DISQUS

edcave · 5 months ago

@TerenceEden @garethjames - One simple reason... cost! I have been on an O2 simplicity tariff for just under 24 months now... Due to various reasons I'm having to make some changes into the way I spend my money and £400 for an HTC Hero is just simply too much! I know I end up paying that £400 over the course of the contract but the payments are spread out over the course of 18 months.

@philtrick - interesting comments I never really thought of it that way. One of the reasons I did start looking at contracts again was due to specific offers on individual networks for example skype calls on 3. I did wonder whether I was missing out in anyway....

TerenceEden · 5 months ago

I'd buy the device you want, then get it unlocked. Or buy it from somewhere like Expansys.

garethjames · 5 months ago

Um, ok, it has been seven years (give or take a week) since I lived in the UK, but what on earth is wrong with actually BUYING an unlocked phone? And then just getting a sim card with the minutes/text/data at the rate you want from the MNO that you want...

Or am I just "not getting it"...

philtrick · 5 months ago

Not being rude, but I don't think you are 'getting it' and neither are the network operators.

The traditional model of buying a mobile allows a user to buy a handset at a greatly reduced price due to the fact that the operator makes money from the user on the network, from calls, data, SMS, and MMS messages.

I think that the popularity of unlocked phones will start to wane, or the price of unlocked phones will start to come down.

When you buy an unlocked phone, the network operator has not had to make an upfront 'investment' in your custom, i.e. is has not had to subsidise a handset for you. (Also, how much of that subsidy is money on the operator part and not just discount for quantity purchase of handsets is up for debate).

So effectively, by using the unlocked handset on the operators network, the operator has to work less and invest less to get your custom, so it could be argued that they might value you less as a customer.

Anyone want to disagree with this point of view?

garethjames · 5 months ago

No, I totally see, and understand, your point of view. And I can see how this sort of thing effects the buying decision in the minds of a lot of people. But in my mind at least, I would still go down the phone unlocked/sim plan I want route. Guess I don't care that much how much the MNO treats me... :-)

Nitin Nanivadekar · 5 months ago

You are referring i750. But it is i7500 that sports Android. i750 is Windows Mobile

nacho · 5 months ago

To have freedom of choice as a consumer, you're probably better off buying a handset unlocked but to get a first-rate phone you must pay a fortune. So you have to find a way around those hurdles.
I'm not going to suggest you move flats but have you considered taking the phone providers to court for not covering London SW??!!! ;-)
It is hard to believe that in 2009 there's a bit of London not properly covered by all the main providers.
I'd do something along the lines of what @terenceEden suggested, buy the handset with a low-end contract, get it unlocked and then try to get rid of the contract, maybe passing it to someone else in the family or a friend.
Shop around, maybe some obscure reseller will give you the handset you want in the network you want. O2 doesn't sell the HTC HD for example but you can buy it at the CPW in the O2 network.. you get my drift. I've seen little shops around selling phones that I've never seen in the operators' own shops or in the big retailers.
Anyway, good luck with your mobile hunting!

mj · 5 months ago

I don't think it's Apple's fault that S60 has been allowed to stagnate. I also don't think it's their fault for the Network/Handset exclusive partnerships because they existed way before then (for ages, I could only get a RAZR on Orange). That's just trolling.

Don't feel limited by the Magic - it's a lovely phone - and it's use of a 'more standard' Android build will likely work in it's favour. The Sense UI - well, I don't see what the fuss is about. At the end of the day it's all about the software.

And if you're set on the Hero, why not unlock it?

edcave · 5 months ago

@nitin - spot on, a typo there!!

@nacho - I know its incredible!! As soon as you walk out the door its full signal... I'm on the phone to my lawyers as we speak ;)

I'm happy to unlock a handset but by buying a handset on another network and unlocking it I am incurring extra cost. Most likely an extra £35+ a month for 18 months.. more than £400

I appreciate I can get round this problem by spending money, putting in the extra effort... Ive been doing it for years but my main annoyance with this whole scenario (that maybe I havent got across too well in the article) is that I simply cant just turn up to a shop, buy the phone i want on the network i want like i and everybody else used to be able to do..... 10 yrs ago!!

suggestions have been gratefully received though :)

jcrayon · 5 months ago

This story is neither journalism nor editorial. This is a whine.

You're not getting the same sort of buzz as you did when you were 17 years old? What are you now? 19?
There aren't enough new features and so the phone is not living up to your expectations?

Grow up. It's a phone. It's also a half arsed camera and a music player.

Recognise that by whining about your lack of options you are succumbing to the mindless consumer drive that makes you just one of the herd, doing exactly what the marketing companies want you to do - buy more.

Get over yourself.