I'm on an employee account and as such am forced (ugh - being on an emp. account is a curse on launch days for new devices!) to order online due to corporate rules that state we can't buy phones in-store (anywhere... agent... corp... best buy... etc.)
We may ONLY order online. This sucks, because this means we get our phones a day after everyone who is able to buy in-store.
Here's what I know about online ordering:
Usually, as was the case for the original Motorola Droid, we have to wait until the device shows up on the website. For the original Motorola Droid, it showed up just after midnight on launch day, meaning it wouldn't ship until that afternoon/night and didn't arrive until the next day (I think launch day was the 14th... think I got my phone on the 15th). What happened to me was that my dad came to my house on the 14th with Droid-in-hand and paraded it around in front of me, basically teasing me saying "look what I have!" While it was annoying, I dealt with it, and while it isn't life or death and it is just a phone, it is pretty stupid since there doesn't appear to be any *good* reason for the way the system is set up right now. I mean, what is so wrong with people receiving phones via FedEx on launch day instead of the day after? Does anyone know of a good, real reason for this? I can't seem to find one.
There was no way around this and basically this is the way it works for ANYONE ordering online. Can't get to a corporate store on launch day? Yes, everyone else in the world gets to have something one day sooner than you.
So the quickest way is always to buy in-store. For normal customers, this is OK. If you're out of town and need it shipped, you wait 1-2 extra days (once in a great while shipping takes 2 days, even with guaranteed overnight shipping - it's happened to me with VZW before!). For people like me, we must also wait the extra day for the phone to ship. This feels unfair to me as I'm someone who skipped the incredible due to rumblings in the blogosphere about a new tablet-style Motorola Android phone on VZW (which turned out to be the MB810 - the Droid X). I watched every post and update and rumor and have been patiently waiting. Granted, VZW's shipping is super fast, yes, but the annoying one-day delay is inane. They REALLY should put the phone on the website on the 14th, that way people can order a day ahead and receive their phones on the actual launch date, the 15th.
I wish I knew why VZW corporate chose to do its online ordering system this way... I mean, people are going to flock en masse to the website the second it shows up - does it matter if it's the day before or the day of launch for a new phone? You'd think it wouldn't matter at all, and imagine how many customers would be happy to see the FedEx guy show up with their new phone the same day their family/friend is able to procure the same new phone from a corp/agent VZW store.
/endrant
