Database Users

UK T-Mobile vs. Vodafone Hermes

Is the Hermes provided by T-Mobile the same as Vodafone's in the UK? I'm with T-Mobile now (on a Wizard) and going to upgrade soon, but may switch providers if I get a better deal. The website descriptions have never been reliable, where some features are not mentioned or listed wrongly.

Yes they are, but why would you want to switch, the T-mobile tariffs seem so much better at the moment, especially with Web 'n' Walk!

Well they seem better on paper, but I've found when you call and say you want to switch they sometimes give you a better offer than the standard ones available. Equally someone you are thinking of switching to may give you a better offer than what's available on the websites.

I think the phones are the same, or can be made the same if you flash a new ROM.
If you are (or will be) a heavy wireless user then the T-mobile deal is probably the best. Try playing the game with Vodafone and also tell T-mobile that VOD have offerred a great deal for you (based on phone upgrade, contract length, cost of services etc) and see if what they come up with.
As for phone service quality - I've never really had much trouble with either provider in the UK, but this is mostly in built up areas - also if you travel, VOD definately works well for me overseas EVERYWHERE (but company pays).
kkhalil76 said:
Well they seem better on paper, but I've found when you call and say you want to switch they sometimes give you a better offer than the standard ones available. Equally someone you are thinking of switching to may give you a better offer than what's available on the websites.
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Thanks for the advice

I've switched from Vodafone to T-Mobile... their customer retentions advisor admitted they had no way to match T-Mobile.

vodafone's customer service and pricing has gone down hill over the last few years, hence i changed to tmobile - who have been great and far cheaper, especially with web'n'walk/web'n'walk+.
i'm fairly sure that someone told me vodafone have recently taken picture messaging out of their bundles of texts/data, if that's your thing.

@agentp
That's true, MMS were removed from their all inclusive tariff since Sept 06.
They did offer me the V1605 as a free upgrade to remain with them and I got to keep my £25pm tariff.
I have since zapped it with the new WM6 roms that have been released here probably voiding any warranty and using it with an O2 sim.
@ kkhalil76
As already mentioned - the phones are identical in hardware terms and differ only cosmetically. I would probably say that Voda has a better network but T-mobile appear to offer better tariffs and there's nothing wrong with playing one network off against another.

Well in comparison i today signed up for a new contract with tmobile......web'n'walk is the deal breaker for me.
O2 shall be getting a call on monday for my pac code.
Also i get a free phone for the mrs.......................once its unlocked

i have an unlocked vodafone from UK. the v1605 is cosmetically similar to the HTC tytn save some branding here n there.
i personally prefer the current button layout than the t-mobile version (due to stubby fingers) hehe!

UK: In stock at Vodafone

Hi guys
Went to 02 shop today in Chester to see if any news: The staff hadnt even heard of the X1.
Went round the corner to Vodafone expecting the same thing but imagine my suprise when I was told it was in stock. Within 30 minutes I had purchased my new X1!
Yet to have a proper play but smaller and lighter than I imagined.
Andrew

Locked or unlocked?

5th of November...
Thats when most dutch shops should have the Xperia. Atleast my local Belcompany store will have it..

Branded or not?

From the pics posted on other forums, it's branded, but not that big a deal.
http://www.nullpacket.co.uk/X1_1.JPG
http://www.nullpacket.co.uk/X1_2.JPG

miky7 said:
Branded or not?
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Zaim2 said:
From the pics posted on other forums, it's branded, but not that big a deal.
http://www.nullpacket.co.uk/X1_1.JPG
http://www.nullpacket.co.uk/X1_2.JPG
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Thanks for the photos, but apart from the appearence the big question is if they have messed up with the rom.

Now we see where the dealy has come from! Making all the crap boxes and literature to acompany the naf Vodafone logos phone with its bloated Vodafone crappy ROM.
When will service providers learn its not what the end user wants?!?!?!

ajbartley said:
Hi guys
Went to 02 shop today in Chester to see if any news: The staff hadnt even heard of the X1.
Went round the corner to Vodafone expecting the same thing but imagine my suprise when I was told it was in stock. Within 30 minutes I had purchased my new X1!
Yet to have a proper play but smaller and lighter than I imagined.
Andrew
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Click to collapse
weird, I went into the vf store in chester yesterday and they only had the dummy phone in, that was about 11.30, they didn't know when they were having a delivery but guessed it would be tuesday,they must have had a delivery after I left, you jammy git .

vinokirk said:
Now we see where the dealy has come from! Making all the crap boxes and literature to acompany the naf Vodafone logos phone with its bloated Vodafone crappy ROM.
When will service providers learn its not what the end user wants?!?!?!
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Click to collapse
The two pictures of the Vodafone X1 above were taken by me yesterday. I really don't think they've messed with it much at all branding-wise. The Vodafone logo is black and doesn't stick out like the red one would have, an unbranded X1 just has "X1" written in that space, so it's not a huge change.
They've pre-loaded a few 'applications' which are mainly links to open Vodafone Live and their data-powered GPS site. Apart from that and a few bookmarks in Opera/PIE, I don't see too much to complain about, it still has the HTC apps like the streaming media player, sim manager, A-GPS data downloader, etc.
The Google panel is called the Vodafone panel, but the only real change I think is the inclusion of a few link to the Vodafone Live site and Mobile TV (streaming 3G video from Vodafone).

Difficult choice, Vodafone definitely in stock, but their 12 month contracts are rubbish:
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/sony-ericsson/X1/
But T-Mobile just said they will definitely get it, but have no date yet.

Went to Vodafone and had a look at the dummy model, its tiny! I was expecting it to be bigger The keys are not too easy to type on. I had a look at a silver dummy and I really liked it, they had no stock of black or silver just the silver dummy.
They also dont sell it sim free but that dont matter as they had none in stock anyway!

I'm in a quandry as my local Vf shop is offering just the phone for £350-400! They have some on delivery tomorrow and I'm wondering wether to reserve one. My problem is that
I'm 9 months into an 18 month contract (T-mobile Flext) and so I cannot use a locked phone. Does anyone know whether the Vodafone Xperia's are locked or not?

Cazbuh said:
Does anyone know whether the Vodafone Xperia's are locked or not?
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Pretty sure Vodafone stopped locking all phones 12 months ago. Anyway my Vodafone X1 has just accepted my Orange Wednesday SIM so you should be in luck

They have them in stock in carphonewarehouse as well both on o2 and orange. This was in the brent cross shopping centre one that is though. Not too small and not too big just the right size got mine coming soon too. Although the salesman was pretty stupid saying not to buy it and was trying to sell me the blackberry claiming the sony ericsson x1 was full of bugs?!?!? i set him straight though!

The mystery deepens!
I spoke to vodafone customer services who said the phone was probably locked and only available on a contract (despite the shop having offered it for £350-400 on its own).
I don't want a contract with O2 or Vodafone so I'm going to try one last visit to the shop tomorrow morning and if that is unsuccessful then I'll get it through play (£499.99 & free delivery), SuperGPS or Handtec (next day delivery!).

Cazbuh said:
I spoke to vodafone customer services who said the phone was probably locked
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Wrong, as I've said up above none of their new phones are locked, and MY Vodafone X1 is running fine with my Orange SIM
and only available on a contract (despite the shop having offered it for £350-400 on its own).
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Possibly hit and miss with each shop and their targets etc however even if they did sell it SIM free it's likely to be more (about £500).

My carphonewarehouse said its not out for a couple of weeks yet :O the ejits...
I only asked the vodafone shop if they did it sim free, I didnt ask them specificly if they sold just the phone on its own(but stil with crappy vodafone branding).
I would be willing to have a vodafone branded unlocked handset for £350 rather than an unbranded unlocked handset from clove play etc for £500.
This is an avenue i hadnt even thought of!

foaf said:
Difficult choice, Vodafone definitely in stock, but their 12 month contracts are rubbish:
http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/sony-ericsson/X1/
But T-Mobile just said they will definitely get it, but have no date yet.
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Click to collapse
Has anyone tried bargaining with Vodafone on the phone or in store? Someone in the Touch Pro forum managed to get a free Touch Pro on a 12 month contract at £42.50 per month. Not sure if it was a business or consumer contract.
Trouble for me now though is that as this phone has taken so long to come out I'm now torn between the X1 and the Touch HD. Why couldn't SE get it shipped like the iphone, as you have to hand it to Apple for being able to get the phone in the shops six weeks after launch.

jamiemag said:
Has anyone tried bargaining with Vodafone on the phone or in store? Someone in the Touch Pro forum managed to get a free Touch Pro on a 12 month contract at £42.50 per month. Not sure if it was a business or consumer contract.
Trouble for me now though is that as this phone has taken so long to come out I'm now torn between the X1 and the Touch HD. Why couldn't SE get it shipped like the iphone, as you have to hand it to Apple for being able to get the phone in the shops six weeks after launch.
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yes I got a deal with vodafone retail. I asked them if they could match onliine vodastore on a 12 month contract and they said yes. I originally wanted the 45 per month deal with 900 mins and 500 texts and handset 100. He could only find 750 mins 250 texts which I said I didn't want. we finished off on 600 mins and 500 texts for 40 a month and 100 for the phone, which is a saving of 50 compared to online and got the phone there and then.

has anyone found any better deals than the ones on the vodafone website ? if i remember, the operator's deals are usually amongst the worst around ?
i'm looking for a 12 month contract but the vodafone site only allows unlimited internet and all the other goodies on 18 month contracts. grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Vodafone HD2 vs. Vanilla HTC HD2

Hi - hoping someone with a HD2 from Vodafone can help me!!
I pre-ordered a HD2 from an online retailer ages ago and it arrived the other week (obviously one of the first batch officially into the country).
However, in the meantime I'd also signed up to one on my existing Vodafone contract as soon as I realised they were offering them, as they gave me a good deal (ie. not the £££ handset cost!). Trouble is this one hasn't yet arrived, and I'm today told that VFs expected delivery has been delayed yet again.
My retail supplied one is currently sitting at my house as yet unopened. I was going to chuck it on eBay and hopefully get either what I paid for it or maybe even a slight profit (demand etc). However I'm getting increasingly impatient about my Vodafone one still not having turned up. I'm very tempted to do it the other way round and open up/use the one I've got, then stick the one from Vodafone on eBay when it does eventually turn up.
So my question: are the ones from Vodafone identifiable in any way? Branded? How about even the packaging and/or included documentation - is this Vodafone branded? If it is then I guess I'll just have to wait as I know it'll be harder work to get rid of the Vodafone branded handset as opposed to a retail one; however if not then I might as well with nothing to loose!
Thanks in advance, Simon

I have a Vodafone HD2 and there is no Vodafone identifiable things on it in any way. Vodafone hasn't made any alterations to the rom, well in actually fact you can't even tell you got it from vodafone other than the fact that they also send you a vodafone sim.
I'm loving mine, and it is also is sim unlocked.

gaiden0000 said:
I have a Vodafone HD2 and there is no Vodafone identifiable things on it in any way. Vodafone hasn't made any alterations to the rom, well in actually fact you can't even tell you got it from vodafone other than the fact that they also send you a vodafone sim.
I'm loving mine, and it is also is sim unlocked.
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Excellent - thanks for taking the time to reply!
Means I can crack open the one I have at home and then just eBay my Vodafone one when it *finally* turns up!!
Thanks again..

A few questions about the HTC Legend from a Dream owner

hey guys, i currently have an htc dream. I am on fido
I am thinking about a new phone and the legend comes up as an option.
1) I read that i can get a legend for $400 from bell or $350 from virgin.
I looked around at virgin's website and i could only find an option to buy the legend for $350+ a 30 day plan (the cheapest brings the price to $350+$25)
is there any way to get it at $350 with no contract? am i overlooking anything?
2) does the virgin phone work on the same network as fido/rogers? will it work?
3) if answer to #2 is yes, would i need to get it unlocked even though i bought it outright?
4) What regrets do you have with buying this phone (everyone has regrets about every phone)
thanks a lot for your answers, current owners are the only ones who can give you true answers! Please try and answer back in a
1)
2)
kind of format for any of the questions you are able to answer.
thanks

To answer your questions:
1) YMMV as some people have been able to get it for $349.99 without activating. But technically it's supposed to be $349.99 on a 30 day plan at the very least. So if you don't have a Virgin plan already, they may require you to sign up for a plan. $35 activation fee and the lowest plan is $25.
2) Yes the Virgin Mobile HTC Legend is model A6365 which is the North American version that will utilize HSPA 3G 850/1900 on all the major Canadian carriers, sans Wind.
3) Yes you will need to get it unlocked if you are planning on using it on a network other than Virgin Mobile. I got mine unlocked from MobileInCanada.com for $20 no problems.
4) No regrets about buying this phone. I sold my X10 because it was too big for my liking and it felt cheap with a creaky battery case. I love the build quality on the Legend and it is the most SOLID phone I've ever used in a great form factor. I don't mind the lower specs because I'm not a power user and it does everything I want without lag. The only quirk I don't like is the lack of bluetooth voice dialing (missing in Android 2.1) but I'm hoping for an update.
asb123 said:
hey guys, i currently have an htc dream. I am on fido
I am thinking about a new phone and the legend comes up as an option.
1) I read that i can get a legend for $400 from bell or $350 from virgin.
I looked around at virgin's website and i could only find an option to buy the legend for $350+ a 30 day plan (the cheapest brings the price to $350+$25)
is there any way to get it at $350 with no contract? am i overlooking anything?
2) does the virgin phone work on the same network as fido/rogers? will it work?
3) if answer to #2 is yes, would i need to get it unlocked even though i bought it outright?
4) What regrets do you have with buying this phone (everyone has regrets about every phone)
thanks a lot for your answers, current owners are the only ones who can give you true answers! Please try and answer back in a
1)
2)
kind of format for any of the questions you are able to answer.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

da_hool said:
To answer your questions:
1) YMMV as some people have been able to get it for $349.99 without activating. But technically it's supposed to be $349.99 on a 30 day plan at the very least. So if you don't have a Virgin plan already, they may require you to sign up for a plan. $35 activation fee and the lowest plan is $25.
2) Yes the Virgin Mobile HTC Legend is model A6365 which is the North American version that will utilize HSPA 3G 850/1900 on all the major Canadian carriers, sans Wind.
3) Yes you will need to get it unlocked if you are planning on using it on a network other than Virgin Mobile. I got mine unlocked from MobileInCanada.com for $20 no problems.
4) No regrets about buying this phone. I sold my X10 because it was too big for my liking and it felt cheap with a creaky battery case. I love the build quality on the Legend and it is the most SOLID phone I've ever used in a great form factor. I don't mind the lower specs because I'm not a power user and it does everything I want without lag. The only quirk I don't like is the lack of bluetooth voice dialing (missing in Android 2.1) but I'm hoping for an update.
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Click to collapse
thanks a lot for the reply, unfortunately for me, i do not have a virgin account. This means that it would cost me $447 to get one and get it unlocked, thats edging very close to the price of an n1. Of course this would be a lot cheaper if you are a virgin user.

I think the thing that sets it apart from the N1 (amongst other phones) is the superb build quality and form factor. It really is a thing of beauty!

da_hool said:
I think the thing that sets it apart from the N1 (amongst other phones) is the superb build quality and form factor. It really is a thing of beauty!
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yeah, it definitely LOOKS both beautiful and solid, my dream definitely doesnt feel so solid.

The way i see it is that the only way i would get one of these would be if there is someone in the lowermainland area in BC with virgin who could buy it for me, and have me pay them.

a guy told me that he called his local Future Shop they said they would sell the Virgin mobile Legend with no need to activate or buy a month's plan. I don't know for sure, but you could try going to your local Future Shop and see what they say. Unlocking can be done for $10 at cellunlock.net with coupon code crackb50.

I think that The Source is also selling (Bell+Virgin) phones without activation.

I picked a Legend up at a Virgin Mobile kiosk, no Virgin account and no need to activate anything. It is quite YMMV, but you just have to try around, and usually you'll find a place that'll sell it outright for $350+tax. I unlocked it at cellunlock.net for $10 with the 'crackb' code as mentioned by echow and am currently using it on Rogers (3G).
It's a beautiful device. I thought the Bold 9000 I had was well built, but this thing is in another league. I also have an HD2, and while the large screen is absolutely fantastic, Android plus the smaller form factor simply make more sense sometimes. Plus, the MSM7227 is quite a significant upgrade from the Dream's MSM720x(A). You get VFP and the Adreno 200 GPU, which were two big features of Snapdragon.

Does anyone know who the flagship network operator will be for the desire HD?

THinking of getting the DHD on my network Orange when i'm due for an upgrade in October and i was wondering if it will actually be available? Does anyone know what the flagship network will be?
Please don't say o2 lol, i hate those buggers.

As far as I know, Vodafone is going to be the "flagship". HTC seemed to be bigging them up a lot at the launch event.
Orange and T-Mobile are getting the phone too, but they didn't get a mention.
O2 so far aren't even getting the phone at all!

3rd party online stores are offering the HD on T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and Vodafone...always best to get from a 3rd party as to not get a crap branded handset!!

EddyOS said:
3rd party online stores are offering the HD on T-Mobile, Orange, O2 and Vodafone...always best to get from a 3rd party as to not get a crap branded handset!!
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Yep, that's what I did with my TP2 and is what I'm doing with my HD

I have it ordered from a 3rd party on Vodafone. I wonder because it will be the first shipment will it have all the Vodafone crap on it or touch wood it will be sim free ??

Depends where you get it from and whether you're first shipment or not.
When I ordered my TP2 from mobilephonesdirect I was first shipment and Voda didn't even have theirs yet - so I got an unbranded one.
I don't know if somewhere down the line Voda got their stock and MPD started selling from Voda stock rather than sim-free stock...
I expect at this stage all stock that doesn't come direct from an operator will be unbranded and sim-free.

I ordered it from here immediately once they started taking orders so i should be in the first shipment - http://www.mobiles.co.uk/htc-desire-hd.html
Here's hoping its sim free then m8

I've just sent Orange an email asking about a release date. I'll post back when I hear something.
I never use a 3rd Party. Insurance is 6.00 a month on Orange. They replace the phone the next day usually no questions asked.
If you buy 3rd party you cannot insure your phone direct. You end up paying about 10.00 a month then if you want to claim they try everything to get out of helping you.
In my experience always buy direct. I know the branding is a pain. Custom Roms get rid of the bloatware. A small badge you can put up with.
If you buy a 3rd party phone the main operator will always tell you to contact who you bought your phone from if there's a fault.
That's where you will start having problems.
Sent from my HTC Hero

I phoned Vodafone about my TP2 when I got it asking if I can have insurance put on through Vodafone rather than via the reseller and they said "Yep no problem" and put it on for me! Not had to use it, but just saying...

That's good maybe it's just Orange. I got a phone from Phones 4 you years ago and Orange wouldn't touch me on insurance. I just like to deal direct because I get really good loyalty discounts.
Sent from my HTC Hero

I know what you mean. When I upgraded from my K800i to my TyTNII Orange were really really great at giving me a good deal.
I actually used to work for Orange about 4 years ago, and I still have a warm place in my heart.
I'm defecting to T-Mobile this time so I can take advantage of Everything Everywhere, makes me feel like I'm getting closer to Orange again.
Orange Care was by and large one of the best aspects of their service. I used it on my old SPV M2000 which I crushed on the day I got it by tripping over a rope fence. Problem I had was that they had none to replace it with so I got stuck with an SEP910i - which was no replacement for the M2000. There was a big scandal about it and the media got involved and in the end I got a brand new M2000.
I would have stuck with Orange for my TP2, but it was going to take a couple of months for it to be available on Orange whereas I could get it on Vodafone instantly, and I was so fed up with my TyTN II that I begrudgingly jumped ship. Not that Vodafone have caused me any problems. Orange just had a bit more of a personal touch. Vodafone is very corporate and don't seem as 'fun' as Orange are.
My work Treo Pro is on Vodafone anyway, so it's no loss
Wow, I ended up talking a lot there.

Orange are not ideal as they tend to mess with the handset too much for my liking. I did mention this in another thread but orange don't seem to have any information on DHD, one of the sell reps even suggested they might not even get it at all!!
mobilphonesdirect.com are quite good they have confirmed handset will be sim free and are offering the cheapest deals. Ordered mine today expected to get it on he 7th October, wait and see.

I'm pretty sure orange will get it since they're merged with T-Mobile. I read that they'll be rebranding around 2012 too. I can't imagine orange not getting it, it would be a mistake on their part in my opinion.