I'm well too aware of the limitations of my Samsung Galaxy Y. It's a great entry Phone but after saving a few bucks, I felt the need to upgrade. I've been searching the net, looking for a sub 15k smartphone that packs a punch. The first phone that caught my attention was the Samsung Galaxy Ace. But after reading some negative comments, I turned my attention to its latest version, the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus. Again, negative reviews. I looked to other brands and finally, one phone that's sexy enough to tickle my fancy, the HTC One V. Little did I know that this curved-chin looker would be such a tease.

and I'm still waiting

The looks, the specs, the ice cream sandwich android version, and of course the price point were my buying points. Recently launched mid last month, I had to wait a couple of weeks for the One V to pop up on outlet shelves. When it did, I immediately purchased but was immediately turned off. The phone had no "factory charge" and I had to stand there waiting for the phone to power on. I got bored so I cancelled the transaction. Only after an hour that we realized, my sister left her sim card inside the phone. We went back to the shop and the One V was now booting up. I resumed the transaction but was again disappointed after finding some adhesive stuff just below the screen. The shop didn't have extra stocks and asked me to return the next day only to find out they don't have new stocks yet.


Last friday I happened to drop by Megamall and tried to look for my One V. I just don't know why this baby got me hooked. I saw one at e-phone, tried it for a few minutes and bought it right away. For a few days I was really happy with the phone, downloading a number of apps from the Play store, watching movies, and playing games endlessly. Then last night it suddenly died on me.

I tried to return it to e-phone this morning, just 6 days after I purchased it from them but they said they could only replace it if within 3 days of purchase date. I was really disappointed with them not even offering to help bring the phone to HTC's service center. Instead, the counter lady just scribbled the service center's address and treated my phone like it had leprosy or something, not wanting to touch it at all.

SIS Servicing Form

I took a cab and went straight to HTC's service center located at Atlanta Center in Annapolis. I registered at the lobby and was surprised to see a lot of visitors headed towards HTC. Looks like I'm just one of the many having trouble with HTC phones. SIS Technologies is an authorized service center for HTC and their receiving area is small. One desk with two computers, two chairs in front of the desk, and just four more for those waiting to be entertained. Needless to say, they ran out of seats to accommodate all their victims visitors.

I waited for around 10 minutes just to be told that I need to leave my phone for 3-4 days for "diagnosis." After calling in sick for work just to get this phone replaced then be told that I won't have a phone in a week was just unacceptable. And I'm not even considering the hefty amount I paid for that sucker. I demanded for a service unit and they handed me an HTC Desire. They didn't offer until I asked for one. After more than 30 minutes of wasted time, they told me to wait for their text message telling me if my phone is already available for pick-up. Great, I'm really looking forward to that, another day to waste time, energy, and money.

Part II here.