Just a Casual PSA

Now I'm not usually one to write rant posts like this, but hey, there's a first for everything right? And when I saw the above tweet by Vodafone yesterday it took all my strength not to laugh uncontrollably (had to remind myself the other people on the train would think I was a bit of a creep). And I felt it was my civil duty to warn people against the trap that is Vodafone AU.

I signed up to my first post-paid plan in about November last year when I decided to get an iPhone 4. And here comes my first gripe before I even have service with them. When I ordered my phone the site said delivery within 2 weeks, it came in 4. Now, I know that at the time the  phone was in high demand, but is it not false advertising to make a statement that you can't reasonably perform? I'm no legal guru but it was severely annoying, so we immediately got off on the wrong foot.

The area that I live in is relatively new and approx 37km north of the CBD (or as some of my friends like to refer to it: South Geraldton). So before I signed up, I looked at the coverage checker which showed I should be able to get 3G reception fine in my area. Lies! My calls frequently drop and my 3G indicator rarely gets above 2 (though it likes to remain at 1, if at all, or even worse- Edge) and on the rare occasion it gets to 3 or 4 (it has NEVER been to 5 at my house) the data speed is super slow. Even if I am in the CBD with a full 5 bars of reception sometimes my tweets don't load, facebook doesn't refresh and my apps time out.

Now, I have tweeted the telco numerous times with complaints and I keep getting told the same things; try the SIM in a different phone, have you had a check done in your area? And the one I love most: well, we're doing upgrades in your area, so hang tight and you should be able to see some improvement in Q4. Wtf? That's it? Just wait? My bf gets annoyed with all my complaining and that I don't get on the phone and get angry with them and have my plan cancelled because I'm too nice when I have to actually talk to another human being.

Personally I can't believe they are even allowed to sell new plans before they have the infrastructure to support it. I'm definitely not getting what I am paying for. If I could use 1.5GB of data I would, but the short of it is I regularly get frustrated and abandon whatever task I am attempting that requires 3G and just wait until I have access to actual internet.

So if you were even remotely thinking about getting a data plan with Vodafone, don't. If they can't even provide decent call and data quality to a tiny device that probably doesn't require so much data to complete tasks and load mobile sites, then I can't even imagine how much of a fail it will be on an iPad trying to load full web pages. Spend that little extra moolah a month and go for a provider that can actually provide the service that they advertise.

*Breathes*

Applemania.

This is Hay St. This is not what Hay St usually looks like. This is all the fault of Apple Inc. 

The iPad 2 hit Australia officially at 5pm today (which, of course, meant that people were queueing up from at least 7am) causing the area surrounding the Perth Apple Retail Store to resemble a bit of a circus. The snapshot above isn't even the first line outside the store- it's the second line that ran along Central Park (and I'm guessing rounded the corner down William St). Now, I don't own an iPad so maybe I just don't know how amazing they are, but is it really so important to be among the first to get one? Especially when it means waiting in line for an entire day. I'm also curious about why this was happening on a Friday afternoon instead of a Saturday morning like with the iPhone 4 launch (I work across the road, it was quite a spectacle).

Personally I love Apple products, they have a great aesthetic about them and my Apple family is slowly growing. My first was the 2nd gen iPod Nano which still serves me well (mainly connected to speakers in my bathroom) I'm amazed that it still works after being dropped on the tiles so many times! Then there was my 2nd gen iPod touch, which sadly is no longer with us after I failed to screw the lid onto my water bottle properly before putting it in my bag (I'd had it for approximately one month, oops!). My boyfriend took pity on me after I had become addicted to the amazing invention that is The App (Angry Birds of course) and I received his iPhone 3G as a hand-me-down. I broke that also, but after more than a month. After that the only way was up- to the iPhone 4. The most recent addition to my family occurred earlier this month when I decided to make the switch from PC and purchased myself a 27" iMac. This means I've given up laptop life and now spend a lot of my time in my room at my desk, so who knows maybe I will be drawn to the iPad one day. But will I ever wait for hours in order to get one? No thanks, I like my beauty sleep :)