With all their proprietary formats and hardware, we wouldn’t have thought that the Sony Ericsson experience would be at the top of the list. But, we would be wrong. J.D. Power has just named Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications as the US and Canadian leader in overall customer satisfaction in terms of handsets. The J.D. Power survey ranking is based on mobile phone features, battery life, physical design, operation and durability among U.S. consumers. It looks like Sony Ericsson’s commitment to the North American market has paid off. In contrast, the company’s wireless retail experience was ranked “low and eroding” just last month. And, it turns out that Motorola and Samsung ranked above industry-average, while Nokia and LG ranked slightly lower than the average. Kudos to Sony Ericsson for their “satisfying” handsets. We find it quite odd that LG and Nokia scored lower than average, but hey, it is what it is. [Via: RCRnews ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Verizon beats T-Mobile for top spot in J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction SuveryJ.D. Power: T-mobile USA Best In Wireless Customer SatisfactionSony Ericsson tops U.S. ratings; plans ultra-slim phoneJ.D. Power and Associates: Handset customers are keeping their mobile phones longerJ.D. Power and Associates: Carriers are getting faster in resolving customer care issues

We love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but they usually amount to nothing more than paranoid thinking. Then again, sometimes the coincidences can’t be ignored. The Inquirer’s got a conspiracy theory that’s just too juicy to dismiss off-hand. The theory goes something like this:

• iPhone launches in Europe
• Vodafone is not an iPhone carrier
• Vodafone wants to prevent huge customer-base losses to the iPhone
• Vodafone takes customer service offline to prevent customer cancelations

Vodafone’s customer service line for customer cancellations is dead - it’s been dead since the iPhone’s launch last Friday. The helpful recorded message blames a “system fault” and kindly suggests that the customer call back later. Is Vodafone fighting cancellation-spikes due to iPhone-defectors by taking down its service-cancellation hotline? Or are they just experiencing a legit system bug? We don’t know for sure, but it’s fun to wax conspiratorially. [Via: The Inquirer ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Apple working on offline storage for iPhone Safari browser-based applications?Verizon: We don't need no iPhone "killer" - we have better services!HTC Opens World's First Customer Service Center in Taiwan - HTC CareApple iPhone announcement coming soon? Offline support for third-party web-apps?Apple prepping iPhone SDK for January release?

No, you can’t use the recently increased SMS text message rates to cancel your plan sans Early Termination Fee (ETF), but starting in 2008, Sprint customers will be able to take advantage of pro-rated ETFs. Like Verizon Wireless , AT&T , and T-Mobile before it, Sprint will only charge ETFs commensurate with the remainder of the customer’s wireless contract. In other words, the penalty for canceling your contract will be proportional to the length of time you have remaining on your contract. Oh, and starting November 12, Sprint customers will be free to change their rate-plans without being forced into a contract extension. And, in Sprint’s push to improve customer service (ostensibly to boost their struggling bottom line ), the company will be welcoming new customers with “welcome calls.” Sprint will also start notifying customers of large overage charges and bring better handset discounts to existing customers. Now, this is a good idea. Better customer service and pro-rated ETFs are more likely to boost your core business than the gimmicky, over-priced, subscription-based, mobile gaming service Sprint Arcade . In the end, we’re just glad that all four national carriers have officially jumped on-board the pro-rated ETF bandwagon. It’s a nice bandwagon, and we like riding it! Source ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:AT&T Wireless introduces pro-rated Early Termination Fees (ETF)T-Mobile gives in, allows pro-rated early termination feesSprint: Yes we raised our SMS text message rates, No you can't cancel your contract without an ETFSprint cuts ties with troublesome subscribersVerizon Wireless gives customers freedom to change plans