[Ohio-talk] Do You Want The iPhone 4 From Verizon Wireless?

[Cheryl Fischer]

Please write us all again to report what the accessibility improvements
are with this phone and to tell us in a week or two how well it does in
real life situations to meet your needs.  For example, does it read all
the menus or just some of them?  Do you need sighted assistance to set
anything up?

Thanks!
Cheryl 


-----Original Message-----
From: ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Sheri
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 5:50 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
Cc: cindis at fuse.net
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Do You Want The iPhone 4 From Verizon Wireless?

Hello Fellow Federationists, 
I was a diehard Verizon Wireless customer and was content to settle for
the
"most" accessible phone they supported. Then came along the iPhone. The
most
incredible, accessible cell phone on the market. This was not a Verizon
supported phone, however, and I had to make a choice. Accessibility won
over
carrier loyalty. For the past two years, I haves loves using my iPhone
but
have been unhappy with my service. THAT IS NOW ABOUT TO CHANGE! 

On February 3rd 2011, Verizon Wireless will be offering the iPhone 4! It
will be available online for pre-orders to current Verizon customers
ONLY on
a "first come, first serve" basis. The cost will be $199 with a 2-year
contract. This can be done on Verizonwireless.com. 

On February 10th, Verizon Retail Stores will start selling the iPhone 4,
again on a "first come, first serve" basis. When the in-store supply is
gone, Verizon will then take shipping orders, until they are completely
sold
out. The stores will open at 7 AM and they expect the line to start
forming
at midnight on the 9th. The iPhone can also be purchased at the Apple
Retail
Stores, also this same day.

There are some obstacles for me, as a blind person, to getting my
iPhone.
First of all, in order to pre-order the iPhone 4 on February 3rd, the
website will need to be accessible. If not, fortunately, Cindi will be
there
to help me. Next, if the supply of pre-orders runs out, then I will have
to
wait until February 10th and go the store. The problem with that is, how
will I get to the store at midnight on February 9th to get my spot in
line?
I spent four hours in my local Verizon store, talking to the manager and
sales staff, voicing my concerns. Although they were very sympathetic,
their
hands were tied by Apple, who made it very clear on how the iPhone sale
was
to be run. Absolutely no "holds" were to be made, or phones set aside
for
any reason whatsoever. I needed to impress upon them that blind people
not
just "want" the iPhone, we "need" the iPhone for its accessibility. For
us,
it is not a merely a luxury. When we left the store, we knew that if
anything were to be done, it was going to have to come from Apple.

The manager at the store did find a loophole for me to make it possible
to
pre-order the iPhone 4, since I am not an existing Verizon customer. All
I
need to do is set up an account on Verizonwireless.com before February
3rd
with ANY old Verizon Wireless phone, using the serial number on the back
of
the phone. I am setting up this account as having no contract and
eligible
for an upgrade. When I go to pre-order the iPhone, I will sign on to My
Account on Verizonwireless.con, upgrade that phone to the iPhone and
sing up
for the 2-year contract.

I hope this all makes sense to you. If you have any questions, let me
know.
I just wanted to get the word out so you all would be able to take
advantage
of this wonderful opportunity of getting the iPhone from Verizon. All of
this with no help from Verizon or Apple.

Good luck!
Sheri Albers







_______________________________________________
Ohio-talk mailing list
Ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Ohio-talk:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/c16a19f%40sbc
global.net