Guest woffle Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 (edited) Hi there, I have an orginal SPV that I've been fairly happy with for the past year, but have been looking around for something better. I was wondering what people's opinions are regarding the difference between the original and the C500, specifically the things I'm unhappy with in the phone I have now: Unreliable - Sometimes it looks as though it has a signal and should receive calls but when you call it, it goes to voicemail. Turn it off and on and its OK again. Also it occasionally crashes (remove the battery to get it back) and has once required a hard reset and lost all of the data (typically on holiday when I couldn't resync). Is the C500 better for reliability? Battery life - I know the C500 has a better battery, but how much better. My current spv can go about 3 days given the amount I actually use it - how long can I expect from the C500 if I use it a similar amount? Also if I leave something like Mobipocket reader on in the background, rather than exiting it, the battery goes after a few hours - is this a problem on the C500? Music Player - the music player is not terribly good, lacking any kind of base. Is the C500 better - how does it compare to a dedicated mp3 player? Voice dialling - I like the idea of voice dialling and had a Sony with the facility at one point, but it was very poor at recognising commands. How good is the C500 at this? Charging - does the C500 charge over its usb cable as well as on the mains? Finally, I saw an offer on onestopphoneshop.co.uk which is effectively selling the c500 for £44 (free handset, £22 a month tariff but you can claim 10 months back over the period of the tariff). I know some people have had problems with them which is making me wary, but seeing as the equivalent PAYG costs £140 from Orange (I intend to unlock it and use my Work 02 connection so I just need the phone) is it worth the risk? I'm not sure I can justify paying £140 for it. I know its usually the people who have problems who post, so it can skew your perception of a company, so are there people here who have ordered from them with no/few problems? Are they good for the cash back? They seem like a big and long established company so surely they can't be ripping people off - just providing poor customer service on (several) occasions? All opinions and comments would be most welcome. Mark Edited January 10, 2005 by woffle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Disco Stu Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 Welcome to the forum :D Firstly the size and weight of the C500 makes it so desirable. The battery life is far better. 3 days heavy use - MP3s, camera, emailing etc - and it's still in operation. You can charge from USB still though there's no cradle this time :D The phone is far more stable, both with signal and not needing to hard reset every month ! Media Player isn't that bad IMHO but there are alternatives. Never had dealings with OneStop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest udayan71 Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 actually the media player is just a little better ie still awful... reccomended media players would be PocketMusic or BetaPlayer - as some members have reccomended to me - ie: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lowbug Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 I would never buy another phone from onestopphoneshop, they speak to you like poo and you don't get your cashback. They even told me if i didn't like it then sue them! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chucky.egg Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Yeah, you do have to be VERY careful with the Cashback offers. Make sure you keep all the paperwork you've read about it (including print outs of web pages) and keep track of the dates. If you don't claim in time you lose the cashback. If you're organised you can do it, but they make you work for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woffle Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Thanks for all the replies. Can anyone suggest another place to buy from other than OneStop that still do reasonable offers? £150 for the pay as you go version is just that bit too expensive - if I could somehow get hold of it for under £100 then I'd go for it. As for the media player, I was under the impression that the lack of base was a problem with the phone rather than media player - am I wrong here? Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rct_uk Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 (edited) Thanks for all the replies. Can anyone suggest another place to buy from other than OneStop that still do reasonable offers? £150 for the pay as you go version is just that bit too expensive - if I could somehow get hold of it for under £100 then I'd go for it. As for the media player, I was under the impression that the lack of base was a problem with the phone rather than media player - am I wrong here? Cheers, Mark <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Forward Cellular do excellent deals as well, received my cheque from them day before yesterday after sending in the claim in the 2nd week of December. It was for a different deal though. :D Edited January 11, 2005 by rct_uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 £150 to expensive for a C500? You get £10 for your old phone as well i believe. Other than that it's contract which, without a cashback offer the phone costs £80 on the £15/month for 120mins +30 texts from Orange on the Web. You won't find many phones cheaper and you wont find many phones with half the features at any price. I've not used Onestop - they do seem to make it dificult, I've used other people and received cashback with no problems but none are doing such a good deal as OneStop - IF you get the cashback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shodanjr_gr Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Hi there, I have an orginal SPV that I've been fairly happy with for the past year, but have been looking around for something better. I was wondering what people's opinions are regarding the difference between the original and the C500, specifically the things I'm unhappy with in the phone I have now: Unreliable - Sometimes it looks as though it has a signal and should receive calls but when you call it, it goes to voicemail. Turn it off and on and its OK again. Also it occasionally crashes (remove the battery to get it back) and has once required a hard reset and lost all of the data (typically on holiday when I couldn't resync). Is the C500 better for reliability? Signal has been excellent so far on mine, both on Orange and on Greek Vodafone. Only crashed on me a couple of times so far (something funky going on with the orange plugin, when trying to create new sms...). No hard reset needed (knocks on wood). So i would say its far more reliable than the original SPV. Battery life - I know the C500 has a better battery, but how much better. My current spv can go about 3 days given the amount I actually use it - how long can I expect from the C500 if I use it a similar amount? Also if I leave something like Mobipocket reader on in the background, rather than exiting it, the battery goes after a few hours - is this a problem on the C500?Battery life is A M A Z I N G. I keep BT on 50% of the day (since i use a BT Handset). I use the phone for about 5-10 minutes/day and send around 5 sms/day as well. I also use a bit of GPRS, listen to MP3s and play games on it (jawbreaker mostly). It usually lasts me about 4 days before needing a recharge (ive charged it like 3 times since i got it...). Music Player - the music player is not terribly good, lacking any kind of base. Is the C500 better - how does it compare to a dedicated mp3 player? I dont mind about Windows Media Player it self, it serves its purpose (although there ARE better software out there for mediaplayback). BUT, the main issue (which seems to happen on almost all C500s) is the "tss tss" problem during playback which can be really annoying. Look up the thread in page 2 or 3 concerning this issue. Voice dialling - I like the idea of voice dialling and had a Sony with the facility at one point, but it was very poor at recognising commands. How good is the C500 at this?Quite good voice dailing over my BT headset, although not extremely good (especially if its noisy around). One small gripe is that you cant voice dial using the BT headset button if the keypad is locked... Charging - does the C500 charge over its usb cable as well as on the mains? Yes it charges over a common mini-usb cable, as well as over a mains adaptor. Finally, I saw an offer on onestopphoneshop.co.uk which is effectively selling the c500 for £44 (free handset, £22 a month tariff but you can claim 10 months back over the period of the tariff). I know some people have had problems with them which is making me wary, but seeing as the equivalent PAYG costs £140 from Orange (I intend to unlock it and use my Work 02 connection so I just need the phone) is it worth the risk? I'm not sure I can justify paying £140 for it. I know its usually the people who have problems who post, so it can skew your perception of a company, so are there people here who have ordered from them with no/few problems? Are they good for the cash back? They seem like a big and long established company so surely they can't be ripping people off - just providing poor customer service on (several) occasions? All opinions and comments would be most welcome. Mark <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I dont really know about onestopphoneshop, never heard of em actually (i live in Greece). But i bought the phone on PAYUGO from Orange when i was in UK for vacation for 150 pounds. Then i unlocked on www.c500-unlock.com (check the sticky thread) for another 20 pounds. Unlocking took 5 minutes (including the time required to install activesynch, synch the phone once, while waiting for my confirmation email :D). So total 170 pounds, well spent if you ask me. The BT handset was another 30 pounds from Vodafone :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woffle Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 (edited) Thanks once more, especially for the last really detailed answer. I've been looking around and found another site www.e2save.com which is doing the C500 for an effective £75 (£25 a month tarriff but 9 months free cashback offer). They are a subsidiary of carphone warehouse so I imagine they are a bit more reputable, but does anyone here have any experience of them, good or bad? Cheers. Edited January 12, 2005 by woffle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shodanjr_gr Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 No probs about the reply, if u got more questions, shoot :D Now, as far as that latest offer is concerned, i wouldnt wana mess with cashback offers etc, they CAN get messy at times from what i hear. This particular offer u talk about has u pay 75 pounds for the phone. It costs 150 pounds on orange PAYUGO. And you dont have to worry about claiming your cashback, and there are no strings attached at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 I have had cashback from 2 different suppliers but not e2save or onestop. I had no problems with the suppliers I used and there are some very good deals to be had with cashback. The £75 includes free minutes each month which, if you pay for on PAYG increases the cost substantially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shodanjr_gr Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Well, if you plan on using the contract, i think its ok, but i just wanted the device, so i went for PAYUGO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 What do you use it for if you're not gong to make phone calls? I know it does lots of other things as well but it is, after all, a phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tsutton Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Google for Onestopphoneshop - they're bad! Tech support don't give a toss as soon as you got the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shodanjr_gr Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 What do you use it for if you're not gong to make phone calls? I know it does lots of other things as well but it is, after all, a phone. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I already have a contract with Vodafone that i intend to keep :D Beside Orange is of no use to me, i live in Greece :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Orange UK reception probably isn't that good in Greece :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shodanjr_gr Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Orange UK reception probably isn't that good in Greece :D <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Indeed :D PS:Just got my first spec of dust under the screen...arg, the pain!!! (its only been about 3 weeks with the phone...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zoltix Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Never, never, never buy from Onestopphoneshop. Even if you do apply for cashback within the correct window (which is a short period usually after 3 or 6 months) one of their tricks is to claim it must be lost in the post. Of 18 cashback claims made by reps in my company, seven were "lost". Also, if the forms are not completed absolutely perfectly they just bin them and never inform you. By the time you try and track a missing claim the claim period is running out. They won't even accept fax as a way of guaranteeing delivery. My company (and now its subsidiaries) has told all its staff that Onestop has been removed from the accepted retailer list for business phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcwarre Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 (edited) Never, never, never buy from Onestopphoneshop. Even if you do apply for cashback within the correct window (which is a short period usually after 3 or 6 months) one of their tricks is to claim it must be lost in the post. Of 18 cashback claims made by reps in my company, seven were "lost". Also, if the forms are not completed absolutely perfectly they just bin them and never inform you. By the time you try and track a missing claim the claim period is running out. They won't even accept fax as a way of guaranteeing delivery. My company (and now its subsidiaries) has told all its staff that Onestop has been removed from the accepted retailer list for business phones. I have had no problems whatsoever with OSPS. I send the item recorded (which also acts as insurance). Be honest it isn't difficult to fill in the amount claimed, your number and Tarrif is it? Reference them 'binning it', ever heard of ringing and asking? Poor admin I would say.................... :D :D :P Edited January 14, 2005 by mcwarre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woffle Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Never, never, never buy from Onestopphoneshop. Even if you do apply for cashback within the correct window (which is a short period usually after 3 or 6 months) one of their tricks is to claim it must be lost in the post. Of 18 cashback claims made by reps in my company, seven were "lost". Also, if the forms are not completed absolutely perfectly they just bin them and never inform you. By the time you try and track a missing claim the claim period is running out. They won't even accept fax as a way of guaranteeing delivery. My company (and now its subsidiaries) has told all its staff that Onestop has been removed from the accepted retailer list for business phones. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm convinced! Thanks for that - now I feel better about not taking up the offer. I've been given an original XDA to play around with so I'm going to give that a try - bit bulky I know but its free, so worth a month's trial. If, as I suspect, I can't deal with the size, then I think I'll probably go for e2save's offer, unless anyone advises me any different or the PAYG price has dropped to £100 in that time. Thanks for all the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gtott Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 hi all, just got my new c500 from osps, tried to upgrade with orange 2 weeks ago but still waiting for phone, so called osps and they had thme in stock, l looked at the cash back deals but was not sure if i would get it (always looking on the positive) so opted for the yourplan 30+30 deal £15 / month and phone was free. ordered it yesterday got it this morning , so now playing :-) first thing i have found is the imei no. on the phone is different to that on the paperwork, so this would prob cause a delay if i was to claim a case back. might be something to look at for in the future .. dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confucious Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 From Orange for £15/month you get 120mins and 30 txts. You have to pay £80 for the phone but you get £50 credit (unless it's changed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pondrew Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 I have had no problems whatsoever with OSPS. I send the item recorded (which also acts as insurance). Be honest it isn't difficult to fill in the amount claimed, your number and Tarrif is it? Reference them 'binning it', ever heard of ringing and asking? Poor admin I would say.................... :D :D :P <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's two of us although admittedly I last used OneStop about five years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigAl94 Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 I have had no problems whatsoever with OSPS. I send the item recorded (which also acts as insurance). Be honest it isn't difficult to fill in the amount claimed, your number and Tarrif is it? Reference them 'binning it', ever heard of ringing and asking? Poor admin I would say.................... :D :D :P <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have had no prob;lem with them either, followed procedures to the letter and got cashback cheques within a few days on bot occassions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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