Database Develop

o2 vs t-mobile

Ok, I know this isnt really the place for this post - but my motives will become clear. My faithful Vario II is now reaching the end of its useful life (the battery dies without warning and lasts about 4 hours max at the moment). Its served me well these past 18 months.
I need a phone with Qwerty and WM, plus 3G is useful so the obvious choice is the Kaiser/TyTN II/Vario III/Stella. With that in mind I've been looking at rejoining o2 now they have released unlimited data (again! - I've still got my o2 genie sim card with unlimited WAP somewhere). T-mobiles service can be shocking at best, especially when in London when you'd expect full signal, sometimes it can take 2-3 minutes to make one call. So I put it to the floor - these are the current state of the offers I've recieved - and you'll see its a tough choice.
o2 (Business)
34.68 + VAT (41ish pounds) / Month
700 minutes, 450 texts
200Mb data (business contracts are like that)
Free o2 to o2 calls
Free voicemail
Free land line calls for 3 months - then to 10 changable landline numbers for the rest
free international call option thing (80% off all international calls)
free bluetooth headset
Free 3 months line rental
Phone - £76
However - 24 month contract - upgrade available after 12 months
T-mobile (this is where it gets interesting - after explaining the o2 deal)
£35 / month (inc VAT)
Flex 35 + Web and Walk (2Gb data) (equates to a combination of 900 minutes / 1800 texts, not both)
Free weekend calls
Free voicemail
(heres the interesting part) - Free USB Modem with data (laptop dongle).
18 month contract.
Free Phone.
What do you think? its a tough decision - even if I go for the stella on o2's consumer tarrifs id have to pay a whopping £90 for the phone. - and that usb modem could be useful...

If you push O2 hard you can get the phone for free. I did on the same business tariff, but it was an upgrade as opposed to a new contract. Tell them the phone is free with t-mobile & Orange (http://www.fones4free.com/FrontOffice/YourDealPage.aspx?ModelName=TyTN 2&DealReference=WGEX21).
Then at the last minute say you won't sign for 24 months & see if they reduce it to 12. They did for me.

As someone who is tied into a T-Mobile deal at the moment, it's a no-brainer. Coverage is everything - the best deal in the world is no comfort without a signal! Vodafone or O2 for me when I leave this contract.
chuk

crazy horse uk said:
As someone who is tied into a T-Mobile deal at the moment, it's a no-brainer. Coverage is everything - the best deal in the world is no comfort without a signal! Vodafone or O2 for me when I leave this contract.
chuk
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Can't argue there - without coverage, what matter the contract deal. Personally I have great T-Mobile coverage, which is why I swapped from O2. If your coverage from T-Mobile is OK, then the deal looks great

I'm on O2, and I live and work in areas with poor coverage but I always have 2 bars of 2G when inside. My GF and some work mates have orange and get no coverage at all.
This is todo with the 900mhz frequency that o2 and vodaphone uses (See here).
Depends on what you need.

I'd go for the T-Mobile deal. I'm on an 18 month contract, having left 3. Before I was with 3, I was with 02. I also had a Vodaphone contract running whilst with 3, but have recently dumped that. S, you could say I've tried everyone. T-Mobile coverage is great in my neck of the woods - and I'm out in the sticks...I even get HSDPA where I am, and I'm rural. Money-wise and deal-wise, T-Mobile is your best bet.

Bothsound ok, but as Crazy Horse said, make sure your coverage is going to be good. Tip - Google for "free O2 SIM" (here's a link). It's free (as in literally - you don't have to do an initial topup) and it will let you know whether it is going to work for you.
If you are already on T-Mobile then you should know whether that will work for you.

Thanks guys. T-mobile signal can be annoying - but as I'm in london most of time signal is OK.. The frustrating thing is the lack of t-mob signal downstairs in my house - whilst o2 is kinda border line!
Does o2 has HSPA yet?

your either a very VERY good customer with t-mobile or they have lied to you. if the offer was true it will not be available for very long, i work on the loyalty team in t-mobile and that offer has broken several different policys. so i would confirm that offer from them if i was you

Buzbe said:
Thanks guys. T-mobile signal can be annoying - but as I'm in london most of time signal is OK.. The frustrating thing is the lack of t-mob signal downstairs in my house - whilst o2 is kinda border line!
Does o2 has HSPA yet?
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Yes o2 has HSDPA, but it's not up to full speed yet. I believe it is currently running at 1.8mbps. I am getting full signal HSDPA in south london.
Also, are you aware that o2 re-launched their tarrifs on Friday?? The data bolt-ons are now "truly unlimited" (with a few limitations Ha Ha Ha, FUP applies etc.).
Unlimited data can be added for FREE to any 18month consumer tarrif that is £35pm+.

yep - but I prefer to bill through the business - thus i go for a business tariff, sure its 24 months, but I get the added bonus of 3 months free (paying for the phone) and an upgrade after 3 months..
I still cant decide. Right now I have GPRS and one bar on t-mobile in my home office - not great..

yakleback55 said:
your either a very VERY good customer with t-mobile or they have lied to you. if the offer was true it will not be available for very long, i work on the loyalty team in t-mobile and that offer has broken several different policys. so i would confirm that offer from them if i was you
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What part breaks the policies.... from what I've been told its £20 off a deal they were offering for £50, which is Flex 35 + Usb modem with unlimited date.... thus working out £30 pm, (then plus the 7.50 I would need for WnW on the mobile).

they cant send a phone and a usb modem out from the same account the modem is classed as a phone. it can be done but it shoul not be done

also web & walk is web & walk once its on your line u can use the same sim in a modem or a handset you dont need 2 different options. None of it sound right thats all i would just advise you double check it with them

nah it would be two separate accounts - "a new deal" which normally would be £50 pm but they were offering it at £30 to me.
However I just asked for the £20 discount - now i have flext 35 + wnw and a free phone for 22.50pm.

I am about to transfer from O2 to (probably) t-mobile as I can no longer get my Kaiser to work where I live (and work).
I have made several calls to O2, in which they have admitted to "upgrading" my local transmitter a week last Friday. Since then, my Kaiser cannot make or receive calls (or use GPRS/3G etc) within about a couple of mile radius of my house. The display shows a very strong signal and (usually) the "H" or "3G" symbols.
O2 continue to say things like "your (Kaiser) phone is not compatible with the O2 network" and "you definitely have a defective phone". This is despite me pointing out that I have used the phone on their network since November and I can still use it everywhere else in this country.
As I work at home (for myself), my mobile phone is very important to me and I now have to remember to swap my SIM card into my old Nokia 6310i when I get back home.
So, I have no real alternative to switching away from O2 as they have refused to investigate the issue.
Does anyone have any bad news to tell me about reception in the Midlands on t-mobile (or any other network) before I take the plunge? Alternatively, is it really my fault that I am unable to use my Kaiser phone when I am at home?

You've got me worried now - I'm just about to jump from T-Mobile to O2 because of coverage problems! I didn't have any problems with O2 before, but then I never had a 3G phone before. I notice the free O2 sim deal has dried up - perhaps I should try a month's O2 sim-only deal to check coverage.
chuk

Best 3g payg UK sim for diamond?

Hi, whats the best 3g pay and go sim in the UK I can get for internet access to use with a sim free diamond? I'm looking for something with a good deal on the internet usage.
Whats everyone else using?

I used to have vodafone because it was £1 a day for 20MB, probably the best deal you'll get. There are no bundles for monthly usage of the internet on any network.

3 do a internet package for £5 p/m.
Mike.

Actually...
T-Mobile also do 1 pound a day, and have a larger 'fair use' limit. 2GB if i remember corectly.
Three do monthly bundles (on prepay) eg 10 pounds a month for 1GB
http://three.co.uk/personal/products_services_/mobile_broadband_/detail.omp

Thanks guys, I might go and look in the 3 shop in town later then, I just ordered an orange payg 3g usim, I guess as no one has mentioned them here, that orange are useless at 3g payg?

I would of thought all the networks do this 1 pound a day option by now.
Pay as you go bolt on for O2 Unlimited usage on O2 Active or i-mode® subject to fair use £7.50 per month

Windoze9t8 said:
I would of thought all the networks do this 1 pound a day option by now.
Pay as you go bolt on for O2 Unlimited usage on O2 Active or i-mode® subject to fair use £7.50 per month
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Hi,
I heard bad stories about 02 and payg 3g.
Orange do some internet deal with pay montly sims, £8 a month, but as I read the offer its only 1mb? Thats all they do from what I can see.
http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/yourplan/additionalservices

3uk has been £5/month for nearly a year now, youll get better speeds with t-mobile though

Heading to Europe, should I use roaming or get a SIM over there?

Hi all,
I know a fair amount of XDA-Developer members are from Europe so I thought I would ask you:
I am travelling all of Europe for five months, visiting about 15 countries.
Do you think it is better to take my current SIM card over to Europe and pay the huge roaming fees, or would it be cheaper to buy a SIM over there to call home?
Is there a SIM that covers the whole of Europe. Google says that there isn't, and I will have to get a new SIM in each country if I don't use roaming.
Obviously, I will be using Skype and VOIP as much as possible if I can.
Any ideas?

skype + voip = data roaming=massive fees
use local sims.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant Skype and Voip at Internet Cafes etc. Not on my mobile device.

Jadel said:
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant Skype and Voip at Internet Cafes etc. Not on my mobile device.
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Places in UK that provide free WiFi access are few and far between. The Cloud and BT provide access points but charge an arm and a leg for it!
Local PAYG SIM's will eat your cash if you call international.
O2 and others who say they are independant but actually use O2's network will not give you SMTP and POP3 free access only a basic WAP access.
IMHO after trying loads (Live in UAE but go home to UK 4x per year) I found the Orange PAYG best overall as it will give you full web access but checkout 3's PAYG if ya want faster access to Tínternet.
Travelling Europe means many different providers. If you plan on staying in any one country then get a local SIM but free WiFi is most prevalent outside of UK. I personally have a wallet full of various cards from my service engineer days but it is becoming much easier to find cafe's and hotel lobby's that give free WiFi in continental Europe.
Load up a WiFi scanning prog before you go such as WiFiFoFum and you will find them.

It has to be said the T-Mobile in the UK offer a fairly decent PAYG deal, £2.50 for 5 days "unlimited", you want the 5-day WebnWalk pass.
Free WiFi via the Cloud can be had at most McDonalds, again not ideal but better than nothing.

If you're going to be traveling to over 15 countries, then purchasing a bunch of local prepaid SIM cards can be a hassle. There are a bunch of companies that make international prepaid SIM cards that specifically cater to businesspeople/ travelers. Most work in over 150 countries so you can make calls from just one sim card anywhere, and rates are pretty cheap. I personally used a card by onesimcard.com when in Europe. Had no problems and the sound quality was excellent. The onesimcard website has a great rate calculation page where you can compare against providers like T-Mobile.

roaming fees are ca. 0.60 € pro minute. even you receive call you have to pay something like 0.40 € pro minute..
its better that u buy simcard for every country
for example in Austria there is a PREPAID simcard for 20 € which has 2 GB DATA Transfer volume for Internet usage... its very cheap for national and international calls, you can also call and send sms with this simcard
check here: www.yesss.at and here http://www.yesss.at/diskont-surfen/home.php
OR
if you have a Wifi phone, there are a lot free wifi spots, you can use wifi + voip from your phone to make a call,
have a nice trip

Maybe this is something you can look at.
https://www.united-mobile.com/?p=&l=en
You would only need to buy one sim-card.
No experience myself with this product.

in france there is not so much wifi spot (too bad)...
in france there is europeane formula with Orange and SFR (perhaps bouygue but this operator not using a standard range... so forget with your foreigner phone lol)...
the only problem is that those formula are not in prepaid simcard... only with normal formula.
perhaps you should ask your provider... sometime there is some solution with them. (when i go to USA Orange make me a special offer for the 2 month i go over there...).

help from anyone in holland..

Hi.. im going to holland for 2 months, and i want a SIM. What are my best options? and at which company?
what i had in mind was a prepaid sim only, with mobile internet connection on it.. i dont know if thats possible tho.. or maybe theres a way of activating daily internet on a regular prepaid sim.. well, thats why i needed help from someone who lives there

ibsa03 said:
Hi.. im going to holland for 2 months, and i want a SIM. What are my best options? and at which company?
what i had in mind was a prepaid sim only, with mobile internet connection on it.. i dont know if thats possible tho.. or maybe theres a way of activating daily internet on a regular prepaid sim.. well, thats why i needed help from someone who lives there
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im not sure wich provider it is i belive tmobile you have prepaid card and can buy internetusage for a day for i believe 1.50 but its unlimited
not quite sure though as i have contract for over 5 years

miniterror said:
im not sure wich provider it is i belive tmobile you have prepaid card and can buy internetusage for a day for i believe 1.50 but its unlimited
not quite sure though as i have contract for over 5 years
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i did see something on the t-mobile website saying the rate is 2.50 euros maximum for internet, im gonna see if i find a cheaper source as i'd end up paying 150 euros just for internet in the time im staying there, a bit expensive still..
are they the only place u know of?

nope i also believe whit ben you can have a contract for only a month or two its simonly but would help you as you already have a phone
you can always leave if you want
well saw you know 100% dutch so check out the site www.ben.nl
best regards
chris
dunno if its possibl for foreign paspoorts s i know some providers makes a deal out of it
or the want a dutch bank account

Vodafone sells prepaid SIM-cards for about 5 or 7,50 euros, which comes with 10 euros credit. Unlimited internet access can also be bought for €9,50 per month with a "BloX" called "Zorgeloos Internet". You'll have to reactivate it after 30 days.
Without this BloX thingy, it's 75 cents per 15 minutes. So some quick math will show you it's way cheaper, especially if you use mobile internet alot. However, VoIP and SMSoIP are not allowed, as well as using your mobile to gain internet access on your PC.
To activate it, you'll have to send a text message to 4000 saying zorgeloos internet aan

cheekychimp said:
Vodafone sells prepaid SIM-cards for about 5 or 7,50 euros, which comes with 10 euros credit. Unlimited internet access can also be bought for €9,50 per month with a "BloX" called "Zorgeloos Internet". You'll have to reactivate it after 30 days.
Without this BloX thingy, it's 75 cents per 15 minutes. So some quick math will show you it's way cheaper, especially if you use mobile internet alot. However, VoIP and SMSoIP are not allowed, as well as using your mobile to gain internet access on your PC.
To activate it, you'll have to send a text message to 4000 saying zorgeloos internet aan
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hm this sounded good, untill the restrictions haha.. u know if i could use clients like msn messenger or nimbuzz, etc.? thats restricted also om the SMSoIP? and do u know what the speed is, and if i have a limited ammount of mb's?

if you understand dutch, the best site to ask these questions with a lot of gsm experts is www.telecomvergelijker.nl
I think even when asking something in english people there will help you.

ibsa03 said:
hm this sounded good, untill the restrictions haha.. u know if i could use clients like msn messenger or nimbuzz, etc.? thats restricted also om the SMSoIP? and do u know what the speed is, and if i have a limited ammount of mb's?
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MSN is allowed, I've got a Vodafone branded X1 and it had MSN pre-installed, so I guess that's allowed, huh?
Just noticed they also have an English summary on their site at
vodafone.nl/english/prepaid/blox
Apparently the data usage can't be more then 10 times the average from all users.

BEN is just awesome!
You can stop your contract whenever you want, and you can use it as long as you want.
And the service is just excellent. They're really awesome guys over there.

UK Note Owners: What network are you on??

Hi Guys,
I was wondering what network you are using your note on, and how your finding it?
I'm currently on O2, but they aren't doing for free on upgrade yet. The Retention team have told me to wait till Monday before they will know if they are getting it to provide me a better deal.
Meanwhile, I've seen this deal on Phones 4 U. It's on Vodafone and the price plan seems pretty decent (free phone, £46/month for 18months, 900mins, 750MB) compared to anything O2 have to offer on their website at the moment (£105 for the phone, £51/month for 18months, 900mins, 1GB).
Dilemma:
Do I wait (impatiently!!) to see if the O2 Retention team will get it?? (Might be this Monday, might be longer!!!)
Do I jump ship and go with the Vodafone deal from Phones4U??
Do I just get a Nexus......??
All opinions will be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks in advance!

carphonewarehouse (24 contract)
vodafone : free phone £41 a month , 900 mins. unlimited text . 750Mb data and 2Gb BT wifi hotspot
or £79 for phone , £36 a month , 600 mins ,unlimited text , 500Mb data and 2Gb BT wifi hotspot

Wait till monday, haggle to get the deals posted above, but at the same time, figure out how much you really need, and see if GiffGaff + Note off amazon.de (~£460) works out cheaper.

I got myn from amazon.de for £468 then got a sim only plan from T-mobile 300min any network + 300 texts + Unlimited internet for £7.75

ik911 said:
I got myn from amazon.de for £468 then got a sim only plan from T-mobile 300min any network + 300 texts + Unlimited internet for £7.75
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nice. where can i get the same tariff ? i cannot see on the T-mobile site with that price and with unlimited internet. Thanks you

jommy999 said:
nice. where can i get the same tariff ? i cannot see on the T-mobile site with that price and with unlimited internet. Thanks you
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You need to call them

I got mine from Amazon.de for £469
i'm on virgin sim only 800 minutes , 3000 texts, 3000 virgin to virgin minutes 1gb Internet all for £7.53 per month on a 30 day rolling contract

Thanks for the reply guys.
I'm not really looking to buy the phone in cash up front. Especially since £450+ is quite hard to part with in one go.
Also, I'm not looking at other networks apart from O2 and Vodafone as most of them generally have bad customer service or low quality network service.
I'm also not willing to do a 24 month contract. Technology is improving at such a fast rate these days that in 1 years time, the Note will become old school, so ideally, I'd like to upgrade again in 12-18 months.
Does anyone use Vodafone? What are they like generally and for data connection?
Has anyone moved from O2 to Vodafone and seen it as an upgrade in network service?
Thanks guys!!

Hi Shadh1
I got mine from Phones4U online on Vodafone (£24 month contract, Free phone, £41 a month, 900 mins, unlimited text, 750Mb data and 3 month free 2Gb wifi hotspot).
In my opinion (nearly 20 years of mobile use and some of those years managing corporate mobile contracts for businesses) Vodafone currently have the better data network. Voice wise i think they are both as good/bad as each other. As with most things though this is always subjective!
Enjoy your note when you get it, it is really really worth it !

Im on O2. Was on Simplicity.
I got Internet All Rounder 300. 300 mins, unlimited texts, 1gb data, 50mms. £36 PM.
Phone cost £90, would have only been £60 for new customers.
That was from buymobiles. Same deal from O2 was £150

Shadh1 said:
Thanks for the reply guys.
Also, I'm not looking at other networks apart from O2 and Vodafone as most of them generally have bad customer service or low quality network service.
Thanks guys!!
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I never had a problem with Virgin. Always very very fast data and good reception always.

£468 SIM free from amazon.de and giffgaff PAYG for my airtime and data. I'm a light user and chomp through credit at the rate of around £3 per month so over 2 years my total cost will be around £540 give or take.

If you don't have the money to pay upfront, try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19664438&postcount=20
Use GiffGaff and be a winner

I had a really bad experience with Phoens4u, basically they do not have any stock, and this is an update from yesterday (24/11/11), I just ordered mine from buymobilephones.net on t-mobile, £30 a month, 900 minutes, 500 texts, 500mb internet and phone for £49.99. They have confirmed delivery for tomorrow.
What ever you do, DO NOT GO TO Phones4U, they messed me around for 2 weeks. Nightmare!!!

Similar to a few people here I bought my Note offline and using it with my Vodafone sim-only contract. No problems at all using the Note in Vodafone, I haven't even needed to change a single setting for data.

ik911 said:
I got myn from amazon.de for £468 then got a sim only plan from T-mobile 300min any network + 300 texts + Unlimited internet for £7.75
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I would like to get unlimited internet for £7.75 a month. Can you post a link for I've not been able to find the deal on the T-mobile web site?

Gaugerer said:
I would like to get unlimited internet for £7.75 a month. Can you post a link for I've not been able to find the deal on the T-mobile web site?
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Call them, they seem to have removed it from the website

Shadh1 said:
Thanks for the reply guys.
I'm not really looking to buy the phone in cash up front. Especially since £450+ is quite hard to part with in one go.
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Have a look at moneysavingexpert.com for the best credit cards with 12-18m interest free periods. Set up a standing order to pay it off monthly then get a cheap sim only deal.
SIMples!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App

am with t-mobile, was due an upgrade but they do not yet offer this handset and do not know if/when they will be, which is odd since Orange do and they are merged nowadays. Went to CPW and T-mo covered most of the cost of the upgrade price, so I paid £70 with a £35 monthly contract, 18-months. For that I have 1200mins, 500 text, 3Gb internet with webNwalk plus, and an unlimited landline booster. Not 100% sure on the internet though as I'd heard T-mo capped all to 500M since beginning of the month, but that was what I was told by the T-mo support person as we changed the tarrif. I see download rates of up to 1800Kbps which is pretty reasonable.
Note though, none in store a couple days ago, so ordered by phone, was shipped next day delivery from warehouse.
Phones4U don't seem to offer upgrades on T-mo and want to persuade you to switch. They were offering the handset free on a 46/month contract with Voda, same deal as already mentioned, and apparently would cover the cost to terminate from your current provider if near the end, but when I did the math, £11/month over 24 months would have been 3x the handset cost I paid, so not worth thinking about.
Dave

Sub 450 UKP for the phone and 3/three network. 25 quid per month, rolling monthly. Complete freedom but that is 950 quid over 2 years... So it's do as I say and not as I do, for I haven't got 450 to 'spunk' on one of these just yet, either (HD2 still).
There's even a topcashback refund, although it's a bit iffy in my experience. I never got paid out by Three...
Absolutely all you can eat data. I hammer it all day long......Two networked pc's, streamed music, tv...Watching tv and on this now, through the SIM...
2,000 any network minutes
5,000 Three-to-Three minutes
5,000 texts
All-you-can-eat Data
Free Voicemail
Or there are some all you can eat refurbs for 13 quid a month. 24 months, flog the phone, 300/500 mins, 5,000! txts....Now that is tempting..
Am looking at GiffGaff too, but it's about as clear as mud if you can tether with them. Basically it's a No, from what I can gather..