1-) I've been using T-mobile MDA vario for 4 months. I love it. Now, I want to buy the same phone for my sister. However, I am not sure which one to buy. Cingular 8125 or T-Mobile Mda vario. As far as I know they are pretty much the same phones, however, there might be some littlie difference that I don't know. If anyone know what the differences are please help me to choose. (differences not including the appearences of the phones)
2-) I am also not sure why Mda costs a little bit more than the 8125.(compared prices at ebay) I would appreciate if someone could explain me this point too.
there are only one or two differences.
1 the rom (which you can change anyway)
2 the serial number, and g3 or g4. it seems that as htc were building the wizards, they changed bits as they went. for example, 4gb mini sd cards work only after the serial number ht605... and g4s are more difficult to flash a rom to.
So, does the Cingular always comes in G4 and the T-mobile MDA alway comes in G3?
no, sorry, I was very unclear, what I meant to say was that those are the only differences between any wizards. and it would just be random luck what you get, though if you assume that g4 are a later serial number, maybe they all are g4 by now.
the only difference you can know in advance is the rom.
you could try asking to boot up the phone before you buy it to check for g3/g4 if you're buying in a shop.
I would just buy the cheapest (or get a hermes)
bbobeckyj said:
no, sorry, I was very unclear, what I meant to say was that those are the only differences between any wizards. and it would just be random luck what you get, though if you assume that g4 are a later serial number, maybe they all are g4 by now.
the only difference you can know in advance is the rom.
you could try asking to boot up the phone before you buy it to check for g3/g4 if you're buying in a shop.
I would just buy the cheapest (or get a hermes)
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Thank you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the G3
Related
Hi all,
pretty newbie here (first post!), and I want to buy an HTC Cingular 8125. I already read that the european version is the HTC Wizard, but I prefer the 8125 shapeform and keyboard. Is there a way to buy a new one in Europe?. All the customs clearance foms&procedure for one shipped from the states is even harder than paying them. Any advices? Did anyone had such a problem, how did you solve it?
TIA.
Try eBay. I live in Canada and there is no version of an HTC Wizard here, but I bought my 8125 from eBay unlocked. Has been working great for about 6 months now. Best phone ever! Generally, most sellers ship everywhere, and I am sure you will not have any trouble getting one shipped to Europe.
The shape of the Cingular 8125 is actually based off the Asian market Dopod 838. If you can find a shop out in Europe that sells second hand phones, you may be able to get one that is branded with the Dopod logos. AFAIK, Dopod (Asia) and Cingular (US) were the only ones who got the 838/8125 body style. Everyone else got the Wizard body.
Thanks zakhir_n and deathMiata for your replies, I wonder if the inner is the same in 8125/838 and in the Wizard, in terms of geometry... I mean, buying a wizard and the housing of a dopod or a 8125 and replace the bodies. Any experience?.
I was asking to buy one in Europe also for the warranty issues (buying an ebay unit from a private seller, no matter if it's unlocked or not, is warranty=0, right?). Also not to mention if something happens, I have to ship the unit to the States.
Can one buy it directly to cingular but without a contract? (the problem is not unlocking... the problem is billing, US bank account, etc...)
Thank you all!
Yeah warranty will always be an issue when buying things off eBay. Although I am pretty sure you can get warranty no problem, the issue is having to ship it and waiting for a long period of time without a phone if something happens.
Somebody I know just bought a locked 8125 from the states and then paid only $2 to unlock it. There is probably threads all over this forum showing how to do it for free. But the warranty issue is still there; even if you buy it from Cingular, if they are like any other phone company, they take their time fixing phones. Not to mention that they might not help because you aren't a customer. Anway, the wizard is a solid phone I wouldn't be too worried about anything.
And from what I can see about the housing form the 8125 and 838, the phones are exactly the same with different logos. I am pretty sure you can buy the housing and change it, but you would be getting the same looking phone with a different logo. This assumption is based on a quick glance only so don't take my word for it.
Good luck, buddy!
zakhir_n said:
Yeah warranty will always be an issue when And from what I can see about the housing form the 8125 and 838, the phones are exactly the same with different logos. I am pretty sure you can buy the housing and change it, but you would be getting the same looking phone with a different logo.
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Thanks, maybe I misexplained, I meant buying a Wizard or a Qtek (the ones available here) and also a 8125 housing (or Dopod 838 housing) via eBay, and swap the housings.... but everything points that I'll have to buy directly a 8125 from there (HTC TyTN/8525 has almost the same keyboard, but I don't need its extras over the 8125)
Thanks for your replies zakhir... I'm going to see if I can persuade an ebay seller with a good bottle of wine, in order to get lower declared value in customs declaration form
In the meanwhile, I'll keep reading the forums and learning... I soon will be posting my doubts
Hi again!
Any kind german forum-user can confirm if the VPA Compact II housing is the same as the cingular 8125 or Dopod 838 (and different than the Qtek 9100, that is the one whose keyboard I'm avoiding).
If the VPA Compact II has the same housing as the 8125 or 838 I would get it from germany... any advice on on-line shopping?
Thanks!
I'm in Europe for the holidays
I just replaced my 8125 with an 8525. Perhaps we can work something out?
PL3/384EI said:
Hi again!
Any kind german forum-user can confirm if the VPA Compact II housing is the same as the cingular 8125 or Dopod 838 (and different than the Qtek 9100, that is the one whose keyboard I'm avoiding).
If the VPA Compact II has the same housing as the 8125 or 838 I would get it from germany... any advice on on-line shopping?
Thanks!
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Actually, I had a feeling that I forgot about Vodafone offered the Cingular 8125/Dopod 838 as the VPA Compact II. If Vodafone does offer the phone still I would imagine you could get it with no problem and unlock with Machina God's lokwiz unlocker (which is free, by the way).
PL3/384EI said:
Thanks zakhir_n and deathMiata for your replies, I wonder if the inner is the same in 8125/838 and in the Wizard, in terms of geometry... I mean, buying a wizard and the housing of a dopod or a 8125 and replace the bodies. Any experience?.
I was asking to buy one in Europe also for the warranty issues (buying an ebay unit from a private seller, no matter if it's unlocked or not, is warranty=0, right?). Also not to mention if something happens, I have to ship the unit to the States.
Can one buy it directly to cingular but without a contract? (the problem is not unlocking... the problem is billing, US bank account, etc...)
Thank you all!
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Click to collapse
On the last part of your post, I can comment. I purchased my 8525 from www.letstalk.com without contract. I use an AT&T SIM and I am out of contract so I wanted to keep my plan. It is possible to purchase the phone only in this way. Even though they are reputable, I would imagine the warranty only applies within the USA.
I'm kicking around the idea of buying a Hermes, it's a sweet phone and it seems to have fallen a bit in price since I last looked at it. When searching for the different branded versions on eBay, I noticed that I could pick up a Cingular-branded Hermes (8525) a good deal cheaper than the rest of them. Are there any major shortcomings to the 8525 over other versions of the Hermes outside of the missing front camera? Using an American GSM provider, would I even miss the front camera?
I'm on T-Mobile, but if I grabbed a Cingular Hermes I'd obviously just go ahead and unlock it and use it with my service. Honestly, I think it would be pretty sweet to get the T-Mo UK branded Hermes (MDA Vario II) and carry that around instead. Then my friends would be like "whoa dog why does my T-Mobile store not have this phone how did you score it!!!" and I would be like "hell nah homies this **** is elite". But alas, it's not worth paying $600+ for a T-Mo Europe branded one when I can get the Cingular-branded one for well under 500.
Do you guys who have used multiple Hermes' have any preference? Would I likely be just as well off with an 8525 (given that I plan to flash it) as an HTC branded "TyTN" or other HERM200 version of the phone?
Thanks!
I got the 8525... If your not going to use the video calling, why pay more?
Ron
lokmeup said:
I got the 8525... If your not going to use the video calling, why pay more?
Ron
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That's just it, though -- I'm wondering if it's even possible to use video calling in the United States. Is it?
More importantly, are there any replacement shells or cover-ups available for the 8525 such that one could make it appear not to be a Cingular device? I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!
kalibar said:
That's just it, though -- I'm wondering if it's even possible to use video calling in the United States. Is it?
More importantly, are there any replacement shells or cover-ups available for the 8525 such that one could make it appear not to be a Cingular device? I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!
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I bought a Vodafone 1605 on Ebay and used it with T-mobile and now Cingular....I don't mind the brand name on the phone cos I know it's all the same inside
The Vario II pricing is coming down in the UK ... just got given one for £50 on a renewal which is roughly 60% less than I was quoted about six weeks ago.
(typing as I wait for a full resync on my shiny new wm6 black to complete )
You might be able to snap one up off eBay UK on the cheap if your timing is good ...
kalibar said:
I know I'm weird, but if I buy a Hermes for use with T-Mobile USA, I think it looks silly to have Cingular branding on the ****.
Thanks so much!
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I am pretty sure a little alcohol and rubbing would remove the branding.... if your really desperate you could use a little nail polish remover...
I think you can buy "shells" for these phones on ebay. I don't know if they are interchangeable, aka using a Vario II shell on a Cingular 8525, but I would assume they would as long as the button configuration is similar.
chachi said:
The Vario II pricing is coming down in the UK ... just got given one for £50 on a renewal which is roughly 60% less than I was quoted about six weeks ago.
(typing as I wait for a full resync on my shiny new wm6 black to complete )
You might be able to snap one up off eBay UK on the cheap if your timing is good ...
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Click to collapse
That's actually a really good idea; I could only find about two total MDA Vario II's on ebay.com (which makes perfect sense), but when I went to ebay.co.uk there were ****loads. Unfortunately, it seems that most sellers only offer to ship within the UK so I'd have to find one ahead of time that would be okay with shipping to the States.
That brings my next question though. What's the deal with QWERTY vs. QWERTZ keyboards? The MDA Vario II seems to be the latter, and I've typed on a QWERTY all my life and really have no intention of switching. Is it possible to not only map the buttons to QWERTY on a Vario II, but to physically switch the keys?
Man, what a pain this is all turning out to be. I guess I should probably just score a Cingular-branded Hermes and be done with it.
I have a 4 month old 8125 in very good condition. Looking to trade for an MDA in similar condition. Have box and all original stuff. I have the regular sideways leather case AND AN ALUMINUM CASE. Perfect working order, only been used lightly for 4 months.
PM me if interested.
[Mods: if this is not appropriate, please delete and/or let me know, but I've seen other trade offers, thanks.]
Dan
http://picasaweb.google.com/dhoopes/Cingular8125/photo#5076423749460290290
http://picasaweb.google.com/dhoopes/Cingular8125/photo#5076423749460290306
http://picasaweb.google.com/dhoopes/Cingular8125/photo#5076423753755257618
http://www.boxwave.com/images_bw/products/thumbnails/armorcase_cing8125_blk_frtbck_lg.jpg
anyone?
all accessories are brand spankin new and sitting in the box
the unit itself is in excellent condition. will consider trade even if mda not as good condition as this 8125.
why not just flash it with MDA software, they are the same unit?
dhoopes said:
all accessories are brand spankin new and sitting in the box
the unit itself is in excellent condition. will consider trade even if mda not as good condition as this 8125.
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Is you 8125 a G3 or G4?
Post a pic of your boot screen with info when you get a chance.
I know, but prefer MDA hardware
it is a G3 and it has been cid unlocked and the current rom is the XM6 "Taking you to the limit" rom from faria (which is awesome, i might add).
i put the 3.08 ipl spl on and everything is working great.
n3rxs said:
why not just flash it with MDA software, they are the same unit?
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He probably likes the look of the MDA better.
Im interested , for some reason i sold my brand new 8125 to get a mda
but now i want my 8125 back lol , Get working pics up , none of the links you posted are working. Email's [email protected]
Okay, so I just bought a new Herald off eBay for use with t-mobile (I do have Insurance through tmobile for my phone, and as far as I can see in terms, it transfers beause of the fact both phones have the same deductible).
The thing is, just recently, I CID unlocked my Wizard thanks to this site, and installed TNT 5.0 with Tmobile's 2.26.
And I just bought a new battery for it...
Whatcha think I should do? Sell the MDA with new battery? Sell the MDA and return the battery? Or keep it? What would you do?
MDA is easy to customize ..,
I love it, I also have T-mobile Wing and SDA, I love to keep my MDA-Wizard
I have inadvertently bricked my g4 8125 by flashing this rom to it: "RUU_Prodigy_1070302_103_10703102_CMCC_CHS_Ship.exe" which I assume now must be a G3 rom. I did this because it was stuck in bootloader while trying to go to the wizard love rom in order to try flashing TNT's WM6.1 rom (again, not to happy with the first try). So, since my phone will no longer even power on (since I inconsiderately force fed it the wrong rom version) I need a new motherboard. Are the motherboards from all the incarnations the same? Even though I have the Cingular 8125, will the motherboard from an MDA work for me?
Thanks in advance.
yes..
all related model motherboards will fit to your phone...qtek 9100,htc wizard,Orange Spv m3000 and other models...it doesn't mater if the board has a g3 or g4 chip it will fit perfectly....where are you from...would you like to donate your dead motherboard?i need it for research here on xda-developers...e-mail me or PM me
I'm in the US on the East Coast. I don't have any problem donating my old motherboard, I'm scouring eBay now trying to get a good deal on a used one. Since I'm due for an upgrade in August and will probably spring for the Tilt, I don't want to spend too much!
how much does the shipping cost to Romania?can you find out?
According to www.usps.com, it could be as little as $10.30.
just picked up a used MDA, should have mine repaired soon! I really miss it, especially considering I've been using our backup phone (an LG C2000).
Unlock T-Mobile MDA
I have successfully changed the motherboard. I assume the IMEI number of the phone is now the one of the T-Mobile MDA which is now in my Cingular 8125?
I beleive that is the case. The IMEI *should* be tied to the mobo, and not the software, but I do not know for sure, so dont take my word for it!
Ok, so now that I have a G3 instead of G4 (like magic!) I assume this is the proper thread to follow to SIM unlock it?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=305225
I'm really trying to be cautious now, don't want to brick it again! The motherboard is out of a T-Mobile MDA and when I insert my AT&T SIM card it asks for an unlock code.
Read and follow this guide as its latest and with more info :-
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Wizard Windows Mobile 6 for newbies
or just find the Lokiwiz thread...follow the instructions for G3...i think it still needs a bootloader downgrade...but now that you have a G3 it's 100% risk free...you can hardly kill a G3....so good luck and work safe....don't forget to read twice,understand and then just read again (just to make sure)
It's Alive!
Thanks for all the help. I've already been through TNT 19213, BD 3.1, and am now using Cloud_Nine 0.9b. Is there still any interest in getting the bricked G4 motherboard? Maybe if there was someone to send it to state-side the shipping would be a little cheaper.