Soldato
Blimey - BBC don't hang about, it was only annouced internally a few minutes before their story broke!!
iPhone 3GS - Available on Orange soon
- Thread starter Dolph
- Start date
Soldato
Is that Unique thing real? How the hell do they justify it? Can you opt out?
Soldato
Anything that brings competition into the market can only be a good thing. However I've a feeling that Orange will come in at exactly the same cost as O2 for some reason...
Agreed, which is why I'm going back to Nokia-Symbian as my next phone.
Soldato
On my Touch3G (with Orange OS) I could turn off the feature. However this effectively disabled wifi completely. I flashed my ROM to a more generic image instead so I could use wifi.
Permabanned
It's the worst 3g coverage based on the map but that doesn't tell the full story about the customer experience.
The industry standard JD Power ranking is a bit more telling:
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/news/EkFFlukkVyuNeysnvE.html
Mobile broadband customer satisfaction index
O2 - 712
T-Mobile - 683
Vodafone - 655
Orange - 636
Three (3) - 606
Not looking so rosy for Orange there is it?
Soldato
I find these amusing...I'm in Bournemouth, on Orange's map it says I have full 3G...I look at my phone and I do not have it, in fact I have quite a low quality connection...in this house I get 1bar throughout the place, near windows etc. or not.
Went outside and same thing, minimal network coverage around this area...
Can't say i have any of the problems listed with the Hero on Orange been using it for a few months now and its fine, the general problem is orange for me its not the best network out when i put a O2 sim in the hero i get full bars on my orange contract i get 2-3 at best.
LOL @ support_bae biggest fan boy i have ever heard, the iphone has good and bad points like any phone, i used a iphone 3 g for around 3 months nice phone but the lack of multi tasking is a real killer and for most such a basic feature it is, battery life is appalling with wifi disabled i can get 3 days with heavy use out of the hero with iphone you do 1 day at best with heavy use, don't get me wrong i love the iphone its a fantastic phone but its down to what the user wants.
Lets say you want a good camera well you wouldn't touch the iphone or hero with a barge pole as they are crap, or if you wanted hd video recording etc, no phone is better than another each have plus points, a lot of the hero reviews were with a beta unit not with the final unit and certainly not with the update that's out and you have to remember the iphone has had 2 years+ to get where it is with software upgrades to improve it and iron out problems.
LOL @ support_bae biggest fan boy i have ever heard, the iphone has good and bad points like any phone, i used a iphone 3 g for around 3 months nice phone but the lack of multi tasking is a real killer and for most such a basic feature it is, battery life is appalling with wifi disabled i can get 3 days with heavy use out of the hero with iphone you do 1 day at best with heavy use, don't get me wrong i love the iphone its a fantastic phone but its down to what the user wants.
Lets say you want a good camera well you wouldn't touch the iphone or hero with a barge pole as they are crap, or if you wanted hd video recording etc, no phone is better than another each have plus points, a lot of the hero reviews were with a beta unit not with the final unit and certainly not with the update that's out and you have to remember the iphone has had 2 years+ to get where it is with software upgrades to improve it and iron out problems.
Soldato
I (and many tech reviewers) can hand on heart say the iPhone wins vs the Hero and all other smartphones out right now. Every smartphone that is coming out is always being compared to the iPhone because that is the phone to beat.
The only regret I have is buying the HTC Hero in the first place and wasting £7 in postage.I have literally not put down the iPhone down for a week, so many apps to keep me occupied.
As soon as I got the iPhone I put the Hero back where it belongs - back into its cardboard box ready to be returned. No more missing texts, no more sluggish menus (even on latest rom) and no more missed calls.
Touché
Well i'm glad i got the hero. Menu's aren't sluggish any more and if all you got to say is it's got apps to keep you occupied then thats not the iphone is it.
Mine was a close choice for either but the hero won. When i answered a call with the iphone it was like holding a brick next to my ear. Its way too big. your stuck with whatever apps/stuff apple wants you to have and you cant root your phone to play with it. And it cost a lot more for no real benefit. Iphone is a great phone but it shouldn't be the ipod with a phone on IMO. they should redesign it now, its old.
Soldato
Isn't the rationale the same that Orange/Vodafone used for disabling VOIP on the N95 when it was released i.e. they hadn't had time to test it and didn't want to support it. Instead you had to void the warranty by installing non-customised firmware.
Of course I'm sure it had nothing to do with it competing with the core business, much like I'm sure iPhone app restrictions are entirely to do with customer satisfaction. Honest guv
Orange currently use unique phone (calls/internet access through the home wi-fi router via VOIP/UMA) as an early alternative to femtocells (Small 3g transmitters plugged into a broadband connection such as the Vodaphone access gateway), which have the same limitations. (Unique phone has been available for 2-3 years)
Of course I'm sure it had nothing to do with it competing with the core business, much like I'm sure iPhone app restrictions are entirely to do with customer satisfaction. Honest guv
Monetizing features/services, especially when you offer them in a fully supported capacity, is nothing new in any industry. You don't have to have unique phone activated on your account, and you don't have to use unique phone to make the wifi connection even if you do have it set up on your account (unique phone accesses the orange mobile data network via your router, hence the charge), you can simply use the wifi via your home gateway, but again support for either of those options is much more limited.
Caporegime
From what i read this morning...its highly unlikely that Tmobile will be carrying the iphone range...but i suppose with the imminent merger that will change as Tmobile or Orange will become one entity.
Ill probably pick one up at some point as i do like the iphone...for media etc its brilliant...wouldnt use it as my main phone as im too much of a blackberry fan to leave...hell even my Magic is sat in a drawer gathering dust...had it replaced as the original one went wrong but i have no intention of using it...in fact the voda contract that i have with it has been given to my mum as she makes use of it.
Contemplating on selling the Magic tbqh...it was a good novelty phone at first but now im just simply bored of it....plus i dont get 3G coverage here in my office despite what Voda say
Ill probably pick one up at some point as i do like the iphone...for media etc its brilliant...wouldnt use it as my main phone as im too much of a blackberry fan to leave...hell even my Magic is sat in a drawer gathering dust...had it replaced as the original one went wrong but i have no intention of using it...in fact the voda contract that i have with it has been given to my mum as she makes use of it.
Contemplating on selling the Magic tbqh...it was a good novelty phone at first but now im just simply bored of it....plus i dont get 3G coverage here in my office despite what Voda say
- Joined
- 10 Mar 2009
- Posts
- 475
Still sounds like you're trying to convince yourself though mate...Saying that, you've probably persuaded me to get the Hero over the iPhone
It's cool. There are some pretty decent contracts for the Hero.
At the end of the day, not everyone can afford the best.
I know someone that sent his 3g s back as he was disappointed with the low resolution screen, lack of multi tasking lets be honest the 3gs was a disappointing upgrade to the 3g nothing really new faster cpu, more ram and a slightly better camera and a few other things that's still poor they need to pull there finger out with the next one they can't keep upgrading it they lost the wow factor now.
My sisters work ditched the iphone idea as there work phone as it wasn't feature rich enough for the company and what they wanted, once you get over the initial wow factor of having something new you realize you have a brick in your pocket that needs a permanent charger plugged into it
My sisters work ditched the iphone idea as there work phone as it wasn't feature rich enough for the company and what they wanted, once you get over the initial wow factor of having something new you realize you have a brick in your pocket that needs a permanent charger plugged into it