Do you think phone (esp Nokia), call and text prices are too high?

[bobl]

I am not really up to date with phones since I don't use them that much. However, many of my friends are spending over £200 on the phone alone, with the cost of calls and texts on top of that at constantly rising prices. (Call prices were recently forced down by the government in the UK, however the phone compaines simply jacked up the text price which is used more anyway!)

So, do you think prices are too high? Or do you think they are justified?

Cheers

Bob

P.S. I did consider putting this in the lounge, but I think the economy of mobile phones (and especially the rising cost in Nokia phones) is pretty important. I am sure many members will be interested in this in general discussion.

[jeep]

Well, I'll always agree with anyone saying that prices are too high!

My next phone (my 3330 is currently 10,000 miles away otherwise I wouldn't be buying one until it died) will be a 3410 - oooooh, cutting edge stuff! Virgin are currently selling these for 80 quid, complete with 35 quid of calls, handsfree kit and the SIM. That means the phone works out as £25, so it's hard to say it's overpriced :) Oh, and no monthly charge and free unlock codes once you reach £30 of calls.... yes please :)
(text prices are still 3/10p btw...)

Of course those that want the latest phones are going to be stung for lots of money, but that's the modern world for you. Those that 'have to have' the latest and greatest technologywill always have to pay through the nose for it. As long as these people keep buying the phones, the prices will remain high.

As for me.... I'll buy 1-2 year old technology at a big discount thank you very much :)


George

[bobl]

£25! That's way too expensive :D. (Just kidding, nice deal)

I got my 3410 very cheap as well, seems the phone shops are just chucking them out because everyone has 3310s and don't want to upgrade. But I of course just unlocked it when I got it...for no reason, I stuck with T-Mobile since I don't use it anywhere NEAR enough to change providers.

I am interested in how they advertiesed the free unlock codes @ £30? What does it say in the advert?


As for me.... I'll buy 1-2 year old technology at a big discount thank you very much

GARH! We always think the same thing mate :D, stop agreeing with me :D

Oh well, nice thoughts, I'm off to work :(

Cheers

Bob

[liteFun]

prices are ok, at least in finland i think.
call 0.12eur/min, sms 0.05-0.12eur depending on operator (radiolinja 300 sms for 15eur/month).

so for me (using radiolinja), i'll get about 20eur bill every month.
but if i read mails with my communicator, it will be more because of datacalls.

[jeep]

Originally posted by bobl
I am interested in how they advertiesed the free unlock codes @ £30? What does it say in the advert?It's not something that's really advertsised as such, more tucked away in the Ts&Cs (http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/services/legal/terms_and_conditions.html)

You probably don't want to read all that, so here's the relevant bit:
5 Payment and Related Terms
i "At no additional charge, we will provide the code to 'unlock' your mobile phone, as long as you do not owe anything for that phone, you have spent at least £30 on airtime with us on that phone and you have complied with terms of this agreement. You will need to register that phone with us for security reasons."

GARH! We always think the same thing mate :D, stop agreeing with me :DLOL... you know what they say.... great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ :D


George

[bobl]

No no, that's what I wanted to read, cheers :)

And yes, fools seldom differ :D

Cheers

Bob

[chunkhead]

Prices are too high, especially text messages! But... if you can use your brain, you can save!!! In Australia, the networks are all at war with pricing! Virgin have just made an intro and I have been making use of it! On a $30 plan on Telstra, your call rate is 43c for half a minute! Virgin Pre-paid offer me 21c if I top-up with a $100 card! Can't lose!!! They also offer 1\2 price SMS to other Virgin phones!

Now.. the trick! I have two Pre-paid cards!!! My Virgin and my Optus! Each one diverts to the other if it's not active. During the day, I use the Virgin, but after 9pm, Optus have "Free time"! This allows me to call any other Optus phone for free until 7am! Most of the people I know are on Optus for this reason! In short I SIM-SWAP!!! I save hundreds on calls and texts!!!;) :D

[jeep]

Chunkhead - you'd have loved the TIM launch in São Paulo then!
R$45 (£10) for a pre-pay SIM, but they then gave back more in call credit.... and as voicemails were free, it didn't matter too much if I'd left the wrong SIM in! My portugese got very good as well as a side benefit - but only as long as people said "press 1 to listen to your new messges, press 2 to......." :D

They screwed up worse than that. I also made a half hour international phonecall that wasn't charged for, so I guess I'd have to say that mobile call prices are actually extremely low!

Admitedly TDMA (or whatever it is) is already well established, so they needed good offers to tempt people over to GSM. I think the marketing people got a little bit carried away though...

Incidently, the GSM phones sold there are not locked and you get PIN, PIN2, PUK and PUK2 on a scratchcard with the SIM - very nice of them :)


George

[Nanda]

Well in Brazil there's also Oi. When they rolled out their network in May 2002 they offered anyone who signed up with them 31 years of free calls during weekends (between Oi phones).

Oi phones were locked though.

[bobl]

When I read 31 years, I was shocked! Then I read the bit about the weekends and only to same operator. Still good, but why 31? Odd number ;)

New avatar Nanda? :)

Cheers

Bob

[liteFun]

you'll have high prices because you'll get almost free phones. in finland, this is illegal. operators don't sell phones with sim contracts. so phones are expensive and calls & sms prices low.
that's what i think. couple years ago heard that in germany they sell phones for 1dm, but 2 year contract with high calling cost etc.

but it's good thing that operators will offer free unlocking after you have paid enough.

[jeep]

but why 31?Oi - it's a great name for a network isn't it :) Oi means "hi" BTW,
not the English word of the same name!

Oi's network code is 724-31....

I guess they also operate as a long distance provider. In Brazil, you dial 0xx11 for São Paulo, replacing the xx with the provider of your choice. Consequently, advertising focuses on these 2 digit codes... eg Telefonica is 15, Embratel is 21... so that would explain them making a point of 31 :)

That's pure guesswork, but would make sense. Nanda? Ajuda me, por favor!


George

[Nanda]

Well, 31 is the operator code number (as explained by jeep) that identifies Oi and its owners, fixed telephony company Telemar.

All operators had compaigns to promote their 'numbers' (31 é Telemar, etc.), and Telemar (who owns Oi) just guessed that the 31-year thing was a good way of promoting long distance calls - which are not included in the free calls offer BTW!

I have one of the '31 years' SIMs. Second-hand, pre-paid SIMs registered in that promotion are sold these days for more than many a colour-screen phone!

On a side not, the Brazilian telephony system works a bit like the internet: your fixed line is considered an 'access' to the telephone network, that's what you pay for every month.

Local calls (which cost about 3 euro cents per pulse - a 'pulse' is every four minutes) are made exclusively through your 'access' provider, but every time you make a long distance call (and a call to 40km from your home may be considered lomg distance) you have to choose what company to use.

That's a good thing because, with competition working EVERY time someone makes a call, operators get into price wars...

This system has now been extended to mobile 'access' too, so we're now able to choose long-distance operators for each mobile long-distance call we make.

[Nanda]

BTW how much would one expect to pay for a Nokia 2100 in other countries?

I'm considering one at the moment, at R$399 (US$140). I found that expensive (you can get a Siemens A50 for R$320 or something), so I need to know whether it's worth looking for a Nokia on eBay or something. This R$399 price is for a pre-paid SIM phone.

Phone prices work like this in Brazil: there's a 'contract' price and a 'pre-paid' price, depending on the type of connection you choose.

Contract phones are cheaper but you have to sign a 1-year contract, with phone bills etc. (longer telephony contracts are illegal under current regulations, and if you decide to cancel your line before the 1-year period you have to pay a fine, usually around the equivalent of US$100).

I always buy pre-paid phones. They cost like US$50 more (as there's no subsidy) but you're not bound by any contract. They don't lock all phones but it's hard to tell. Oi used to lock its phones but the 2100s are being sold unlocked.

[bobl]

I haven't been to any shops for 2100, but I'd be happy to pay £88 (Approx $140?) if I wanted one.

That's the price of 3410/3310 pay as you go. Since the 2100 is fairly top end(?), that's a fairly good price.

But England is expensive.

The same sort of thing between contract and pay as you go here. Many calls/texts are thrown in with contracts as well. Personally I prefer Pay as you go, cheaper for me.

Just out of interest, you guys spell it "Brasil", sure there is a reason why, care to enlighten a fairly dim Britain? :D

Cheers

Bob

[Nanda]

Well, we spell it 'Brasil' simply because that's the name of the country!

I only spell it with a 'z' when I'm writing in English and care to remember that you guys use 'z' instead of 's'. Then again, you should've changed that a long time ago! :D

Hmm, £88 or cheaper... Maybe I should try eBay then. BTW the 2100 is definitely not top end, it's quite the contrary! It's the new entry-level Nokia, hasn't even got voice dialling like the 3310 had.

Cheers!

[bobl]

Make me look stupid then Nanda from Brasil :)

My thoughts about the subject were:

2100 = New
New = Good
Good and New = Top End (Yes, I realise the logic is flawed recursively)

But it's HOT, and I'm TIRED.

No voice dialling? Not that I ever use that but that is REALLY POOR on Nokia's part. WHY REMOVE FEATURES?!

Enough ranting for now, :)

Cheers

Bob

[liteFun]

about voice dialling:
why doesn't it listen all the time, why has menu button to be pressed long time?
in that time, i'll get number from sim and call before voice dialling recognise name...