I just found xda-developers.com, I'm really impressed with this site. The Qtek-2020 looks like everything I want (phone, web, email etc) so I'm ready to buy! However, I havn't even owned a mobile phone before so I would really appreciate any advice/opinions to help me choose the right model and network. I just spent a couple of hours searching this site but couldn't find the answers, so if its ok - below are some questions I need help with:
BEGINNER QUESTIONS:
1.) Which type should I buy?
MDA, Qtek, XDA... Does it matter? Me feeling is to go for the Qtek because it comes unlocked.
2.) Where to buy?
Should I buy from a shop or online? I just discovered the Qtek-2020 in Tottenham Court Road (London UK). It seems like a good place to buy one, or is there a good website I should buy from?
3.) Which GSM Provider to use?
The guy in the shop said Qtek-2020 comes unlocked so I can choose a network. O2, Orange, T-mobile, Virgin, Vodaphone.... Which Network is good for price? And which Network is good for travel? e.g. if I travel to Europe or India.
4.) What kind of bandwith speed can I expect from an XDA/Qtek/MDA? I've heard anything from 12k to 120k. Mostly I want to check emails on a web based mail service I use. (I get like 100 emails a day.)
1) It doesnt matter, the xda will be easier to get hold of in the UK.. and it can be unlocked easily.
2) wherevers cheapest
3) DONT use o2, they charge 2.33 PER MB.. so checking emails can get very expensive.
Thanks Ryanmt
Which GSM Provider has the best prices per KB of download?
im not sure, it depends on the tarrif etc. Your best off going into carphone warehouse etc.
From this board as far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong) my choice is:
- O2
- T-Mobile
- Vodaphone
- Orange
and thats it?
If so I guess I just need to ask all of the above what they charge per MB.
Does anyone have this info to hand to post here
Related
Hi guys,
Im from Melbourne, Australia. I had a P800, which I lost last week. I was going to get the P900 (due out here in 2-3 weeks), but have decided to go for an XDAII. The problem is, insurance can get that model (in about 2 weeks they said), but they told me that the XDA doesn't work on their network.
Im with Optus by the way.
Does anybody know why the XDA wouldn't work on the Optus network, or IF this would be the same case with the XDAII? I absolutely love the XDAII, and am eagerly awaiting its release here so I can get it, but not if it doesnt work on the Optus network. Does anybody here know? Thanks in advance.....
Hey there....I'm an Aussie also (Brisbane) and whoever told you that Optus don't support the XDA is full of #$&!. I have been using an XDA on the Optus network now for over 6 months. Here's proof : http://www.optus.com.au/shop/ow_pda
Funnily enough - i recently damaged mine (accidentally) beyond repair and have also been given the option of getting any new phone of my choosing (guess which one I am going to choose!) :roll:
XDAII of course!!!
So - do you (or anyone else) have info on the expexted release date in Australia (other than the "end of November" posted on the myxda.com site)???
Can't wait!!!!!!!!
Thanks for your quick reply.
Thats what I thought, why the hell would they sell a device that wasn't compatible on their network? Insurance on the 1800 number are extremely useless about details, they werent even aware what a PDA was, they said "they only sell mibile phones"!. HAHA.
I called a guy at Optus at Highpoint shopping centre where I signed up, he said the XDA had a retail price of $1290, and that the XDAII would be available around 2-3 weeks. He said expect to pay about $1,500.
A more reliably source at Calculator King in South Melbourne said it would be between $1,400-$1450. He also said 2 and a half-3 weeks, and that was on Saturday! Cant wait for this beast of a device to bless my paws. P800 is a good phone, P900 even better, but they are like comparing a Audi to a Lamborghini when throwing an XDAII into the equation.
it should be compatible with every gsm network as far as i understand what the gsm std defines
what you are saying is right
the reason they might think its not compatiable is the fact that some HTC phone's work on the 900/1900 GSM band and some on the 900/1800GSM Band
in Aus we are on the 900/1800
the XDA II is triband 900/1800/1900 so it has to work
i will now soon im getting my very soon!! :shock:
CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MikeXDA2:
With the insurance (mine is gonna take another 10 days to process), If you want to upgrade your handset, do they go by retail price for the phone that you did the insurance claim on, and then you add money on top?
What I mean is, say with my P800 and I want to get the XDA2, Do they tell me that I will have $1,490 credit for my P800, and then pay the difference (if any) for the XDA2? Or, as its through insurance, do they go by a different price other than retail?
When are Orange going to wake up.. M5000 is
a) late
b) data charges are more expensive than O2
c) device will actually cost more that the *already out* XDA Exec.
I have loyalty to orange.. but the price difference and delays are too much.
Besides which I have 900 business user im wanting to put on and to be honest.. which one I use for my personal use will prolly be the same I as Instruct my company to buy.
Get off your ar$e orange.. Your the slowest and most expensive in the pack. Why in hells name would a business want to go with you even with existing loyalty when its like this.
And the orange price promise seemed to go out of the window years ago. It should now read "We'll copy any tariff that's pretty expensive and come up with 1001 excuses not to match any that you may want."
the m5000 is available in france, and not very expensive :
700 € without any subscription....
Aye bud..
Its so bloody annoying.. I actually prefer working and developing with Orange but the Account manager is useless and never returns calls or emails(previous one on maternity leave was better).
Promises have been broken time and again on released date (anyone remember when they said it would be ready the 2nd of Sept 2005 lol).
If Imate, 02 and t mobile can get it right.. WTF are Orange playing at.
The current tariff structure is near archaic – 3G on orange is really expense.. This idea of downloading a music video or a powerpoint slide on 3G just makes me want laugh… yeah if you want to spend 16 pounds on one song..
it begin to be interesting with orange, for example, TV is without limit every week end ...
another potential problem with the Orange M5000.... IT MIGHT HAVE WI-FI DISABLED :!:
I was reading about the different models during the past few weeks before I finnally gave up and bought my xda Exec last week.
What I gathered from specialised sites was that Orange was considering disabeling the Wi-Fi capabilities of the M5000. a very stupid move i might add.....
In any case I went into an Orange shop early last week and enquired about the matter (and soon gave up due to the 'highly' knowledgable staff :roll: ) - the guy claimed that he was SURE that its not disabled - the person there showed me the info on Orange's intranet - and it actually has a remark there regrding the Wi-Fi capability of the device - that it "is up to the discretion" of the mobile operator....
I have no vested interst here - all I'm saying is - take care and make sure it has Wi-Fi b4 u buy it!
Shhh that is serious.. can anyone confirm that the Orange M5000 does or doesnt have WiFi?
It has WIfi
Regards
Stu
Stu,
What was in the box? Did it get the spare battery as promised? What s/w is installed in the ROM and did you get an more on CD? What version is the ROM?
...All...
Sorry if this is in the wrong section.
I've been sent an M5000 by Orange today, but it's really not for me.
I've charged the battery, switched it on, and don't know where to start! I'm selling it as brand new because it is. It has been unlocked (using code provided by Orange), so can accept any SIM card without any issues.
I also will include a 4gb SD card which would complete the perfect package for any person who it would suit (alas, this is not me!)..
Anybody interested please PM me with offers or call +353851002101. I am located in Ireland, but will send anywhere necessary.
Kind thanks to all...
Ben.
Wow! You got your unlock code the same day as you got your phone?
How did you do this? I had to wait over a week for both of my codes =(
Hmmmmm
I asked Orange for my unlock code yesterday. They seemed only too happy to help, but told me it would take up to 3 weeks for me to receive my code, as they have to (email i think?) the manufacturer....
Forgive our scepticism, can you offer any proof that it is unlocked?
Thanks for your interest...
Attached is a screen dump showing the email that Orange sent to me. I am a business customer and have been so for a long time, and my agreement with Orange is that any handset I upgrade to is unlocked immediately, as I travel abroad regularly (mainly between the UK, Ireland and Singapore).
I bought the 4gb SD from an eBay seller in the States, and received it before I received the handset..bit of a waste really since I will not be keeping the phone! But for info, I have tested it and it is working.
If any further info is required, please just ask.
OT but important
Oh my god, you're using Internet Explorer ...
Have you heard that Firefox is a lot safer and renders pages faster, has tabbed browsing and hundreds of extensions that make life so much easier?
Oh, and it is free.
http://getfirefox.com
How much do you want for it ? Do you accept Paypal? And last, do you ship to Portugal? If so for how much ?
Best offer so far is EUR 610 before postage, potential buyer just getting his funds together. But, obviously, if you can beat his offer - it's yours. Shipping to Portugal is of course no problem, and PayPal is accepted (if absolutely necessary). Would you be able to send a cheque instead? PayPal fees are quite high!
ben_ifa said:
Best offer so far is EUR 610 before postage!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yowser that's STEEP!......over £400! You could sign up, get the phone and pay off the minimum term of the contract for that.
I get around £275 for as-new unlocked execs on ebay but currently only have used locked m5000's.
I've seen m5000's go on ebay for as little as £210.
Richard
Well, admittedly the buyer that offered EUR610 hasn't actually paid yet! But remember, the 4GB SD card adds at least EUR100 to the price.. Plus the fact it's unlocked.
Is the Hermes provided by T-Mobile the same as Vodafone's in the UK? I'm with T-Mobile now (on a Wizard) and going to upgrade soon, but may switch providers if I get a better deal. The website descriptions have never been reliable, where some features are not mentioned or listed wrongly.
Yes they are, but why would you want to switch, the T-mobile tariffs seem so much better at the moment, especially with Web 'n' Walk!
Well they seem better on paper, but I've found when you call and say you want to switch they sometimes give you a better offer than the standard ones available. Equally someone you are thinking of switching to may give you a better offer than what's available on the websites.
I think the phones are the same, or can be made the same if you flash a new ROM.
If you are (or will be) a heavy wireless user then the T-mobile deal is probably the best. Try playing the game with Vodafone and also tell T-mobile that VOD have offerred a great deal for you (based on phone upgrade, contract length, cost of services etc) and see if what they come up with.
As for phone service quality - I've never really had much trouble with either provider in the UK, but this is mostly in built up areas - also if you travel, VOD definately works well for me overseas EVERYWHERE (but company pays).
kkhalil76 said:
Well they seem better on paper, but I've found when you call and say you want to switch they sometimes give you a better offer than the standard ones available. Equally someone you are thinking of switching to may give you a better offer than what's available on the websites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice
I've switched from Vodafone to T-Mobile... their customer retentions advisor admitted they had no way to match T-Mobile.
vodafone's customer service and pricing has gone down hill over the last few years, hence i changed to tmobile - who have been great and far cheaper, especially with web'n'walk/web'n'walk+.
i'm fairly sure that someone told me vodafone have recently taken picture messaging out of their bundles of texts/data, if that's your thing.
@agentp
That's true, MMS were removed from their all inclusive tariff since Sept 06.
They did offer me the V1605 as a free upgrade to remain with them and I got to keep my £25pm tariff.
I have since zapped it with the new WM6 roms that have been released here probably voiding any warranty and using it with an O2 sim.
@ kkhalil76
As already mentioned - the phones are identical in hardware terms and differ only cosmetically. I would probably say that Voda has a better network but T-mobile appear to offer better tariffs and there's nothing wrong with playing one network off against another.
Well in comparison i today signed up for a new contract with tmobile......web'n'walk is the deal breaker for me.
O2 shall be getting a call on monday for my pac code.
Also i get a free phone for the mrs.......................once its unlocked
i have an unlocked vodafone from UK. the v1605 is cosmetically similar to the HTC tytn save some branding here n there.
i personally prefer the current button layout than the t-mobile version (due to stubby fingers) hehe!
I was just wondering If anyone from USA has any knowledge about using this phone in Japan. Basically I was just wondering if this was possible, Im getting a lot of conflicting info, and at this point it seems that most people who travel to Japan get pocket wifi. Which is cool, but I would like to be able to use the phone if I had to for text/call.
Thanks!
Hello there, I'm not from the states but I have been in the US and Japan with my phone and had no issue. Other than that you will find yourself struggling with the sim card if you want it for calling. As for the data you can go to BIC camera shops - they are everywhere - and ask for data sim card. They will want your ID/PP. Its ridiculously expensive(dont go over 3000Y on 30days/2gb deal) for what it is, but...it is what it is. You will have coverage everywhere. Japan also offer lots of free WIFI through this app: Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi.
I know its off topic and I hope this will help you... but if you go to Japan to travel a lot by JR (Shinkanzen) and unless you are ridiculously rich buy yourself Japan Rail Pass - You must buy it BEFORE YOU ENTER Japan(buy online or from travel agent - it is physical coupon you have to have- printing it out at the airport r just before you leave isn't an option). When i was there 2 months ago it wasn't possible to buy it in Japan. I heard that since march it is possible but you wont be able to save as much. It will save you loads of cash and I mean loads. Price is 46,700Y/14days standard (you dont need the first class). I have saved 85,000Y but I was travelling a lot. If you stay just in one place its no point.