Full Tech Specs on RW’s phone pages do not include any info on CDMA comparability. Moto site includes the network information why doesn’t RW as the the phones are advertised as unlocked phones. Please add this info to the store phone pages to help members make more informed purchases.
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This maybe better as a thread topic and not an addition to the store pages for every compatible phone.
@billg started this Think Tank that would help. Customer Experience: Mark Network ID (GSM/CDMA) on Devices
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The converse is that doing so before the official launch is highly likely to swamp Support with questions like “Why can’t I get this?; " Should I call the police and claim fraud?”; “My J3/S6/Moto Z can’t get a signal here, how long till you send me a new one?”
Somewhat similar to what has happened every time RW announces something like a new feature and gives a time frame for it. And even when they don’t.
@bocephous , discussions often seem to get a better RW response than Suggestion/TT from what I’ve seen. We have already seen quite a few threads about members purchasing phones they didn’t realize were GSM only phones. Why bury the info in a Community thread when the normal potential member or member never see it?
@glarepate , This has nothing to do with the potential 3.0 CDMA service. Members should know what type of networks the unlocked phones may be usable on. This should have been done since the first announcement of the 3.0 phones. Lack of information creates more confusion and lower customer satisfaction.
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The Think Tank has proven to get RW to notice what people are talking about. You voted yes on this @billg’s and now you shoot it down when I mention it in a thread. Maybe you should change your answer because you didn’t understand what Bill proposed. If you want people to know if the phone is CDMA /GSM / or Both, a tag right on the phone is perfect. People aren’t technical and most won’t or don’t understand the bands that phones broadcast on (CDMA OR GSM). Sticking a bunch of specs in the store is ludicrous in my opinion. There is a thing called sensory overload and that multiply’s when making a choice. Decisions are bad enough to deal with but maybe a link or a shortened link to specs is an idea to not overcrowd the sales pages and give the option to go look at the specs for the techies. There always is Google to find specs too.
It’s bad enough when people ask 20 questions about the Ascend 5W cases and not one person looked in the search engine. I point out the search engine answers and you just blurt out the answer that maybe right or wrong. I personally haven’t compared the phone measurements to case measurements to make the answer you blurted out. Maybe if we point people to the direction to read something instead of handing out answers like free frozen Thanksgiving Turkeys the community wouldn’t be flooded with answer wanting people and possible have people use their brains a little bit. It don’t hurt most people but some it could. All depends when was the last time an actual thought crossed a mind.
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You are at a disadvantage compared to most consumers/customers in that you not only know that GSM and CDMA exist, you also know that they work differently and on different networks. The vast majority get along just fine without that information – until it is presented to them and they have to make a decision about something that seems as mysterious as the production of eggs. We still get questions about the difference in call quality between 3G and 4G, neither of which are used for calls except in very rare circumstances that the people asking about this would likely never encounter nor use. (o;
I agree that the information should be available but not necessarily here until it has a functional context. Advertising something that isn’t being generally offered still appears to me to be an invitation to discord and threats based on a feeling of dis-entitlement. This isn’t just a personal anxiety on my part, it has been the case in virtually every situation where new information was presented. How many folks claimed that the Huawei promotion was a criminal scam when it was just overwhelmingly popular? Some folks were aware that it was more analogous to concert tickets or Cabbage Patch Kids than it was to buying a new set of tires on a limited time sale. Those that were jumped on it and scored. Not all, but many, of those who didn’t have this perception were baffled and and angry. [Also] not a good relationship to establish with either the customer base or the potential customer field.
If it was prominently announced that the electronics in people’s cars could be used to reconstruct not only a record of where they have been but also their speed, braking and cornering forces, and a few other details all of which could be used not only to track them by time, date and location, which for most is scary enough right there, but also to help reconstruct the driving activities leading up to an accident I doubt they would want one in their own car – just in everyone else’s. While this is a converse example, people might not want this but would wish it on others it is still pretty normal among us.
We already have the situation where extreme watt-waster filament type light bulbs have had to be put back into production because the end of life for them as a product was announced. The impact on the nations energy consumption was never considered by those who thought it was an attack on them personally that the light bulbs that they were so used to were going away. Humans are very interesting but it isn’t all due to intelligence, education and a fine sensibility for the balance of all things in our world.
Having a link to the full specs at the manufacturers site should be sufficient to let those who know what they want find out if the device meets their requirements. I think if you look at the inquiries by people who didn’t know that they were buying GSM only phones you would see that with very few, if any, exceptions (and those exceptions are from a pretty small group) were asking about CDMA. They just wanted to know why the old phones worked and their new ones don’t. The potential for chaos, confusion and churn may not be as great as I imagine but the benefit of providing CDMA info at the RW site may also be vastly smaller than you expect.
My personal opinion is that Republic should include CDMA hardware compatibility (or lack thereof) on the specifications page for each of the respective phones sold by Republic. Republic is well aware of that opinion.
That said, I fully expect the typical customer to completely ignore the availability of that information. Those who participate regularly in Community are largely technically sophisticated. I assure you we are not Republic’s typical customer. That’s not intended as an insult to anyone just an acknowledgement of the reality that most won’t closely examine a specs page before making a purchase decision.
i be fone geek! u bet!!
You are not alone! I’m right there with you, however, I think it’s important to keep in mind that we not the rest of the folks are the outliers.