But unfortunately according to SE New Zealand, any K700i bought that doesnt have VF Live isnt under warranty even if it is bought through a supplier that stocks legit K700i with VF Live. According to them they arrive in the country with VF Live installed and therefore any unbranded ones are deemed to be parallel imported and do not qualify for warranty.
This message came up because I emailed the Mobilefone repair asking if they had the ability to flash an unbranded K700 with new NON VF Live firmware updates as they came out, they didnt reply to me and instead forwarded the email to SE NZ who replied.
You might want to verify this with SE NZ as well just to make sure, mention that DSE is able to get non VF Live versions and you want to enquire about warranty, see what they say.
Ok i just received another reply from them after I asked what firmware version it would be...
Their reply was:
----------------
Hi Peter,
Our cellular phones buying manager Micah has enquired about this with the supplier of K700 and got back to me with the answer below.
"Upon enquiring further into this with our supplier, they have now in fact informed me they were incorrect and only stock the
Vodafone live! version of this model. My apologies to the customer."
Sorry about that. I would say the only way you can possibly get the variant you are seeking of this phone would be from parallel and
independent importers. We only sell ones approved and also sold by Vodafone.
What exactly is your objection to the Live! version of the phone?
I was dead scared buying it after reading all the stuff online here and overseas. It's absolute FUD with not much truth. I would much rather have support and warranty from vodafone than risk importing such an expensive phone.
Have you seen and used the vodafone branded version?
(sidenote, in vodafone's mobile email newspaper ads they have a third page picture of the k700i with the SE menus :)
Like a similar post earlier, my issues with the customisation are the following...
The changed menu and the forced red and logo (wouldn't mind so much if it was just a little logo somewhereon the phone (maybe even the front :D).
Forced Vodafone Live and the difficulty of accessing other WAP sites.
Changing of buttons to *encourage* vodafone live use. Not only does it force it on you but it limits the phones functionality by taking away what those buttons used to do.
Limited file transfer and bluetooth functionality (see vodafone live above) and general limitations like the MP3 Ringtones etc...
Finally the *locking* of the phone to Vodafone network (ie: can't be used with other operators).
NB: I'm not sure whether the last point has been implemented on the K700... does anyone know?
1. There is no forced red menus, there is only a little logo on the front (see pic above) and a live! logo above the right soft key. You can use any theme you like. As for messing with the menus, they have locked the WAP icon to v live! and used the operator menu as "bookmarks" that you can't change. They've changed the "entertainment" menu to go straight to games rather than games, sound recorder and DJ (they're all accessed other ways).
2. There is no difficulty accessing other WAP sites, you can set your homepage to whatever you want and access it instantly with the "online" key on the right side of the phone, when in WAP you just press "more" > "enter address" and you can go to whatever site you want.
3. Only the right soft key does what you talk about, takes away a "more" menu and replaces it with "live!" - there are lots of shortcuts to live! under pictures, games, etc. but they're easy to live with and avoid.
4. There is no limited file transfer or limited bluetooth functionality. You can transfer any files, games, mp3s you like. The ONLY limitation is MP3 ringtones and alarms.
5. The phone isn't locked to any network, you can use any SIM card and any GPRS network. Like I said I travel between the US and NZ often and have two SIM cards I swap over all the time so this was a must for me.
Not trying to argue with ya, but it's important to remember most of the stuff you read online is crrap and people pushing agendas or plain moaning and blowing things out of proportion. You should definitely consider getting the v! version if you've got your heart set on the k700.
Ok what you have said is good to know for me and others...
I will certainly try the phone out at DSE, was planning to anyway.
However it seems pointless to me to pay $800 to be limited by VF when i can order one for $700 from Expansys, have it in a few days and not have to worry about it. As far as I know they offer the same warranty as VF (the phones come from the same place in the end) and firmware updates will be much more regular (VF Phones must have seperate firmware updates).
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