22 replies to this topic

[kvl]

Thought I'd put my two pence in, normally by the time I decide to post - it has already been covered.

Well, my girlfriend upgraded her phone to the M600 on Sun 28th - which meant she had a better phone than me (M2000) couldn't have THAT!, I've had my eye on the Hermes for ages, so I've been hunting and I was finally successful!

So on Thursday 3rd I went into a Vodafone shop and instead of the blank look I had received in previous shops, the sales assistant told me they were not allowed to sell the v1605 in the shops yet, but is only being sold over the telephone by Vodafone Direct (0870 0700191).

So of course I called them, telephone menu system a bit painful and annoying, but got through to a helpful guy, who had not heard of the phone, but was surprised by the specs.  On a £35 price plan, with £60 data bundle, still unsure about this and will double check before I start using 3G, it cost me £75...
Anyway, the choice was waiting til Monday or paying an extra £7 for rush delivery on Sat...so Saturday it was

1st impressions:
Hardware
Fatter that I though, but nice and compact, loads of hardware buttons, 6 on the side on the device including the jog dial (a god send and I have been waiting for a phone again with a Jog Dial, since my Sony Z5)  However the Z5's Jog dial you could go Up, Down, In (Enter/OK), click back and click forward...great design...  
No standard headphone socket, but instead it shares the mini usb port - annoying gonna have to look for a adapter...  Was confused by the Ok button on the left side of the device, next to the Jog Dial - why another Ok button, the Navigation pad has one and there is another one under the right WM5 soft key.  Ah! playing with the phone, reveals that this is actually a Ok in the sense of closing the current window, or if you are on the Today Screen opens the Start Menu - brilliant!  The camera button on the bottom righthand side, is a bit of a pain in Portrait mode - however makes sense in Landscape.
The navigation pad feels a bit plastic fanstatic!  And I cannot seem to change the two hardware buttons under the soft key buttons (Start menu and the Ok button) - any suggestions?
MicroSD - Ridiculously small - of course my 2Gb SD card is pointless now - however the g/f already has her eyes on it...  Over to MobyMemory then...

Software
My old device - (M2000/Blue Angel) was of course WM2003SE, so this was my first play at WM5 - well needed improvements, but the soft keys are gonna take some getting used to.  Hopefully the bluetooth on this device works better than the M200 BlueTooth Stack
Comm Manager - my favourite improvement - instead of me poking the bottom right of the screen for the WiFi, a hardware button and quick and easy access for, WiFi, BlueTooth, Vibrate, ActiveSnyc , Flight mode, Push email - I think and another - guess I will have to open the manual!
At Last I can use OneNote Mobile - very cool program so am going to enjoy using it.

The Vodafone experience
I've been used to Orange and O2 personalizing their phones and bundling software - Vodafone must have missed that meeting.  Absolutely diddly squat!  No bundled software, no network operator extras - of course the last one isn't bad as the O2 skin - used to wind me up!

Conclusion
Great phone, glad I waited instead of going for the M600 or M5000.  The thickness my put some people off, but a big step up from the M2000 - good phone, but just that bit too big!  This phone all those features and a 2Mp camera - hurrah I can use the OCR of pictures within OneNote Mobile...

[hennapod]

Interesting that there's been all this talk of the M3100 and Vario II being released and now Vodafone have got there first. Are many others after this one?

It seems most want the T-mobile one. I'm going for the Orange because of the free broadband offer.

[markthebaggie]

kvl, on Aug 7 2006, 13:12, said:

Thought I'd put my two pence in, normally by the time I decide to post - it has already been covered.

Well, my girlfriend upgraded her phone to the M600 on Sun 28th - which meant she had a better phone than me (M2000) couldn't have THAT!, I've had my eye on the Hermes for ages, so I've been hunting and I was finally successful!

So on Thursday 3rd I went into a Vodafone shop and instead of the blank look I had received in previous shops, the sales assistant told me they were not allowed to sell the v1605 in the shops yet, but is only being sold over the telephone by Vodafone Direct (0870 0700191).

So of course I called them, telephone menu system a bit painful and annoying, but got through to a helpful guy, who had not heard of the phone, but was surprised by the specs.  On a £35 price plan, with £60 data bundle, still unsure about this and will double check before I start using 3G, it cost me £75...
Anyway, the choice was waiting til Monday or paying an extra £7 for rush delivery on Sat...so Saturday it was

1st impressions:
Hardware
Fatter that I though, but nice and compact, loads of hardware buttons, 6 on the side on the device including the jog dial (a god send and I have been waiting for a phone again with a Jog Dial, since my Sony Z5)  However the Z5's Jog dial you could go Up, Down, In (Enter/OK), click back and click forward...great design...  
No standard headphone socket, but instead it shares the mini usb port - annoying gonna have to look for a adapter...  Was confused by the Ok button on the left side of the device, next to the Jog Dial - why another Ok button, the Navigation pad has one and there is another one under the right WM5 soft key.  Ah! playing with the phone, reveals that this is actually a Ok in the sense of closing the current window, or if you are on the Today Screen opens the Start Menu - brilliant!  The camera button on the bottom righthand side, is a bit of a pain in Portrait mode - however makes sense in Landscape.
The navigation pad feels a bit plastic fanstatic!  And I cannot seem to change the two hardware buttons under the soft key buttons (Start menu and the Ok button) - any suggestions?
MicroSD - Ridiculously small - of course my 2Gb SD card is pointless now - however the g/f already has her eyes on it...  Over to MobyMemory then...

Software
My old device - (M2000/Blue Angel) was of course WM2003SE, so this was my first play at WM5 - well needed improvements, but the soft keys are gonna take some getting used to.  Hopefully the bluetooth on this device works better than the M200 BlueTooth Stack
Comm Manager - my favourite improvement - instead of me poking the bottom right of the screen for the WiFi, a hardware button and quick and easy access for, WiFi, BlueTooth, Vibrate, ActiveSnyc , Flight mode, Push email - I think and another - guess I will have to open the manual!
At Last I can use OneNote Mobile - very cool program so am going to enjoy using it.

The Vodafone experience
I've been used to Orange and O2 personalizing their phones and bundling software - Vodafone must have missed that meeting.  Absolutely diddly squat!  No bundled software, no network operator extras - of course the last one isn't bad as the O2 skin - used to wind me up!

Conclusion
Great phone, glad I waited instead of going for the M600 or M5000.  The thickness my put some people off, but a big step up from the M2000 - good phone, but just that bit too big!  This phone all those features and a 2Mp camera - hurrah I can use the OCR of pictures within OneNote Mobile...

Just spoken to Vodaphone - had to get referred to sales number 0800 068 6695. Still in stock, but the deals I was offered were:-

£60 for handset on an 18 month contract. 200 minutes per month with inclusive 500 texts for £30. 50% discount for the 1st six months. Data to any internet site is funded by effextively swapping 20 texts for 1mb of data. Given I use about 50 texts per month, that would leave 450 to use for data - or 22.5 mb.

Alternatively, I could have a 12 month contract with no discount for the 1st 6 months, and pay £140 for the handset.

Given I'm on T-Mobile unlimited web access for £7.50 per month, and I use it a LOT, then I don't think I'll be taking it up. Going to give it a bit more thought before deciding.....

[MARKUKCOUK]

Thanks for the mini review kvl Just gotta wait for Orange to offer me a bizarre free deal (see my other posts), or T Mobile to finally release it!

Its got to the point now, where whoever releases it first, will get me in a 18 month contract.....

If other people feel the same... theres a lot riding on this phones release date!

whos it gonna be?

[Stuart_f]

markthebaggie, on Aug 7 2006, 15:21, said:

Data to any internet site is funded by effextively swapping 20 texts for 1mb of data.

I live in the wild north of Scotland where T-mobile simply doesn't work so that leaves me with O2, Vodafone or Orange as a provider.  I've never heard of the swapping texts for data deal, is this standard on all voda plans or was this a special you were quoted?  Do you need to nominate in advance how many you want to swap or is it flexible?  Doesn't sound too bad a deal to me if you can't get T-Mobile.

Apologies for all the questions, suppose I should phone Voda themselves and ask but I fear I may get one answer and then find out it's not true...

[WILBUR]

Stuart_f, on Aug 7 2006, 20:10, said:

I've never heard of the swapping texts for data deal, is this standard on all voda plans or was this a special you were quoted?  Do you need to nominate in advance how many you want to swap or is it flexible?  Doesn't sound too bad a deal to me if you can't get T-Mobile.

I had the same experience just now - they will give me 200mins + 500 texts for £30 pm (+6m 1/2price) + £80 for handset (not as good as markthebaggie) with next day delivery or exactly the same as markthebaggie for a 12m contract.   You can swap 20 texts for 1mb of data (or 3 for 1 MMS) - just like Flext works except that the voice minutes are ringfenced - so the tariff includes up to 25Mb of data.

I don't mind which network i use, and I am tempted by Vod because they have invested much more in their 3G network that T-Mobile, but I don't know if 25Mb is enough.  I currently get by with much less at the moment (cos data is so expensive on Orange), but I turn off the pictures, and use low-graphics version of sites.  With a 3G phone I can easily see myself using much more data, and I don't want to end up handicapped with only 25MB for the next 18 months!  2Gb on WnW would be so much better - but my need for instant gratification and my lack of patience waiting for T-Mob to release this might just tip the balance!

[julianmclean]

WILBUR, on Aug 8 2006, 11:16, said:

I had the same experience just now - they will give me 200mins + 500 texts for £30 pm (+6m 1/2price) + £80 for handset (not as good as markthebaggie) with next day delivery or exactly the same as markthebaggie for a 12m contract.   You can swap 20 texts for 1mb of data (or 3 for 1 MMS) - just like Flext works except that the voice minutes are ringfenced - so the tariff includes up to 25Mb of data.

This sounds intruiging, but the question is how extra does additional data cost? If it the same price as extra texts would be, its about £2 per Mb by my reckoning which is a bit steep. Anyone know?

[WILBUR]

julianmclean, on Aug 8 2006, 12:19, said:

This sounds intruiging, but the question is how extra does additional data cost? If it the same price as extra texts would be, its about £2 per Mb by my reckoning which is a bit steep. Anyone know?

but since the texts are in a bundle, it is infact a lot cheaper than 10p each -

if your text bundle is an add-on, and not part of the monthly fee, the options are
Cost - Texts - Per Text  - Max MB -  Cost per MB
£3   -    50    -     6p     -    2.5MB       -    £1.2
£6     -  100  -     6p     -    5MB       -       £1.2
£14   -  250   -    5.6p   -   12.5MB     -     £1.12
£25   -  500    -   5p      -   25MB     -       £0.98            
£40  -  1000  -    4p   -      50MB             £0.78

but as some tariffs have texts included in the monthly plan, and the "online plans" have even more texts added in - e.g the 18mth 200 min + 500 text for £30 mentioned above, it is difficult to work out how much value the texts are worth.  You could compare it to the 18mth 200min + 250 text for £25 which is also offered, which implies an extra 250 texts (or 12.5Mb) cost £5 - only 2p a text or 40p a MB....

So actually it isn't that expensive, but of course nothing near the 2GB WnW - except that there are less restrictions on the use...

Edited by WILBUR, 08 August 2006 - 11:50 AM.

[kvl]

tbh, I was more interested in getting the phone, the call plan sounded quite interesting with 500 mins and a data bundle of 500texts/60 Mb Data.  My GRPS/3G settings aren't working, so I'm going to call them in a min and double check everything.  Must admit I prefer to see things in writing, so if there is any problems then...  Will let people know...
I was on the 4Mb plan on Orange and was ALWAYS careful, so the 60Mb will be nice... Time will tell!

As with the dodgy Hermes with the S/N before HTC630XXX..., sods law Yes I have one of those - no problems so far, but watching with an Eagle eye!
I was reading the xda developers forum and they mentioned about problems with the backlight blue screen - the funny thing was that I thought it would be great if it had this - like the M2000, but didn't realize it until I started to use it last night - Hurrah!
Have yet to use the headphones as waiting for my MicroSD card from MobyMemory and then I'll have a play.
The one thing that is nice over the M2000, is that you can click it on your belt without tipping over on one side.  Seriously the M2000 wasn't THAT bad, but I'm forgetting I have the  TyTN on me...

[kvl]

Well that was interesting.
Bless the girl I spoke to, she had not heard of the device - but she investigated further.  First she said that I would have to be registered for the £15/month Blackberry plan - well that went down like a ton of bricks, so then we worked out that my GPRS and 3G settings are set up for PAYT, she mentioined it was a long process to set up, so said she would email me the instructions - perfect...  I'll work through them and let people know and post them up.

On a different note - I can't find Tasks in the Program menu.  It exists in the Windows Folder and loads, but no Shortcut - anyone have any ideas how to add?  It's not a major problem as I have Dashboard 3 - but still!  There no Online backup that I loved with Orange form ActionEngine, or any backup at all - I guess it will be Sprite then!

I'll have to work out what else is missing...

[matho]

julianmclean, on Aug 8 2006, 12:19, said:

This sounds intruiging, but the question is how extra does additional data cost? If it the same price as extra texts would be, its about £2 per Mb by my reckoning which is a bit steep. Anyone know?

It's £2.35 per MB...

The reason I know is that I've just spoken to Vodafone and got offered the following as an upgrade:
125 minutes  + £120 of text/data (~50MB) @ £25 per month. As it's an upgrade the handset is coming in at £100 for 18 month contract or £160 for 12 month contract.

I don't do many calls on my personal phone, so 125 minutes should be fine. What do we think? I'm quite tempted... Actually, VERY tempted!!  

Edited by matho, 08 August 2006 - 06:06 PM.

[Stuart_f]

matho, on Aug 8 2006, 19:01, said:

It's £2.35 per MB...

The reason I know is that I've just spoken to Vodafone and got offered the following as an upgrade:
125 minutes  + £120 of text/data (~50MB) @ £25 per month. As it's an upgrade the handset is coming in at £100 for 18 month contract or £160 for 12 month contract.

I don't do many calls on my personal phone, so 125 minutes should be fine. What do we think? I'm quite tempted... Actually, VERY tempted!!  

Does that come with stop the clock, 6 months half price and/or mobile tv for the 18 month plan?  If so it's a very good deal and I might be joining you on it soon!
Can you even get mobile TV on a Hermes?

Can I be cheeky and ask what you spend a month to get this upgrade deal? Just so I know what to expect when I call.

[kvl]

Well, 2nd call to Vodafone - he couldn't find the phone.  Nor the history of the previous conversation I'd had at 13:15...  As he could not find the phone, he could not find any technical specs...Well we went through the basic Vodafone settings and he spoke to his technical team - their computers were down! Ahem...  Well in the end he said there was nothing more he could do, and suggested I go to a Vodafone store and work out either it is a problem with the Sim card or the phone...

So at the moment have a Data Bundle and cannot use it...

Still confused about Tasks not being on the Program list - it is a very basic problem but useful all the same.

As a SPV user from the Year Dot with the Canary I've been pleasantly surprised at how much a good job Orange did from the start, from including things like Orange Backup on the Canary, to the SD card that came with my MPX200, to the spare battery of the M2000.  Vodafone has been quiet on the Smartphone front and my first experience of them is that they have not been watching and taking notes...  My understanding from Gears (Coolsmartphone) is that Vodafone doesn't / hasn't being in contact, I'm not sure if Paul here  MoDaCo has any communication with Vodafone?!?  Paul... Come on Vodafone, having lurked in the wings for a good 4 years, shows us what you have got/learnt and what makes you different from the other networks!?!

I used to use Mapolpolis on my old phone - does the job - but was wondering if there is better program people can recommend?!?

Edited by kvl, 08 August 2006 - 09:15 PM.

[matho]

Stuart_f, on Aug 8 2006, 21:04, said:

Does that come with stop the clock, 6 months half price and/or mobile tv for the 18 month plan?  If so it's a very good deal and I might be joining you on it soon!
Can you even get mobile TV on a Hermes?

Can I be cheeky and ask what you spend a month to get this upgrade deal? Just so I know what to expect when I call.

Yes, it includes Stop The Clock. I didn't ask about the 6 month/mobile TV on 18 month contracts, but worth asking for! Actually, I reckon that they'll probably say that 6 month half price deals are only for new customers. I was on an old tarriff where I got 200 minutes to any network at any time and my monthly bill was generally around £50-£60. I've also been with VF for as long as mobiles have been around, so that may have helped as well!

I would say it's a very competitive tariff, so I decided to go for it  and placed an order. The phone will arrive on Friday. Can't wait! I am aware of the various teething problems that have been reported here and on xda-developers, but I'm an early adopter by nature and never have the patience to wait for my toys!!

[WILBUR]

I'm getting really tempted to go to Vodafone -
- They have it in stock
- The text/data bundles seem not bad value
- webNwalk is excellent but I know that T-Mob has spent only 1/3 as much as Vod on its network over the past couple of years, so I am really worried that their 3G coverage might not be very good
- Vod are subsidising the handset quite a lot - £60 on a £30 12m contract is pretty reasonable IMO

I just phoned up Orange to get my PAC code ready - they said they could only POST it to me and it would take 2 working days!  what is that about - when i last asked for it a couple of months ago they just texted it too me in a couple of hours - Now i can't order one today....

Edited by WILBUR, 09 August 2006 - 12:05 PM.

[simonclark123]

I am in London and am also an Orange dealer, so the best deal for me is to get 2 x M3100 on a 2yr 2000 minute sharer tariff, use the mins for voice in other phones, then unlock the handsets for data use on T-Mobile Web'n'Walk Pro (rumour has it that I'll get HSDPA within the M25 on T-Mobile).

However, just thought I'd let everyone know that I went into Voda Cheapside today and they offered me a v1605 free on a £35 18-mth tariff (first 3 months half price) - 700 minutes, 500 texts (or data equivalent).
They've only got 2 at the moment, and no dummy to put on display, so they're in the storeroom.

Regards

[kvl]

Well, I went into a Vodafone store and we tried a Sim Swop to determine where the problem was the phone or the sim.  Yes it was the Sim, so I arranged an exchange and was going to leave the phone.  BUt of course I needed to do a Hard Reset.

How to do a Hard Reset:
Turn phone off, hold down th two WM5 soft buttons, press in the stylus for about 5/10 secs, until the Rainbow screen is shown.

Anyways, I thought I'd just do a test and the GPRS and 3G worked and Tasks were back in the Office Folder.

The guy in the shop was v helpful!

So, back to installing my programs back on...

[dil]

Hi All,

i've just done the following deal with Voda over the phone

£60 for phone on 18 mnth contract , £25 a month (6 months half price) equals 200 mins + 250 texts, I can mix the texts with data if needed, and free delivery by 10 a.m. tomorrow.

apparently i can drop down after 9 months so that

phone =              60
price  = 6*12.50  =75
            3*25       =75
            9*20      =180

total                  =390

on orange

phone =            149.99
9*25  =              225
9*19 =              171
total  =           546

voda is defo the cheapest way to get into this phone on a 18 month contract.

[Stuart_f]

My offer was the phone for £50 with an 18 Month contract at £30 a month (200 mins/500 texts)
6 Months half price line rental, stop the clock and 3 months free insurance.

Not a bad offer at all, now I need to decide if the rumours of new tarrifs on 1 Sept are worth waiting for or if my birthday will be enough to tip me over the edge and buy it...

[dil]

Voda do say that you can change to a more expensive or equally priced plan, but cnat change down in the 1st 9 months, so after 6 months 1/2 price, you could ask them to change you to the new £30 price plan,

its a win win situation if you ask me.

Dont know if there's actually any truth in the 6 month 1/2 price available only till end of August , b'cos i'm sure i say that last month say till end of July, but you never know.