| Author |
buying a 3g phone |
DREWMARK
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 249
PM |
I think phones4u have started to take pre- oders, but you have to pay a £20 deposit, and its about £199. Its a good deal I think. |
|
|
andrew99
Joined: Nov 29, 2001
Posts: 254
From: london
PM |
Unfortunately there is no memory slot in the e606, and it has only got 32mg on board.
I am going to buy the phone on the "12" package, which is pretty cheap and puts £100 toward the handset, and as I am going to buy two I get £100 off the total, so it works out at £250 per handset, which is sort of comparable with the p800 |
simon69c
Joined: Feb 24, 2003
Posts: 177
From: Southampton, UK
PM |
I agree - £59 would be a bargain for just 1000 xnet voice minutes - let alone all the other bits thrown into the bundle. And the £100 caboodle tariff doubles all of the allowance!
Coverage is potentially a worry - I know there are quite a few UMTS masts in and around Southampton but what the reception will actually end up being like I don't know. There are quite a few other masts all the way up the M3 as well (along my commute route).
I was all set to pre-order an e606 but now I don't know whether to wait for the Z1010 or not! Do we have any indication when it might be released? "Second half of 2003" I think was mentioned in the press release from SE but I wonder whether 3's kit and caboodle tariffs will still be available by then (they are supposed to only be promotional ones for the first subscribers but I don't think they have given a firm date for when they will be withdrawn).
[addsig] |
DREWMARK
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 249
PM |
Well I will have to make up my mind on what tariff is best for me .I think I might try the 12 or 1000mins one but I dont know how long the offer will last. |
Rav250
Joined: Sep 25, 2002
Posts: 174
From: UK
PM |
I know that i will wait, no point rushing in buying a G3 phone, not many people i know have a MMS compatable phone, let alone a video phone.
Beside there going to be bugs in the systems some where. And the number of phone that will be sold, and the chances of any one i know will also going to have one are next to nothing!
I will wait untill next year or even untill 2005 ................ etc |
panda
Joined: Sep 01, 2002
Posts: 32
From: Tokyo
PM |
New tariffs will be introduced in June, when the promotion period ends. According to the staff in the Three shop on Oxford Street, the new tariffs will have more variety than the present situation, and will cater for light users as well as heavy users. Whether or not Kit & Caboodle will be withdrawn, I do not know. |
ZuluWarrior
Joined: Jan 05, 2003
Posts: 46
From: Hull
PM |
not being funny about this but why r ppl wanting 3g already?????????? theres no content wotsoever!!!! i mean yeah video calls would b cool, n ud probally impress a few ladies, but thas bout it, do u honestly know other ppl whod hav 3g phones that ud b able to use urs with??
the handsets wont end up bein 200 squids, look at p800, that was said to b at 200 on launch, but was 300!!! plus theres the issue of coverage, and costs for calls, i wouldnt believe the tariffs yet, as theyre about to change (according to the manager of the leeds CPW, good frend of my father).
personally id wait til the 3g networks have been fully tested and proved to have no bugs, the handsets are available for the majority, not just spoilt rich ppl n ppl in london!, and there are enuff services avail to make ppl actually want to use and pay (reasonable) amounts of money for.
if you look at feedback from hutchinsons (theyre the ones who got the 3g license am i right?????? cant quite remember), the uk only has jus got used to 2.5g (gprs, n thas far too expensive), theres no market here for 3g, well not yet anyway. ppl just wont want to pay for things such as vid streaming coz english ppl r generally 'very cautious with money'. i shud know, im one of em!!!!!
until the networks can prove that theres content on 3g, the prices of the services make it feasible by joe average on the street, and theres enough ppl with 3g handsets, then there will be no market here in the uk!
|
andrew99
Joined: Nov 29, 2001
Posts: 254
From: london
PM |
Maybe I'm just a "spoilt rich londoner", but personally I quite like the idea of video clips of sports on my phone, video calls, data modem at 384kb...
As for content, I dislike 3's approach of a "walled garden" but still, there is quite a lot of content.
And being a "spoilt rich londoner", my friends are also "spoilt rich londoners", so plenty of them will have 3g phones soon as well. It's called being leading edge, the p800 is also leading edge, it's just more focused on pda applications... |
DREWMARK
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 249
PM |
andrew99 ha well spoken. considering what am paying at the moment for voice calls and text, I think thats a pretty deal. My wife and my friends are all moving over to 3, its all an adventure. |
butterguy
Joined: Jan 18, 2003
Posts: 192
From: back and forth from US to UK
PM |
bah...i'm not rich nor spolied, I can however if i want buy 3G phone as I am in the market. but some good points were raised:
why oh why? so you get frustrated all the time with the bugs? go ahead u damn guinea pig.
Plus when phones4u starts selling all those 3G phones, it will take away attention fromt he P800 and i can buy that beauty for less. go ahead you rich guinea pigs, make things better for us wise people...MWAHHAHAHAHAHAH |
andrew99
Joined: Nov 29, 2001
Posts: 254
From: london
PM |
It was called irony...
3G handsets are comparable in price to the P800.
As for th gunea pig label, I imagine there will be some issues, but by the same token, some very large companies have a lot at stake, I think they will be working very hard to make sure this is a success. |
butterguy
Joined: Jan 18, 2003
Posts: 192
From: back and forth from US to UK
PM |
yeah i know andrew, I was just being a bit stupid there, not trying to start a war or anything. I think in the end you have to do what pleases you, don't go for what anyone else tells you to do. I would be pleased with a P800 as it will suit my needs for now and then later on when i'm sure 3G is stable, i'll move on that. I will be heading back to North America after i graduate, and god knows when they will finish putting up a 3G network there, so there's no hurry for me... |
simon69c
Joined: Feb 24, 2003
Posts: 177
From: Southampton, UK
PM |
Just like to add that I too think andrew99 made som every good points and I also agree that the 'walled garden' approach is a bit naff but I hope that it will be relaxed as the technology ripens.
It seems to me that 3 seem to be pulling out all the stops to make it as attractive as possible and they are coming up with some very nice offers. They have just released a whole load of new stuff on their site and the video coverage actually looks quite promising - it certainly covers most of the area I spend most of my time.
They have announced a care package (that looks like it's free) and it seems to be fairly comprehensive - don't forget that Three is being run by Hutchison who were the ones originally behind Orange (when it was good!)
They will also be offering 0% finance on handsets so you can spread the cost of the unsubsidised handsets - this will obviously make it a lot more accessible for people who aren't used to spending £200-£400 on a handset in one go.
They have also adopted a quite logical approach to upgrades where you earn "upgrade points" depending on your monthly spend. These points then give you money off your next handset (up to a max of £50 which is a bit dissapointing but not too bad). The upgrade system doesn't seem to mention any minimum time period so I guess they don't mind how often you upgrade - good news for those who might have been wondering whether to go for an e606 or wait for the Z1010 - now you might be able to do both! The fact that the handsets are pretty much unsubsidised works very well in this respect since handset upgrades *should* be fairly unrelated to any minium contract stipulations (at least according to my logic!).
I'm going to the oxford street Three store on Friday to check the handsets out and from that I hope to be able to make an informed decision on whether to take the 3g plunge or not. So far though I have liked what I have seen from 3 and I hope they do really well and I hope to be able to support them by being a founder if I like what I see and hear on friday! |
ked69
Joined: Feb 26, 2003
Posts: 11
From: Bristol, UK
PM |
3G sounds like its overated!!!! |
DREWMARK
Joined: Apr 14, 2002
Posts: 249
PM |
Anyway I was at the 3shop today at Oxford street, I saw the handsets on display, okay they were a bit bigger than normal handsets but it was okay, I mean the nec e606 that was not too big. I made a video call to my mate, it was very good,but what really impressed me most were the premiership highlights. |
|
|
Posted: 2003-02-24 19:15
