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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Related
I can upgrade for £399 (inc vat). Told them "no way, I'll go to O2 thanks". They dropped the price instantly to £250 and then to £200 (for an 18 month contract). They'll have a date for me maybe by the end of the week.
For reference and comparison, I'm about 2 months past the end of my 12 month contract of £15+VAT/month for 100mb and expensive voice calls, normal spend is around £25-£30 inc vat.
I'll wait to see what O2's new data tariffs are like, but if T-mobile can maybe do something to decrease my voice call costs then I think I'll go for it
What tarif is that?
All I found in the T-mobile lists is a 100mb a month 3g datacard tarif, but it was £25 a month, voice at 25p a minute.
£15 a month for 100meg is great!!!
I pay 25p a minute on payg for voice anyway, so id love this tarif, but not sure if yours is similar? where did you see it?
Oh, and forget o2 for data. They suck. They are pushing the blackberry thing, and its like £15 a month for 5meg. Extra data bundles cost a fortune and ive never had a consistant answer on what is included, and what does what, if its full internet access or wap or whatever.
When is the universal due out with our uk carriers?End of the month?
I'm on the old version of that tariff - T Mobile Communication Center (sic) GPRS card at £15+VAT for 100mb and then 50ppm for voice. I bought from http://www.directmobilephones.com
On the downside, if you go over your 100mb, they sting you at £7.50/mb. Ouch.
On the other hand, I'm sure they have billing problems and I reckon I transfer around 40mb/month, not the 25mb on my bill. Or maybe Onspeed is doing a greater job than I thought 8)
O2 do some OK data tariffs - Data 36 at £14.50 and data 512 at £40 (both + VAT iirc) seem like fairly good deals to me, particularly as voice calls are only 25p (inc vat) on that deal.
ps - if anyone wants to try onspeed, please pm me for an affiliate code.
jay,
1st October: T Mobile - source - recent, "off the record" T mobile manager
3rd October: O2 - source - recent, on the record O2
28th October: Vodafone - source - not too recent, on the record vodafone manager
Uknown probably towards the end of October: Orange - source, nothing more than sales droids
Probably never: Three - source, wild speculation :wink:
Cheers for that.If it were to come out on three you'd probably get it for a fiver with free mb forever!Shame everyone else is such a rip off!
If it were to come out on THREE youd be wasting your time as they still dont offer a data service yet!
Correct me if im wrong, but youd want proper internet on your Universal not just the crappy THREE walled garden filled with Manure from THREE.
At risk of straying off topic, Three now offer proper internet access for £45 inc vat (for 512mb iirc). So, based on my current usage of 40ish mb and 30 minutes:
T mobile, 100mb, 30 minutes peak all networks
£30 per month x 12 = £360 + £250 for the handset = £610
O2, using say 40mb + 30 minutes
£27 x 12 + £229 for the handset = £553
I could take out a new contract with T mobile, based on http://www.scancom.co.uk/ on ufix with
ufix 15
£15 x 12 + £305 = £485
My mistake on the THREE data, I didnt know they finally had it. Its a bit much for me though!
a 256meg for £20 would do me. Even 128meg for £10 now thats what we want!
Do you know if the £2.50 for 5meg is restricted at all? it seems strange, but id like to try that first before plonking down £45 quid a month
The "wireless web" £2.50 option does not give full http access - but it does cover a lot of popular websites: most of the bbc, ebay.com (but not .co.uk :lol: ) and quite a few others. But
1) 5mb is nothing :?
2) Once you've used it, you can't have anymore until next month, not even for more money
3) Erm, can't VPN on it
just a question ..
I'm french and living currently in uk - was a student and get a nice IT job. So from my pay as you go card I though getting THE exec or whatever name will the cheaper give to it
-> I really think to use VOIP over GPRS ..
Is skype usable with it ?
What the cost such solution ? (only the data on the carrier)
Could the carrier block or put on the contract a restriction on the VOIP ? (From what I get from my friends in France Orange(FR) and some other do)
Same question for IM (aim/msn/icq/jabber) VS SMS
was looking for some comparison on the web to get roughly an idea but didn't get something serious enough.
Q> Is skype usable with it ?
A> No, not the voice part anyway. IM, yes.
Q>What the cost such solution ? (only the data on the carrier) depends on network, but for non-bundle gprs its from £2 per meg to £8 per meg
Q> Could the carrier block or put on the contract a restriction on the VOIP ?
A> Yes, they do block things randomly and not tell you.
Q> Same question for IM (aim/msn/icq/jabber) VS SMS
A> O2 Pay as you go DOES NOT allow anything other than wap and http, all IM and email is blocked. I do not know about other carriers, but ive heard tmobile blocks email too.
Forget Pay as you go for Data, its expensive and slow gprs. You want to use a 3G link to make the most of the universal, so get a vodafone/orange/tmobile datacard tarif with bundled data. I think T-mobile let you make calls at 25p a minute on top of the data bundle, dont know about voice on the others though.
Hope this helps.
o2 isnt 2 bad for gprs i got 50mb for 4 pounds uk and 750 mintes and 150 txt for 25 pounds uk on o2 uk but that was a sim only deal as was going to go for vodaphone quite good really hope they can o somthing for the exec when it comes out
about the IM, I got a Jabber account on a server that get https...
For those who don't know jabber is an open source IM solution and it's not centralised (understand you can build your own server at home and communicate with all the other jabber server in the world - a bit like the mail) The beauty of jabber is the gateways I got AIM/ICQ/YAHOO/IRC/MSN gateway to be able to speak with other protocoles..
So .. I'll chat
it's quite a shame that they block randomly ports or whatever without telling you. I'll explicity ask them and list the price.
please do ask them too; normally 3g is far enough for skype (skype needs 3-5kbps)
Just spoken to T Mobile again - the chap on the end of the phone told me the same £200 and I said "well, I can get an XDA Exec for that on a much better tariff". So they halved it to £100 or free if I go for an 18 month contract. Bargain
That's a £15 + VAT/month tariff, typical spend under £30. They'll call me back as soon as they have a date. I'm hoping that date will be 1st October :wink:
"please do ask them too; normally 3g is far enough for skype (skype needs 3-5kbps)"
Id love to hear from anyone who has skype VOICE working on a 3g connection. As far as im aware the latency/ping time etc kill voice over 3g. The total data speed isnt really the issue, its the terrible network!
Id love for it to work, but im pretty sure its IM only and no voice.
Please correct me if you have actual evidence to the contrary
Hi
Have you seen the price of the universal on www.orange.co.uk ?? madness!! £299 on a £30/mnth contract !!! And they are yet another provider that refuse to sell it data-only.
Here are the costs per year for 200 any network mins + 40MB 3G/GPRS data. (aka webnwalk200) + an HTC Universal for each provider. I will consider consumer products only, and it should all be orderable online (as opposed to speaking to a brain-dead dimwit in a call centre).
Orange
£30+~£25 = £55/mnth + £299 for the device. Cost for 1 year: £959
(they dont do 40MB, they do 80MB or £42)
T-Mobile
12x£16 + 6x£35 + £149.99 Cost for 1 year: £551.99
(and you are actually getting 18 months of webnwalk200 rather than 12 months for this)
O2
£30/mnth for the voice mins incl 1MB data, + £8 for 5MB Data + (34x£3) for the remaining 34MB data = £140/mnth. Device is 139.99. Cost for 1 year: £1819.99
To sumarise:
O2: £1899.99
Orange: £959
T-Mobile: £551.99
I suspect vodafone will be just as bad if they ever release the universal!
T-mobile, would then be a clear winner, trouble is that unless you live in one of about 10 cities in the UK then you'll not get any ruddy 3G off of them. I see zero reasons to choose orange (overpriced data and expensive handset). The only reason to choose O2 is if you never intend to use the unit for 3G/GPRS data.
None of the providers have got the tarriffs for flogging data centric devices correct, but T-mobile comes the closest. If they would offer an option to ditch some mins in favour of some text messages then they would have it sorted!!
Nigel
O2 will sell you a Exec on a data only tariff, the basic is £9.40 per month and the Exec can be between £180 and £230 (with and without a trade-in). I know as I have done this.
I assume that was £230+VAT ??
I cant find this online, and whenever I phone up they say, 'you what?, data only, oooh dont know wot that is mate! try our business lot' I phone the business lot and cannot get a more intelegent response from them either.
bunch of dimwits!
The only time I did speak to someone who would do data only, they wanted to charge me £400 quid for the exec. Also, you cannot get data on a consumer contract, only on a business contract. i.e their data 36,75,200 etc products are business products.
Unless you know different?
Nigel
The prices I mentioned include VAT.
You can only get this deal from O2 stores.
There are lots of references to the Data 5 data only tariff if you do a UK google search: you'll even find a reference at the O2 web site.
I think it depends on how informed the staff in the local store are!! Certainly, they know nothing about it in my local branch! I will re-myther them. Data 5 aint gonna be a whole lot of use tho! I tried to get data200 beforehand.
Why on earth you cant get these online like you can with everyone else I will never know.
Nigel
depends on what you want , if you want an unlocked black version
with either a mainly data ( shop) or mainly voice ( online) tariff then o2 do seem better
If you want a combined ( mid say 200mb) data and voice tariff , T Mobile seem competitive on standard tariff versions, but a trip to the o2 shops might also get you a low voivce and mid data tariff with a reasonable handset price combination
It depends on the tariff and the deal you get.
I got an M5000 added to a business tariff. The phone was about £200 plus cashback of £100 and with another £50 cashback for giving them an old phone (a moto movistar).
Granted, theres the ongoing business cost, but if you get someone in the shop who knows what they're talking about, you can get quite a lot off the price.
But I'll give you ... theres no sensible data tariffs in the UK. The best I've seen is £1 per day GPRS which you can only get on PAYG. Dual sims a go-go.
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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! ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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 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.
Sorry if this has already been discussed, tried searching but couldn't find the answer I was looking for! Basically, I shall be purchasing this within 24 hours. My friend showed me this phone at the weekend and i was blown away!
Ok been searching and found some good deals for all networks, but what have you guys got and does it effect the phone in anyway? Any networks better that others in regards to the general running of the phone?
I am currently with Voda, and have found http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk are selling it on voda along with a T mobile contract.
Also Orange and O2 on another site. But have bad history with both in regards to signal/customer service etc.
The frustrating thing is why are O2 and Vodafone not selling direct from their website?? Instead need to go though a third party?
That's not a frustrating thing for me...I don't want Vodafone branding over my nice new Touch HD thanks....I got mine from mobilephonesdirect on a Voda contract and they were first class.
Thats true. Ill probably order that tomorrow. Quick stupid question......... im getting one with unlimeted mobile web but then under it, it states web browsing £1 per 15MGB per day? im confused!
Neo187 said:
Thats true. Ill probably order that tomorrow. Quick stupid question......... im getting one with unlimeted mobile web but then under it, it states web browsing £1 per 15MGB per day? im confused!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
www.buymobilephones.net
They have some very good offers - Orange do unlimited (500mb fair usage) data for 5 pounds a month I am quite a heavy data user yet always been okay with the amount.
You can get a free web-book, lcd tv, ps3 or xbox 360 or cashback... and the tariffs are very good.
I have used them time and time again excellent service etc.
Neo187 said:
-The frustrating thing is why are O2 and Vodafone not selling direct from their website?? Instead need to go though a third party?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because Orange have an exclusive distribution deal with HTC in the UK.
So the only way to get it on any network but Orange is through a third party supplier.
Personally I'd say T-Mobile are your best bet.
Their Combi 30 tariff is excellent value (700 mins & unlimited texts) and you can add on their unlimited (1GB fair use policy) W'n'W package for an extra £5.
When I took the phone on that package, it was through eXpansys and I had to pay towards it but the site you've linked to in the first post is offering it on the same package for free, so I wouldn't hesitate if I were you.
I got mine from mobiles.co.uk, network O2, 600 mins, 500 texts, Unlimited texts bolt on for 30 pounds per month, with £75 auto-cash-back. Right after the phone arrived, changed the bolt-on (by requesting O2) to Unlimited data, so ended up with 600 mins, 500 texts, unlimited data for £30 per month. I think its a good deal with an unbranded Touch HD. There's a great thread about buying from mobiles.co.uk. Check it out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443462
o2
I was on voda for years and never had a single problem with connectivity, customer service was always good and I could get through to them when i called every time. I wanted this phone and as i was an early adopter i had to go voda, mistake... where i have not really had any connectivity issues there is a problem with my bill and i havent been able to get through to them in 2 weeks, every time i call i am left waiting 30 mins and then some idiot picks me up and cuts me off and i go back to the beginning again, sometimes i just get bored of waiting and try again later. i have tried about 15 times.
pings to google.com from t-mobile are over a second, thats pretty bad in the modern world.