[Joebar]

You people need to take better care of your phones..

and yeah, homeowners insurance is probably the cheapest option.. It's probably like a 20 a year addon.

[GoodNamesRTaken]

Umm...the math is off.

It's $5 a month so $60 a year. If you lose the phone it's $50 to get a replacement shipped to you. Is it a great deal? Well, I dunno. I wouldn't get it for a cheaper phone, but to insure a $600 device then $60 doesn't seem all that horrid. Of course, it is an insurance company and they're out to make money...and I'm sure they do.

Add the $50 deductible and $10 junk fee and that is $120 for the year. Albiet only $180 for two years. Then again, in two years, the Treo 650 will probably be selling for $150 new.

Lockline insurance is akin to paying $30,000/year to insure a $100,000 house.

Most people would consider the above to be on the edge of insanity, while thinking nothing of paying the same ratio of insurance for a cellular phone. The "only 5 bucks a month" ropes them in, without ever getting out a calculator and punching in all the numbers to calculate the risk/reward.

And if you search on Usenet, you will see that lockline doesn't always give you what you think they will.

But...whether they charge too much or not will not work as a defense to Insurance Fraud. So, if the ethical issues aren't enough...perhaps the criminal penalties might be.

Insurance fraud is more rampant on the part of the insurers than it is on the part of the insured, IMHO. They don't seem to concerned about the legal implications.

Playing the game means what? Screwing over others for your own benefit?

Playing the game means playing the game. There are no set rules. Let common sense rule.

Maybe the insurance would be less if there were less folks playing your crappy game.

The rates wouldn't be lower. Malpractice insurance has not come down in states where caps were put on judgements.

Oh, and it's not "my crappy game". I don't have lockline insurance. I never had. So I don't play at all.

How about living with a bit of honor rather than preaching how doing the wrong thing is okay.

I think it's honorable to not do business with people are think are not honorable.

Don't you?

As, I said...it sucks that he dropped his phone...might want to check with his homeowners policy to see if it's covered (although it might fall below the deductible). Otherwise, I guess it's one of those things that happen to us...take responsibility for it and buy a new one or have it repaired.

Indeed.

Like I said, I would put my "insurance" money in a coffee can, and try to negotiate a phone discount in case of accidental loss. If you are a good customer on a semi-profitable calling plan, you'd be surprised at what the phone companies will do to keep you. They may knock a few bucks off. And subtract from that the deductible, the junk fees, and the money in your coffee can - and you may not end up paying too much for the replacement phone.

[GoodNamesRTaken]

GoodNamesRTaken - If you would not defraud them yourself it seems pretty ironic that you suggested it.

If someone you've know has had issues with Lockline that's for you to factor into your decision. I can't say I've had all these issues with Insurance Companies that you continue speaking of. All my experiences have been fine.

If Lockline was such a problem I think there would be far more negative reports even "here".

I don't know how many people here have the insurance. You have to realize that most Treo users are more savy than the average Joe, and probably don't find paying a 1:3 yearly insurance ratio attractive.

I would look to the cellular community as a whole for more information. Try Usenet.

And I never recommended anything. Merely that people do what they think is right given the totality of the situation.

Oh, and that I have a hard time shedding a tear for the insurance industry. Which I stand by.

It's wrong and illegal to beat up a white guy who is running down 103rd street in Watts screaming racial slurs ... but for some reason, I would just have a really hard time feeling sorry for him.

[darnell]

I don't know how many people here have the insurance. You have to realize that most Treo users are more savy than the average Joe, and probably don't find paying a 1:3 yearly insurance ratio attractive.

I would look to the cellular community as a whole for more information. Try Usenet.

And I never recommended anything. Merely that people do what they think is right given the totality of the situation.

I've been using this board since the Treo 300 days, but is seems you registered earlier this year. There are A WHOLE LOT of people that get the insurance here and always have. Plenty of people have posted how things go when they make a claim. There are also people that have protection plans from other sources.

On Usenet anyone can fake all their information and make a post. Here there is a higher probability that what someone says can be connected to an individual. So anything on Usenet is inherently more "suspect". And it is a given that not everyone will have the same experience.

You name the plan and I'm sure somebody has a complaint. There have even been complaints about Sprint's warrantee.

[dragonslayer76]

I have to defunk your claim (pardon the pun). Lockline (I've read) will discontinue your coverage after replacing 2. True? Is it possible all those replacements were for warranty issues and didn't go through insurance at all?

This IS true, they will only replace after TWO replacements. Believe me, I know, I am not the gentlest person in the world when it comes to phones, I hate to even get a scratch on them, but it seems if I get to the point where I get it scratched, the screen is already shattered. And I have been that route with them.

I have heard of people getting re-furbed phones, and even non-PDA phones as replacements when there is a shortage (there is a clause buried in there somewhere, the small print always taketh away what the big print giveth).

And they can and DO give you a refurbished phone. From someone else that had dropped theirs. Just like how I know about the 2 replacement thing. I have personal experience in this. I have had FIVE Treo 600's from them.

The first one was because of a shatted screen from a fall. This wonderful replacement had a discolored screen. I called, complained and had another sent to me as IT'S replacement. This one, the earpiece did not even work. So.... I called again. They sent me yet another phone. This one the camera was all f@#$% up. I called believe it or not a another time.

This went on.... Untill I called a supervisor.

She advised me that ALL of these phones were refurbished. She said yes in some cases they will give a new phone but in the situations that involve a Treo 600 (and I am quite sure the new 650), since it is such a high risk expensive phone, they have no new ones, or even plan on getting any new ones due to their price.

I was so miffed, I got off the phone, went down to the Sprint store, gave them my problem child and they traded it out right then with a new in box Treo under a "warrenty" issue.

So the insurace is good IF you are hard on your phone and do'nt mind the extra $5 a month and if you can't afford a replacement yourself. BUT you are trading yours in for a lesser of two evils in my opinion.

Maybe I was just unlucky those weeks... Maybe not. Draw your own conclusions about Lockline.

[GoodNamesRTaken]

I've been using this board since the Treo 300 days, but is seems you registered earlier this year.

I've been "registered" for almost a year (and all the good names were taken dammit). You can read without registering. Which is what I did for a long while. I would be willing to bet that 90% of the people who read these boards lurk, without ever posting a single sentence.

There are A WHOLE LOT of people that get the insurance here and always have. Plenty of people have posted how things go when they make a claim. There are also people that have protection plans from other sources.

I guess we really have no way of knowing how many Treo users actually have "the insurance". In meatspace, I know people who have it. Some have god experiences, some have bad, some have had abysmal.. But at that insurance to cost ratio, they should fill any and all claims with a smile and perhaps kiss your rear end for letting what is perhaps that largest margin "insurance" plan in the nation continue to operate.

I only wish I had thought of lockline first, but I always have had a problem with overestimating the intelligence of the american public.

On Usenet anyone can fake all their information and make a post.

Ahhhh. Here is the crux of your arguement. The bad experiences posted on Usenet are fake, because people can post fake information.

I suppose the god expereinces are real? Because those can be "faked" too (though why anyone would go through the trouble is beyond me).

Still, warts and all, Usenet is a better statistical sample of the cellular phone insurance industry as a whole. That medium has been around as long as the internet and has what .... 10 million or so users?

Here there is a higher probability that what someone says can be connected to an individual.

So you think my real name is GoodNamesRTaken?

So anything on Usenet is inherently more "suspect".

So you've said. I don't agree. Ever visited a Yahoo message board? Good gracious the nonesene the post their makes Usenet look like a fact-checked source. Any forum is vulnerable to BS. I don't see one being any more or less reliable.

And it is a given that not everyone will have the same experience.

Yes, and grass is green and the sky is blue. (well, except in LA).

You name the plan and I'm sure somebody has a complaint. There have even been complaints about Sprint's warrantee.

I never said otherwise. I said that the risk/reward on Lockline insurance is something that noone would even remotely consider on a house or a car or any other insurance, but for some reason a certain subset of people think it is a good insurance ratio on a cellular phone. It doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but if you want to buy it, buy it.

And with the amount of margin that the Lockline company is getting, there should be darn near zero "bad" experiences, because this company has hit the jackpot.

They obviously went to the P.T. Barnum school of business, and it certainly paid off.

[GoodNamesRTaken]

Maybe I was just unlucky those weeks... Maybe not. Draw your own conclusions about Lockline.

Liar!!!!!

You made this all up!

Bad experiences about Lockline belong on Usenet, not here. And by the way, have I been registered on TreoCentral longer than you have?

And I bet "Dragonslayer76" appears nowhere on your Birth Certficiate!

You post was impossible. It never existed.

[GoodNamesRTaken]

I've been using this board since the Treo 300 days, but is seems you registered earlier this year.

Oh, BTW, I still have a Treo 300, and a 600, and a 650. And I stil have a Palm VII (the first Palm wireless offering) which I was one of the first people in the country to get. And before that the good old Palm Pilot. And have developed software for all these devices.

Taking the time to comb through the "member joined" date, and throwing it into the debate in any fashion, is perhaps the poorest way available to gauge a person's experience on the topic at hand.

[BssinRVer]

Oh, BTW, I still have a Treo 300, and a 600, and a 650. And I stil have a Palm VII (the first Palm wireless offering) which I was one of the first people in the country to get. And before that the good old Palm Pilot. And have developed software for all these devices.

Taking the time to comb through the "member joined" date, and throwing it into the debate in any fashion, is perhaps the poorest way available to gauge a person's experience on the topic at hand.

I agree. And the number of posts can bite you too.

[darnell]

Oh, BTW, I still have a Treo 300, and a 600, and a 650. And I stil have a Palm VII (the first Palm wireless offering) which I was one of the first people in the country to get. And before that the good old Palm Pilot. And have developed software for all these devices.

Taking the time to comb through the "member joined" date, and throwing it into the debate in any fashion, is perhaps the poorest way available to gauge a person's experience on the topic at hand.

I never questioned your "history" with Palm devices. Just your time around here since the Lockline insurance has been available. Lockline never offered insurance on other Palms that I know of . So that history really does not matter.

My point was that I've been seeing posts about Lockline for a long time here. If you "lurked" for years before signing up that's cool too.

The pro/cons of the insurance has always been an interesting topic of debate. You can always start a service that offers better quality at a lower cost and I'm sure you will get some business .

[sanford]

I dropped my t650 from about 2 feet and now its broken, alt button is stuck, after I unstick it, the screen locks up.
I must have dropped my t600 about a dozen times and it still worked fine.

Glade I didn't pay a cent for the upgrade - no comment, but I feel sorry for everyone who forked out the cash.

[ManofTrueGod]

This is painful for me. It has just been 3 days and I dropped my T650 just about 2 feet and the screen discolored. Touch screen is broken. My T600 dropped several times that way but didn't hurt a thing. Arghh....

[DetroitWebOS]

This is painful for me. It has just been 3 days and I dropped my T650 just about 2 feet and the screen discolored. Touch screen is broken. My T600 dropped several times that way but didn't hurt a thing. Arghh....

My innopocket can't get here fast enough...

[seank]

i bought a t650 branded cingular fought tooth and nail to get it unlocked finally cingular helped me out... i droped my unit shortly after and the P button became overly sensitive.. i called p1 and sed i dun know what happened...they sed i have to send my CINGULAR unlocked 650 ack to them after recieving the new one, well i get the new one in less than 3 days and its the regular p1 unlcoked ver of the 650 wow im happy as a pig in s**t.. just wanted to share my experience.

also btw the unit was bought under 90days in case that matters