I love my iPhone. I hate AT&T.

I just received my first full month bill from AT&T Wireless for my iPhone. It did not come in a box. I wish it had. Then I would have had something to throw up in when I saw the charge of $2,970.40.

To be fair, I thought my bill might be a little bit higher than usual as it seems my iPhone never leaves my side and I’m on it far more often than I was ever on my old cell phone. But, holy shit. I felt like someone punched me in the gut when I opened the bill.

Thank god the bill still had all of the detail. It showed that the majority of the charges were due to data costs while I was in Canada on vacation. Yes, my beloved iPhone didn’t take a vacation when I did. It worked 24/7 to fill AT&T’s coffers. While I was awake, and while I was asleep, it faithfully and dutifully reached out to synch with my email back in the states, racking up huge charge after huge charge.

Now before you chalk me up as some idiot who should have known that international travel was going to cost more, you have to understand the voice plan I’m on with AT&T. I’ve been a loyal Cingular/AT&T for years and I’m on a plan they no longer offer called the North America Plan. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in Toronto, Mexico City or Cincinnati, I never pay roaming charges as long as I’m in North America. I assumed my “unlimited” data plan would have the same footprint. And why wouldn’t I assume that. When I signed up there was only one data plan offered. There was no mention of an international plan, no mention of any other option. Just “unlimited” data.

Take a look at Apple’s site and how they describe the rate plans. They say unlimited data, and no where is there an asterisk qualifying what unlimited means or any mention of international. I think this qualifies as a false claim.

I called AT&T customer service to get this situation remedied.

They were incredibly helpful.

No, not really.

They did let me know that though not listed, there is an international plan for data ($55) that I could sign up for from today forward. And they let me know that they could put me on a payment plan as they realized that a $3,000 bill could be a bit much to pay all in one month. I suggested they retroactively put me on the international data plan since this was the first I had heard of it. I mean seriously, if you can deliver all of that data for $55, is it really reasonable to charge someone nearly $3,000 for the same thing? Ummm, apparently so in their eyes. That logic didn’t resonate with my customer service rep, or his manager.

Here’s another thought, why not forgive these charges as there was a failure on their part in not revealing other options during the sign-up process. It’s not like they didn’t know I was on the North American plan. Perhaps they might acknowledge in their push to create the simplest sign-up possible that they overlooked some of their long-time loyal customers who didn’t have standard plans.

Where do we go from here? I’m currently awaiting a call from the next person up the totem pole. An area manager of some sort. I hope he can solve my problem. If not, I’ll keep pushing my way up the ladder until I reach Ed Whitacre. He seems bright enough to do the right thing.

AT&T’s tagline is “Your World. Delivered.” What they fail to mention is that there is an enormous freakin’ delivery fee.

I’ll keep you posted.

All the best (and in this case some of the worst),

Doug

We (3LUXE) were just featured (8/28/07) on another site highlighting new businesses. This one you can almost guess based on this blog entry’s title… yes, I’m talking about the aptly named coolbusinessideas.com. They gave us a nice write-up that has been picked up by several other blogs and it’s driving a nice uptick in traffic. As always, let us know what you think of the site, or any of the specific products, when you visit. We need your feedback to be successful.

All the best,

Doug

Today’s “Best Of the Day” is a pair of sunglasses, the Oakley Flak Jacket. It’s rare that I blog about a Best Of the Day – they’re all great products, best described by the reviews on 3LUXE. But when I saw the Flak Jacket, it reminded me of when I first knew that Oakley would be a “Best Of” in sunglasses.

Last January, I had the chance to visit Oakley’s Rolling O Lab at the FBR Open in Scottsdale. After seeing a series of comparison tests performed on Oakley glasses and their competition, I was convinced Oakley was a “Best Of.” I always recognized Oakley made a durable lens, but didn’t understand how tough they were until I saw a pair of Oakley sunglasses withstand the highest impact ANSI tests and competitive lenses shattered.

Understanding that most of us aren’t in need of the type of physical protection that Oakley sunglasses provide, what really sold me was the optics. Until seeing tests in the O Lab, I had no idea how much sunglasses can distort our vision focal points. If you’ve ever found yourself with a headache after wearing sunglasses, you probably blame it on the sun. It’s most likely from the distortion created by your sunglasses. The distortion causes strain on your eyes which are forced to continuously adjust to compensate for your distorted lenses. The result leaves you with a headache.

I’ve owned many different brands of glasses over the years, but now when I head out for extended periods in the sun, I want Oakleys.

Seeing is believing.

All the best,
Bill

Last week I was at Doug’s cottage on Georgian Bay in Ontario with little access to the outside world. The exception, my BlackBerry. Of the 6 adults on the island, 3 of us (the guys) could regularly be seen with SmartPhones. An iPhone, a BlackBerry Pearl and an old school 7280.

One night after a few beers and some wine of wine, we decided to have a friendly competition (we’re guys) to see whose smart phone was better. It became clear that none of us would concede we had an inferior phone. We each had favorite features that suited us well. The iPhone, as advertised, has an amazing google maps feature that blew the crackberries away. On the BlackBerries 2 great software packages stood out: viigo an awesome RSS reader that keeps you connected no matter where you go. It saves you the time of surffing on your mobile by pushing content directly to the BlackBerry. Another great app for the BlackBerry, 411. Plug in your address or zip and quickly locates restaurants, movies, Starbucks etc. and maps you to them. A great for the business/casual traveler.

We all liked our email applications. Doug’s iPhone had been set up for business email and worked as good as the BBs, despite some of the heat it takes in reviews. In the end we all stayed “loyal” to our phones, but were in complete agreement that they all helped us stay connected on the road.

When reflecting on our phone competition one great thing I saw, 3 different phones, 3 satisfied customers. Although only one of these phones is currently a “Best Of”, they were all a best of in their owner’s hand. At 3LUXE our ultimate goal is to help users find products that they’ll not only be satisfied with, but happy knowing they have the best.

All the best,
Bill