.png "English"){kind=small}
It's been a rough couple of days trying to get my phone ordered. The highs and lows have been ridiculous. Before I do this device review, let me just do a quick rundown of the valley-and-peak situation that led to me getting to try it out. (Oh, and I am talking about the AT&T Trek 2HD tablet, btw.)
- I went online to upgrade to the Galaxy S8 Plus, which I've heard nothing about but the best things.
- That went well at first, but there were some glitches so I signed into the Help/Chat function to expedite things. (I was having a sarc-rage morning.)
- First chat rep ("Steve") is ever so happy to help me. He tells me that there is a promotion going on where I can not only get my much-needed phone, but I can also get the Galaxy Tab E and - yes, and - the Gear S2 watch. Wonderful. (I think the word I used in the chat was "Wowza".)
- "Steve" gives me the news that I cannot add the bonus items using my old grandfathered unlimited plan. I have to change to the Unlimited 3GB plan. Fine. I was going to eventually have to make a change. I do mention a concern about my budget and ask for a moment to do some math. Being helpful (or so I thought), "Steve" gives me a very precise amount of what my new monthly charges will be with all 3 devices on this new plan. And I mean he was specific down to a penny. I do some budget math and decide I can afford that amount. So "Steve" puts things in motion and we then move on to the devices I want.
- I should have known something was off when "Steve" processed the order for the tablet before doing anything about the phone. But he seems a nice enough guy and, like I said, I was having a bad day of the brain.
- Tablet is ordered and confirmed. At this point (another oddity), "Steve" says that he needs to pass me on to another rep to complete the rest of the order. Ohhhh-kay...
- Now I am dealing with "James" and he needs a moment to look at the what "Steve" has done to this point. We eventually discuss how excited I am to be getting my 2 freebies, how glad I am to be getting a new phone, etcetera.
- It's not until "James" mentions that the tablet and watch will not be part of my order that I realize that something is seriously wrong.
- (Let me stop here to mention that, because of my poor brain function, I tend to take meticulous notes about business transactions if I don't have a trusted witness. In this case, I was constantly printing the Chat record to a PDF file. Just in case.)
- I begin to remind "James" of portions of "Steve's" offers. Actually, what I did was to copy/paste those portions of the chat back in so that "James" could see them.
- "James" got so frustrated that I wasn't okay with not getting what "Steve" promised (he kept trying to convince me that I was misunderstanding something) that he turned me over to Chat with a 'supervisor'. So, now I am chatting with "Leo". Great. I'm on my third rep and I've been in this chat for at least an hour and a half.
- "Leo" also tries to convince me that I am misunderstanding what I can get with the promotion. I remind him of "Steve's" offers and of how specific he was even about what my new monthly cost would be.
- Finally, I tell "Leo" that I would rather go into a store and deal with reps face-to-face because he and the other reps have me so confused I can't tell what's going on. They have changed my plan, begin shipment of a tablet to me here in Iowa, and I still have no phone.The phone upgrade is what I came for - so why do I have a tablet and no phone?! I tell "Leo" that I not only will go into a store for service on the matter, but I will be taking a copy of the Chat record. At that point, he pretty much starts "taking the5th". I don't blame him at all.
- Hilariously, before we end the Chat, "Leo" goes back on script and wants to tell me what a pleasure it's been to serve me. And he finishes by wanting to know if there is anything else he can do for me today. My response (after I finished LOL'ing myself into a stomach ache): "Seriously???"
- I went to the nearest AT&T store (which happens not to be a corporate store, by the way) and the young woman there fixed my problem inside of 15 minutes. She's personally going into a store in the next town to pick up my phone and watch, then call me to pick it up. That would be quicker than waiting for mail delivery. Oh, and I left with a tablet in hand.
Okay. Now, this is where I can begin the review of the Trek. I got the Trek instead of the Galaxy because of the personal opinion/recommendation of the young woman who so beautifully fixed the mess that those other folks caused.
About this Trek, where do I start? Maybe with the Pros first:
- It's very sturdy and well-built. I think it's a tough little device that would last a long time.
- The display is pretty - though I will have more to say about that in a moment.
- It's easy to set up and use.
- Battery life is great.
The Cons? Unfortunately, there are more of these than of the Pros:
- It's not a Samsung, for one thing. I love the Samsung brand and very rarely step away from it. That makes any other device hard for me to get used to. So, this one is totally on me.
- It's not as user-friendly as Samsung devices. Again, that might be because of what I'm used to. (And ,my brain doesn't adapt well to new things.)
- The display is nowhere near as crisp and red apple-delicious as a Samsung - any Samsung.
- The built-in functions are not familiar or comfortable for me.
- The USB is not compatible for anything else I own.
Basically, I realize that I am a Samsung loyalist. It's the brand I have used for my devices for years and it feels familiar to me. I don't like change.
I'm rushing back to the store tomorrow to give this thing back and get the Samsung. With that device, I will feel like I know what I'm doing. I have never had the watch, but it's also a Samsung.
That will make me happy.
Peace
--Free
