioshack are about 20 minutes... so just wondering how to plan my day on Sunday.

they will have to give you a new sim as the iphone 4 uses a micro sim and inspire uses a macro sim, nothing else would change

 

[Allenfx]

Can you buy the insurance through AT&T? IT WAS not available for iphone but when i had it prior to that you were covered for ANYTHING. PRETTY worth it for 4.99 a month on a $450 and up phone.

 

[MarcMaiden]

the black tie protection is pretty good and lets be honest no protection plan is perfect and most ( like MarcMaiden )of the employees at AT&T, Best buy and the shack are idiots making minimum wage

honestly,

3rd party retailers have the best insurance. Black tie is a personal favorite, and radioshack has a good inexpensive one as well

 

[AndreaCristiano]

honestly,

3rd party retailers have the best insurance. Black tie is a personal favorite, and radioshack has a good inexpensive one as well

lol yea i agree black tie is good

 

[mattbe213]

the black tie protection is pretty good and lets be honest no protection plan is perfect and most ( not all )of the employees at AT&T, Best buy and the shack are idiots making minimum wage

For me, anybody I've had to work with at at&t has been pretty knowledgeable about the phones. If I ever work for at&t, I'll know about phones, so you can come to my at&t and talk to someone who has a clue.

Matt

 

[Ferrari353]

I hate Best Buy with a passion. They've screwed me over so many times on warranties and stuff and their customer service is the worst ever.

 

[AndreaCristiano]

For me, anybody I've had to work with at at&t has been pretty knowledgeable about the phones. If I ever work for at&t, I'll know about phones, so you can come to my at&t and talk to someone who has a clue.

Matt

cool let me know lol

 

[MarcMaiden]

For me, anybody I've had to work with at at&t has been pretty knowledgeable about the phones. If I ever work for at&t, I'll know about phones, so you can come to my at&t and talk to someone who has a clue.

Matt

just a word of advice my friend,

when you are in the interview with AT&T,
mention sales more than phones. Even though you know a lot, thats not what they are concerned about. They want someone who can sell. So incorporate your knowledge of phones in to sales tactics when you are an interview with them.


"I know a lot about many devices which allows me to give the customer the best phone and experience possible" (they are big on the word "experience")



just a heads up my friend!

 

[Donatron]

I hate Best Buy with a passion. They've screwed me over so many times on warranties and stuff and their customer service is the worst ever.

How so? I never buy insurance policies on consumer electronics, so it's not a concern for me. I'm just curious as to what kind of stuff they've pulled.

 

[Ferrari353]

Well I bought a laptop from them and it came with 1-year insurance, and after 6 months, the hard drive just stopped working. I went in, they said "no, we can't help you unless you bought a geek squad extended warranty" blah blah blah all this crap. After three months of fighting Best Buy my dad finally got them to fix it.
Just recently, I lost my wallet with a Best Buy store credit and when I called them, they said "take the receipt to the store where you got it, and they can replace it" and when I went in, they told me they don't have records of store credits because they are just like cash. I was like wtf?? Seriously, if there's no record, how can they be spent. By the time I finally got Best Buy to fix the problem, it had been spent and they wouldn't replace the lost value.
My sister's boyfriend bought her this built in ipod thingy for her car and it came with free installation. After they bought it, the guy was like "oh no, we can't install this because you didn't buy it from the audio section" so they returned it, went back to the audio section, bought it for the exact same price, and got it installed.
Best Buy just has serious customer service problems....

 

[Loiselle]

I'm getting mine via customer service and the cancellation department through AT&T. I would much rather go to the store to get mine, so I could have it on launch day... but this is the only way.

 

[mwiles629]

Will Best Buy & Radio Shack be able to upgrade me? I'm currently out of contract and will be upgrading for the $100.00. I also read that we will be getting new sim cards for the HSPA+ network. So what do I do?

 

[MarcMaiden]

best buy and radio shack can do upgrades no problem.

where did you read about new sim cards? I work for AT&T and have heard nothing about new sim cards. When I had hands on with the Atrix, the unit that was connect to HSPA+ didnt have an HSPA+ sim card, it had the normal 3g one.

but if it does require a new sim card, it could also explain the slow speeds with the reviewers

 

[Ferrari353]

From what I've seen in review videos, the sim card does look much bigger, but that's in comparison to the microSD card and I don't even remember how big it is. I put one in my phone and haven't touched it since...haha
It still seemed quite large in comparison to the phone...

 

[Androidjunkee]

best buy and radio shack can do upgrades no problem.

where did you read about new sim cards? I work for AT&T and have heard nothing about new sim cards. When I had hands on with the Atrix, the unit that was connect to HSPA+ didnt have an HSPA+ sim card, it had the normal 3g one.

but if it does require a new sim card, it could also explain the slow speeds with the reviewers

I just started a new thread on this. Hopefully we can get a confirmation, maybe from you?? lol

I mean you are our local ATT guy and all

 

[mwiles629]

best buy and radio shack can do upgrades no problem.

where did you read about new sim cards? I work for AT&T and have heard nothing about new sim cards. When I had hands on with the Atrix, the unit that was connect to HSPA+ didnt have an HSPA+ sim card, it had the normal 3g one.

but if it does require a new sim card, it could also explain the slow speeds with the reviewers

If you work for at&t I will take your word about the sim card!
Thanks!

OK I just found where I read it. I'll Try and post it below.

I just left an AT&T corp store and I asked about it while I was getting my sim card switched. Btw- if you are buying the phone you'll need to get your sim card switched to an HSPA+ sim card. I didn't get any price confirmation (didn't know yet but it has to be in the system) he said that the phone felt and responded better than the Atrix. When I said $449, he said that sounds about right- so no confirmation but not a rejection either. Who knows, at this point?

 

[MarcMaiden]

I was expecting to see new sim cards on its way in inventory by now (if we were to have new sim cards) and nothing has shown up in inventory....just cases, screen protectors, and the actual inspire itself. Maybe they are hidden with the inspire...we'll see

 

[YouGotRedOnYou]

not in stock rooms yet?

 

[MarcMaiden]

not in stock rooms yet?

nope, usually the phones arrive 2-3 days before launch

trust me, you would have seen a video by now if they were in inventory

 

[Blanco720]

I was expecting to see new sim cards on its way in inventory by now (if we were to have new sim cards) and nothing has shown up in inventory....just cases, screen protectors, and the actual inspire itself. Maybe they are hidden with the inspire...we'll see

I called to upgrade over the phone 1-800-331-0500. They said they couldnt help me because it hadn't shown up on their grid yet. Is this something that I will have to wait until after launch or will it show up on friday or saturday sometime? do you have any information on this?