Vodafone. Samsung or Huawei, nothing else.

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › Vodafone. Samsung or Huawei, nothing else.

dafman

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#233410 15-Apr-2018 10:59

As a Vodafone customer looking to replace a phone, just a short rant about Vodafone's woeful offerings for quality android handsets. In the past they used to offer a wide selection, but today have narrowed their selection down to just two options: Samsung or Huawei.

So no luck if you are a Vodafone customer interested in any of the following top brands:

Sony

Nokia

Motorola

HTC

Pixel.

DarthKermit

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#1996373 15-Apr-2018 11:18

Any particular reason why you choose to stay with Voda?

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung (affiliate link).

Linux

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#1996410 15-Apr-2018 12:09

NZ market is too small when you look at the global customer base

John

sbiddle

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#1996432 15-Apr-2018 12:38

I'm not sure what your point actually is. There is nothing stopping you from buying any of those phones and using them with Vodafone.

Due to the downward pressure on price getting a free phone is now not something that happens in NZ - compare this to other markets such as the US where plans are based primarily around people signing up for a fixed period and getting a phone included. At the end of the term you sign up again for another phone.

Our high prepay usage combined with the great value of open term contracts means that most people buy phones outright, and due to the small market size partnerships with all vendors simply isn't possible. The process of testing handsets and customising firmware and then supporting a handset doesn't make sense if you might only sell a few hundred of them.

Telco's sell the handsets that people want, and the simply reality is Apple and Samsung do make up a significant percentage of global handset sales.

scuwp

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#1996446 15-Apr-2018 13:31

Why not just buy the phone you want and put a VF SIM card in with the plan of your choice? I’m not sure what your point is, you want a single retailer to stock every single phone in existence?

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

sdavisnz

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#1996496 15-Apr-2018 15:34

Bruh, that's what parallel importers are for. Get the phone you want at a fire price.

Voice gives context

dafman

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#1996511 15-Apr-2018 16:01

scuwp: I’m not sure what your point is, you want a single retailer to stock every single phone in existence?

My point is simple, Vodafone's phone choice is woeful. Not every single phone in existence, but a little broader choice than two brands would be nice.

dafman

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#1996514 15-Apr-2018 16:07

scuwp: Why not just buy the phone you want and put a VF SIM card in with the plan of your choice?

Which I may do, but there are advantages to bundling a handset within a term contract vs outright purchase upfront, so a choice greater than two would be nice, that's all.

Linux

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#1996522 15-Apr-2018 16:15

You left Apple off your list

Linux

dafman

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#1996548 15-Apr-2018 16:59

Linux:

You left Apple off your list

Linux

I always leave Apple off my list (-;

(my opening post referred to the options for Android handsets).

MikeHales

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#1996556 15-Apr-2018 17:28

Vodafone own handsets are Android

dafman

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#1996592 15-Apr-2018 19:50

MikeHales: Vodafone own handsets are Android

Yes, and excellent value for money. I know lots of happy owners. But different class of handset, not comparable with flagship releases from major manufacturers.

thegeekboy

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#1997080 16-Apr-2018 14:01

dafman:

As a Vodafone customer looking to replace a phone, just a short rant about Vodafone's woeful offerings for quality android handsets. In the past they used to offer a wide selection, but today have narrowed their selection down to just two options: Samsung or Huawei.

So no luck if you are a Vodafone customer interested in any of the following top brands:

LG

Sony

Nokia

Motorola

HTC

Pixel.

I thought that they probably sold Sony - but you're right.

Selling their own Vodafone branded phones make sense, and so do the big hero phones like iPhone and Galaxy.

I'm pretty sure that Spark have an exclusive deal with Nokia, so you won't find them on 2degrees either. No Motorola, Pixel or LG phones with Spark and just the Sony XA.

I laughed when I saw this though - you missed one brand

BlackBerry! :)

tanivula

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#1997158 16-Apr-2018 15:26

Although I prefer not to buy handsets from spark/voda etc, there are instances when buying elsewhere would mean a device that doesn't function properly.

Case in point being the threads about the Mi Mix (from memory) and the Essential phone vs the Spark network. Both these handsets have the compatible bands but fail at dealing with voice calls (falling back from 4g -> 3g).

Yes, you can get better value/range buying from a 3rd party but if you want to guarantee something will work, then one must purchase from the network???