Sunday, December 18, 2005

IMO - Independent Mobile

It's hard choosing the right phone yet alone carrier in the United States (US). In the US, not all carriers offer the same level of coverage or handset selection throughout the country. You could have strong reception in New York City with Verizon and weak Cingular reception yet in San Francisco situation could be reversed with Cingular better than Verizon. After selecting your carrier you have to choose a phone from the 8+ phones offered by a carrier. Not all phone offer the same level of reception and functionality - that's why they're priced differently.

Welcome to IMO.


IMO hopes to make this an easier process by providing availability to all the major carriers along with knowledgeful staff. Although they only have one store in Columbus, Ohio, they're expanding into Boston real soon.


I walked into their Columbus store and had a chance to talk to their staff. They were very friendly, non-pushy, didn't work on commission, and actually liked phones. I heard from one staff member that she had to learn all about phones before starting at her position while another was very keen about phones even before her employment at IMO. At the back of the store is a waiting area lined with various mobile phone magazines and a children pay area while the grown ups talk about wireless plans.

I walked away feeling it was a very positive environment and has definitely swayed me a little away from the corporate stores.

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