Midnight Release?

[WorldOfJohnboy]

This is official from my wonderful VZW Account Manager:

I know inquiring minds want to know…Customers can begin placing orders for the Thunderbolt online (My Biz/VEC, My Verizon) at 12:01 AM tomorrow!

(Note: I am EST, not sure if that is time zone dependant or if it will roll out at midnight.)

dancedroid

 

[metzor]

This is official from my wonderful VZW Account Manager:

I know inquiring minds want to know…Customers can begin placing orders for the Thunderbolt online (My Biz/VEC, My Verizon) at 12:01 AM tomorrow!

(Note: I am EST, not sure if that is time zone dependant or if it will roll out at midnight.)

dancedroid

Bah, and I had just convinced myself I wouldn't stay up all hours of the night to order this thing.

Thanks!

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

This is official from my wonderful VZW Account Manager:

I know inquiring minds want to know…Customers can begin placing orders for the Thunderbolt online (My Biz/VEC, My Verizon) at 12:01 AM tomorrow!

(Note: I am EST, not sure if that is time zone dependant or if it will roll out at midnight.)

dancedroid

Bah, and I had just convinced myself I wouldn't stay up all hours of the night to order this thing.

Thanks!

Son-of-a... now I am told that they changed the memo and it is going to happen at 3am EST, Midnight PST. DARN YOU WEST COAST!

 

[metzor]

Son-of-a... now I am told that they changed the memo and it is going to happen at 3am EST, Midnight PST. DARN YOU WEST COAST!

Ah man. There is no way I am getting up at 3am. Hopefully they won't have supply issues online...

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Son-of-a... now I am told that they changed the memo and it is going to happen at 3am EST, Midnight PST. DARN YOU WEST COAST!

Ah man. There is no way I am getting up at 3am. Hopefully they won't have supply issues online...

My rep said they won't... typically if there are going to be supply issues (like with the iPhone 4 release), they do not allow VZW employees to purchase the phone... she told me that they will open the ordering to employees and customers alike for the Thunderbolt, which means that they should be ok if you wake up in the morning.

I think with the iPhone 4 release on Verizon, the online pre-orders opened at 3am and closed at 9am EST.

 

[motty69]

Verizon tweeted an hour ago that the Tbolt will be available online at midnight ET. They also said it will be $319 on a one year contact.

Sent from my Eris using DroidForums App

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

Verizon tweeted an hour ago that the Tbolt will be available online at midnight ET. They also said it will be $319 on a one year contact.

Sent from my Eris using DroidForums App

What's the Twitter handle?

 

[dbrown8579]

I just checked...it's the real deal Twitter

 

[BillTheCat]

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

 

[WorldOfJohnboy]

@BillTheCat: Just so you know, that "Sign Up to be notified" feature on VZW sites never has worked with that intention.

I can recall signing up for many a Blackberry notifications, one for my Droid X, the iPhone 4 and now the TBolt. Not one of them has ever "pre-notified" me of an upcoming sales, I think I always get them the day of/after the device is released. I admit that it's misleading, but I now know it will never work in that way.

I'd also rather they not have all the fanfare as they do with the Apple devices... makes me believe that I know something that no one else does!

I've used the phone for a couple of weeks, and can tell that it definitely does NOT suck!

 

[DJStormX]

Anybody know if VZ stores will price match the printout i print from Wirefly or Amazon for $179-$199??

 

[metzor]

Whether their "strikes soon" page is working as intended or not, it still makes them look silly. I mean I just ordered the thing, and their "learn more" page tells me I can "know before it hits". It really does kind of seem like they aren't into making a big deal out of this. When the stupid iphone came out, you had to opt out of having a massive pop up ad for it when you logged into your vzw account. If anyone other than phone geeks even know the TB is now out, I'd be surprised.

 

[Vito.a]

I received my Thunderbolt email notification from Verizon this morning (Thursday, Mar 17) at 4:43AM EDT.

 

[slinky]

Nothing from them from the 2 accounts I signed up for. No word from the rep either. My guess is I am not going to hear on this one until next week.

Yes, Verizon executives are iPhone sheep. They probably spent a ton of money paying Apple for the right to market their walled, mediocre garden.