Comments on: 25 Reviewers Announced – Telstra Windows Phone 7 Social Review

By: Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:58:53 +0000

If being a chef that is mobile obsessed puts me on your list, all well and good. I’m an average guy that runs his own website as a hobby/obsession, it’s been my niche tech for years. The perks, testing Beta software for developers, receiving the software for free but contributing to the development process, the occasional accessory. Otherwise all self funded. I have no ties to any mobile carrier in Australia, and I buy my gadgets outright, and am prepaid, usually unlocking phones, and installing custom software. So maybe my experience was what got me in. I think it was dumb luck I intend to be honest about the phone, and that’s it.

By: Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:41:43 +0000

We get the phone to keep, and some good or bad content for our blogs, and 24 new connections, I consider that a fat paycheck, prisceless

By: Tina (Telstra Employee)

Tina (Telstra Employee) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:42:13 +0000

To be fair, it didn’t actually did specify the type of people they wanted, just that they wanted Social Review and in this case, many of them are from a common background that may have give them an edge.

I want that phone too you know!

@Girlclumsy – looking forward to seeing your review, I never had a smartphone before

By: Girlclumsy

Girlclumsy — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:57:02 +0000

Hi Sam,

My name’s Natalie, and I’m one of the reviewers – and as a journalist, I’m probably one of the four you don’t think should be in the review!

You’re absolutely entitled to your opinion, but I to give you my background – I’m not a tech/gadget journo at ALL. The only things I’ve reviewed in my career are films and theatrical productions. This is my very first smartphone, so I don’t even have anything to compare it with. I will literally be giving my opinions as someone coming to the tech for the very first time.

And I can tell you that I’m pretty damn ordinary. I consider myself as having the average job and average interests that you say reviewers should have – it just so happens my job is in media.

Cheers, Natalie (@girlclumsy)

By: Ryan Fernance

Ryan Fernance — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:00:53 +0000

Mate, I can promise you the only thing I’m getting ‘paid’ out of the review is getting to keep the phone. Also if you look at the #TelstraWP7 on Twitter there is a very even number of pro’s and con’s we all like about the phone.

I know we all like a good conspiracy theory but your fishing in an empty lake.

By: Sam

Sam — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:18:04 +0000

From my observations there are at least 4 people who should not be in the Social Review….this is going by the fact that 2 of the reviewers are a couple and there should only be 1 per household, there is a journalist, phone reviewer and even a tech/games reviewer.

I thought the idea of “Social Review” was to get people with average jobs and interests that match the idea of the review to get it happening.

Seems like a percentage of this idea is bent

By: Jayant

Jayant — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 08:57:05 +0000

Jayant: I’m not a writer, I just love technology. Whilst my personal phone is connected to the telstra network that happened only after becoming disillusioned with Voda after 12 years as a customer and Optus after 18 months. I had never knowingly met or spoken to the Telstra team involved in the social review program before.

If you follow the conversation, you’ll see most of it so far is anything but complimentary to the handset and particularly not to the OS – hardly the outcome Tesltra would want if they were buying reviews. The whole point of this program is for people to be honest about how they find the product.

By: Corporate Sham

Corporate Sham — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 05:02:26 +0000

Well said, Jayant.
They might just as well have included criteria that said, ‘No Twitter, NO chance’.
I’m also quite confident ageism played a significant part in the ‘selection process’.
Telstra is shameless.

By: Michael Konarzewski

Michael Konarzewski — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 02:25:51 +0000

Jayant,

I can tell you with certainty that there were people in the Desire review that were NOT journalists of any kind! How do I know – because I’m a public servant from Canberra and I was one of the reviewers.

While I know there’s a fair amount of hate against Telstra, just making up *sham* stories is not really true!

At the end of the day, Telstra is wanting some differing views – if there’s a couple there: maybe they both put in applications and both provided balanced sides of a normal household usage that Telstra wants to test. I know of one Desire reviewer who ended up just giving it to her husband as she didn’t like the phone.

Hell, I liked the Desire so much (not) I sold it after the review period and got an iPhone4. But the speed of Telstra’s network is such a refreshing change (that I contracted my iPhone4 onto Telstra), so i’m moving my other 2 business accounts across to Telstra as soon as the contracts are over with another large carrier.

By: Jayant

Jayant — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 23:39:29 +0000

Last time with the HTC desire promo Telstra had given out Music vouchers to all applicants, this time around they are paying their *consultants* or *advisors* big fat paychecks.

Cheers,