I'm proud of my local Verizon Wireless Store!

[db4williams]

(I can't believe I just said that!) But I really am. I walked into the the store during a "quick" ten minute break from work and was greeted by a rather large display for WP8 highlighting the 822 and 8X in an area of the store that has been reserved for iphone in the past which is on the main wall of the store. I was also greeted by reps that actually seemed interested in the devices. They had the black and white 822 on display but the store did not have the 8X on display. After talking to the reps they said the store had not received them yet but hoped they would by the end of the day. The store also had a black JBL Powerup charging speaker on display. Because of the anti-theft devices hooked to the 822's I couldn't try out the wireless charging or NFC features. But one of the reps pulled out his iphone and and paired it up via Bluetooth and played some music on it. It sounded awesome with plenty of bass and no distortion even at higher volume levels (he actually turned it up quite loud). Looks like a nice Christmas present for me!

The store also had the MS Surface on display but the bezel was covered by the display (only the screen could be seen). I asked the rep about it and he said it was definitely the Surface and told me that there is a good chance that they would be stocking them in their stores. I told him "no way, are you sure"? He said he was surprised as well since he knew that it was supposed to be available only at MS stores. I will still take that with a grain of salt though. I will believe that when I see it.

Overall 2 thumbs up for Big Red!

 

[cp2_4eva]

Wow, WP8 is finally getting some shine int he VZW space. Bravo!!!

 

[willied]

I went to mine as well. The 822 is actually nicer than I thought it would be. Very snappy. They need a demo account on them, though, so you can actually use all its features. Like you said, there was no 8X, which is what I really wanted to check out. I did see one guy after me check the 822 out, but I wasn't there for very long to see if there was any other WP excitement going on.

 

[BBMINI]

OP, you might be right about the Surface tablets. This was in the Surface forum today:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/surface-windows-rt/203124.htm

 

[cthulhucometh]

They may be finally supporting Windows but they still don't want to offer high end windows phones.

 

[willied]

They may be finally supporting Windows but they still don't want to offer high end windows phones.

The 8X is high end.

 

[cthulhucometh]

Also prone to have problems from what I heard. I wanted a high end Nokia, something that was as durable as it was fast.

 

[radioage54]

Even though the Nokia and Verizon web pages state that the Lumia 822 has wireless charging, it does not! See below:

Thank you for emailing Nokia Care.

We at Nokia would like to thank you for your continuous support in our products.

We would like to clarify that for the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon Wireless, you need to purchase a separate wireless charging shell and a charging a plate for wireless charging. Please note that the availability of the said accessories are dependent from your network provider. However, please be advised that a wall/USB charger is included in the sales package.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us again. To ensure proper handling of your case, kindly continue using the current subject line.

You may also call Nokia Careline at 1-888-665-4228 from Mondays to Fridays at 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EST for immediate assistance.


Kind regards,

Annabelle B.
E-mail Specialist
Nokia, Inc.

 

[willied]

Even though the Nokia and Verizon web pages state that the Lumia 822 has wireless charging, it does not! See below:

Thank you for emailing Nokia Care.

We at Nokia would like to thank you for your continuous support in our products.

We would like to clarify that for the Nokia Lumia 822 from Verizon Wireless, you need to purchase a separate wireless charging shell and a charging a plate for wireless charging. Please note that the availability of the said accessories are dependent from your network provider. However, please be advised that a wall/USB charger is included in the sales package.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us again. To ensure proper handling of your case, kindly continue using the current subject line.

You may also call Nokia Careline at 1-888-665-4228 from Mondays to Fridays at 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EST for immediate assistance.


Kind regards,

Annabelle B.
E-mail Specialist
Nokia, Inc.

It has it if you get the wireless charging shell. Nowhere did I see where it said it came with wireless charging built-in...

 

[Scott Brooks]

The 8X is high end.

It has a nice screen but I honestly don't think a phone with only 8GB of non-expandable memory can be considered "high end".

 

[willied]

It has a nice screen but I honestly don't think a phone with only 8GB of non-expandable memory can be considered "high end".

It comes in 16GB as well. Now I prefer much more myself, but that doesn't keep it from being a high end phone. The Droid DNA and iPhone 5 come with 16GB (even though the iPhone has the option for more, but it's still the same phone) and they are both considered high end.

 

[lordofthereef]

What was their pricing on the JBL speakers? I can't find official info online, but estimates are $350-$400. Ouch... it would have to do more than charge my phone and play music over bluetooth for me to drop that much.

 

[MaulerX]

What was their pricing on the JBL speakers? I can't find official info online, but estimates are $350-$400. Ouch... it would have to do more than charge my phone and play music over bluetooth for me to drop that much.

JBL Power Up speaker and wireless charger combo now shipping, whimsically priced around $250 -- Engadget



so they are $250 but for some reason they're $300 on AT&T. TBH $250 is not that bad. (or is it?) lol

 

[lordofthereef]

JBL Power Up speaker and wireless charger combo now shipping, whimsically priced around $250 -- Engadget



so they are $250 but for some reason they're $300 on AT&T. TBH $250 is not that bad. (or is it?) lol

better than expected but still not great. I guess I would have to listen to it and compare it to the alternatives. The standard jambox retails at $180 and sounds quite good. Wondering how much this improved the experience, if at all. Granted this also has the wireless charging aspect.

 

[Joelist]

The Verizon store in my area also did proud. Corporate store in a BIG market area (Chicago near west suburbs which is where most of the people with income are). They likewise have the Windows Phones prominently displayed where the iPhones used to be - in fact the entire store has been made over and I find the layout of the devices way more logical now. For example all of the tablets are grouped together.

The reps on duty know what Windows Phone 8 is and have a couple set up with accounts so that they can walk people through what it offers.

As to the 8X, can we stop the FUD already? It is a high end phone. Display is top of the line, so is camera and so is the CPU. Build quality is outstanding. And remember Verizon's version has twice the memory of the others and also built in wireless charging.

Also, Verizon has VERY clever ads running on local TV using their "so advanced it's simple" tagline. So for now at least kudos to Big Red!

 

[TaliZorah]

If I had saw this thread before I made mine I wouldn't have made it, anyways I have the same sentiments. My experience:

So I went to VZW to get a case for my L22.

To my surprise they had a big WP poster up that said "Amazingly Simple Is Here" with a picture of the 8X. Inside there was no WP stuff except for the kisok that had the WP phones and a little LCD screen that demo'd what WP was all about. All of the employees were wearing blue "Windows Phone" shirts and their ID tags all had little avatars on it with the WP logo.

The guy who sold me the case for my L22 wasn't very talkative though so I didn't ask how WP was doing or anything. Just got my case and left.

I didn't expect "so much" WP stuff around the store though.​

 

[Joelist]

Remember that Big Red is ramping up still, so not everything will be immediately up and running. Their target date for being fully up is Black Friday - the biggest sales day of the year.

 

[Getintothegame]

Adding my own proud Verizon Wireless moment, I was in the store on launch day and witnessed a very nice salesperson selling an 822 to a nice older gentleman. He wanted a smartphone, but he didn't like the 'other versions.'

He saw the 822, played around with it, and liked that it was like Windows 8.

The sales lady was very patient, answered all questions, and was very knowledgeable. It was very plesant to see.

 

[Robinsonmac]

Unfortunaly my store is in shambles. The sales people are 100% in with the Iphone or Droid. I went in on launch day during my lunch break. The 822 was on a display next to a window with Droids on eaither side. (kinda of clever actually) The sad thing was they had 3 working 822's with a dummy phone above each one. The only problem was all the operable phones were all dark. There was no demo app running, no live tiles, nothing but black screens. To make things worse the Surface in the middle of the display was broken, the screen said "Surface was unable to repair hard drive" so I powered it down. There were no 8X's anywhere nor any place where they might go. In talking to 3 different sales reps asking when they would get the 8X they all said we have them right over there(pointing to the 822) One sales person asked why I even like Windows Phone 8 anyway, just get what everyone else gets....... Not good! On a posative note the 822 is much, much better looking in person. I'm torn between getting it or the 8X now or holding out 3 months in hopes a better phone is released.

 

[Joelist]

Unfortunaly my store is in shambles. The sales people are 100% in with the Iphone or Droid. I went in on launch day during my lunch break. The 822 was on a display next to a window with Droids on eaither side. (kinda of clever actually) The sad thing was they had 3 working 822's with a dummy phone above each one. The only problem was all the operable phones were all dark. There was no demo app running, no live tiles, nothing but black screens. To make things worse the Surface in the middle of the display was broken, the screen said "Surface was unable to repair hard drive" so I powered it down. There were no 8X's anywhere nor any place where they might go. In talking to 3 different sales reps asking when they would get the 8X they all said we have them right over there(pointing to the 822) One sales person asked why I even like Windows Phone 8 anyway, just get what everyone else gets....... Not good! On a posative note the 822 is much, much better looking in person. I'm torn between getting it or the 8X now or holding out 3 months in hopes a better phone is released.

You should report the store to Verizon corporate right away, as they are violating company policies by not having their displays in working order and such. Also, are you sure it is a corporate store? I ask because all the corporate stores we have mentioned thus far are rolling WP8 out properly.