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De-Branding, why buy a branded phone in the first place? |
altemyr
Joined: Jan 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Stockholm, Sweden
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There are many topics in this forum and other forums about how to de-brand a phone or what problems occurred after de-branding. There are also issues about possibly lost warranty if the phone is de-branded, and some people mean that unlocking and/or de-branding maybe is illegal. I do not quite understand the logic. Why buy a branded phone in the first place? One reason often mentioned is the price, but you can be absolutely sure that you will have to pay the price for the phone anyway, in one way or another, even though it is not that obvious on the price tag when the phone is displayed on the shelf in the store. If everyone refused to buy or accept a branded phone, the operators or other companies that sell such devices would soon realize that they cannot sell their mutilated units anymore. |
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JJ!
Joined: Sep 13, 2005
Posts: > 500
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Because some companies such as Orange and Voda change the firmware making the handset slower and removing important applications.
JJ! (formerly justy197  (+6, -0) |
tranced
Joined: Jan 19, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Santo Domingo, wonDeRland
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and adding nonsense ones
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MWEB
Joined: Feb 13, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: somewhere nicer than you
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Simple, branded handsets are subsidised by the network, and can be as much as 75% less than the sim-free versions, only mugs pay over the odds for vanilla handsets, much cheaper to buy branded and unlock/derbrand yourself 
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Luci'sPower
Joined: Oct 29, 2006
Posts: > 500
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man i hate branded phones so much.....i'm never going to buy a branded phone since i had voda k800...
For those who believe no explanation is necessary, For those who don't none will suffice |
goldenface
Joined: Dec 17, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Liverpool City Centre
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Many operator branded handsets are free. However, in the rush for operators to bring their own branded version out before their competitors, their fw might be rushed or even unfinished, causing problems. Plus. Many a branded handset has been purged of useful features compared to the original. e.g TrackID seems to be a casualty on some.
This message was posted from a K850i |
forceabuser
Joined: Sep 11, 2002
Posts: 108
From: holland
PM |
yupz, branded phones are cheaper or free
personaly i had a t-mobile NL branded k800i. it came with a logo, and 2(!) shortcuts to a t-mobile web page. something i dont mind since it saved me about 100 euros. |
strizlow800
Joined: Aug 23, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Macedonia, Skopje
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Yeah, the are free because they have less features compared to the generic firmware ones... Anyway, if the branding is software only, you can debrand the phone cheap, but I hate branded housing and stuff like that... The phone will never have the same feel as it would be if generic. 
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altemyr
Joined: Jan 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Stockholm, Sweden
PM |
On 2009-01-20 11:18:27, MWEB wrote:
Simple, branded handsets are subsidised by the network, and can be as much as 75% less than the sim-free versions, only mugs pay over the odds for vanilla handsets, much cheaper to buy branded and unlock/derbrand yourself
Nope, it is sim-locked phones that are locked down to one network. A branding does not necessarily lock the phone, even though a branded phone usually also is sim-locked. Branding usually means changed software, uglier icons than in the generic model, and sometimes disabled or removed functions compared to what was there originally. In some cases, it also means an ugly operator logo printed on the housing. The reduced purchase price of a phone due to branding or sim-locking will always be compensated in one way or another. For example, I can buy a C905i in Sweden for 1 SEK (~0.1€), but that also means that I will have to pay 200 SEK per month extra to the operator beside the ordinary fee for 24 months, i.e. 4800 SEK in total (about 440€) which is about what I currently would have to pay for it if I buy it unbranded and unlocked from start. In this particular example, I'm not sure whether the phone is neither branded nor sim-locked, however. |
altemyr
Joined: Jan 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Stockholm, Sweden
PM |
On 2009-01-20 10:37:03, JJ! wrote:
Because some companies such as Orange and Voda change the firmware making the handset slower and removing important applications.
You mean that that is why you would buy a branded phone? I fully understand why one wants to de-brand a phone, but my question was, why should we buy the branded version? Especially if we plan to de-brand it an unlock it as soon as possible, and thereby risk loss of warranty etc. If nobody would want to buy a branded phone, then nobody would want to try to sell one, it's as simple as that. |
Brightspark
Joined: Aug 19, 2007
Posts: 326
From: UK
PM |
On 2009-01-20 11:18:27, MWEB wrote:
Simple, branded handsets are subsidised by the network, and can be as much as 75% less than the sim-free versions, only mugs pay over the odds for vanilla handsets, much cheaper to buy branded and unlock/derbrand yourself
i agree with that. i've always got the branded handsets because they work out cheaper. it may take a litle time to debrand, but it is free and enjoyable learning how i can further customise the phone to my liking.
"Especially if we plan to de-brand it an unlock it as soon as possible, and thereby risk loss of warranty etc"
i minimise the chances of it becoming faulty by fully researching the phone. i tend to avoid unreliable manufacturers such as SE and also avoid lemons. consequently, i have never needed to send it off for repair.
[ This Message was edited by: Brightspark on 2009-01-20 13:48 ] |
Aware
Joined: Jun 24, 2006
Posts: > 500
From: Oxon, UK
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Apart from unlocking etc. mentioned above, also remember that many handsets are taken up by single networks as 'exclusives', which can often lead to other networks not carrying settings/supporting services of a particular model(obviously, this can be worked round, but a simfree handset will be configured by manufacturer for all particular networks in it's country of sale, out of the box)......
And there are a few handsets which never get taken up by our networks at all(i.e: N92, 7900 Crystal Prism, Porsche P'9521, ASUS P750,etc...), so will only ever be seen as they were intended by their manufacturers(and unfortunately, cost the proverbial fortune they do)......
 p990i(r6d), n82-1(20.0.062) * treat people as you expect to be treated! * a-zott platinum/tttt in ~3 years...  rip expanded call lists! |
enk39
Joined: Oct 27, 2008
Posts: 120
From: NZ
PM |
I hate branded phones so much, in NZ i can't stand having "vodafone" or the logo stamped everywhere on the phone. even just having that logo replace the "cybershot" branding on the front of the k800i ruins it for me. As do the software icons etc. So i always buy parrallel imported models, fortunatly never had any warrantee problems because i've never had a breakdown.
But for the average joe i don't think they would know better to be honest, when the majority buy from shops and that's all they've ever used then some might not even be aware of generic firmware.. It's at the shop to purchase rather than having to go off and order an unbranded one( which remember they don't really know about) so sadly i don't think operators would ever remove their crap, since they're not losing that many sales, just those of people who know slightly better. |
carkitter
Joined: Apr 29, 2005
Posts: > 500
From: Auckland, NZ
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On 2009-01-21 03:25:20, enk39 wrote:
I hate branded phones so much, in NZ i can't stand having "vodafone" or the logo stamped everywhere on the phone...
And yet no-one seems to understand "branding" and "SIM locking" and the business reasons behind them.
[ This Message was edited by: carkitter on 2009-01-21 09:32 ] |
dancingfate
Joined: Sep 25, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Jakarta, Indonesia
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I just got K610im from StarHub Singapore two days ago... and it didn't allow me to install any java application.
Although it's already unlocked to other networks, I still can't send MMS since the setting is protected.
Now it's already unbranded and has K610 firmware. |
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Posted: 2009-01-20 10:26
(+6, -0)
jay0726 | 
