O2 kicking ass

Calebmcd

O2 seem to be getting all the new phones

Palm Pre
LG GD900
IPhone

Sure Iphone isn't exclusive anymore, but they do seem to be getting new phones.

Meteor?
Three?
Vodafone?

The other three seem to have the same bunch of phones. Nothing NEW.
Vodafone and Meteor have mentioned NEW Stuff before Christmas.

Vodafones H1 before Christmas, the M1 probably 2010.
Meteor don't know anything.
Three seem to be dropping behind.

I currently have Three, I got stuck with the C902 because thats all they had.
Meteor share the O2 network like Tesco but don't have great options.
O2 have good options but are the most expensive but they have a good network. Vodafone do mention about the future phones coming, they currently have 41 available. 10 might be good.

Iphone is coming to Vodafone but its not everyones cup of tea.

Vodafone>O2>Meteor>Three>Tesco

O2 lose out on pricing, but if they keep getting all the new stuff they could go top.

That new service by Digiweb and the 4G phones seems to have died out, 2 1/2 years later and no news. 088 is still dead.

Simfree Phones might be the best options compared to some of the prices offered.


What does everybody think, do you have any insider news?

godskitchen

O2 knew their time with the iphone was coming to an end, which is why they did everything they could to get the Pre, and keep the same silly pricing plans in place.

We are still way behind the UK in terms of choice, we dont see to get any of the nice HTC phones.

Icdb

meteor... utilises the Vodafone network... when signal is patchy.. not the o2 network

Dankoozy

O2 isn't kicking ass

It doesn't matter what network "gets the phones". only a fool would buy through the network anyway

Unlocked, unbranded, sim free FTW

a network is supposed to do nothing more that move your data around the place. anything else is just an excuse to justify higher prices. i'll go to whatever network is cheapest for what i want and unless the service is unacceptably bad i wont switch. if i want a new phone i will go away and buy one myself

Dankoozy

Icdb wrote: »

meteor... utilises the Vodafone network... when signal is patchy.. not the o2 network

they used the o2 network in 2006 for a while when they were sorting out their coverage. now they just use vodafone 2G in some areas and for a while they used vodafone 3G just outside of cork and possibly other places, not sure if they still do

Kensington

O2 don't kick ass. They're unjustifiably expensive, their coverage and signal quality isn't much better than Meteor's (ie. not good at all) and their ridiculous 18 month contracts are very offputting IMO.

Gotta agree with Dankoozy - a SIM free phone on a SIM-only plan may well work out cheaper in the long run, despite the massive initial outlay for the handset. Plus, the phone is completely unlocked, you get the stock firmware with immediate updates instead of some modified network version, plagued with branding rubbish.

meoklmrk91

O2 are the thorn in my side, I wanted an iPhone but they are ridiculously expensive on 02. Cheapest plan you can get is E40 and no matter what plan you get you have a 1GB of data what the hell is that about.

I wanted a Pre as well and now they have it. I feckin hate Irish carriers could they be anymore ass backwards.

Rsaeire

Seriously, any company that thinks creating specific, overpriced tariffs for one handset needs to rethink their approach in attempting to please customers. To add insult to injury, they then go and release a new handset on those same overpriced tariffs and expect customers to be happy about it? Honestly, they can keep both their handsets and take a running jump, thank you very much.

BostonB

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

O2 are the thorn in my side, I wanted an iPhone but they are ridiculously expensive on 02. Cheapest plan you can get is E40 and no matter what plan you get you have a 1GB of data what the hell is that about.

I wanted a Pre as well and now they have it. I feckin hate Irish carriers could they be anymore ass backwards.

If you are not going to use 1GB of data, or €40 worth of a bill, then you'd be better with a prepay phone, where you can pay per day for data or not use it at all.

I don't think the €40 is a bad plan at all. It used to be €45 for far worst minutes/texts

meoklmrk91

BostonB wrote: »

If you are not going to use 1GB of data, or €40 worth of a bill, then you'd be better with a prepay phone, where you can pay per day for data or not use it at all.

I don't think the €40 is a bad plan at all. It used to be €45 for far worst minutes/texts

The problem isn't that the 1GB would be too much it's that it would be too little. I'm a very heavy internet user and could see myself going well over that, now if I could trade some of the minutes and texts for more data that would make me very happy.

Bluefoam

O2 have some nice phones, but their pricing and terms are insulting.

mobius42

Dankoozy wrote: »

O2 isn't kicking ass

It doesn't matter what network "gets the phones". only a fool would buy through the network anyway

Unlocked, unbranded, sim free FTW

Almost no-one buys phones SIM-free. The vast majority of handsets sold are sold by the carriers and places like Carphone Warehouse. People aren't willing to pay SIM-free prices for smartphones.

O2's strategy is a good one though. Smartphones are where the most money is to be made in the future and they have gained a lot of customers through their exclusive handset deals. Look at Vodafone, for example. When the iPhone launched they laughed at it, but now they can't get it fast enough after seeing how much interest there is. Most of Meteor's customers are PAYG; they have no high end customers because they don't sell any smartphones.

Rsaeire

mobius42 wrote: »

Almost no-one buys phones SIM-free. The vast majority of handsets sold are sold by the carriers and places like Carphone Warehouse. People aren't willing to pay SIM-free prices for smartphones.

O2's strategy is a good one though. Smartphones are where the most money is to be made in the future and they have gained a lot of customers through their exclusive handset deals. Look at Vodafone, for example. When the iPhone launched they laughed at it, but now they can't get it fast enough after seeing how much interest there is. Most of Meteor's customers are PAYG; they have no high end customers because they don't sell any smartphones.

If you think O2 have the best strategy when it comes to smartphones, then you must love spending more money than you should on a handset and accompanying tariff.

As for Meteor, the Nokia E and N series handsets are smartphones and they are some of Meteor's biggest sellers, e.g. E71, N95 etc, so you may want to rethink that comment.

Kensington

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

The problem isn't that the 1GB would be too much it's that it would be too little. I'm a very heavy internet user and could see myself going well over that, now if I could trade some of the minutes and texts for more data that would make me very happy.

Oh, don't worry, if you buy an iPhone, O2 have you covered, since you can't tether it to act as a modem and go online so 1GB should be ample data.

Dankoozy

mobius42 wrote: »

People aren't willing to pay SIM-free prices for smartphones.

you'd be surprised, its actually the cheap phones that are mostly locked and people who buy smartphones are less likely to buy them through the network except for the iPhone because Ohtue's marketing has paid off and quite a few lemmings actually believe that the only way to get one is by joining O2.

but it doesn't really matter if they buy them sim free or not after the duration of the contract they will have paid the same price in the form of inflated call costs

mobius42

Rsaeire wrote: »

If you think O2 have the best strategy when it comes to smartphones, then you must love spending more money than you should on a handset and accompanying tariff.

As for Meteor, the Nokia E and N series handsets are smartphones and they are some of Meteor's biggest sellers, e.g. E71, N95 etc, so you may want to rethink that comment.

I didn't say O2's tariff prices are fantastic; my point was that their strategy of going after much-hyped smartphones is a good one from a business point of view. Tariff prices aside, you can't deny they've made a lot of money through this. Just look at their forums; the iPhone sub-forum is the busiest one on the site and I know people who've bought an iPhone who had never bought anything more than a low-end Nokia before. People are willing to pay more for high-end smartphones and O2 know this.

mobius42

Dankoozy wrote: »

you'd be surprised, its actually the cheap phones that are mostly locked and people who buy smartphones are less likely to buy them through the network except for the iPhone because Ohtue's marketing has paid off and quite a few lemmings actually believe that the only way to get one is by joining O2.

but it doesn't really matter if they buy them sim free or not after the duration of the contract they will have paid the same price in the form of inflated call costs

That's true, but the amount of people who buy a SIM-free smartphone online (like the users on this forum, for example) are negligible in the scheme of things. Also, to be fair to the people buying an iPhone through O2, that is the only way to get one in Ireland that doesn't involve hacking the device. Jailbreaking, while quite easy, is a bit beyond the average phone user.

long_b

Seems to me if O2 are kicking their competitor's asses they're doing something completely different to their customer's posteriors

BostonB

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

The problem isn't that the 1GB would be too much it's that it would be too little. I'm a very heavy internet user and could see myself going well over that, now if I could trade some of the minutes and texts for more data that would make me very happy.

Get a blackberry then its unlimited.

Rsaeire

mobius42 wrote: »

I didn't say O2's tariff prices are fantastic; my point was that their strategy of going after much-hyped smartphones is a good one from a business point of view. Tariff prices aside, you can't deny they've made a lot of money through this. Just look at their forums; the iPhone sub-forum is the busiest one on the site and I know people who've bought an iPhone who had never bought anything more than a low-end Nokia before. People are willing to pay more for high-end smartphones and O2 know this.

To be honest, and I mean this with the most respect to you, I don't care if O2's strategy "is a good one", when I, as a consumer, am being ripped off in order for O2 to make more of a profit.

- Did O2 need to gouge customers with overpriced, mandatory iPhone tariff plans? No.

- Did O2 need to make unlocking the iPhone practically impossible for the average user? No.

- Did O2 need to increase the average length of contracts in order for customers to avail of the most overpriced and over hyped handset released on their network? No.

They did all this to make the most money, regardless of the public backlash that ensued as a result. Where is the consumer interest in any of the aforementioned points? While they may be a business, businesses have to retain customers and customer loyalty is what matters most; something they have clearly forgotten.

To make matters worse, those same overpriced tariffs are ever prescient when buying a Palm Pre. While some people might complain, kick up a fuss, but in the end give in to O2's horrendous conditions, I would rather stand my ground and talk with what matters most, my wallet, and buy elsewhere.

mobius42

Rsaeire wrote: »

- Did O2 need to gouge customers with overpriced, mandatory iPhone tariff plans? No.

- Did O2 need to make unlocking the iPhone practically impossible for the average user? No.

- Did O2 need to increase the average length of contracts in order for customers to avail of the most overpriced and over hyped handset released on their network? No.

I completely agree. But yet, thousands of people bought the iPhone anyway and I don't think there has been that big of a backlash against them. O2 is a business and profit is king. They found a way to make as much money as possible out of the situation and it worked. It will be interesting to see what happens when Vodafone start selling the iPhone; then we'll see the consequences of O2's iPhone strategy.

Rsaeire wrote: »

To make matters worse, those same overpriced tariffs are ever prescient when buying a Palm Pre. While some people might complain, kick up a fuss, but in the end give in to O2's horrendous conditions, I would rather stand my ground and talk with what matters most, my wallet, and buy elsewhere.

This is the only thing that will change a business's mind. Unfortunately, a lot of people felt differently to you and had no problem signing up to O2's terms. As long as people keep buying them, O2 won't change their tariffs.

meoklmrk91

BostonB wrote: »

Get a blackberry then its unlimited.

Hmm, I never knew blackberrys had unlimited data, I guess I'm off to cnet to see which model they recommend. Thanks!

Dankoozy

its like a throwback to the good old days when phones were built specifically to operate on one particular network.

it seems to be working alright for them now but i'm still hoping that people will cop on to the fact that they're being ripped off. more countries should just ban SIM-locking altogether to divert the somewhat possible but unlikely rise of the perma-locked handset

Rattlehead_ie

More HTC love from all providers is needed, that is all!

mobius42

Rattlehead_ie wrote: »

More HTC love from all providers is needed, that is all!

I've always found it odd that you see so few HTC handsets on the market in this country. They make some really good handsets (the Android ones particularly) but almost no carrier ever sells and advertises them. Anyone any idea why?

drunkmonkey

Beacuse of the cost, the average person does not spend €600 odd on a phone, only freaks like us:D

as for o2 and the iphone it's like buying a laptop and finding out you can only use o2 broadband on it forever, it makes no sense, I really think some of these o2 iphone users are a little soft in the head.
Shame on apple though, they really need to stop taking the pennys from iphone users pocket and let the phone free.

mobius42

drunkmonkey wrote: »

just to put things in perspective for mobius, nokia sold 3 times more phones in the last 3mts than apple have since the iphone was launched in 2007. iphones are not where the money is.

I was talking from the carrier's perspective. The networks make more money off people buying Blackberries and iPhones than they do off the average Nokia phone PAYG user.

drunkmonkey

mobius42 wrote: »

I was talking from the carrier's perspective. The networks make more money off people buying Blackberries and iPhones than they do off the average Nokia phone PAYG user.

Blackberry yes, iphone no.

Apple get a percentage of every iphone users bill on o2. They make less money off iphone users. Apple are the only mobile manufacturer to do this. It's also the reason vodafone turned down apple when it was launching. Apple didn't turn down vodafone over o2.

mobius42

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Apple get a percentage of every iphone users bill on o2.

Not anymore. They got rid of that when they launched the iPhone 3G. That's why the 3G was on so many more networks than the original.

drunkmonkey

I thought that was still going, I just googled it, I was thinking vodafone wouldn't agree to it, should have known..:o

Don't know why they don't all sell it then, maybe there waiting to see the new ones later next year..:)

godtabh

Rsaeire wrote: »

To be honest, and I mean this with the most respect to you, I don't care if O2's strategy "is a good one", when I, as a consumer, am being ripped off in order for O2 to make more of a profit.

- Did O2 need to gouge customers with overpriced, mandatory iPhone tariff plans? No.

- Did O2 need to make unlocking the iPhone practically impossible for the average user? No.

- Did O2 need to increase the average length of contracts in order for customers to avail of the most overpriced and over hyped handset released on their network? No.

They did all this to make the most money, regardless of the public backlash that ensued as a result. Where is the consumer interest in any of the aforementioned points? While they may be a business, businesses have to retain customers and customer loyalty is what matters most; something they have clearly forgotten.

To make matters worse, those same overpriced tariffs are ever prescient when buying a Palm Pre. While some people might complain, kick up a fuss, but in the end give in to O2's horrendous conditions, I would rather stand my ground and talk with what matters most, my wallet, and buy elsewhere.

Did o2 make any one buy an iPhone? No