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NEW K750i from Vodacrap! |
vanquish
Joined: Mar 20, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Wor Newcastle Phone: V600i
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Nicely said 
Vodafone have fantastic ranges of phones, services, network capabilties, network coverage and customer services.
Just because they brand their phones doesn't make them all that bad, you have to weigh out the positives and negatives!
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Cophia
Joined: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney
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@axxxr - if you want to buy an unbranded phone at full price, I don't think any network operator will particularly mind as you will still have to go to one of them to use your phone. They save on the phone subsidy. I would say they don't give a monkey's either!
@batesie - I think you are mistaken, to get all customers to configure and flash their own phones is hardly thinking of the customer. Pre-configured phones is a step forward for useability, although you have to put up with the branding for that service. It may not be for you, but you are not the majority (and neither are most of us at Esato).
All those subsidises on a phone, the operators certainly don't want you to take it away and use it on a competitor's network. If you want unbranded (if it's available), pay the extra and stop complaining. You won't get branding, but you won't get any guarantees it'll work with all the features on the network. Case in point is the Nokia 8310 and O2, who had so many problems with an early launch that they had to recall, re-test and re-distribute all the early faulty handsets that didn't work with GPRS on their network. If you don't care, that's fine.
I am neither pro-Vodafone or against it. It's just the way Vodafone, (in fact all the networks) work.
The bottom line is tough. You guys really do complain too much!
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vanquish
Joined: Mar 20, 2003
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From: Wor Newcastle Phone: V600i
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Don't be stereotypical
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Vlammetje
Joined: Mar 01, 2003
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From: Den Haag
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I gotta say I agree with Copia on all points. Try for a moment and picture the average Vodafone customer. Wanna bet he's very pleased to buy a phone that comes out of the box pre-configured and ready to offer exactly that what he's seen advertised all along?
He can go online immediately. he ends up on the Vodafone Live! portal but that's exactly what he expected and it's npot a negative.
When he's unhappy with his phone (tech failure or something) he goes back to the Voda store and finds his model is sold out. So he gets offered another model. he switches it on anfd thankfully the menu is almost exactly the same, so he knows his way around the phone immediately.
Bottom line: by far the largest portion of mobile phone users worldwide do not only not mind branding, their experience would be less satisfying if they would have to set up tehir own wap accounts, email accounts, MMS accounts and so on and so forth.
The idea that the esato members stand model for the largest group of vodafones customers is ludicrous!
But for those who wish to use vodafone network, there is always a choice to buy unbranded, so why not take it?
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batesie
Joined: Feb 13, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: London, UK
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Quote:
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On 2005-05-04 14:08:17, Cophia wrote:
The bottom line is tough. You guys really do complain too much!
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Its in our nature to complain. if we all accepted things for how they were... and anyway whats 'too much'?
A lot off us here at esato want to raise the already high standards in the world of mobile phone technology. Rather than just accepting phones as a way of calling one another we want them to be more as we all see the potential. So for someone to complain 'too much', is a good thing especially when the main reason vodafone impedes a handset from its 'stock functionality' is too make MORE money from people.
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"Beware the fury of a patient man"
[ This Message was edited by: batesie on 2005-05-04 13:58 ] |
pinolo77
Joined: Jan 17, 2002
Posts: 390
From: Lugaggia, Switzerland
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There is one thing I would like to add... I am a heavy user (spend A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY EACH MONTH). But I would nevertheless have a phone that is unbranded... So why don't I have the opportunity to have a discounted one. I spend a lot more than a 5 year old child who got it almost for free and yet I cannot get what I want with a little discount...
I think that most of the people here in esato generate quite a lot of traffic (just to say that I am not the only customer who thinks like that) without having the need to brand their phone (I would even suggest that the opposite is true).
We were using WAP when no one had even heard about it (had a MMS capable phone before any network here supported MMS), and we use MMS, GPRS, UMTS, and so on and so forth.
I am lucky that my operator also sells unbranded discounted phones (if you go to a non branded shop (even if it sound confusing)). I spend so much I can change my phone (renew contract) every nine instead of twelve months and I can profit from the hardest discounts (two years signature) even if I sign only for one year.
besides this loong talk about my personal situation, I wanted to share with you the fact that there also are users who generate enough money without needing a branded phone but don't have a change of getting one which is discounted. They (ehm, we....) should then get a discount in our monthly bills, since besides using the phone a lot we also pay full price for it...
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gbrooks3
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: OTP RED CID36
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hehehehehe, nice thread. Thankyou voda for branding your handsets. Good for me  |
jeko.uk
Joined: Dec 31, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: south east london
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how is it good for you |
numb
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Posts: > 500
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#Vlammetje
I can accept many of your points there Vlammetje, but still I would have to disagree to some extent.
I see no reason why you cannot offer a preconfigured simlocked phone, with wap, mms, portal etc ready to go but without branded graphics, kiddy icons, mp3 restrictions in order to try and force you to buy those from voda, or changes to the firmware so you cannot change shortcuts etc. etc.
In my country we dont have Vodaphone, and we deliver preconfigured simlocked ready to go mobiles from all our networks, without any other branding in respect of the manufacturers ideas with their product and in respect of our customers wishes. In fact we wouldnt be able to sell any phones if we did brand them like that, Orange allready tried that and failed misserably and are nolonger active as operator in my country.
I would highly disagree that most users, average or not, are so daft they are only able to use a replacement phone if the menu is the same kiddy menu on all phones. I would consider it an insult if a network tried to sell me that idea. Besides all SE menus are so alike that if you do have a brandpreference, you will have no trouble using a replacement model of the same brand, same goes for nokia and other manufacturers. Theres no need for a specific "operator menu/UI"
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Cophia
Joined: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney
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@pinolo77 - You are one lucky guy changing phones every 9 months! Perhaps you should try and talk to your operator about getting your phone unbranded as you pay so much already? Maybe they will agree that your monthly expenditure is enough to cover any support issues that may come up? Will be interesting to see what they say...
@numb - It is fact that many people used to stick with Nokia because they were used to the menu system and didn't want to move to something else different. Certain features like 'quickshare' were influenced by these operator menus.
Brand preference, you've hit the nail on the head! The operators want to move brand from the phone manufacturer to themselves! Of course the network operators can supply pre-configured and unlocked phones that are unbranded - but as a business, why would they do that when they can get marketing added to the product? Both physically on the body and in the menu system - make it a better, more familiar experience for their customers and not their competitors!
I'd be happy with the above, like they used to do in the old days some 3 or 4 years ago - but I can't see that happening anymore...
On a side note - what do you guys think of the Ferrari version of the Vodafone interface on their SH902 phone?
http://www.esato.com/board/viewtopic.php?topic=90035#post1213551
[ This Message was edited by: Cophia on 2005-05-04 17:25 ] |
gbrooks3
Joined: Jun 02, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: OTP RED CID36
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Quote:
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On 2005-05-04 15:42:38, jeko.uk wrote:
how is it good for you
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Becuase there will people who will want to "unbrand", always have been, always will be 
[ This Message was edited by: gbrooks3 on 2005-05-04 19:37 ] |
numb
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Posts: > 500
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yes, the operators have a wish to move brandpreference from the phonemanufacturer to the operator, naturally they do, I fully understand that, and understand the commercial reasons for it, but that still doesnt make it my wish as customer. And Id argue neither to most other customers. Lets face it, there will never be much status in bragging about your preference for Vodaphone or any other operator. Or much status in showing off a highly operator branded phone.
Its still just an operators wet dream, not a customer dream.
And no matter how you put it, I dont buy the familiare menu idea saying that we therefore must have an operator menu or else we will be to stupid to use it. People buy nokia, not because they are to stupid to use SE's menus, but because nokia are the biggest manufacturer in the world, and they were brought up to buy nokias just like their parents and uncles and the rest of their family did, they were mindmasturbated into beleiving only nokia works. Thats branding.
The same reason lots of people still buy Opel cars.
Imagine these 2 customerscenarios:
I need to be able to call and sms my friends on a mobile handset. My priorities for this are:
1. I want to buy the function of being able to call and write my friends'
2. I dont care at all which handset I get, how it look and what it can do but I demand that it has the familiare Vodamenu or I wont be able to use it.
3. It need to take me straight to the operators Wap Portal everytime I want to wap, because I am not able to go there myself.
4. I need it to restrict me to only using services on the operators Wap Portal if possible
5. I need it to restrict me from using silly stuff like mp3 for ringtones if I should ever feel tempted to do so, unless I first pay the operator for the ringtone
6. I need it to disable silly things like the more menu which the manufacturer have spend lots of time implementing, Im sure I will never need to do any of the stuff you can do with the more button.
7. I need it to restrict me from setting up my own shortcuts because the ones defined by the operator must be much better. Instead I want most shortcuts to take me directly to either the camera or the operators Wap Portal.
8. I dont care what the manufacturer intended to do with the design or the funtions of the phone, I want it to be designed so that it clearly show me and everyone else that I love my network operator. The networkbrand is important to me and this gives me status
Second Scenario - same objective - I need to call and write friends...
1. I want a nice phone that can do this
2. I really like the design and functions of a specific manufacturer and spend alot of time picking out the specific model I want based on looks and funtions.
3. I would like it to have other fun functions other than the practical calling and writing, because Im a big joyfull "boy" that still likes to play.
And its nice to show off to my mates that I got the latest and greatest because Im also just a litle statusminded and want to distinquise myself from the general mob. Thats why I constantly buy the latest model even though I really only need it to make calls.
4. I like the design to match my expensive brandclothes, which I also payed alot extra for simply because of brand. If I just needed to be kept warm I could have worn a sack.
5. I dont mind if its simlocked and has preconfigured mms etc for ease of use but I dont give a damn who delivers the networkservice as long as it works and gives me the cheapest rates.
Ill let you be the judge of which scenario is the most likely for most customers.
PS: I think the ferrariphone looks great - this is a good example of a way operatorbranding can be a good thing - now if they could limit operatorbrandings to nice limited edition models like this with only cosmetic changes and no change or restriction of functions then all would be great
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Cophia
Joined: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney
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I think everyone understands your feelings on branding, but it's not going to change things. Sure, customers will always want Nokias and Sony Ericssons, not Orange or Vodafones - but that is NOT going to stop the network operators trying, and the manufacturers are more than happy to comply.
Isn't it Sony Ericsson's fault for being greedy? Shouldn't they put customer's feelings first before profit? Hey, now that's a scenario for you to analyse!
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Posted: 2005-05-04 11:07
