[chrism_scotland]

Has anyone who has an E71 got it via Three?
I've been offered a cracking deal with them and I've never had any major problems with them before, coverage seems pretty good too but I was a bit concerned about the extent of Three branding, does it ruin the phone?

Also I was wondering what their "Free" Add-Ons are like, their MSN Messenger is it an application or is it via the Three Mobile site, like Vodafone Live?

[andytabor]

I haven't use the E71 personally but if you mean external branding it really doesn't feature much, just a small 3 logo on the back if I remember right. If you mean the software 3 install on the handset it's pretty much the standard stuff you'll have on your existing handset, Planet 3 etc..

MSN on 3 is an application and not web based, it has a fair usage policy of no more than 10,000 instant messages sent and recieved per month. You can set it to run continuosly in the background and get pop-up messages when someone messages you. Your existing 3 phone will probably support this application.

You can download it through the services menu if you want to give it a spin before before getting the E71

[chrism_scotland]

I have a K800 on PAYG Three at the moment and it was very heavily branded and very heavily restricted.
Have Three lightened up at all in the last 2 years?
The tariff and contract seem to be pretty good but I seem to remember their internet being "ring fenced" and quite restricted.
I also seem to think they limited the applications that I could run on the phone, has that changed?
As I am a little concerned about buying a Symbian Smartphone if I'm going to be heavily restricted on what I can and can't use on it.

[HSR08]

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I have a K800 on PAYG Three at the moment and it was very heavily branded and very heavily restricted.
Have Three lightened up at all in the last 2 years?
The tariff and contract seem to be pretty good but I seem to remember their internet being "ring fenced" and quite restricted.
I also seem to think they limited the applications that I could run on the phone, has that changed?
As I am a little concerned about buying a Symbian Smartphone if I'm going to be heavily restricted on what I can and can't use on it.

I have the Nokia E65 and all it has is a little 3 logo under the call buttons and one at the back under the camera. I dont think they are to resticted to tell the truth. But phone them and ask them the applications that you want to use will work.

[itsamac]

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I have a K800 on PAYG Three at the moment and it was very heavily branded and very heavily restricted.
Have Three lightened up at all in the last 2 years?
The tariff and contract seem to be pretty good but I seem to remember their internet being "ring fenced" and quite restricted.
I also seem to think they limited the applications that I could run on the phone, has that changed?
As I am a little concerned about buying a Symbian Smartphone if I'm going to be heavily restricted on what I can and can't use on it.

On pay monthly, things have definitely changed. Internet access is pretty much unrestricted. If it's a UIQ phone, it's quick and easy to debrand to remove all the three software e.g. Planet 3 shortcuts, etc.

[stu1wyatt]

Hi,

I have an E71 and it's a cracking phone on 3 UK, make sure you get the unlimited data tarrif.

I use it for Yahoo, msn, skype, googlemail etc and it's ace.

Reception is fine and very stable.

First thing you have to is change the theme, the ones on the phone make it seem ancient, once you get a good theme on the phone it looks miles better.

[chrism_scotland]

Originally Posted by itsamac

On pay monthly, things have definitely changed. Internet access is pretty much unrestricted. If it's a UIQ phone, it's quick and easy to debrand to remove all the three software e.g. Planet 3 shortcuts, etc.

I take it UIQ is a Symbian Phone?
I really really like the E71 don't get me wrong and a massive part of me likes it better than the BB old but its just Three's restrictions that I fear a little, how easy is it to debrand?

[chrism_scotland]

Originally Posted by itsamac

On pay monthly, things have definitely changed. Internet access is pretty much unrestricted. If it's a UIQ phone, it's quick and easy to debrand to remove all the three software e.g. Planet 3 shortcuts, etc.

Originally Posted by stu1wyatt

Hi,

I have an E71 and it's a cracking phone on 3 UK, make sure you get the unlimited data tarrif.

I use it for Yahoo, msn, skype, googlemail etc and it's ace.

Reception is fine and very stable.

First thing you have to is change the theme, the ones on the phone make it seem ancient, once you get a good theme on the phone it looks miles better.

I've downloaded MSN and the Three Mail Application onto my old K800 and its ok, can you setup your Googlemail, Yahoo and Hotmail to retrieve and send through the phone like a Blackberry?
Or does it all have to be done through the 3 App?

[stu1wyatt]

Yep, you can do all of that.

For mail you have choices, use the gmail and yahoo go clients or configure IMAP/SMTP settings and use the E71 mail client.

I do the latter and never really log onto my computer to check mail anymore, I synch my folders also and it will go and retrieve mail every 15 minutes (this is configurable)

Everytime a new mail arrives it pops up on the home screen so I know I have a new message.

You an also configure it to only retrieve mail when on your home network, this avoids roaming charges when abroad.

There are also various PUSH e-mail services available(unfortuantely Nokia are not supporting Blackberry yet but I think this will change due to the number of complaints). They use their own service plus there is also Exchange for mail for Corporate mail.

For Instant Messaging use FRING (it's a freeware app that allows you to use one client to speak to people using different IM services such as MSN, Google, Yahoo, AIM and Skype)

It shows your contacts and you mssage them without the annoyance of having to jump between apps.

I also get various RSS feeds downloaded to my phone every 30 mins including AVforums.

This is the phone I was after, it beats my N95 8gb hands down form essaging type general use functionality, the N95 has the better camera and general media capabilities though!!!!

[itsamac]

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I take it UIQ is a Symbian Phone?
I really really like the E71 don't get me wrong and a massive part of me likes it better than the BB old but its just Three's restrictions that I fear a little, how easy is it to debrand?

Yes, its variety of Symbian used by Sony Ericsson and Motorola.