A consumer asked the Fraud Squad why her LG Ally lacked the ability to do Bluetooth voice dialing, a feature she had grown accustomed to on her non-smartphone. In researching the issue for her it appears that all Android Smartphone’s currently lack the ability to perform Bluetooth voice dialing. The smartphones do have a voice dialer app which will bring up information, but requires you to select information on your phone screen, obviously not 100% hands-free. There are rumors that the soon to be released Android upgrade Froyo will include a Bluetooth voice dialing app, but of course not all Android phones will receive this upgrade.

The particularly upsetting part to the consumer is that this is a feature she asked about in store while looking into buying a new phone and the sales associate rather than knowing the product referenced the Voice Dialer feature, but did not demo it or explain that it currently was not completely hands free. In fact, once she agreed to upgrade from her basic wireless phone to as Verizon calls them an “advanced device” she received little explanation as to how to use the phone, its features, or a real chance to ask questions concerning this device she was unfamiliar with. Luckily, consumers have the hard fought for 30 day trial period when they purchase wireless phones to try and figure out if the phone is the right phone for them.

The lesson perhaps is that wireless service providers need more and clearer information about the products and services they are selling to consumers and consumers should always spend a little time before purchase thinking about the features they truly want in their device. Many of the phones on the market today often vary by as little as one feature so you may be able to find the phone you want without sacrificing the features, service, or phone design you prefer.