tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70539800741113313082024-03-09T04:30:15.456+08:00Smart Bro Broadband ReviewsHelps educate users to enable them to avoid the trap that is Smart Bro Share It or Smart Bro Plug ItUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-31636347078118317242010-05-16T13:58:00.001+08:002010-05-16T13:58:26.852+08:00You Are Being Used as a Cash Cow—The Real Scoop on Smart Bro<p>As a user of Smart Broadband's SmartBro, I am very much frustrated of SmartBro's speed, performance and reliability. SmartBro is claimed to reach speeds of up to 2Mbps yet I'd be very happy if I could get even a quarter of that. Upload speed is even more problematic. Most of the time, 5Kbps is all you can ever get. This is frustrating if you ever need to upload something—like a photo—on sites such as Facebook and Flickr. Even simple web browsing could result in a connection timeout because of this slower than slow upload speeds. And surfing the Web, it seems like I'm not the only one having problems with SmartBro. The number of anti-SmartBro posts is significant but the multitude of comments thereon is even more telling. </p> <p>Smart Broadband's Smart Bro Share-It, Plug-It and SurfTV broadband Internet are all based on HSDPA so I searched around for information about this technology and why SmartBro, which is based on it, is so slow. I found that HSDPA is a protocol in the HSPA family and is not slow per se. Using this technology, down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.0 Mbit/s (Mbps) could be realized. So, if HSPA is not slow and SmartBro is based on it, then why is SmartBro's speed so slow? Smart Broadband will not give you a straight answer here so here’s an interesting theory.</p> <p>Obviously, to properly implement HSPA, you need to have the proper equipment and infrastructure and I imagine that these equipment and their installation do not come cheap. The lack of these equipment and the insufficiency of Smart's infrastructure could only be the reason why SmartBro is so slow even if you are just 50 meters away from a tower in an area well-covered by HSPA signal. The potential speed of HSPA networks could not be realized if one does not properly implement them. </p> <p>But the fact that Smart Broadband cannot properly implement HSPA is not the problem. No one can fault them. Like I said, these equipment are probably expensive. The problem is that they mislead the public into thinking that they have the capability to deliver speeds of up to 2Mbps and charge accordingly. Now this is fraud. </p> <p>The reason Smart Broadband is doing this could only be because they reckon that by selling a poor product for the price of the real thing using flashy promotion and marketing, they will soon have the cash they need to hopefully fully implement HSPA and customers would be none the wiser. </p> <p>Let us say that I am Smart Broadband. It would roughly go about like so: <em>Hmmm. This HSPA thing is amazing; maybe I can make lots of moolah if I offer this service in my network and call it SmartBro. But it seems like I need plenty of money to buy all the stuff to make this happen. Oh, I know! I don't have to buy all the stuff in one go. I would just have to buy enough to make HSPA work even if it is just slow and unreliable (because it is still incomplete). Of course, it won't attain true HSPA speeds of 2Mbps—more like dial-up speeds. However, I'll just pretend it'll reach 2Mbps and use obscure language like "up to" to cover for me. Anyway, those dumb people won't know the difference and as long as I market it real good, have a nice jingle and hire celebrities, they'll come rushing in with their money. Now, since I charged them for a Mercedes while actually giving them a Hyundai, I will use the difference to fully implement the service. Gosh, these people are building my business for me at zero cost. Am I a genius, or what?</em> </p> <p>Smart is using you as a cash cow to finance their business so that they will be richer and you, poorer. You were made to pay a fee that would cover the cost of a fully operational HSPA network. But since theirs is half baked, their actual cost is way lower. The difference is what would allow them to slowly build up their network. They are milking you. </p> <p>In away, you are like a bank loaning them money; only, the bank earns interest and has a security—you don't. You get problems instead. It could also look like you are an investor investing money in Smart; only, you neither earn dividends, have voting rights, perks nor even a small stake in the company. Sorry, but you simply got punked. </p> <p>I don't know if your are okay with being being used by large, rich corporations to further enrich themselves. I'm not sure if you are willing to close your eyes on expensive, inferior products so long as they are aggressively marketed and promoted by popular celebrities. You can simply continue patronizing SmartBro even after knowing how much of a fake it is. If you are a Smart Broadband employee, you can even go on tweeting about how great SmartBro is even if you know deep inside the falsity of such a claim. But you can also stand up and refuse to be used. Show them that you are not as dumb and gullible as they thought you are. </p> <p>Tell your friends and acquaintances just how bad this service is. Put up a blog, tweet about it, mention it in Facebook. Tell people the truth. Do your part in preventing and ending shady business practices such as this. In truth, this service is hardly distinguishable from a scam. Do everything in your power to end this.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-69275908033992475112010-05-08T21:23:00.001+08:002010-05-08T21:23:01.673+08:00Smart Bro Resellers in the Malls<p>You might think that the posts I make here about Smart Bro problems are exaggerations. Nothing could be further from the truth. But if this is the case, then there is one simple test you can do. You will have fun in the process and might be able to save some unsuspecting Smart Bro applicant from the clutches of evil.</p> <p>Just visit the malls any time you get bored or get caught by the scheduled brownouts at your place. But do not forget to bring your laptop with you. Luckily, you will chance upon Smart Bro resellers hawking Smart Bro Share-It, Plug-It and Surf TV devices and services (and boasting how their Smart Bro rocks up to 2Mbps). Here, your fun begins.</p> <p>First, you have to wait until there is quite a crowd around the Smart Bro booth or stall. You will be able to help the maximum number of people this way. Get in and let the Smart Bro person commit to their false advertised speed. (Sir, this <em>really</em> reaches 2Mbps!)</p> <p>Then, whip out your laptop or netbook and ask for a speed test trial. If they don’t agree, it only means that they are aware of the lie they are spreading and are afraid of being proven wrong. Visit Speedtest.net, 2wire.com (and click “Speed Meter” at the topmost menu), or any other speed testing site. On a good day, it will only reach 0.2Mbps (200Kbps); On average, it will chug around 0.1Mbps. However, if you are lucky, it will reflect its usual day to day speed of 0.05Mbps (dial-up speed). Show the results to the people around and wipe the lie off the Smart Bro person’s face. Hopefully, you will be instrumental in their decision to apply or not to apply for Smart Bro services.</p> <p>Although I want to, I cannot take credit for this trick. I just saw someone do this at a Smart Bro booth and then it gave me an idea. Nothing is more fun than exposing the lies that Smart Broadband Inc. makes about its Smart Bro Share-It, Plug-It and Surf TV Internet. And if, along the way, you can help others from suffering the problem that Smart Bro is, then so much the better.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-33106146258430162702010-02-10T14:18:00.000+08:002010-02-10T14:18:00.190+08:00SmartBro and FaceBook Do Not Mix<p>One of the joys of being online is to connect to friends using social media and networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You want to get into the act and are asking if it is wise to get SmartBro so that you can claim your own personal space in Facebook.</p> <p>SmartBro always touts its up to two mbps download speed. I already mentioned in my previous posts that this is very far from the truth. But there is another problem aside from the slow download speed; and that is very, very slow upload speed. Try asking a SmartBro sales agent or service representative what the download speed of SmartBro Share-It is and they’ll instantly tell you “up to 2mbps, ma’am.” Try asking the same person what the <em>upload</em> speed is and they’ll go “ah, uhm, well…”</p> <p>Let me answer it for you. SpeedTest.net says it’s 3kbps. Yep, three. That is 0.003mbps. The problem here is that you need a decent upload speed to upload all your photos and video clips to your Facebook account and SmartBro is not up to the task. A Facebook account with no photos are not much fun. So, to spice things up in your Facebook account, skip SmartBro and look for something else—preferably DSL.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-56890118648598833312010-02-09T13:49:00.001+08:002010-02-09T13:49:15.726+08:00Smart Bro Is Very Problematic<p>I can’t think of any good reason why anyone would get Smart Bro once they become aware of all the problems that SmartBro has to offer. First, <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2010/02/smartbro-share-it-and-plug-it-does-not.html">SmartBro is problematic to use for downloading torrents</a>; Second, <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2010/02/smart-bro-share-it-or-plug-it-is-not.html">SmartBro is also problematic to use for downloading in sites like RapidShare and MegaUpload</a>. So, what’s with the “Sabay-sabay download” jingle if even one download is already very problematic?</p> <p>SmartBro speed is very problematic. When I first got my router, I suffered a mere 30kbps connection speed. It increased a bit after constantly (almost every day) calling the hotline. But then, it would slow down again after a couple days and I would have to call the hotline again. If you subscribe to SmartBro, you will be paying a lot only to suffer all of these problems. SmartBro is nothing but problems. If you don’t beleive me, you’ll soon find it out yourself. <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2009/12/smart-bro-share-it-lock-in-period.html">But by then, you are already locked in</a>. Get SmartBro only if you find it stimulating to memorize your SmartBro account number and to call SmartBro’s hotline daily for a chat with the bored CSR who just got smacked by the previous caller.</p> <p>SmartBro connection is also very problematic. You get connected, disconnected, reconnected and disconnected all the time. That’s funny because one of the reasons that attract people to SmartBro Plug-It and SmartBro Share-It is mobility. You can theoretically have an internet connection anywhere where there is an HSDPA signal and an outlet in the case of SmartBro Share-It. But in practice, this is not the case. Connection is very problematic even in a fixed, well-placed location. Get SmartBro only if you find it fun to confuse your Skype or Yahoo Messenger buddies when they see you logged-in …and out …and in …and out again.</p> <p>Overall, Smart Bro is nothing but problems. Get it only if your resume states: “Likes problem solving.”</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-56960579613454639382010-02-08T13:34:00.001+08:002010-02-08T13:34:07.077+08:00SmartBro Share-It and Plug-It Does Not Work Well With Torrents<p>Do you have some torrent files to download using Bit torrent clients? I have. But I found out that SmartBro does not play well with torrents. So, if you want to subscribe to Smart Bro with the aim of downloading megabytes of torrents, forget it.</p> <p>I am fond of Linux and FreeBSD. These free Operating System software are widely available in Bit torrent, which is a nice way of distributing software as it is bandwidth efficient. The problem is that these software are huge, and there are lots of them in the form of different distributions. They also get updated frequently so you also need to download them often.</p> <p>Downloading torrents, however, requires that you are connectable to peers in order for you to have a decent download speed. If not, then you’d have to make do with speeds of around 4-5 kB/s on most torrents specially those with low seeds to peers ratio. Unfortunately, you are not connectable if you are using Smart Bro Share-It or SmartBro Plug-It. Aside from the fact that a lot of SmartBro subscribers share the same IP address as I discussed in my previous post about how <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2010/02/smart-bro-share-it-or-plug-it-is-not.html">SmartBro does not play well with Rapidshare and MegaUpload</a>, it also has this problem for torrent users which they call a double NAT configuration. This simply means that you are not connectable to peers and that most torrents are practically out of your reach.</p> <p>If ever you subscribe to SmartBro’s Share-It and Plug-It service, just know that you cannot satisfactorily use it with torrents and RapidShare or MegaUpload. I guess the most downloading that SmartBro can do is downloading emails. :D</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-36194891885276396242010-02-08T12:54:00.001+08:002010-02-09T14:25:54.490+08:00Smart Bro Share It or Plug It is Not Good for Downloading Using RapidShare, MegaUpload and Similar Sites<p>If you plan to subscribe to SmartBro so that you can download from sites such as RapidShare, MegaUpload and others, I’ll tell you right here right now that you will have a hard time doing that. Even assuming that you will be able to reach their claimed speed of up to 2Mbps (which is impossible) or even 1Mbps (next to impossible) you still won’t  be able to make use of that (theoretical) speed.</p> <p>I found that out when a relative directed me to a link in RapidShare. It was a video of her child which someone uploaded there as it’s too big to send through email. When I tried to download the link, RapidShare spat an error telling me that my IP address is already downloading a file and that I can’t download another while that download is going on. What?! Am not!</p> <p>Turns out that a lot of Smart Bro subscribers share the same IP address and when one of them downloads stuff from RapidShare or MegaUpload, others can’t download from those sites because even if they are separate SmartBro subscribers, RapidShare or MegaUpload sees them as one since they all have the same IP address. And those sites don’t allow more than one free download at the same time by the same IP.</p> <p>No worry, I thought. I’ll just have to wait until the other gal finishes her download. Then I’ll start mine. The problem is, you do not know when the other’s going to finish so you have to keep on hitting refresh on your browser. This is a tedious thing to do. And remember, other users are also hitting their refresh buttons; so, this is a race on who gets in the site first.</p> <p>Let us say that you managed to get in ahead of the other guys by three in the morning. Your problem is not yet solved. You see, videos are large files and RapidShare and MegaUpload only allows approximately 100MB chunks. So, one video file has to be broken up into around 32 parts. To get the whole video, you have to download all 32 individual parts. Now, 31 more races ahead.</p> <p>The bottom line is that Smart Bro Share-It or Smartbro Plug-It does not play well with sites like RapidShare or MegaUpload. And since <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2010/02/smartbro-share-it-and-plug-it-does-not.html">SmartBro does not work well with torrents</a> as I will discuss in my next post, either, it is useless for downloading practically anything more than a few megabytes.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-23542853918303443892010-02-08T11:34:00.001+08:002010-02-08T11:34:51.071+08:00SmartBro is Playing Tricks on You<p>To all SmartBro subcribers: have you ever noticed that your connection speed will increase (a little) after you call customer service and then return to snail’s pace again after a day or two? Then, you would have to call them again. Why can’t they just maintain the speed? I’ve been through this cycle a lot since I subscribed to this problematic SmartBro Share-It service. And I tell you, it ain’t fun. If you don’t want problems with your Internet, then I suggest that you stay away from Smart Bro because with it, trouble is all you’ll get. Oh, and you’ll also memorize your Smart Bro Share It number in no time because you’ll need it every time you call.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-58807709575180377812010-02-08T11:16:00.001+08:002010-02-09T14:21:05.722+08:00New Bloggers Having Smart Bro Problems<p>As I have said in my first post, this blog’s mission is <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2009/12/welcome-to-my-smart-bro-review-blog.html">to inform future ISP subscribers of the poor quality of Smart Broadband’s Smart Bro Internet</a>. Without SmartBro reviews in blogs like this, the public would easily be deceived by SmartBro’s numerous false and misleading advertising. And after they fall for it, <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2009/12/smart-bro-share-it-lock-in-period.html">Smart Bro’s well-engineered contract will make sure that they get locked in for good</a>. It will now be very difficult for them to terminate or end the Smart Bro contract.</p> <p>Hopefully, people will listen to the warnings in this blog and save themselves the trouble and expense of subscribing to SmartBro. But even if they do not heed the warnings here, I still don’t consider it a loss. Sooner or later, they will find out that Smart Broadband is a hoax and will blog about it. This will spread the word out to more people faster.</p> <p>If you choose to subscribe to SmartBro’s Share It or Plug It junk despite the warnings in this blog, at least warn others after you realize that you’ve just walked into a trap.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-20844906334425315452009-12-20T15:49:00.002+08:002009-12-21T10:21:23.084+08:00Using Techy Terms to Conceal the Fact that Smart Bro Sucks<p>In my previous post about <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2009/12/smart-bro-share-it-lock-in-period.html">Smart Bro’s lock-in period</a>, an anonymous commenter said:</p> <blockquote> <p>“Uh dude, why are you comparing download speed (30kbps) to overall connection speed (56k for dial-up) like they're the same? You're as misleading as Smart Bro is.”</p> </blockquote> <p>I’m assuming that the girl (As the commenter’s anonymous, I’m going to presume it’s a she to be on the safe side) is referring to this part of the post:</p> <blockquote> <p>“And please allow me to remind you that a technology from Internet’s ancient past called dial-up has speeds of 56Kbps. Smart Bro Share It has 30. 30! Clearly, an ancient technology is way better than Smart Bro Share It plan 999.”</p> </blockquote> <p>If you read the above quote or the whole post, I was not comparing download speed to overall connection speed, like what the commenter falsely asserts. (apples to oranges) Nowhere did I refer to Smart Bro Internet’s pathetic 30Kbps as download speed. (Oh by the way, right now it’s 23Kbps) The commenter should first learn how to read before writing a comment.</p> <p>But even assuming, for the sake of argument, that the 30 Kbps was only Smart Bro’s download speed, that’s 3.75 KBps (or KB/s, however you want to call it) download which is still lower than what I get from dial-up which is  7 to 8 KBps (KB/s) download. Now that’s download speed to download speed. (apples to apples) Any more questions?</p> <p>She also missed the point by a mile. That post was really about Smart Bro Internet’s long lock-in period. The title should have given her the clue. The whole Smart Bro Share It versus dial-up thing was just a way of saying that Smart Bro sucks. The comparison was mentioned, sure, but it was not the whole story. It does not matter whether it’s 30 Kbps, or 20 Kbps, or 26.9997 Kbps. The point is that it sucks because a page loads slower with it than with the cheaper dial-up connection. She failed to see the entire forest for the trees. So in addition to the suggestion above, the commenter should also learn to actually understand what she reads before writing a comment.</p> <p>Finally, in the last paragraph of that post, I said:</p> <blockquote> <p>“To further their goals, they use techno-babble and the fact that technology is inherently difficult to grasp for the average consumer.”</p> </blockquote> <p>And this Smart Bro minion-cum-anonymous commenter exemplifies this perfectly by injecting technical terms to hide a simple truth. Like I said, it does not matter whether it’s 30 Kbps, or 20 Kbps, or 26.9997 Kbps. It does not even matter whether that’s overall speed or download speed. Average users don’t understand that—nor do they care. The point is that it is slow. Slower than even dial-up. Since I pay more for Smart Bro Internet than for a dial-up connection, I expect my pages to load faster by a corresponding factor—or even just a bit faster, but never slower. Is that too much to ask?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-25035795354804757752009-12-20T12:46:00.001+08:002009-12-20T13:54:27.412+08:00Smart Bro Internet Problems<p>In my first post, <a href="http://smart-bro-internet.blogspot.com/2009/12/welcome-to-my-smart-bro-review-blog.html">Welcome to my Smart Bro Review Blog</a>, a lady who calls herself Skinbottledtears left a comment. Since that is actually an About This Blog page, I decided not to publish the comment there. But I do find it a bit interesting so I’ll address it here.</p> <p>The comment is a bit long so I won’t put it here in its entirety. I’ll just give you the essence and maybe, I could save your time. Basically, what she said is that <em>I should not waste my time warning people about Smart Bro problems because not everybody is having problems</em>. But please note that Mary Ann’s actual comment does not sound anything like that. She really took the time to express herself in a nice and friendly manner.</p> <p>However, I really do not see it her way. While not everybody is having Smart Bro internet problems, a good majority does. You can confirm this by posting a query in your favorite search engine for “Smart Bro”, “Smart Bro Problems” or “Smart Bro Sucks”. Repeat the search using SmartBro instead of Smart Bro and you’ll have a lot of pages to read. You can also try searching in Twitter to see what people are saying about Smart Bro. Just ignore the tweets of Smart Bro minions telling people how Smart Bro is the greatest thing since slice bread. If it were, why would there be more than a few overly unsatisfied users?</p> <p>Even if not everybody is having problems, why should I not warn new users? A lot, if not the majority, are having Smart Bro connection problems and Smart Bro speed problems. <em>I</em> am having Smart Bro problems. Potential users should know that before they sign on the dotted line and get locked in. They should know that many, even if not all, are highly dissatisfied with Smart Bro internet. If they would still think that they will be one of the few lucky, satisfied customers and gamble their money, then good luck to them.</p> <p>From the new user’s standpoint, I’m sure that they would want to know if there is any problem with Smart Bro’s speed or connection even if that problem may not apply to all because there is a big chance that it might apply to them. If nobody says anything about how Smart Bro sucks just because it does not suck to some, (like to Smart Bro’s minions) then people will think that there is no problem with Smart Bro internet which, of course, is false.</p> <p>If you, my reader, were travelling on a road through a hot summer day, thirsty, would you dare drink from a clear, seemingly clean river when (even just) a quarter of those who drank from it got diarrhea? Would you dare tell those who got diarrhea not to warn others because it’s different for different people? I wonder.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-11427406609233943842009-12-08T16:41:00.003+08:002009-12-20T15:53:15.584+08:00Smart Bro Share It Lock In Period<p>Smart Broadband, Inc. extended the Smart Bro Share It lock-in period to two years, it confused me at first. Why would Smart Broadband, Inc. want to do that? The previous one year lock-in period was already long enough, for crying out loud.</p> <p>Smart Bro Share It router’s fee is now waived. In the past, you have to pay for the Smart Bro Share It router. So at first, I thought that this was the reason why Smart Broadband, Inc. extended the lock-in period. Afterall, it would be unfair to Smart if the subscriber would suddenly terminate the service just after getting a free Smart Bro Share It router and before Smart could even recoup the cost.</p> <p>But after the Smart Bro Share It sales agent told me that I have to return the Smart Bro Share It router in the event that I terminate the service, it became apparent that there must be other reasons for extending the lock-in period. If I have to return the Smart Bro Share It router at the end of my service contract, then there is no reason for them to lock me in longer even if they waive the Share It router fee because they are going to get it back anyway. It’s not like I get to keep the Smart Bro Share It router for free without giving Smart Broadband, Inc. the chance to recover their costs.</p> <p>So what could be the reason why the Smart Bro Share It lock-in period got extended? The answer became clear to me later, but only after it became moot. Smart Bro Share It sucks–and it sucks big time! (this includes Smart Bro Plug It because they both use the same technology) Unfortunately, by the time you notice that, you are already locked in and you can’t do anything about it. You’ll have to pay mega bucks for a service worse than dial-up—and you also have to pay for it for quite some time, whether you like it or not. This is lock-in for you, boys and girls. It’s the ultimate corporate weapon to compensate for bad service or products.</p> <p>They advertise their Smart Bro Share It plan 999 as having speeds of up to 2Mbps; but in reality, all I get is somewhere around the neighborhood of 30Kbps. “K”, not “M”. And please allow me to remind you that a technology from Internet’s ancient past called dial-up has speeds of 56Kbps. Smart Bro Share It has 30. 30! Clearly, an ancient technology is way better than Smart Bro Share It plan 999. In addition, Smart Bro Share It is waaaay more expensive than dial-up, disconnects more often and has a two year lock-in period. This makes dial-up not just better than Smart Bro Share It but superior! Finally, if you plan to use Skype calls, Yahoo voice or Bittorrent, forget Smart Bro Share It. These applications require a decent upload speed and Smart Bro Share It can only deliver a measly 5Kbps for upload. It’s double NAT configuration also adds another barrier in the case of Bittorrent.</p> <p>“So, are they lying?”, you ask. No, they aren’t. They only said that Smart Bro Share It plan 999 has speeds of UP TO 2Mbps—and it does reach that speed once in a blue moon. What they did not tell you is that while Smart Bro Share it can achieve speeds of up to 2Mbps sometimes, you have to stay in the 30-50Kbps range almost all of the time. Their advertisements may not be false, but it is definitely very misleading.</p> <p>But misleading advertising alone won’t cut it. It must only be the first phase. Something else has to be done to adequately fill the corporate coffers. This brings us back to the necessity of an extended lock-in period. After subscribers find out about Smart Bro Share It’s sorry capability, they could just terminate their service agreement. To prevent that, there also has to be a longer lock-in period—phase two. That’s why they extended the lock-in period to two years. One year may not have been enough for them. With a two-year lock-in period, they will have hundreds of incoming new applicants by the time you are allowed to cut the ties.</p> <p>The lock-in period could not have been extended due to the waived Share It router’s fee, as I have already discussed earlier. Rather, it’s the other way around. They need a longer lock-in period to complement their misleading advertising and used the waived Share It router fee as a pathetic excuse to extend the lock-in period. Additionally, the waived router fee could also double as a bait for phase one together with the false advertising. That’s two birds with one stone. Pretty neat, huh?</p> <p>First, they use misleading advertising and a waived Share It router fee as bait. They also use an army of Smart Broadband, Inc. employees and Twitter mercenaries to proclaim how good Smart Bro is, how much they love Smart Bro, how thankful they are to Smart Bro, how Smart Bro saved the day, how Smart Bro is the messiah, how Smart Bro can save the world with one hand while playing Tetris with the other, and other such nonsense. Then after they have lured the quarry in, they snap the lock-in period trap to lock them up for good. How convenient.</p> <p>This business strategy should not be allowed. No one should trust any product or service from any company that is capable of doing such devious scheme as this. They prey upon the innocence of consumers. To further their goals, they use techno-babble and the fact that technology is inherently difficult to grasp for the average consumer. If you are planning to apply for a Smart Bro Share It account, Smart Bro Plug It or any other pseudobroadband service from Smart Broadband, Inc., think hard and think twice.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com74tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7053980074111331308.post-23434048822714776302009-12-04T00:33:00.001+08:002009-12-21T10:36:10.597+08:00Welcome to my Smart Bro Review Blog<h1>What Smart Bro Reviews Blog is About</h1> <p>This <em>Smart Bro Reviews</em> Blog is about how <em>Smart Bro Share It sucks</em> big time. By writing this blog, I hope that I can help other people by informing them what they are getting into before they get tied to a <em>two-year contract</em> which they will find costly to terminate.</p> <p>Without blogs like this, people will easily be mislead by <em>Smart Broadband, Inc.'s</em> misleading advertising. Note that I said misleading and not totally untrue. Which part is misleading and how it is so? Stay tuned for that!</p> <h1>What Smart Bro Reviews Blog is Not</h1> <p><em>Smart Bro Reviews</em> is not about pushing a competing broadband internet service. I am not writing what I write here for the sake of advertising another broadband product. You need not worry about that. When I say that <em>Smart Bro Share It sucks</em> or that <em>Smart Bro Plug It sucks</em>, it’s because they do—not because I have something else to sell or because I work with a competing broadband service provider.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1