ScoobyDoo555

Posted up on the Vodafone forums, but it got vaped because the topic wasn't relevant

Currently with Voda (although for how long remains to be seen I've got some bargaining chips, which is nice! ). Looking at a HTC Touch Pro2 (not an iphone or any other device!)

I would be interested to hear from people who've upgraded or new customers with an answer to the following question -

Did you pay for the phone? I wouldn't so vulgar as to ask how much you paid etc, but if you're happy to publish, then go for it!

The reason is that there seems to be a wide range of variation, and I'm trying to get the inside line on it all.

Coffin Dodger

Not a Touch Pro2 admittedly but got my TouchHD on an Orange Dolphin 20 (i.e. £20 mth) contract and paid £70 for the phone, used a cashback site when buying so got £40 from them so effectively only paid £30 for the phone.

nazt

iTrader: (4)

ive also got the touch hd, payed 20 from orange for it but monthly package is quite high so..
not the best phone to have to use as a phone only tbh, got all the gadgets just not the best phone. top tech though

Aaron1978

iTrader: (12)

i've got the htc touch diamond 2 on 02, unlimited texts and 600 mins and unlimited internet £35 with free phone, got it through mobiles.co.uk which have some very good deals.

Aaron

ScoobyDoo555

Nice one chaps - bit of a moot point now I've requested my PAC. Voda just pushed it a bit too far

See here for the gory details if you're interested

Dan

Adrian F

still no people with the Touch Pro2 seems like it is a rare item.

I still wonder if you can tether a lap top through it?

XDA Developers is a site with information about this phone by the way

Snazy

This should help...

Which providers, with which tariff's and how much the phone costs.

HTC Touch Pro 2 on O2 Orange Vodafone Deals

Wide range there.

ScoobyDoo555

Nice one Snazy

I'm half-expecting a phone call from Vodafone retentions in the next few days, now I've requested my PAC. Maybe. We'll see

They *might* bypass all of their STUPID red tape and get me the phone on the contract I actually want.

Otherwise, according to that website, it's not going to happen It will cost too much.
One of my options is that I sell my N95 while it's still worth something (circa £100), and use Wifey's old Samsung U600 on a payg for the time being.

All this because I wanted to upgrade Can't even revert back to what I had before.
Only want forward is potentially to make the best of a bad job. Not ideal.

Dan

Snazy

No worries man, im sure the right deal will come along for you at some point. Patience and all that.

Is there really nothing else out there that takes your fancy ?

tbh when I wanted the Nokia E71 and Orange put it on business only, they were unable to get me one, regardless of my monthly spend, and years spent with them. I usually get what I want, but on that occasion I didnt, purely because they could not get it from business to personal.

All this sending your PAC to you annoys me too. I usually get mine over the phone there and then. Did you actually speak to retentions?
How about a G1 or N97 or something of similar nature.
Second best sucks, but then so do old Samsungs lol

ScoobyDoo555

PMSL!!!

Yes, I hate the Samsung with a passion, but it's free, and sat here doing nothing (because even wifey hates it - and she's a Samsung fan-girl! )

I'm working on the basis that IF (and it is IF, rather than "when") I get a new phone/contract, as I'm committing to 24months, I want something that is going to be still "current" etc at the end of that time. After all, over the 24months, even on a £25/month, that's still £600 of my money.

Looked at the Magic, N97 et al. Magic was too new with a potentially good OS, but let's be honest, it's still in development. Wifey's got one, and whilst I've played with it, I found that my brain doesn't seem to work the way the Magic wants it to!!!
N97 is too unreliable - rubbish battery and flaky firmware (reminiscent of the N70/95 when they first came out. Not going through THAT again!)

Strangely enough, I've just missed a phonecall from an 0808 number (think it was the retentions team) - didn't take it as I was having a dump!!!

There's also a strange psychological twist to this - regarding how attached we become to our mobiles! It's like an addiction.
I've now gone through the fear of not actually having one, to a state of indifference and apathy.

Whether I've got the latest and greatest or a Samsung with a sh1tty payg sim, OR none at all, I really don't care now!!!

The *only* reason why I think I should have one, is purely down to Wifey wanting to be able to contact me. Fair comment, I suppose!!

It's now pretty low on my priorities - they ground me down so far that my life is more important than them and a phone.

Off to walk the dogs!

And sorry for taking up everybody's time - your inputs (as always) have been invaluable, and part of my healing process!!!

DAn

Snazy

Aaaah dogs ! I knew I was meant to do something this morning !! oops

I know what you mean about getting tied in again, but lets be honest, 24 months down the line NOTHING will still be current. Not even the mighty "i" lol

My only issue with PAYG is running out of credit at the wrong moment. I would rather commit to 15-20 a month and have the choice to go over, than hear the message "no credit" lol.

I have been far less interested in recent years about keeping up with people, having the latest and best, and always changing phones etc. So I know what you mean about not bothering. My prob being since I started using a smartphone properly for what its meant to be used for, I would hate to be without it now haha.

Reality is, there are loads more phones out there, and far shorter contracts than 24 months too. Nothing is gonna be "current" for anything more than 12 months, and its a safe bet to say the ONLY phone that will not be superseeded by another in its range over the next 12 months is the iPhone. If thats a good or bad thing, you decide.

Personally if you are happy with a simple phone on PAYG fair play and good luck. But it begs the question too (in a nice way), if you are happy to settle for that..... why so determined about the HTC Touch Pro 2 lol. 2 ends of the extreme or what

ScoobyDoo555

I know what you mean - it's more a case of if I can't have what I actually wanted, then "nothing" is the next best option, rather than make do!! And the Samsung is as close to "nothing" as I can get whilst keeping the wife happy!

Snazy

lol aaah I understand
Only thing is, have you actually used a Touch Pro 2, or just want one based on specs?

Have a look on GSM arena at some of the up and comings, might be something worth holding out for

ScoobyDoo555

yeh, finally had a play with one in the Voda shop last week. Liked the look of it tbh. OK, buried behind it is WinMo 6.1, but the combination of WinMo 6.5 as a free upgrade, and TouchFlo 3D, made it a powerful phone.

Will keep an eye on GSM forums too
Dan

Adrian F

Hi Dan i know what you mean after loads of researching i decided i wanted a Touch Pro2 to replace my ageing SE P990i in my searching i have found as i posted above there are a number of Touch Pro2 users on XDA developers site though it is called another name there and they also seem to be into modding the phone as well.

Also Gsmarena seems dead in the forums but Howards forums has a number of users of the Touch Pro2 on it although most are in the states.

As to getting a handset i am having the same problems with Orange who are only supplying it to buisness customers for upgrades and despite my high spend and loyalty i apparently dont qualify unless i change to a buisness account which is something i am investigateing at the moment.

seems wrong i have to goto all this effort to stay with Orange

The other option as far as i can see is to leave Orange and join another network through some one like CPW and they will give me a Touch Pro 2 as a new customer on Voda but the tarriff isnt as good.

If anybody finds away of twisting Orange retentions arm please let me know.

Snazy

I had the same as I said before with Orange. Like you I am a high spender, (£140-160 a month) but there was nothing they could do about getting the handset.

I have to say as im happy with Orange I would be hard pushed to leave the carrier for a handset.

I think the Touch Pro 2 had a target market of business users only, as Berry's used to/ So some bad planning by the networks.

However... just for you...
HTC Touch Pro 2 on Orange- contract and Pay as you go (PAYG)

Maybe telling Orange directly you have found these, they might agree to supply it directly rather than issuing a PAC, only to apply it to a new contact with them.

Hope that helps

Adrian F

Hi Snazy
TBH i am happy with Orange i have a company supplied phone on Voda which i have managed to get an old SE P990i handset for and so i run identical handsets on the two networks and find less problems like network busy etc in London on Orange.

I just dont understand why any company in the current climate will risk losing a long term high spending customer for a petty internal rule. customer retention is the key at the moment!

Orange have also with drawn the Nokia N97 off their forthcoming list (i suspect due to the quality problems i have seen with 2 of my team having them as personal phones)

I dont care about lossing my number but if i have to leave and rejoin orange i lose my loyalty points at which point their Tarrif's are not much differernt to Voda and so i might just call round the phone shops and see who wants me as i have no home phone i spend a lot a month and tend to buy big lumps of time up front.

Still Orange do seem to have a poor management shown from their attempt to change T&C's and the money and customers that must of lost them, not to mention their reputation being trashed across the internet!

Snazy

I like Orange too, hence I have 6 contracts with them. Happy with their Premier team, happy with the tariff's etc. So dont blame you for not wanting to leave, hence the link

Yeah they tend to withdraw phones from availability when there are too many issues with them. Some say the issues are usually based on them adding their own software in the first place lol.

I would not judge Orange on the recent tariff issues. The internet is a cruel tool, which usually tends to report bad not good things. The whole change in tariff, was not such a bad thing. Got to be changed at some point, but due to the spread of the loophole, and everyone jumping on the bandwagon it caused unforseen problems.
They did nothing wrong, and for the main part tried to uphold their obligations under the loophole. Not expecting so many people to exploit it.

I know what you mean about the not being able to provide a phone from one side of the company to the other.
If you dont want to lose your loyalty to the network its quite simple.

1/ Go online and order a new phone/ contract.
2/ Request Orange to attach that number to your existing account.
3/ Next month, call up Orange, cancel the existing contract, and get PAC for number.
4/ Apply PAC to new contract on existing account.

Account remains in tact, number remains the same, phone of your choice, loyalty remains.

Adrian F

Hi Snazy
Thanks i will look at that link, i was also thinking of upgrading with a phone they can supply selling that on ebay and buying a Touch Pro2 from Amazon and paying the difference that way i get a good tarrif from Orange and i get the phone i am just not convinced i would get a good price for the phone on from Orange when i sell it unless it is unlocked and that is a dodgy issue as i was advised last year by Trading standards that apparently during the contract period that is illegal.

IanW

I used to spend circa £150 a month on my Orange contract for my phone only!! But i was happy to pay it all the time I got the phone i wanted at upgrade time, and any issues were sorted promptly.

Come December last year i was due an upgrade to my Sony k850i had a look around wasnt really much that took my fancy at all, not even a blackberry Snazy , eventually thought hmm a Touch HD will do, and if i dont like it i can always sell it and buy myself a sim free handset.

Orange told me that I wasnt eligible for the handset free of charge, even being in the top upgrade path, and it would cost me £99.

After a bit of deliberation and lots of visits to the various phone stores in my local town i had phoned Orange to ask for my PAC code, which after a week handt arrived, so i called again and it was generated and sent to me while on the phone! why that couldnt be done in the first place i have no idea.

So with my PAC code i went to the local Vodafone store and for £45 a month got a better tarrif than I had on Orange and a brand new Sony X1, which is now running Windows Mobile 6.5

On the day of my transfer from Orange -> Vodafone my new phone came online as i was expecting, but my Orange phone was still online as well? It turns out that Orange had messed up the porting of my number which added another few days delay.

In the time I have been with Vodafone now i have saved myself nearly £1000 over if i had stayed with Orange, and have had to deal with VF's customer service twice, both times issues were resolved prompty without any delay.

Snazy

lol @ not even a Blackberry. You are impossible to please then!
Sounds like you got the right deal for yourself there mate.

I never go over my minutes, so my monthly spend is well regulated. Due to the number of contracts, I get the phone I want every 2-3 months lol

IanW

If it makes you feel better i did consider for a few minutes the Blackberry Storm

Snazy

To be honest, that actually just makes me feel rather ill!

A Blackberry Storm to me makes as much sense as a BMW X6 !

Its ok, I dont really see the whole world with Blackberry's, but I am determined to get at least one more Apple fan on Blackberry.

Cant knock the X1 for a second.... but its never gonna be a touch on the iPhone.

IanW

But i am not an Apple fan

I have to admit since getting Win Mo 6.5 on the X1 it is the phone it should have been really!

Snazy

Aaah yes of course, came with 6.1 didnt it.
I think its one of the great devices out there that shows people who can exist outside the circle, that there are some amazing devices out there, catering for different people.

Really good seeing things being kept fresh, and other manufacturers not being afraid to try new things.
The rumoured Blackberry Magnum, touchscreen/QWERTY hybrid. The Samsung B7610 OmniaPRO, again mad spec.

What we really need to see if developers get off their *****, and expand the range of devices and platforms they develop for. In turn, I think the manufacturers are starting to open themselves up to 3rd party apps.

Next year or so will be "exciting" for those who like to use smartphones

Tidgy

htc touch pro 2 is at the top of my list for possible new phones.

did you get one in the end?

ScoobyDoo555

No, not on Voda

To cut a long story short, for some misguided reasoning on my part, I'm giving Vodafone ONE more chance to sort out a compromise.
They've given me a HTC Magic with free satnav on a reduced contract term (to normal) to try for the next 7 days.

I'm only doing this to be seen as a customer willing to "play ball".

Sadly, the truth is my wife has a Magic, and I'm not overly keen on it (Bluetooth doesn't work, and no Flash-player embedded - Opera browser).
Yes, the Magic does have great potential with the Android OS, but I went through 5 yrs of waiting for updates with an N70 and then N95, and I don't really want to got through that amount of grief again.

The phone turns up tomorrow - I imagine calling them on Wednesday to arrange collection.

Quite fancy the Touch Pro2 but I think I'm now going to wait a bit and let my indifference towards phones and providers subside!!
In the meantime, a cr@ppy U600 and PAYG sim will suffice. Or I may stay FREE from the shackles of mobile communication technology (and being a techy geek, I NEVER thought I'd say that - but I suppose that's what happens when you get burnt too much by these providers).

Dan
ps and "yes", this is the "short" version

Snazy

You will never be without a mobile phone, you wont last out lol.

get an iPhone, make us all happy

ScoobyDoo555

iPhone is NEVER gonna happen.

I said this to Markus et al when the first one was rumored. Whilst there have been moments of temptation, my resolve has held

However, the one positive is that I'll do a video/still shots of what this Vodafone "Find & Go" is like

Dan

ScoobyDoo555

ps another update (this is getting even funnier)

I've just had confirmation from some techy people using the Magic, that the Find & Go software doesn't even run on the Magic!!!!

Soo, the ONLY thing that was keeping me tentatively stuck with Vodafone, by all accounts, doesn't even work!!LOL!!
Priceless.

Dan