[David DG]

I'm currently on Orange PAYG and I'm looking into getting a contract with a HTC hero for a maximum of 18 months. When comparing the deals between the two carriers it seems T-mobile has a much better offer of £32 for 700 minutes w/ unlimited texts and mobile internet as well as the phone being free. I've been on Orange for ages now and used to have a contract with them so I feel pretty loyal. I'm also a bit put off by the T-mobile branding on the Hero. How noticeable is the branding?

Do you think I should switch to T-mobile or pay a bit extra and stay with Orange, what would you do? I really want a Hero.

Thanks

[dtobin]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

I'm currently on Orange PAYG and I'm looking into getting a contract with a HTC hero for a maximum of 18 months. When comparing the deals between the two carriers it seems T-mobile has a much better offer of £32 for 700 minutes w/ unlimited texts and mobile internet as well as the phone being free. I've been on Orange for ages now and used to have a contract with them so I feel pretty loyal. I'm also a bit put off by the T-mobile branding on the Hero. How noticeable is the branding?

Do you think I should switch to T-mobile or pay a bit extra and stay with Orange, what would you do? I really want a Hero.

Thanks

I got a Hero on T-mobile on Saturday. Loving it so far.

The only physical branding is a t-mobile logo on top of the screen - it's fine and not at all out of place. Software wise there is a splash screen and a few icons but I've already flashed my Hero so they've gone now.

Don't let branding put you off at all as it's subtle physically and you can easily remove the software stuff if you want.

[Merago]

One thing to bear in mind is that you will have a Fair Usage Policy limit of 500MB of data per month with Orange, whereas with T-Mobile, it's 3GB. The Hero is a data hungry machine, so if you don't use wi-fi at home and/or work to limit the data usage, you may find you creep close to the 500MB limit.
As for the branding, the only T-Mobile branding there is on the phone is the T-Mobile logo at the top, just under the speaker (on non-T-Mobile branded phones, the HTC logo is there instead), other than that, there's nothing else on the phone.

This site has a list of the best deals on the Hero at the moment.

[David DG]

Good point about the internet usage. So basically orange are a rip off... although they seem to have better 3g coverage according to ofcom. i mainly use my existing phone with my wifi at home but it would be really cool to be able to be on the internet wherever i go. That mobilesdirect site says you can also get the hero on contract with vodaphone which is news to me. thanks.

[RandomLee]

T-Mob get my vote due to their higher data allowance

[wax_digital]

I was under the impression it's 1gb data allowance with T-mobile (and 500mb with Orange as mentioned).

If you're in a contract with Orange currently and have a couple of months left before it ends then I'd suggest giving them a ring and getting through to their redemptions team. Just say to them that as you're contract is expiring soon is there anything they can do to keep you on. Mention that you've seen the T-mobile deal and they should be able to give you something really silly that they'd never offer to new customers. I managed to swing 1200 mins, unlimited texts and insurance for £30.50 (like a numpty I totally forgot about the internet bundle but I mostly use it at home with wifi anyway).

[dtobin]

Originally Posted by wax_digital

I was under the impression it's 1gb data allowance with T-mobile (and 500mb with Orange as mentioned).

.

T-Mobile offers 3GB with the Hero as it is an "always connected" device.

[RandomLee]

As dtobin says, it's deffo 3GB for the G1 and G2 Touch on T-Mobile.

Originally Posted by wax_digital

I mostly use it at home with wifi anyway

It's still going to be connecting / trying to connect when you're not at home on wifi though. Unless you make sure all apps and processes that require a data connection are stopped from doing so that is

Still, sounds like you got a good deal from Orange anyway.

[David DG]

yes 3gb with t-mobile. when you get to the checkout the box for data bundle -'internet plus' i think they call it- is already ticked and is included in the £32 price as mentioned earlier.

dtobin, im thinking the whole 'always on' thing that tmobile are going on about is a bit of a con. im pretty sure i wont reach 500mb while on 3g. what's the most the phone will be doing on its own? updating the weather and getting status updates. hardly data intensive stuff.

obviously id prefer tmobiles data allowance however they're 3g coverage is looking a little patchy where i am.

ive also noticed orange have branded the hero with their logo on the back of the device as well as at start up.

im starting to sway back to Orange now because i can get the phone on a 12 month contract which is much more appealing to me. however, i cant get my head around the difference between Dolphin 35 and Racoon 35 on 12 month contract. they're the same price but raccoon has more minutes?? anyone?

[NicolasB]

Generally dolphin gives you more texts while racoon gives you free calls to landlines (i.e. landline calls don't come out of your free minute allowance).

[David DG]

Originally Posted by NicolasB

Generally dolphin gives you more texts while racoon gives you free calls to landlines (i.e. landline calls don't come out of your free minute allowance).

they both have the same minutes and texts (400mins/300txts) but raccoon also has 200 landline minutes. look:

Phone plans: pay monthly plans from Orange - Dolphin, Panther, Racoon

[dtobin]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

dtobin, im thinking the whole 'always on' thing that tmobile are going on about is a bit of a con. im pretty sure i wont reach 500mb while on 3g. what's the most the phone will be doing on its own? updating the weather and getting status updates. hardly data intensive stuff.
I don't think it's fair to call it "a con". The device is or can be always connected, how much data usage that entails is your choice. I use mine for streaming at work over 3G and would find 500MB unusable. Horses for courses but I don't really feel either T-Mobile or Orange are unfair or unclear, you just need to choose the best option for you.

im starting to sway back to Orange now because i can get the phone on a 12 month contract which is much more appealing to me. I got my Hero on T-Mobile on Saturday, new contract and also on 12 months so don't rule out T-Mobile just for that.

.

[David DG]

thanks. i'll give tmobile a ring then and see if they'll do me a 12 month deal with unlimited data.

'con' probably wasnt the right word. i just thing tmobile are telling people they absolutely need unlimited data when they might not, just to win customers.

however, one thing i do like to use my phone for is listening to radio at work. Now the hero doesnt have an fm reciever so i'd have to listen over the internet. do you thing 500mb would be enough for say 2hrs of radio streaming a day?

[dtobin]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

however, one thing i do like to use my phone for is listening to radio at work. Now the hero doesnt have an fm reciever so i'd have to listen over the internet. do you thing 500mb would be enough for say 2hrs of radio streaming a day?

I reckon you could be easily looking at a couple of MB per minute or 4-5 MB per song. This could equate to 50-60MB per hour.

Couple of hours a day, 20 days a month = 40 hrs @ 50MB = 2GB usage.
Even if I'm overestimating by double, that would still be double Orange's allowance.

Could be totally out though.

[David DG]

Originally Posted by dtobin

I reckon you could be easily looking at a couple of MB per minute or 4-5 MB per song. This could equate to 50-60MB per hour.

Couple of hours a day, 20 days a month = 40 hrs @ 50MB = 2GB usage.
Even if I'm overestimating by double, that would still be double Orange's allowance.

Could be totally out though.

yikes. i suppose it depends on the bit rate of the broadcast too.

[dtobin]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

yikes. i suppose it depends on the bit rate of the broadcast too.

Yeah, I was working it out based on 128k.

[NicolasB]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

dtobin, im thinking the whole 'always on' thing that tmobile are going on about is a bit of a con.

I'm not that familiar with the Hero, but I believe it does tend to use rather a lot of data compared to other phones. The interface is based heavily on "widgets", some of which are continually pinging online services and updating themselves dynamically depending on the results; so there might (for example) be a Facebook widget which changes its icon every time Facebook updates itself in a way that you might find interesting. If you have several of those on the go then you're sending data back and forth almost continuously. By contrast, regular phones tend not to check for updates unless you explicitly tell them to.

[wax_digital]

Originally Posted by RandomLee

As dtobin says, it's deffo 3GB for the G1 and G2 Touch on T-Mobile.



It's still going to be connecting / trying to connect when you're not at home on wifi though. Unless you make sure all apps and processes that require a data connection are stopped from doing so that is

Still, sounds like you got a good deal from Orange anyway.

You turn it's access to the non-wifi internet connection off by holding the end call button and changing the "mobile network" bit.

Works a treat

Brilliant phone I do have to say.

[RandomLee]

Thanks for the tip!

[David DG]

Been on the phone to orange. Is this a good deal:

£25 a month for 18 months: 600mins / unlimited texts. Can upgrade after 15 months. 250MB data. Free Hero.

For an additional £5 I can have what he kept saying was 'unlimited data' but after questioning him about it he put me on hold and came back and confirmed that there was actually a 500MB limit but no one ever uses that amount.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

Been on the phone to orange. Is this a good deal:

£25 a month for 18 months: 600mins / unlimited texts. Can upgrade after 15 months. 250MB data. Free Hero.

I would say that's the best deal I've seen for the Hero
I can't/wouldn't go with Orange myself as their coverage isn't too good in my area.
I'm looking for a similar deal on Vodaphone...if anyone can suggest one?

[David DG]

For those who are interested, I went with Orange in the end.

£29.25 a month for 18 months: 900mins / 500 texts / unlimited landline. Can upgrade after 15 months. 250MB data. Free Hero. (Total = £526.68)

Basically, I got £5 off Raccoon 40 for being an existing PAYG customer + 250MB data thrown in.

Not the best deal i know but lost patience in the end. I pushed hard for 500MB but they wouldn't give it to me so I'll just have to be careful.

[Adrian Hughes]

Hi ya,

I am with orange, and now you have the phone - and I hope your still within your 7 day return time as what I did was say I was promised unlimited date and wifi same as the o2 iphone etc....after lots of arguing and shouting and you MUST MUST ask to go to customer retentions, they will say there is nothing they can do, but demand and then ask for a team leader.

I got : 1500 mins (1st year, 2000 per month 2nd) unlimited texts, 1gb per month data, unlimited land lines for £ 29 per month.

[saayinla]

This is what i got on Tmobile just got my hero delivered today, fantastic phone.
its a business plan and not available online or offline either.
Google G2 (HTC Hero)
· 1,000 minutes per month (Any UK Network, Europe, USA & Canada)
UNLIMITED UK landline calls (01, 02, 03 numbers – anytime, no limits!)
· UNLIMITED text messages
· UNLIMITED Internet & E-mail
· ALL calls from UK to Europe USA and Canada (zones 1, 2 and 3) included in inclusive minutes


24 month

£20 + VAT.

[blobq]

Originally Posted by dg.lander

Good point about the internet usage. So basically orange are a rip off... although they seem to have better 3g coverage according to ofcom. i mainly use my existing phone with my wifi at home but it would be really cool to be able to be on the internet wherever i go. That mobilesdirect site says you can also get the hero on contract with vodaphone which is news to me. thanks.

dont let the ofcom 3g maps decide which network you go for, i looked at their site & saw orange had the best coverage in my area, however once i had the hero on orange i barely got 1 bar.

I cancelled & got a voda tarrif & have full bars, the ofcom site said i had good coverage.

[blobq]

Originally Posted by JayCee

I would say that's the best deal I've seen for the Hero
I can't/wouldn't go with Orange myself as their coverage isn't too good in my area.
I'm looking for a similar deal on Vodaphone...if anyone can suggest one?

buy sim free, £350, trade in your old phone on mazuna etc in got £60 for my old n73.
I got a sim bundle from voda £20 p/m 300 mins - dont chat that much unltd txt unltd tinternet + passport this is a 30 day rolling contract.

I didnt want to commit to a 18mnth tarrif, i wanted to see what the new HTC passion / dragon is going to be like nxt yr.

i'll trade in the hero if that seems to be the killer phone.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by blobq

I got a sim bundle from voda £20 p/m 300 mins - dont chat that much unltd txt unltd tinternet + passport this is a 30 day rolling contract.

I don't see that offer on their website...did you sign up for it in a store or online?
Do you know if you can port an existing O2 number?
I bought a white Hero sim-free a couple of days ago and I'm using my existing O2 sim in it...no unlimited internet on it though, so using it sparingly and via my home Wi-fi...trying to decide whether to stay with O2 and change to their simplicity plan @ £19.58 per month.
Can you or anyone else tell me...if you're in a 3G area do you get an indicator showing "3" or similar...normally around my home I get a "G", and in other areas sometimes an "E" and occaisonally an "H" on my old Win Mob O2 XDA Stellar (HTC Tytn II).