Disclaimer: I am a VZ employee, although not VZW. I do design the data circuits that make cell sites work, though.
I was really hoping for a midnight release on this one. You know, since we (VZ/VZW) managed to bungle nearly every aspect of marketing this phone.
I can't fault VZW for the delays, as they never officially announced a release date until yesterday. But it's obvious that the lead-up to this release was fraught with problems, none of which were ever really acknowledged publicly.
First, why did we launch our LTE network with no LTE phone even expected for 2 months? (Never mind that it took more than 3 to happen) Boggles my mind, since most folks want phones, not USB modem dongles. I would have held off the LTE launch until there were 2-3 phones ready to ship, so as not to waste the opportunity to hype the network properly.
When they finally acknowledged the TB at all on their site, it was only if you scrolled down & clicked on the LTE advertisement which itself was positioned so low on the page as to not be visible from the top of the page.
So I found that, clicked on the TB link, and entered my e-mail address at the promise of being "the first to know" when the TB would launch. Guess what. I still haven't gotten an e-mail. (And I signed up twice with 2 different accounts)
Then, when they finally announce the release, it's not even acknowledged on the VZW site. They are still taking e-mail addresses for those who "want to know more." If they have published the 3/17 release date on their site, they have hidden it well.
So you'd think that after all that bungling, they'd open at least one store in each major metro area that has LTE service so that the hardcore Droid geeks among us could go snatch up the phones with a little fanfare. Nope. just another phone being released. No biggie.
On a side note, my local VZW PR Rep held an event last week to show off the Xoom tablet & the TB. On a weeknight at 7pm, at a pool hall/sushi bar on a busy 4-lane thoroughfare with no street level parking. With about 10 dedicated parking spots behind the building, which were full. Bordered by residential areas that require permits for street parking after 6pm. When I tweeted him an "Epic Fail" message, his reply was that I should come back & park in the lot @ the abandoned building next door (which was chained off, except for one entrance, and empty- didn't look like a place they wanted you to park)
After all this, yes the hardcore among us will still go hunt down these handsets tomorrow & over the weekend. But I can't help but think that some advanced publicity could have turned this into a release worth noticing.
*sigh*
If this phone sucks, I may just go buy a pager & a map of working pay phones. LOL
