Orange Monte Carlo not really cheap? [£205.41 true cost]

[Guest skateon]

I was really looking forward to the Skate (Orange Monte Carlo) but so far really disappointed that there is no unlock option at the minute other than wait 3 months + with Orange. If waiting from now until Christmas to have it unlocked wasn't bad enough, i've worked out the true minimum costs if I was to buy the phone today and just use a minimum topup for the next 3 months plus handset and admin unlock fees. The true cost comes to £205.41. Here's how I worked it out:

Orange Monte Carlo Pay&Go Handset Price £149.99 + £10.00 Topup (Month 1)

+

Month 2 Topup Minimum £5.00

+

Month 3 Topup Minimum £5.00

+

Orange Admin Unlock Fee = £20.42

+

upto 30 Day wait for unlock - another £5.00 topup (Month 4 running credit)

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Total: £205.41.

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So £205.41 and up to a 16-week wait does not make this a good deal. Even if there was a way to get round the month 2-4 topups by say just topping up 10p (Orange Tiny Topups) and using another Sim its still comes out at £180+ and a 3 month wait. This does not seem a bargain or really worth the wait. In comparison for example at the minute Play are selling the Sony Xperia X10 for £259 unlocked. Think I'm gonna have to skip the skate (pardon the pun) unless an unlock system comes out sooner...

[Guest skateon]

oh and the only place I can find a Skate unlocked in stock is on eBay total cost from Taiwan £208.27 shipped with another long wait for delivery although shorter than Orange's 3 months. Still £208.27 is far too expensive for a budget brand/mobile despite its large screen

[Guest wrtease]

welcome to the forum.on ebay people are selling the OMC on orange at over £200 pounds plus postage and packaging .daylight robbery ,and will have to stay with orange as you say.so the real price is much much more.its a bargin buying it from the orange shop as i did.unlock will send the price through the roof when it comes.i like the OMC very much ,at mo it does everything on orange can .still call and recieve calls and get internet.4.3 screen is a must for internet browsing.so dont think its crap or to pricy as i say its been well tested by me and im ready for unlock when it comes.look at the blade.its got so many roms to choose,this will happen to the OMC its already happened.it will be an excellent mobile whn all is resolved.thanks for you info.

[Guest Navie]

I would pay £200 easy for a android phone with a 4.3" screen, that's even a bargain and if you have a look around...how many other 4.3" screen phones are there for £200 and under?...only one that comes to mind is a HTC I believe and that's around £400 if I can remember correctly. Besides...Orange are the only Uk phone network which introduced me to ZTE's (last year with the San francisco), they are locked to Orange for a reason and I guess that's just so that they can thrive by customers buying the ZTE brand for its cheapness, Orange only benefit by selling a £10 top up with every Skate :) and don't forget...if it weren't for Orange having the success with the San Francisco last year, ZTE may not have introuced the Skate to the Uk market and then we wouldn't even have ever heard of a Skate...we may as well have been paying £300 or more for a similar spec phone, in a way...Orange ave done good by selecting a lesser known brand (ZTE) and sticking with them, anyway..that's just my opinion and how I view the whole situation :)

Edited September 7, 2011 by Navie

[Guest den169]

A lot of us me included only paid £120 for the monte carlo that included the £10 top up.

[Guest Navie]

A lot of us me included only paid £120 for the monte carlo that included the £10 top up.

That's extremely cheap...wow :) I got mine for £159.99 (£149.99 for the phone + £10 top-up), lucky you.

Then again...£159.99 is still very cheap in my eyes due to the specs compared to other models.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Navie