It has been just over three months since the Carrier IQ “spygate” epidemic engulfed the mobile world. As smartphones and tablets become more powerful, consumers are becoming even more concerned with their mobile privacy as numerous smartphones have been found to track users’ locations, phone calls, text messages and even which websites they visit. While the companies that used Carrier IQ’s tracking software claimed it was for diagnostic purposes, the service was promptly removed fr...

In a response to the FCC following a formal complaint, Verizon Wireless has outlined the company’s policy on locked bootloaders. An irate Droid-Life reader became fed up with the carrier’s consistent locking of bootloaders on its flagship devices and decided to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. The reader claimed Verizon’s policy was in violation of the “Block C license,” an agreement the company made when it purchased its 700MHz LTE spectrum. Within t...

Amazon received the highest customer service ratings of any retailer in 2011 according to the NRF Foundations Customers’ Choice survey. The survey, which asked more than 9,000 shoppers which retailer provides the best customer service, was conducted by BIGresearch. In 2011, Amazon gained one spot to become the top-ranked retailer while the company’s subsidiary Zappos, which was previously ranked No.1, fell to No.3. Coming in behind Amazon was L.L.Bean, gaining a spot from 2010 rank to come in at...

Among the top-four nationwide carriers in the United States, AT&T has managed the lowest ratio of Better Business Bureau complaints to customers over the past three years. Earlier this month, the BBB published data collected between August 2008 and July 2011 for the eight biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. The firm then measured total complaints for each carrier against its approximate total subscriber count according to the CTIA as of July to determine each carrier’s “complaint ratio.R...

Michael Dell is toying with the idea of using Google+ Hangouts for Dell’s customer support. The service allows users to initiate a video chat session with multiple people inside their Google+ circles. “I am thinking about hangouts for business. Would you like to be able to connect with your Dell service and sale teams via video directly from Dell.com?” he posted on his Google+ page on Sunday. The idea was an instant success: 556 people had given the comment a +1 as of Tuesday morning and hun...

Customer service representatives, while often very helpful, are rarely solid sources for unannounced information. At the same time, there have been cases in the past where customer service reps have unknowingly shared information that was intended to stay behind closed doors, and we have a feeling this could be one of those cases. According to Apple enthusiast blog MacRumors, an AT&T rep recently confirmed to a subscriber that there will not be a new iPhone launching in June or July this year. The corresp...

Among the more aggravating predicaments gadget fans often find themselves in are the scenarios where devices break or accounts get over-billed and phone calls to customer service must be made. The only sure way to make these situations even more aggravating, of course, is to navigate through a maze of key-presses and then sit on hold for 13 minutes before a call is finally connected. Thankfully, services like FastCustomer look to ease the tension a bit by waiting on hold in place of the user and then and ...

AT&T was dragged over the coals yesterday following the revelation that Consumer Reports readers think AT&T is the worst carrier in the U.S. The bruised carrier issued a statement shortly after Consumer Reports’ survey made the rounds, but it was pretty obvious that it had more in store. Today, AT&T points out that according to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), its network is the best in the country — 0r, at least, its subscribers complain the least. In the 12-month period ending December ...

If there’s one thing T-Mobile USA is known for, it’s solid customer service. J.D. Power and Associates found this out as well, as they have just announced that T-Mobile USA is the sole highest-ranking wireless provider in “Overall Customer Care Performance.” Congrats, T-Mobile. Now if you could only expand coverage and launch some kick-ass devices… (more…)

Now this is a service we can get behind! Fonolo serves one purpose and one purpose alone: Kill phone trees. If you’re not familiar with the term “phone tree” you’ll certainly be familiar with the concept. When something you own isn’t working properly despite your best efforts, you get angry. You pride yourself in being a skilled gadgeteer so the fact that you can’t fix the problem yourself is a bit enraging. Now you have to swallow your pride, cowboy up and call the dreaded...