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Cruiser
Posts: 256
Florida | I know it's been a while, but as you know, I've been busy. I took off my helmet this week and put on my Gadget Guru hat and put together a video on the true pricing of Apple's new 3G iPhone. It's not $199 and Apple and AT&T got very tricky on how they priced this phone.
Since many riders use iPods and iPhones, I thought you might find this YouTube video interesting. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxmT1xlgrw
Palm Beach Rider |
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Cruiser
Posts: 129
Coastal , NJ | PBR,
You should really remake that video. It's bad enough that you put this in the general discussion forum of a motorcycle specific board, but the sensationalism sounds just like everyone else that uses the iPhone to direct attention to themselves.
First off - being an ATT customer I'm sure you're aware that their unlimited Data plans have been 30.00 for years. iPhone users were getting a bargain at 20.00 so the 30.00 is actually just the normal price . If you keep your 2.5g iPhone you still pay 20.00.
Second - the reason they require in store activation is to limit the amount of illegal unlocking for use on others carriers. Do I like that more than activating it at the comfort of my desk? No , but I understand the reason.
Thanks for the shameless plug. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 256
Florida | Sorry. no offense meant. I kept reading online and seeing the TV stories about the $199 iPhone and felt the need to set facts straight. in terms of the $30 price, when I was using Windows Mobile in ATT 3G, I did not have to pay that rate. Possibly, it's different city to city. Basically, ATT is charging a $10 per month additional charge for the 3G usage. Considering that 3G is only available in a small portion of the US, many folks will get stuck paying for service they will not be using. That's just wrong.
For the activation, you're correct...it will be a pain to have to go to the store to get the phone activated. Going to a phone store for just a minor issue these days can be an all day waste of time.
Finally, if this had been an attempt at a "shameless plug" I would have put in a link to my site...not YouTube. I don't operate that way and respect the folks here.
Edited by PalmBeachRider 2008-06-15 12:18 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 1324
So Cal | PBR, good to see you back! Im not a gadget guru, the only reason I bought an ipod is for the Vision. The GPS sounds good but my life has enough complications without learning others. For those that have and understand GPS's and the ipod's, my hat's off to you. Thats what's great about this bike. You can go from minimal to extreme. |
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Tourer
Posts: 495
Carrollton, TX | Thanks Andy! I found your video segment on the iPhone 2.0 very informative and well produced. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 256
Florida | Thanks Spock. After two decades producing TV shows, it was fun to have a controversial "tech" topic where I could throw in my two cents. During my working days, I was always a pain in the manufacturer's side, but I carried enough "weight" to force them to listen and respond to consumer issues.
Now, I can only hope that someday, we can get Victory to address some of the issues we've all had as a result of being early adopters. I think we all agree that the Vision is a ground breaking motorcycle and is truly in a class of it's own. It's a real "Riders" bike. But, it does have a few warts that need to be addressed. One of my main complaints is that it seems (by reading this and other forums) is that the factory is not informing the dealers of upgrades and fixes in a timely manner. I don't know about you, but I'm growing tired of learning of a new "fix" online and having to educate my dealer. And, that ignition recall was handled by the factory in a poor manner. After ten years, you would think they would realize the need to find a better way to communicate with its dealer network and find a more efficient method of having the dealers communicate with its customers.
Just my two cents. |
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Tourer
Posts: 495
Carrollton, TX | In regards to the issues you raised with Victory and their dealers and how they get informed and handle recalls I think there are some dealers that are on top of it and others that are slow to respond. I think most of the Victory dealers are a little behind in the technology age and Victory communicates everything to their dealers via a special website. My dealer has done pretty well but there have been a couple of issues I brought to their attention that they didn’t know about so they went online and sure enough the information was on the dealer website. Also the dealers need to get in a habit of using the digital wrench to check for firmware updates. I think the biggest issue has been dealers not using the resources that Victory has developed for them. |
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Tourer
Posts: 548
Mount Vernon, WA United States | Spock, you hit the nail on the head. I know this first hand from being an IT guy for a dealer a few years ago. Victory makes some assumptions that they shouldn't. In theory it's fantastic that digital wrench links up a grabs any updates, but you'd be surprised at how many people only "log on" to Victory when they need to flash the EFI and the computer (usually a laptop) is no where near a network otherwise.
When it comes to the parts and repair site, the wrenches are focused on what they are getting paid to fix. So they are just looking up the area, or problem, or part they need and not reading additional bulletins if they don't relate to the bike they are working on.
The most common issue, as it eluded above, is simply getting into the habit of checking the website any time the wrench has to "think" for a minute. Even just two years ago, if someone came to me with a volume control and loudness issue on a stereo, probably the LAST place I would look is on the web. I've been doing audio repair since I was about 12 years old. I'd start looking at an output circuit or load issue. That would take some time and I would eventually come up empty if it was a Vision today. The last thing I would think is that the computer that supports the EFI, also supports the "radio" and all it's functions and that I should plug in my "engine diagnostics" software to fix the volume on my radio!!!!! (By radio, I'm referring the the audio interface). But that is EXACTLY what needs to be done.
So the trick for Victory, is to educate, and re-affirm to the wrenches, that these tools are there, and are not "luxury" or "short cuts for the inexperienced" but they are actually TOOLS that are just as important as that torque wrench and socket set.
On the other side of the coin is making this work in reality. Using the same example, when you ride your shiney new Vision up to the dealer, with a seemingly simple MECHANICAL problem.... (note the phrase "SEEMINGLY MECHANICAL" like the volume control doesn't work... If you are not a fairly computer literate person... you do NOT want to hear... "Well, we really have no idea what's wrong until we hook it up to the computer." and if that isn't bad enough........ "We won't be able to get to your bike until tomorrow." And, in the mean time your think'n... They need a computer to find a loose wire... what a bunch of bozos...
I realize it's not a loose wire, just putting on the hat of the non-computer person that doesn't need their bike tuned, just the volume control fixed and hears that nothing can be done until they hook the bike up to the Digital Wrench.
Bottom line is... Victory is waaaaay ahead of the curve on technology integration. Their Dealer network are a bunch of independent shops that DO NOT work for Victory, but in fact PAY for the privilege of selling their product. That in itself, is a dynamic the hurts the communication path between Victory and the mechanics.
Maybe, just maybe it's in the long run better this way. It weeds out the non-dedicated dealers from the dedicated ones so that in time, those Victory dealers and mechanics that are left, will be the best of the best.
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3G iPhone - NOT $199
