btw I got my phone unbranded very soon after sending my original message, and have only just checked back, so i thought i should give you guys a follow-up
unbranded T610 is a joy, i'd be suspicious that anyone saying otherwise is working for vodafone
a friend purchased a Z600 for me in Singapore for $400, comes unbranded, I have passed my T610 on, mainly because the Z600's screen is better, and protected (my T610 one was getting scratched)
Z600 has some firmware issues though and I am unable to get an upgrade here, fortunately my friend is visiting Singapore and so will get it done then
i like vodafone as a brand but if they're going to impact on the functionality of the phone with their branding then they're doing something wrong
Have bought the dongle and unbranded my new T610 and and pleased I did :)
Kept the GDFS data in case I need to revert back to original flash (maybe for warranty purposes).
So all I can add is I can unbrand phones in New Plymouth for those who want to take the plunge... it's worth it.
People I work with recently all got new T610's.
About 30 minutes after that I had a queue at my desk to "Get rid of this Vodafone S**t"
So to those posters who say it's what consumers want... I have to say I strongly disagree!
Someone likened it to installing the RealPlayer software on your computer. It takes the damn thing over and pops up to annoy you when you least expect it.
Interestingly, SonyEricsson have taken some pretty major steps to stop home users with dongles etc from upgrading/changing their phone. The latest versions of firmware for T6x0's and Z600's change the phone to only accept signed flashing applets... something akin to how you can't run anything unsigned on the Xbox, the same is now true of SE platform. Can't say I blame SE though, the last thing you want is home users all with the ability to change IMEI/unlock phones etc.
Do I sense a touch of sarcarm here?
Whoa betide consumers actually changing their phones to something more useful.
I am so pleased I changed my firmware.
So will wait and see what people say about the new firmware but am glad I have at least R4.
I completely agree about the branding issue. I think Sony Ericsson put a lot of R&D into their phones and software, and Vodafone group probably spent a day recustomising it so that everwhere the customer looks, Vodafone is in their face. It's not fair. We're not buying subsidised handsets in most cases, why should we put up with Voda crippling our phones?
I've had my T610 for around 4 months with their disgusting firmware, and as soon as I find someone in Wellington reflashing em reasonably cheaply I'm going for it!
I work for a store that sells Vodafone mobiles and our Vodafone rep told us how annoyed voda are at the level of control people have over their handsets already, ie the ability to beam ringtones etc over IR and upload java files without going through their live portal. It's disgusting! Remember on the GX10 they locked down the firmware so tight that you COULDN'T beam pictures or ringtones, although in the GX10i they were somehow forced to enable IRFTP, probably by angry customers I'd say.
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