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I am considering purchasing either the O2 Exec or the Orange M5000 but can not make my mind up.
I would be interested in what other members experiences have been on both networks.
Also is there any difference in the preinstalled software options etc.
I share your dilema
Also wondering, whats the best deal peopel found for it ? expecially with data
dunno about deals but the o2 exec is black with a blue backlight on the keyboard... Cool
I was with orange for a number of years using both the spv e200 and the spv m1000 (Best phone i've had in my opinion) but could not get a signal at home, this is why i switched to o2.
What about one of the T-Mobile Web'n'Walk tariffs?
I think Exec is not network locked and M5000 is... but with Orange you get 2-for-1 Orange Wednesday movie tickets!!!
There are reviews of both phones here,
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/index.php?Itemid=55
Its a news article so if you dont link to it today (28th) it will love down the page, basically its a double review comparing the Orange unit and o2 unit.
M5000
* Deleted *
I was on Orange for years, but went O2 contract for my magician (impatience), and then got my Universal on O2 data tariff for £5pcm, phone at £245 (impatience++)
I don't use my universal for phone calls, so it's great and on free PAYG sim for when i do. I wouldn't use the Universal as my phone, so this setup works well.
But between o2 and orange, I've found little difference of note. At least o2 makes an effort with o2 active, bloatware that it is. Orange's little UI is a bit weak, but strip it all off anyway.
Customer service is univerally unsatisfactory everywhere, although that's generally no issue day to day.
I like the o2 Exec's granite black like coldness. Silvery would be nice though if poss.
Frankly, little in it. Hardware's the same, system will be stripped down in use to what you want, so go with price and bundle. And play off your current operator if you've got one, to get a good deal. Call orange disconnections to put the heat on them.
V
True to the point - both devices have the same hardware. I have an exec and donot have any troubles with my device (running in corporate mode). I too would say it comes down to the network and colour of the device.
Orange in the least cares if you leave their network, as they have reached their customer target for the year, unless you are a business customer in which case they might try to retain your business. No matter what your monthly spend they are not making any efforts to keep customers, so it is very unlikely they will give you a better deal even if you call retentions.
Also from 1st Dec 2005 on all orange plans freephone calls will be chargeable. i.e. 0800/0500/0808 are no longer included in your inclusive minutes.
Also, if you take an OVP tariff or £50+ tariff, you would not be able to downgrade for the term of your contract. You can upgrade though whenever you want.
Orange is making many such changes to its tariffs and so if you decide to join them or upgrade with them, make sure you read the fine print first.
Being with o2, I can highlight some benefits I see. See if they suit your need better as well.
o2 active browsing is free till dec end. In-store they are doing exclusive 3G tariffs - 02 500 - also till dec end in both 12 and 18 mnth variants.
1000mins+200txts for 6mnths and 500+100 thereafter + 100kb o2 active browsing allowance @ £35pm for 12mnths.
750mins + 150txts + 100kb o2 active browsing allowance @ £35pm for 18 mnths.
o2 online offers only 18 mnth tariff in talker and texter option but inclusive o2 active active allowance is 1MB @£35pm.
Inclusive minutes include UK fixed line calls,WAP over GSM data calls, calls to O2 mobiles and calls to other UK mobiles (‘cross network’).
The Universal has the option to lock to GSM or UMTS network signal for services. But, browsing is slower on GSM as compare to 3G.
Also SIM provided is usuable is non-3G handsets as well.
zillocx said:
True to the point - both devices have the same hardware. I have an exec and donot have any troubles with my device (running in corporate mode). I too would say it comes down to the network and colour of the device.
Orange in the least cares if you leave their network, as they have reached their customer target for the year, unless you are a business customer in which case they might try to retain your business. No matter what your monthly spend they are not making any efforts to keep customers, so it is very unlikely they will give you a better deal even if you call retentions.
Also from 1st Dec 2005 on all orange plans freephone calls will be chargeable. i.e. 0800/0500/0808 are no longer included in your inclusive minutes.
Also, if you take an OVP tariff or £50+ tariff, you would not be able to downgrade for the term of your contract. You can upgrade though whenever you want.
Orange is making many such changes to its tariffs and so if you decide to join them or upgrade with them, make sure you read the fine print first.
Being with o2, I can highlight some benefits I see. See if they suit your need better as well.
o2 active browsing is free till dec end. In-store they are doing exclusive 3G tariffs - 02 500 - also till dec end in both 12 and 18 mnth variants.
1000mins+200txts for 6mnths and 500+100 thereafter + 100kb o2 active browsing allowance @ £35pm for 12mnths.
750mins + 150txts + 100kb o2 active browsing allowance @ £35pm for 18 mnths.
o2 online offers only 18 mnth tariff in talker and texter option but inclusive o2 active active allowance is 1MB @£35pm.
Inclusive minutes include UK fixed line calls,WAP over GSM data calls, calls to O2 mobiles and calls to other UK mobiles (‘cross network’).
The Universal has the option to lock to GSM or UMTS network signal for services. But, browsing is slower on GSM as compare to 3G.
Also SIM provided is usuable is non-3G handsets as well.
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Orange had the nerve to run an advertising campaign about looking after existing customers. Funny. I shifted over to T-Mobile for 2 contracts and left Orange which I had 3 contracts on. Contrary to comments above, the customer service people at orange are a complete bunch of luddites. Its a good job ringing them is free, although I'm sure they will start charging soon, they'd save loads of money and also make it too. T-Mobile customer services whilst chargable is much better and they people on the line don't get attitude with you.
I'm also sure that Orange is the worst value network in the UK for sure.
i've never paid for t-mobile support. It's free by dialling 150. Not everyone knows all the answers but they usually find out.
I have just phoned Orange to ask for an upgrade to the M5000 - want £199.99 and will not budge on that price (been with orange for 10+ years, £30 per month contract).
O2 website got fairly good deal (online talker deal):
+ £149.99 for handset
+ 400 mins x-net
+ 150 texts
+ can use text allowance for SMS or MMS
+ 1mb data included
+ video calls charged at same rate as voice calls (is this permanent?!? not mentioned anywhere that a promotion - therefore free video calls within my 400 mins allowance?! If yes, this is superb?!)
+ Non geographical numbers included in monthly allowance
- 18 month contract
- Need to install into the Corp mode
Any other comments on this deal?
yeah the data allowance is tiny. the universal is all about being connected, and you will need lots of data to use the potential.
No, the video call is a promotional offer and only for o2 to o2 video calls. It is mentioned in the tariff details. Video calls will cost 50p once the promotion is over, but as of now they are free. Don't remember when the promotion is ending but might be 31st March 2006. Please check with customer services. Might want to look at the o2 500 promotional tariff, which costs just £5 more and gives 600 more minutes pm. i.e. £35pm and gives you 1000 minutes + 150txts throughout the 18 month period.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/shop/o2uk/jsp/handsets/3GPhones.jsp
Cost of phone is same but £25 cheaper is u buy through the student website.
www.o2.co.uk/nus
Yes, the data package is less, you can get a bolts on though I think for more data. As of now it is free till 31st dec.
Also data calls over WAP are included in inclusive minutes - this I think should mean that if I lock the phone to GSM mode and use the browing features, i will use data over WAP from my inclusive minutes to browse. I may be wrong, for I won't know for sure post-dec as till now all browsing is free and they do not provide with any usage details.
ahh ok - thought it must be a promo !
Hopefully I'm being stupid, but O2 shop doesn't let you select the 3G tariff with the EXEC ??
Yea, its not you. Actually they keep putting the exec with the 3g tariff and then removing it every now and then. They are selling them out at a faster pace than they can stock em, me thinks. So trying to sell more on other tariffs.
Anyways, just select any 3G phone deal, choose talker/texter and later in the basket choose continue with the displayed package and then click edit phone and choose O2 XDA Exec - 3G from the drop down list.
Cheers :wink:
Thanks ordered Exec today, due tomorrow
i have just left orange, they seemed to be coming across a bit carefree about keeping my custom over the last 6 months, when they then made a press statement to say they were launching the m5000 in the UK but wasn't then available for another 2 months i got fed up
i have now moved to o2, got the xda exec for £139 and on the 3G 500 online package, 1000 minutes, 150 texts etc, very pleased with o2 so far, had to ring o2 to make my order as i couldn't get the exec and the 3G package on the web order as stated in post furthur up.
looks like orange would have charged me £299 for the m5000 which for me is way too much.
so well done O2, i well recommend them. only small gripe is they don't seem to be quite as transparent as orange when it comes to looking at costs on tariffs.
oh another thing, ordered phone at 20:55hrs on tuesday night, phone arrived via DHL 07:30 on the thursday, was expecting to have to wait several weeks as phone was in such demand.
Same here... Orange were not at all bothered about me moving..
O2 have been great so far, quick delivery! 750 mins and 750 texts can't be beaten!
macca said:
only small gripe is they don't seem to be quite as transparent as orange when it comes to looking at costs on tariffs.
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Yea their website needs a lot of improvement. Think they are working on it as they are doing a survey on the website for customer friendliness. Just popped up last time I visited www.o2.co.uk
As for tariff details, you can always call them else you bill states the various call charges for your selected plan - right column page 2.
Just found an amazing deal for orange SPV M3100
a FREE SPV M3100 on Dolphin 35 which gives 500 x net mins, 500 texts and unlimited magic number calls (to a nominated orange number)
This offer also includes their free wireless broadband deal (which i had previously been told was only available when buying direct from orange)
They can also transfer your orange PAYG number to Orange contract (again i was previously told this was only available buying direct from orange)
AND 9 months 1/2 price rental - so total cost for 18 months is £472.50 (less than £26pm including phone and broadband)
There are other similar deals available, by far the cheapest i have found and much cheaper than orange direct / online / shop
checkout:
http://www.cheapest4mobiles.co.uk/display.asp?hs=m3100&network=&tariff=&gift=&phone=Orange_M3100
also some amazing deals on the Vario II as well - lots of offers if you click on the link, they are actually cheaper than those listed when you select (as theres currently a £5 per month discount as well)
http://www.cheapest4mobiles.co.uk/d...rk=&tariff=&gift=&phone=T-Mobile_MDA_Vario_II
HTC TyTN deals are also there, but tend to be more money (but are available with an O2 connection)
http://www.cheapest4mobiles.co.uk/display.asp?hs=tytn&network=&tariff=&gift=&phone=HTC_TyTN
Someone pmd me to say the deals i had mentioned werent there!
It said on the site that over the weekend not all the deals were listed due to some technical issue with power failures and BT !!!
The issue has now been resolved and all deals are listed once more.
sounds like a good deal!
one word of warning though - i bought my orange m3100 from a different company on the internet - www.directmobilephones.com - because of the good deals etc, and whilst i had no problems recieving the phone, and they had good customer service during the buying process (replying to emails promptly etc.) i found out after a couple of weeks that they hadn't given orange the details for my number port or direct debit even though i had filled out these details on their online form!
so it's worth checking with orange when you register your phone that they have all the details if you don't buy direct...
hopefully this company is a bit better than the one i dealt with!
They look like good deals, but i thought the unlimited broadband was only available on panther 75 and even then you are limited to off peak unlimited broadband? Can you point us in the direction where is says you can get unlimited on dolphin 35? Cheers
i think he's refering to the unlimited home broadband rather than the unlimited mobile broadband.
Doesn't seem like any of the shops listed have either the Orange or the T-Mobile branded handset in stock
Doesn't seem like any of the shops listed have either the Orange or the T-Mobile branded handset in stock
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???
listed as 'in stock' on their website...
http://www.directmobilephones.com/spv_m3100_orange.htm
please note: if you do use them, check with orange about your number transfer / direct debit details if you're using those services!
bigshape said:
i think he's refering to the unlimited home broadband rather than the unlimited mobile broadband.
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Ahh, yep, your probably right. Even though them deals are good, i think I'll go with t-mobile online and get the unlimited mobile data. You end up paying more in the long run, but i think it'll be worth it! ;-)
Yes i was referring to unlimited home broadband, sorry for the confusion. Just to mention though that all the standard t-mobile deals are available through:
http://www.cheapest4mobiles.co.uk/d...rk=&tariff=&gift=&phone=T-Mobile_MDA_Vario_II
just click on any of the deals, and it allows you to select any available online T-Mobile tariff option.
As has already been pointed out, T-Mobile are offering a £5 per month line rental discount on some plans plus other incentives as well.
ONLY Buy from T-Mobile Direct, else you will get screwed
I have been looking for two days and called scancom, who told me that T-mobile cut their commisions on phones back 40%, so they can never beat their prices, and they were right, they couldn't. SO IW ouldn't bother, go for the T-mobile sales people and you'll do better
Deals on m3100
I bought my Orange SPV M3100 from OneStopPhoneShop (part of CarPhone Warehouse).
£9.99 for the handset and 12 months on the Canary package at £30 per month. Includes 200 cross-network, anytime minutes and 2 months free subs to Orange World (their 3G service) as well as few other perks (30 mins video calling etc).
Total cost £370 over 12 months - now that's not bad IMO.
Hope this helps.
padlad said:
bigshape said:
i think he's refering to the unlimited home broadband rather than the unlimited mobile broadband.
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Ahh, yep, your probably right. Even though them deals are good, i think I'll go with t-mobile online and get the unlimited mobile data. You end up paying more in the long run, but i think it'll be worth it! ;-)
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This is a very good point. There's no advantage to going with Orange apart from the slightly more attractive veneer on their version of the TyTn.
The online deal quoted earlier?
Well is that 9months half price line rental (in logical human terms)....
Or 9 months' worth of cashback after 6 months if you fill in a form on time...
Or two months half price, another two months full price, then two months full price.....
I don't trust these online companies as far as i can throw them.
Mikeycolllins is right when he says to go through T-mobile, it's just easier to get things sorted that way. And slightly off-topic, but if you ever get to know anyone who works at T-mobile they can only offer you half price line rental if you've gone directly through them, and not a third party.
To get anything like i currently do on Tmob on Orange we're talking 26quid for the dolphin package (as quoted earlier) plus 88 quid for unlimited internet (based on their online data price guide, and limited to 1gb as opposed to Tmob's 2gb). The free broadband will be useless to most people on here who are already contractually obligated to NTL/BT/TALKTALK etc.
Thats an average of 114 quid a month times 18 = 2052 quid.
I know that's taking things to extremes, but it proves a point - the only way you're gonna wind up with a better deal on orange is if you only use wifi. And that would be crap.
So basically i'm stickin with T-Mobile for now methinks.
I think we can all agree on that. For most phone users those Orange deals are very very good. For this specific phone with its data capabilities and the type of users we have in this forum, the T-Mobile deal is just heads over heels better than anything else out there.
I think the comments made are quite right, Orange is definitely the more expensive option (despite the freebies) if you are wanting a high mobile data usage.
I have just heard that Orange are cutting their commissions by £60 on 18 month contracts as from 1st October, so looks like the freebies will start to disappear shortly.
I have noticed that the onestopphoneshop deals have all disappeared within the last hour or so. Their cheapest deal was 12 month on Dolphin 25 at £360 (which is the one bigshape got) but now the same deal is £459 - a £99 increase since 8pm tonight.
The orange deal suits me, as i dont need much mobile data as i have wifi at home and work, and my home broadband is up for renewal anyway, so I have effectively got a FREE M3100 for £26 per month, but saved £17 by switching my broadband deal - so an M3100 for £9 per month including 500 texts and 500 minutes?
sounds unbeatable to me!
just to re-iterate though, :!:
The T-mobile deals on www.cheapest4mobiles.co.uk are actually direct from T-mobile themselves, - It is quite correct that the best discounts at the moment are direct from T-Mobile, thats why they are listed as such on the website.
The website simply runs a search over all available deals from a selection of retailers (one of which being T-mobile) and shows the best deal it can find. It also does Carphonewarehouse, onestopphoneshop, Orange, O2 and many more.
Am I the only person who thinks that rival companies should consider adopting T-mobile's simple 'credit' principle instead of drowning consumers in 'freebies' (20 minutes of video calls for the first 35 days, 'mate rates' half price line rental* free Msn [till october])I think 3 are the worst for this, but all the mainstream companies revel in confusing the less-sharp amongst us with verbiage and tantalising 'extras', seemingly in the hope that we'll forget that their freebie often doesn't last forever.
Of course this tactic has been prevalent in consumer marketing for years - but I believe T-mobile will win through with their straightforward and fair price plans, and their data bundles - as we have ascertained in this forum - are streets ahead of the competition.
3 have just brought out a 3g datacard. I noticed it in Superdrug this afternoon. I spoke to the 'advisor' about it briefly and by the end of the conversation he had told me rather enthusiastically that he was going to take out a t-mobile web n walk datacard plan!
I considered many price plans, and been on many different networks. From my experience I have concluded that the decisive factor in my skyrocketing phone bills was simply apathy. We are all guilty of it, and phone companies rely on it to make the big bucks. How many times have you overshot your minutes allowance, or forgot you only had texts instead of minutes?
The Flext plan is incredibly reassuring in its simplicity, and really does adapt to my changing needs (some months i call a lot, others i text a lot)
Though Orange and O2 may potentially offer more minutes and texts as a whole, this clouds the fact that many consumers NEVER use all of both their minutes AND texts, unless they make a concerted effort to do so.
Adaptability, simplicity and value for money are I believe important to most consumers.
Certainly they are to me.
P.s. What is 'Orange World'? Is that an open 3g browsing experience, or another Vodafone Live! ?
Personally I didn't buy my Vario II so I could check train times and download Novelty ringtones.
*for the first 3 months.
Now, I have a question.
Will any of these places ship to a US address? I ask cause it would almost make sense to get the phone with the cheapest plan and pay the money every month for a year and then cancel. But I am not sure how the european providers are and how long are their contracts. I do have some friends in england I could ship the device if I needed too. but what is everyones thoughts on this?
Not sure about this question as i dont know the vetting procedure, but I would assume you have to go through a UK credit check, part of which would probably be to check you were a UK citizen on the electoral register. I know my cousin had loads of problems because she was in the British Army stationed in Germany. Her parents had emigrated to France and she effectively had no valid UK address except her barracks. Orange were very awkward about this and would not give her a contract phone at all, despite the fact she had been an Orange customer for 3 years already.
All links to the MDA Vario II from your link, to the T-mobile site seem to be broken. In fact there is now no mention of that phone on their website. Anyone any ideas ???
looks like a problem with the T mobile site maybe they are doing some late night maintenance ? try again later methinks!
shadowman said:
Not sure about this question as i dont know the vetting procedure, but I would assume you have to go through a UK credit check, part of which would probably be to check you were a UK citizen on the electoral register. I know my cousin had loads of problems because she was in the British Army stationed in Germany. Her parents had emigrated to France and she effectively had no valid UK address except her barracks. Orange were very awkward about this and would not give her a contract phone at all, despite the fact she had been an Orange customer for 3 years already.
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You usually have to be a UK resident for at least 5 years i think and have lived at the same address for at least 3 years to normally get credit, and even then if you have had no credit, like for example, a credit card, loan, mortgage etc, then you will have no 'credit rating' and will struggle to get any credit at all.
Hi guys I have the choice of getting a vario II on a flext 20 with web n walk @ £22.50 and pay £95 for the handset. Or get a spv M3100 with orange on dolphin 19 with £10 cashback every month(which i can buy some data or a package) thus only £9 line rental and free handset. Both are 18 months contract. Which represents the best value and which package would you guys reccommend I go for??
Cheers folks
Hi shabba007, off topic, do you mind telling me where you managed to get these deals? One of my mates in interested in the Orange one. Thanks.
shabba007 said:
Hi guys I have the choice of getting a vario II on a flext 20 with web n walk @ £22.50 and pay £95 for the handset. Or get a spv M3100 with orange on dolphin 19 with £10 cashback every month(which i can buy some data or a package) thus only £9 line rental and free handset. Both are 18 months contract. Which represents the best value and which package would you guys reccommend I go for??
Cheers folks
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depends on what you are going to be using the device for.
If Data (web, email, etc) is the main driver then go for the Tmob as this is unlimited data use. Orange aren't great for Data costs and that might penalise you in the long run. Never used Dolphin but a mate used to work for them and they were a shambles....
I like the VARIO II because of the Looks!
WhiteLightning said:
Hi shabba007, off topic, do you mind telling me where you managed to get these deals? One of my mates in interested in the Orange one. Thanks.
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Hi mate this was a special offer due to the fact that i've been with them for a few years and my bills have been quite high never below £60 and I threatened them with leaving for T-Mob.
MDACompact said:
depends on what you are going to be using the device for.
If Data (web, email, etc) is the main driver then go for the Tmob as this is unlimited data use. Orange aren't great for Data costs and that might penalise you in the long run. Never used Dolphin but a mate used to work for them and they were a shambles....
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Hi mate, well thats just it, I dont really know exactly how much data i'l be using. Admittedly the first month or couple of months I'l probably bash it good a a novelty, but when the novelty factor wears off............ dont really know it'l be email, ebay a maybe the odd bit of browsing I think.
For the price I think the SPV cant be beaten, but the data is the only snag, not just the amount of data but the speed too... until orange decide to release HSPDA in the uk. I'm aware they're testing it out in France.
hi all,
Just upgraded to an Orange SPV M3100, and i love it, got rid of my Axim X30 and my K800i so i now have an all in one device
Been playing with it to lol, upgraded to the latest rom provided by HTC and its loads faster than the Orange bumph that comes with it/on it.
Also setup gprs/3G on it so i got full wireless support, just got of the phone to orange customer services regarding data tariffs, they put me on the 10mb OW access and the Evening and weekend unlimited internet for free for 2 months to try, after 2 months its £5 per month
so this phone is costing me £50 pm with 550min/anytime, 30mins video calling, unlimited SMS, 10MB OW access and unlimited eves and weekends on the internet.
Is this a fair price to be paying? (be honest lol i wont bite)
ta muchly
Jon
Hi, i'm thincking of ugrading my M3100 to the latest HTC ROM (HTC English QTEK_001 1.35.255.2 11/14/06) is this the one you used. Also did your bootloader change to 1.09?
any help would be greatly appreciated
Hi Jonr
I also have an SPVM3100 for £30 p/m. For that I get 200 mins Xnet + 100 mins landlines, 75 txts, 30mins video and unlimited internet in eves and weekends. (horses for courses). But what is 10MB OW ?
Also, what do you mean by setup GPRS/3G. Isnt it already setup, or are you saying that after upgrading the ROM you had to set it up ?
Regards
Asif
I was wondering how I did with orange- just changed tariff- had the nokia N80 but wasnt really impressed so after 4 months orange did a free upgrade and had the m3100, paying 40 quid pm on the panther £45 tariff and an extra 2000 xnet mins. So total of 2900 xnet mins, 200 txts and free insurance. Only thing is its 18 month contract tho.
Orange data
Baiscally Orange don't really do 'data' when you compare to T mobile. I know they have this evening and weekend unlimited thing but as I said - put that next to web n Walk and see how much Xmas Cheer you feel towards Orange.
I was extremely lucky, in that in the summer they sort of launched/ tried a package called Orange World Unlimited, which is basically a direct type of match for WnW. I get unlimited (well almost) data all day for £8pcm. This was not advertised, and allegedly only applied to Panther tariffs, and had to be signed up before 1 September. Having said that, there have been sporadic reports of others getting it outside of these terms. Lots of reports of others being turned down as well of course. If I had T mobile reception at home , I would have gone with them though, as lets face it, you don't really buy a hermes if you only want to use it as phone - its kinda pointless without a good data package. There are lots of long threads about all this over on the modaco forums.
Hopefully with 3 now getting in on the data deals, the others will be forced to follow soon, but Orange just seem to be set against encouraging data use on their devices. (lets face it, if you have one of these devices, you are also likely to have a wifi network at home, and so off peak are you really gonna use the phones conenction versus the faster wifi? OK if you are out and about a lot, but in general I use the data options on the commute or when it picks up emails during the day.)
Just my thoughts.
I appreciate that quite a few of you have now got one but some of us are still struggling to get our paws on one Personally I want one through o2 but cant seem to get to the front of the queue for placing an order! I could jump ship but would like to stick with them so the burning question is how did you guys do it? Did those of you on o2 get it through a 3rd party eg: paid towards it with someone like carphone warehouse or bmobiles or did you wander into a store who happened to have one fall through their letterbox as you stepped in? When you've had to put up with o2 telling you contradicting "pork pies" about how they haven't shipped any and dont do it yet it makes you start to wonder
terrytpot said:
I appreciate that quite a few of you have now got one but some of us are still struggling to get our paws on one Personally I want one through o2 but cant seem to get to the front of the queue for placing an order! I could jump ship but would like to stick with them so the burning question is how did you guys do it? Did those of you on o2 get it through a 3rd party eg: paid towards it with someone like carphone warehouse or bmobiles or did you wander into a store who happened to have one fall through their letterbox as you stepped in? When you've had to put up with o2 telling you contradicting "pork pies" about how they haven't shipped any and dont do it yet it makes you start to wonder
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Personally, I bought mine outright from Expansys.com, SIM free. I've got a monthly contract with O2 where I get enough minutes and texts with a web bolt-on for less than £20 a month. It suits me, but then I had £500 to spare (ish )
I always like the idea of going SIM free, in case something comes out that I really want but can't afford it. I'll just get an 18 or 24 month contract in that situtation, and probably try and get something like a PS3 with it, so I can sell my current phone and the console, so I'll end up with a new phone and a wad of cash. That should help make me feel better about signing up to a contract
Since I went the SIM free route, I can't really advise on who has them and who doesn't, as far as contracts go.
terrytpot said:
I appreciate that quite a few of you have now got one but some of us are still struggling to get our paws on one Personally I want one through o2 but cant seem to get to the front of the queue for placing an order! I could jump ship but would like to stick with them so the burning question is how did you guys do it? Did those of you on o2 get it through a 3rd party eg: paid towards it with someone like carphone warehouse or bmobiles or did you wander into a store who happened to have one fall through their letterbox as you stepped in? When you've had to put up with o2 telling you contradicting "pork pies" about how they haven't shipped any and dont do it yet it makes you start to wonder
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Bad news on the O2 front, they finally had some in store yesterday so I could go over and find out what they will be costing on contract. To get it for free you have to sign up for a £45/month contract and that only gives you 1200mins and 500texts. You dont even get the internet package that you get with the iphone. Go for a lower tarif package and you are looking at £100 for the phone..
I will be waiting til vodafone get new stock (with an updated rom) on 11th December. Free phone for £35/month and you get 900mins UNLIMITED texts (3000 FUP), UNLIMITED landline calls (3000mins FUP), UNLIMITED internet (500MB FUP). Plus the vodafone HD's seem to be unlocked and unbranded so in my opinion thats a winning deal and well worth the wait
Each to their own mskip..you do know that the deal you're looking at gets you an extra 300mins if you do it online? all of course assuming that you can live with them making you wait for an indefinate period of time to despatch it
terrytpot said:
Each to their own mskip..you do know that the deal you're looking at gets you an extra 300mins if you do it online? all of course assuming that you can live with them making you wait for an indefinate period of time to despatch it
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Yeah actually the 300 extra minutes is available online or over the phone. Over the phone the order gets processed right away for next day delivery so I think im gona be doing it that way lol. Waited long enough for it I figure my patience will stretch to a few more days
Could have got it from a vodafone store 2 weeks ago but they dont offer the internet package and I guess im a tight git I want the most value for my money haha.
we're singing from the same book there buddy..I'm hoping to get one on something like the palms tarif and preferably as a business customer..unltd 02 calls,10 unltd land lines and ultd www would do me nicely at £35 ish a mnth even over 24mths as you can upgrade at the 12mth point and get whtaevers hot then
You guys are making me jealous :\
Back here in Portugal you pay 15 euros for a 100min plan plus 15€/month for a 500MB data plan...
Just try some different vodafone stores, I went to 20 different and one could tell me 2 weeks ago that they would get one that afternoon so I directly reserved it. If you can't find any on stock the next shipment will come in on 17th of december (north ireland).
Its free with a 35 pounds bussines plan it includes 1000 minutes, Unlimited texts, Unlimited Landlines, Unlimited Internet and Vodafone Passport.
Good luck!
mskip said:
To get it for free you have to sign up for a £45/month contract and that only gives you 1200mins and 500texts. You dont even get the internet package that you get with the iphone. Go for a lower tarif package and you are looking at £100 for the phone..
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Not strictly true. I performed my upgrade two weeks ago yesterday when O2 first got them in stock. I did what I always do when going for an upgrade, threaten to leave. I was told a £35, 18 month tariff would mean the phone would cost £98. I asked to be put through to retentions where I asked for my PAC code. When they asked why I explained I wasn't happy with the fact O2 wanted to charge me £100 for a phone I can get from Vodafone for nothing (not strictly true but he didn't appear to realise that). After a few more persuasive arguments and another threat to leave, he said he 'managed' to get the phone down to £1.72 for me on an 18 month, £35 tariff with 600 minutes, 1000 texts and unlimited data (or 750mb to be precise).
However, I have heard they have cottoned onto people doing this and are now refusing point blank to offer the phone for less than £98. It's got to be worth a shot though.
mskip said:
You dont even get the internet package that you get with the iphone.
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You sure about that? I got unlimited data the same as the iPhone on a £35 a month tariff. Oh, and be careful with Vodafone's fair usage data policy, you get charged as soon as you go over 500mb, even in the first month. O2's is much better, you have to go over 750mb on a regular basis before they threaten to charge you.
EDIT: just checked and you're wrong there mate - you get a free bolton that you select yourself on all tariffs including and above the 600 minute £35 a month one. One of the selectable boltons is for unlimited web/data. Check the link out.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/18_months
Pagnell said:
he 'managed' to get the phone down to £1.72 for me on an 18 month, £35 tariff with 600 minutes, 1000 texts and unlimited data (or 750mb to be precise).
now refusing point blank to offer the phone for less than £98. It's got to be worth a shot though.
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which as a "retention deal for a valued customer" is still pretty poor when for only £5 more at vodafone you'll get 1200minutes,ultd texts,ultd data (fup 500mb?) AND ultd landlines over 18mths,oh and that's with the phone for free...what would an extra £5 at o2 get you?not that much I'll guarantee..it seems o2 think they have their customers over a barrel at the moment due to this phones popularity which will no doubt see them losing quite a few punters in the short term! Why they didn't just put it on the same tariff as the Palm Pre is beyond me and is the deal I would/intend to snap up as soon as I can.
terrytpot said:
which as a "retention deal for a valued customer" is still pretty poor when for only £5 more at vodafone you'll get 1200minutes,ultd texts,ultd data (fup 500mb?) AND ultd landlines over 18mths,oh and that's with the phone for free...what would an extra £5 at o2 get you?not that much I'll guarantee..it seems o2 think they have their customers over a barrel at the moment due to this phones popularity which will no doubt see them losing quite a few punters in the short term! Why they didn't just put it on the same tariff as the Palm Pre is beyond me and is the deal I would/intend to snap up as soon as I can.
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Yes, but I'd rather pay a little bit extra to avoid Vodafone as I think they're an awful network.
As for the deal you mention, as I never go over my 600 minutes anyway, the extras you speak of mean little to me even if they do only cost £5 more. 1000 texts is effectively unlimited to the vast majority of people and O2's unlimited web deal is better for reasons I pointed out above and that is something I use a lot.
No, I'll stick to O2 thanks and I suggest you do the same.
Pagnell said:
Not strictly true. I performed my upgrade two weeks ago yesterday when O2 first got them in stock. I did what I always do when going for an upgrade, threaten to leave. I was told a £35, 18 month tariff would mean the phone would cost £98. I asked to be put through to retentions where I asked for my PAC code. When they asked why I explained I wasn't happy with the fact O2 wanted to charge me £100 for a phone I can get from Vodafone for nothing (not strictly true but he didn't appear to realise that). After a few more persuasive arguments and another threat to leave, he said he 'managed' to get the phone down to £1.72 for me on an 18 month, £35 tariff with 600 minutes, 1000 texts and unlimited data (or 750mb to be precise).
However, I have heard they have cottoned onto people doing this and are now refusing point blank to offer the phone for less than £98. It's got to be worth a shot though.
You sure about that? I got unlimited data the same as the iPhone on a £35 a month tariff. Oh, and be careful with Vodafone's fair usage data policy, you get charged as soon as you go over 500mb, even in the first month. O2's is much better, you have to go over 750mb on a regular basis before they threaten to charge you.
EDIT: just checked and you're wrong there mate - you get a free bolton that you select yourself on all tariffs including and above the 600 minute £35 a month one. One of the selectable boltons is for unlimited web/data. Check the link out.
http://shop.o2.co.uk/tariffs/18_months
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Its alot easier to get a better deal if you are already with your provider and go for an upgrade. At the moment im with orange and they have absolutely nothing worth getting right now (except the iphone 3gs lol) which means I have to goto a new network
I think everyone you talk to will give you different information. For example in the O2 shop I was told the data bolt on was upto 500MB but in the terms and conditions on the website it says unlimited. In the vodafone store and on the phone I have been told that if you go over your 500MB FUP then you will be contacted and that you will definitely not be charged extra for going over the limit. I know that with the O2 bolt on you arent allowed to used your phone as a modem or for video/audio streaming unless you pay extra which is why they have taken youtube off their roms and is pretty stupid really.
You are right that you can get a free bolt on with O2 but with only 500 texts available instore (I think its doubled to 1000 online) its still not enough for me in business use and I would need that bolt on to upgrade to unlimited texts. That of course means I need to pay extra for the data bolt on
Also with vodafone giving unlimited landline calls it means I can do most of my business calls for free and leave my included minutes for family and friends
I know everyone has their prefered network but for everything they are including and the much cheaper tarif I think my only option is vodafone I just hope the stock comes in on the 11th after putting it back 2 times . When I rang htc yesterday they said the delay was because they are putting extra software on for vodafone so im assuming thats the 360 software.
I fully intend to its just a matter of getting the right deal (although I could say any deal at the moment with o2!) I've never tried voda myself but as I get through over 2000mins/mth on o2 (ultd o2's and got all my buddies using them too)straying isn't a very attractive option to me and as for texts,dont use them at all (think my avg over the last mth was 2!)
spastik said:
You guys are making me jealous :\
Back here in Portugal you pay 15 euros for a 100min plan plus 15€/month for a 500MB data plan...
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Consider yourself lucky..
Here in Belgium, you have to pay 20€ for a 85 minute plan (no free sms) + 20€/Month for 200Mb data (or 25€ for 500Mb)
If you want unlimited voice, unlimited sms, but no data, it'll cost you 89€
Also note that you have to buy the phone full price (paid 570€ for the HD2), there are no offers combining a phone and a plan.
I don't think there are many countries where the phone and internet plans (don't get me started on those ) are that expensive
terrytpot said:
I fully intend to its just a matter of getting the right deal (although I could say any deal at the moment with o2!) I've never tried voda myself but as I get through over 2000mins/mth on o2 (ultd o2's and got all my buddies using them too)straying isn't a very attractive option to me and as for texts,dont use them at all (think my avg over the last mth was 2!)
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2 texts a month you CRAZYYY person haha I think my average with sending out quotes and texting clients and friends is about 2500 a month
Mithrandir007 said:
Consider yourself lucky..
Here in Belgium, you have to pay 20€ for a 85 minute plan (no free sms) + 20€/Month for 200Mb data (or 25€ for 500Mb)
If you want unlimited voice, unlimited sms, but no data, it'll cost you 89€
Also note that you have to buy the phone full price (paid 570€ for the HD2), there are no offers combining a phone and a plan.
I don't think there are many countries where the phone and internet plans (don't get me started on those ) are that expensive
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OMGG thats madd I dont think I would have a mobile phone if I had to fork out that every month ontop of paying full whack for it as well
You should move to the uk lol
mskip said:
Its alot easier to get a better deal if you are already with your provider and go for an upgrade. At the moment im with orange and they have absolutely nothing worth getting right now (except the iphone 3gs lol) which means I have to goto a new network
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Indeed. I don't think the HD2 is available to new customers on O2 yet, it certainly isn't listed as being available on their website. Which is ridiculous considering I have had it for over two weeks.
mskip said:
I think everyone you talk to will give you different information. For example in the O2 shop I was told the data bolt on was upto 500MB but in the terms and conditions on the website it says unlimited. In the vodafone store and on the phone I have been told that if you go over your 500MB FUP then you will be contacted and that you will definitely not be charged extra for going over the limit. I know that with the O2 bolt on you arent allowed to used your phone as a modem or for video/audio streaming unless you pay extra which is why they have taken youtube off their roms and is pretty stupid really.
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My O2 branded HD2 has/had Youtube on it, although they had removed the Wi-Fi router. However, I have just used a goldcard to upgrade my firmware to 1.48 which has effectively turned it into a sim-free model and put the wi-fi router option back. As for O2 not allowing tethering, I do it anyway the same way I used to on my iPhone. Providing you don't take the p**s and download 1gb+ a month they have no way of determining the difference between you browsing on the phone and browsing on your laptop through it.
Pagnell said:
My O2 branded HD2 has/had Youtube on it, although they had removed the Wi-Fi router. However, I have just used a goldcard to upgrade my firmware to 1.48 which has effectively turned it into a sim-free model and put the wi-fi router option back. As for O2 not allowing tethering, I do it anyway the same way I used to on my iPhone. Providing you don't take the p**s and download 1gb+ a month they have no way of determining the difference between you browsing on the phone and browsing on your laptop through it.
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I'm glad you mentioned that actually..my first "chats" with o2 to get this on a business account led me to inquire about the cost of 3gb data allowance..I was quite prepared to stump up £15/mth so I could ditch the dongle from 3 that I use only to be told that 3gb of data would cost me £405/mth,yes,thats right £405.00 a month! so what if all the sharers on the account get to share it,its still £405 and there's only me on the contract! and to cap it all the woman in question wanted me to pay towards the phone as well!!!
Got a few days ago a update from a friend that works at a vodafone store, just after I got mine they were all called from the vodafone warehouse to HTC because they wanted to fix first some (in my eyes minor) bugs like the pink camera problem...
just like we were told o2 did then...