NZtechfreak: I suppose I should be looking on the bright side here - I can unlock Nokia phones so this could be a money spinner for me!

I'll do it for $20 if anyone needs it done (or you could just look up some posts I've made that link to instructions on debranding handsets). For $20 you can have your phone unlocked, plus you'll also more than likely get a better firmware with enhanced features! This is especially true of the recent N-Series phones, where Vodafone "protecting the customer experience" means you miss out on stuff like flash support in the browser, on demand-paging, user data preservation, auto-rotation, web run time support for widgets, geotagging etc etc...

Just PM me if you need this service.

amanzi: I don't mind if the phone is locked to Vodafone's network, as long as the cost of the phone is hugely subsidised - just like it is in other countries. I'm not going to pay a high price for a phone and then have to pay a fee to unlock it.

On the other hand, why doesn't Vodafone just concentrate on providing a service that's so good that customers won't want to leave?

amanzi: I don't mind if the phone is locked to Vodafone's network, as long as the cost of the phone is hugely subsidised - just like it is in other countries. I'm not going to pay a high price for a phone and then have to pay a fee to unlock it.

On the other hand, why doesn't Vodafone just concentrate on providing a service that's so good that customers won't want to leave?

freitasm:

So far there isn't any indication the handsets will be sold at discounted price because they are locked.

NZtechfreak:

freitasm:

So far there isn't any indication the handsets will be sold at discounted price because they are locked.

Quite true, so far Vodafone have yet to demonstrate any benefit whatsoever to the consumer.

I hope Paul is noticing that nobody here believes Vodafone's party line on this, not even slightly. I mean c'mon Vodafone! Why not respond to competition by improving services, instead of detrimenting the consumer?!?!

"Protecting" the customer's experience of the Vodafone brand may be one reason, but everyone has problems with a company one way or another. If they need to do this they should actually improve customer satisfaction from services, representation and the like. This is what it means to give an excellent customer experience.

I see this as an attempt by Vodafone to maintain the status quo, as the whole game is about to change, with Telecom launching their GSM EDGE / WCDMA network, and NZC also in the mix. What I mean by this is, you can't take a Telecom CDMA handset and use it on the Vodafone network, same as you can’t use a GSM handset (Vodafone) on the Telecom CDMA network, of course due to the technology, but with the whole game changing, Vodafone have made a pre emptive strike, to discourage customers ability to easily swap to another Telco, without buying a new phone, or paying someone or Vodafone to unlock the device.

Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

nzbnw

nzbnw: Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

nzbnw:

I see this as an attempt by Vodafone to maintain the status quo, as the whole game is about to change, with Telecom launching their GSM EDGE / WCDMA network, and NZC also in the mix. What I mean by this is, you can't take a Telecom CDMA handset and use it on the Vodafone network, same as you can’t use a GSM handset (Vodafone) on the Telecom CDMA network, of course due to the technology, but with the whole game changing, Vodafone have made a pre emptive strike, to discourage customers ability to easily swap to another Telco, without buying a new phone, or paying someone or Vodafone to unlock the device.

Secondly, what happens if you send a phone to repair, which is currently unlocked; will the repair agents relock them?

nzbnw