iphone 5

[ians]

Blurock you need to look at what is important to you.

For me I need a few basics,

A phone with a 5 to 8 meg camera, so that I don't have to carry a camera around for my work or fishing,

Whatsapp, a cheap way keep in contact with staff members on site, be part of groups for security reasons in our area so I know what is happening and where the crime is taking place, family who live all over the world,fishing updates, and because not every one has a blackberry, so at least everyone can keep in contact for a small fee.

memory to hold 500 contacts

A small keypad phone, with decent size screen, so you don't spend 30 % of the time on the phone getting functions to activate, from having to swipe or tap...tap...tap numerous times.

A phone without predictive text or can be switched off, so you don't look a right fool when sending messages.

ip67 dust and water resistant rating would just be an added bonus, like the Sony xperia go, some of the construction people I work with have rated this phone, only downfall, sound quality on the speaker, but considering it is ip 67 rated it doesn't surprise me.

[ians]

3 1/2 hours later, updated to IOS 6.1.4, phone still has the defect, now to cancel the contract with Telkom.

[ians]

I have a brand new phone they have given me out of goodwill which was also identified as being defective and Telkom have acknowledged the fault on the phone I handed in.

They have sent away the first phone to let the technicians identify the problem and attempt to repair it or at least come up with an explanation or solution.

They have requested I send them an email and list all the defects I have found on the phone, which I will do over the weekend.

The question is how long do I have before I can no longer turn back.

A Replacement phone is no longer an option as all iphone 5 seem to have the same defect, even brand new out the box , so where to from here.

Can I cancel the contract and for how long can I wait before I can no longer cancel the contract, 7 days or 6 months?

Can I request a different brand product to the same value, which is going to be an issue because iphone is the most expensive product on the market?

[HR Solutions]

I would think 7 days.

[ians]

Looks like the iphone 5 will go into the bottom draw and be written off as just another bad experience using the services of a big company.

Some say why cant I just live with the defect, well its like talking to a women who has a white t shirt on with no bra and she has been sweating a little it hard to look her in the eye.

At least one good thing will come of it, it can be a R9000 tax write off.

So lets see f the Sony xperia has to offer.

[Justloadit]

Sell your iphone on one of the internet auction sites.

[ians]

In any circumstance, your contract is with Telkom and not Apple.
Where a product carries a guarantee, that guarantee is in addition to the automatic 6 months afforded by the CPA.
Customer is entitled to the repair, replace or refund at any stage within the first 6 months where the product is faulty.

And what if every product you take out the box has the same defect, how long do I have to cancel the contract?

[ians]

I have noticed Wendy Knowler is staying out of this battle(she has not responded to any of my emails), I think when it comes to cell phone providers, contracts and issues, the CPA is not helping much.

After sitting at Vodacom during my mates renewal process I realised they tie you up pretty good and make sure they make you put pen to paper on every aspect to cover themselves, there is not only one signature on the contract.

[HR Solutions]

Why does it have to be a write off. Sell it , it's not difficult !

[Blurock]

Blurock you need to look at what is important to you.

Agreed. Keep it simple. Long hours does not bother me at all, but no longer being on a treadmill is bliss.

[Dave A]

And what if every product you take out the box has the same defect, how long do I have to cancel the contract?

Did you got to them, or did they contact you first?

Section 16.3 of the CPA:

A consumer may rescind a transaction resulting from any direct marketing without reason or penalty, by notice to the supplier in writing, or another recorded manner and form, within five business days after the later of the date on which-

a)the transaction or agreement was concluded; or

b)the goods that were the subject of the transaction were delivered to the consumer.

Either way you're probably toast.

Section 20.2 allows for 10 business days, but might also be problematic as there are a fairly complex set of requirements to be met.

[ians]

The conclusion:

When you decided to get a smart phone on a contract, make sure you read and understand what is discussed during the signing process. Use the phone as much as you can in the first 7 days, if you don't like it take it back, ifr it has any scratches dents or whatever don't accept it.

Wrap the phone completely at least for the first 7 days, put a rubber cover on it and put it into a sock just in case, because if it has so much as a tiny dent or scratch on the case you will not be able to claim "out the box failure" and more important don't spill you coffee on it or drop it in the pool, unless its a sony xperia.

If you google any smart phone product you will find there is some issue or other with all of them, the days of getting products which work as they advertise are over, when it comes to cell phones providers they are a law unto themselves and everyone wants one defective or not. For example all iphone 5 have a defect where the top buttons don't line up with what you see on the touch screen, chances are if you have big fingers or use your thumb it will not affect you, or like me know where the switch is located so you can tap in the right place every time and get as response, you either live with it or change product, because they haven't come up with a solution yet.

If you decide to buy an iphone,What ever you don't don't go into a room full of computer geeks and mention the word apple, it is like standing up in church and swearing, I can still hear the word android echoing as I left the room.

If you don't own other apple products, and don't intend buying apple products, think a little before you invest in the iphone 5, you are locked in the apple circle, it will be pretty much be a stand alone item in your network of electronics, other product are not compatible with IOS and apple, you can get apps free or at a small fee to work the other apps like whatsapp, google maps etc, Google has apps and some which do pretty much what apple apps can do, so there is no need for icloud, imessage etc.

Memory in the phone, is not a big issue for me as there are many other forms of storing,uploading or downloading pics videos etc and other data.

The manufacturing quality of the phone is good, it looks good and the screen is nice and clear, and it is simple to use, but that's about all I can say for the phone for now, if they sort out the alignment issue with the touch screen I might take it out the drawer and start using it again.

there are many other issues with the phone, just to mention a few like battery drainage, which you can save battery by switching off apps etc, screen freezing which you can overcome by resetting the phone, no service issues, which you can apparently fix if you switch off LTE and configure the phone, I hear this is only issues with Vodacom. (I assume 8ta is part of Vodacom so if you have a Telkom mix will affect you) you cannot do carrier updates from iTunes if you are with 8ta, it will block your service and you will need to replace your sim card.

Battery life on the iphone5 is also not one of its strong points, with all the apps off, on a normal day if you don't charge it everyday, chances are pretty good that you will need to find a charger during the following day.

If you are hands on kind of person like myself, unless you get a life proof case which is snow/dust/water and snow resistant , you likely to void your warranty within the first week because it is definitely not scratch /dust/snow/or shock resistant, nor designed for people who get out and do stuff.

Personally i am very disappointed in the iphone5 and wish I had done some research before I signed the deal with Telkom, my mistake and a very expensive one at that, for them to allow the phone to leave the factory with such a simple defect, indicates that either they where in a hurry to launch it and just never got around to fixing it, or the it was a simple mistake they didn't detect, which I would find hard to believe considering how much research and millions of dollars were spent designing the box.

I thought buying a brand name like Apple which was suppose to be the best on the market would not need hours of research, but unfortunately with all the new technology available out there, you need to do research and decide what it is you need or what your intention are for the future, because if you don't and you buy a Samsung tablet and an iphone 5 you cannot enjoy the networking features these product offer when it comes to integrating your electronic in your home or business. Just like blackberry, not everyone has bbm, so you find even if you have a blackberry you still have to load whatsapp to keep in contact. but if you don't own a blackberry you cannot be part of the bbm groups.


Please feel free to comment or correct any info I have posted, I am not a computer fundi or phone wizard so the info might not be 100 % correct and I have only had to endue this nightmare with the iphone 5 for 2 weeks, so there could be lots that I have missed or been misinformed about reading replies on the internet.

[ians]

Dave the biggest problem is not the fact that the product has a once off "out the box failure", the issue here is even if every 6 days I return the phone and get a new one which I am entitled to, every single iphone 5 has the defect even if it is brand new.

I hear that if you have a cell phone fixed more than 3 times for the same issue, the carrier is suppose to give you a new phone, it is not going to help if Telkom give me a new phone unless Apple have fixed the defect, that's why I now want to cancel the contract, surely I have the right, it was 14 days ago that I signed the contract with Telkom. It is just unfortunately for Telkom that they got caught up in this Apple product mess.

I don't fell I am asking too much and I also don't believe my standards are too high, it is a simple defect which requires a simple upgrade or it is as simple as cancelling the contract

[ians]

Some useless information...Apple looses market share amongst muggers, too.

Muggers are stealing more Samsung phones than iphones. Police have noticed a sharp increase in the theft of the galaxy line because more people are walking around with them (according to business insider)

[HR Solutions]

Maybe muggers don't dig that push button / slide function thingie either