I remember when I was about 17 walking into Comet with my Mum and Dad and picking up one of the first Orange pay as you go handsets, walk up to the counter, pay for it with some credit for calls/texts then walk out. Job done!
Roll on 12 months and it was simply I want a Nokia 5110 and see which network offered me the most suitable deal in terms of handset price and cost of calls and texts. Sign on the doted line… job done.
I have been a die hard Nokia fan since I got that 5110 and I used to change handsets every 6-8 months by using deals on networks and selling the old ones on Ebay to cover the cost. Its that time of year again when I need (well fancy) a new handset and it seems like there is a 3rd factor to consider now. Operating System.
You will notice I said ‘I have been a die hard Nokia fan’ but I’ve decided to move on because I have lost faith with s60 and every time I buy a new Nokia I get less of that excitement of it’s ‘new features’. It does this, it does that etc. and when it does this and that it usually crashes… I’ve had enough!
I have decided to go for an Android handset as I feel it’s the next logically step. I have had an iPhone for the last 10 months on PAYG as an ipod that does that little bit extra basically but I realised I couldn’t use this as my day to day handset for a number of reasons (which I wont get into now — Ewan’s asked me to do another post on that entirely!).
Having had a look around I see there is the Magic out now which looks good, there is (as reported here) the Samsung i750 and of course the excellent HTC Hero which appears to be the winner for me in handset terms mainly due to HTC’s sense user interface.
Now here is the dilemma… thinking back to my days of being an 18 year old… I have chosen my handset – HTC Hero – time to go and find a good price plan. Wrong! The HTC Hero is only going to be available on Orange and T-mobile so I am automatically limited more so by the fact neither of those networks can provide a signal in my South West London flat. It’s 2009… I’m not going to stand outside my flat to send a text!
So no Hero for me!
HTC magic… by the sounds of it a great handset and is available on a good price plan via Vodafone but I feel I would be buying an outdated handset due to the new devices coming out shortly. This is a shame as despite no Voda 3G coverage in my flat I can pick up the old 2.5G coverage and I would like to move to them for increased mobile web speed and reliability when on the move.
So basically I am left with no choice but to wait for the Samsung i750 despite it not being my preferred handset. I also have to hope o2 offer a competitive tariff with the handset. As we have seen from the iPhone they like to offer specific costs to specific handsets.
So here I am in 2009 in an established mobile industry which I chose to work in since being that 17yr old walking into Comet. When I ‘upgrade’ I will have my 2nd choice handset on my 2nd choice of network (despite the signal problem Orange and T-mobile must be 3rd/4th most popular MNOs in the country for a reason) and a 2nd rate version of the Android OS (From what I have read there is no ‘HTC sense’ equivalent).
Second best all round!
I fully blame Apple for this new form of handset and network partnership and understand on a business level why the Mobile Networks and Handset Manufacturers are doing this now but as a consumer I should be able to choose the handset I want and the network I want.
What happened to the good old days of buying a mobile phone? (Or, why I’ve stopped being a Nokia customer): http://ping.fm/bc0HJ
RT @MIReview: What happened to the good old days of buying a mobile phone? : http://ping.fm/bc0HJ — by me!
What happened to the good old days of buying a mobile phone? (Or, why I’ve stopped being a Nokia customer): http://ping.fm/bc0HJ
I'd buy the device you want, then get it unlocked. Or buy it from somewhere like Expansys.
RT @MIReview: What happened to the good old days of buying a mobile phone? : http://ping.fm/bc0HJ — by me!
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”…
You are referring i750. But it is i7500 that sports Android. i750 is Windows Mobile
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?
@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….
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… 🙂
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!
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?
@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 🙂
This is not a post. This is a whine.
You're not getting the same sort of buzz as you did when you were 17 years old? 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 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.
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.