A question about parallel imported Sony Ericsson V800s and Motorola E1000s....

Forums › Vodafone New Zealand › A question about parallel imported Sony Ericsson V800s and Motorola E1000s....

squirrel

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Topic # 5246 12-Oct-2005 00:30

I know there have been some firmware issues with the SE V800 phones available from various parallel importers being incompatible with Vodafone's NZ network. I really need a new phone and I am seriously considering a V800, but I am in the midst of weighing up all the pros and cons. Cost is the biggest negative for me right now, which is why the parallel imported phones are starting to look good. Vodafone Live's 3G features (like streaming video and music downloads) don't really appeal to me. While it would be nice to check them out while they are free, but I don't see myself making any use of it after that. What I am interested in, however, are the other 3G features: faster data speeds (for WAP), video calling and video PXT. Does anyone know if these features work on parallel imported V800s, or did Vodafone cripple these features too? I personally don't see the logic in paying an extra $200-$300 for features I won't even use.

I had originally looked at the V1050, but its lack of Bluetooth is a serious sticking point for me. I have seen the E1000 at some parallel importers, but I haven't heard anything about them in these forums. I believe the E1000 will be in the lineup of Christmas phones from Vodafone. Does anyone have any experience with them? Do the parallel imported versions work at all with Vodafone's 3G service?

I know there are people in this forum who dislike parallel imported phones. Like many others, I do have my reasons for considering this option. I would just rather know exactly what I may be getting myself into, that way I won't come whining back to the forum when things go wrong (not that I would). ;)

~squirrel

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Reply # 21365 12-Oct-2005 07:50

There are no issues with WAP PXT video calling and 3G data on imported handsets as long as they are setup correct

freitasm

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Reply # 21373 12-Oct-2005 09:22

Welcome to Geekzone... Just to complement johnr's reply: WAP, SMS, MMS, video call will work ok with parallel imports. But some features, mostly the ones based on DRM or handset specific set will not work. So, beware: you will not have access to the 3G menus, the video clips, and music downloads.

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zalameh1

35 posts

Geek

Reply # 21390 12-Oct-2005 15:43

i think the only thing youll be missing out on is the actual Vodafone Live 3G site (as well as the normal VLive site). you should be able to use the phone as normal for everything else.
how much are you getting the v800 for?

squirrel

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 21400 12-Oct-2005 17:13

Thank you for your replies, and for your welcome. It is good to hear that the parallel imported V800s work with 3G WAP and video calling. As I said before, I don't care too much for Vodafone Live's 3G services, so it is no big loss for me. I have seen them available for around $580, which is far cheaper than $850 for Vodafone NZ's model. I have seen a Z800i available for a little more, and I think I may just go for that since its ringtones aren't DRM crippled like parallel imported V800s and it isn't locked to the Vodafone network (which is good when I travel overseas for extended periods). Plus, I like the silver colour. ;)

I know there are other issues to consider as well. Warranty and after sales support is the biggest, but my experience in the past with Vodafone's warranties and handset support has left much to be desired, so going parallel imported won't be a huge loss in that respect either.

I did see an E1000 today. It looked quite nice, but the guy at that particular store told me it won't work with 3G (something about it being WCDMA instead of UMTS). I have seen UMTS versions advertised, but I have yet to see one in person. :)

zalameh1

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Reply # 21401 12-Oct-2005 17:16

WCDMA is UMTS isnt it?
how long is the warranty that you get with the v/z800 from where youre getting it from?

johnr

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Reply # 21405 12-Oct-2005 19:08

correct WCDMA is UMTS

squirrel

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 21406 12-Oct-2005 19:12

From what I understand (and I could be completely wrong), WCDMA is the technology behind UMTS, but the two are not necessarily the same thing. I'm not exactly sure how a phone can be WCDMA capable but not UMTS capable, but I'd guess it is possible. I think it would be nice to find a phone that is capable of upgrading to HSDPA, as I suspect that will be the next upgrade to Vodafone's 3G service, but that could be a long way off.

As for the warranty, it varies a lot from place to place, but I would have at least a 3 to 6 month warranty from the parallel importer themselves. Is still haven't decided where yet... :)

squirrel

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 21407 12-Oct-2005 19:14

I guess I was wrong - thanks johnr :)

zalameh1

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Reply # 21408 12-Oct-2005 19:15

from what i know, the reason why wcdma is referred to as umts is so that people dont get confused between cdma and wcdma.

zalameh1

35 posts

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Reply # 21409 12-Oct-2005 19:18

i got a v800 for $525 but with no warranty.. ill only go for a warranty only if it was for 6-12months.. anything under 6months is usually useless, unless youre careless with your phone.

paradoxsm

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Reply # 21426 12-Oct-2005 23:57

The locally sold Sony Ericsson v800 is not restricted to DRM ringtones (You can load any ol MP3 as ringtone) and is unlocked.

You can MMS mp3's under 300k too and almost anything else you want (not DRM'd stuff)
almost any java games will work on it too even if they are "not compatible"

It's a fantastic phone in every way and the first phone i'm truly happy with., only letdowns are the lack of ability to use your own tones as message alerts and the camera is suk-suk in low light but does have a reasonably good flash.

zalameh1

35 posts

Geek

Reply # 21427 12-Oct-2005 23:59

dont you think its a bit too big?

squirrel

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Wannabe Geek

Reply # 21488 13-Oct-2005 19:42

I am currently swaying toward the E1000.

The places I have seen online that advertise the Z800i in fact do not have any in stock. It also seems unlikely they will be getting any in stock any time soon. One store said they had issues with them not working with VFLive (something I tried to assure the salesman that I knew about) and tried to sell me an 802SE instead. The salesman tried to imply that the 802SE would work with VF Live: he didn't say anything directly, but said "none of our customers have complained". I'm pretty sure the 802SE is the same as the V800. The salsman said it was the Japanese version. I could be wrong, but I'd say these have the same firmware issues as the imported v800s. Another store I went to did have a clear disclaimer on their 3G phones stating they may not work with all VF Live services. At least they're being honest. Unfortunately the V800s seem to be popular and the only 3G phones they had left were a Samsung and a Nokia.

I tried an E1000 today. When I turned it on with a SIM in, it was showing it was on a 3G network. I didn't get to try all the features, but it seemed nice. I'd say it is at least comparable to the Z800i/V800 from what I have seen. Does anyone have any experiences with this phone? :)

~squirrel

zalameh1

35 posts

Geek

Reply # 21541 14-Oct-2005 20:32

yeh, the z800i has been out of stock for quite a while now..

i recommend that you read some e1000 reviews before buying it, alot of people werent very happy with that phone while others were very impressed.

all imported v802s are from vodafone japan so are japanese.
is the e10000 cheaper than the v802?

squirrel

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 21589 16-Oct-2005 21:14

I now have a brand new E1000. It was cheaper than the V800 too, at around $520. For a little bit more, I was able to get an extended warranty and a 256MB TransFlash card for it.

I did a fair amount of looking at reviews and forums before I decided to get it. I'm quite happy so far. Vodafone have online configurators for it (wireless.vodafone.co.nz) which made it easy to set up WAP and PXT. It seems to work well with 3G, although there is the same lack of support for streaming video as with the imported V800s. I'd say that this is again a firmware issue. The only problem I have had so far was the email gateway number for PXTs (so I could send PXTs to email addresses). The configurator didn't set it and I couldn't find any reference to it. I managed to figure it out after a little while (it is 099444 in case anyone was wondering), and it is up and running nicely.

From what I have read online, flashing the firmware is a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to do on the E1000 than the V800. I understand the E1000 will be part of Vodafone's next 3G phone release, so finding the NZ firmware will not be as hard. I'm not planning on it, but it is nice to know that possibility is there.

My previous phone was an E398, so the E1000 is not a very big departure from that. It is a little bigger than the E398, but I found the V800 bigger still, albeit a little bit lighter. I've never had a clamshell phone before, so the V800 would have been the first. I have heard stories about hinges breaking and screen cables snapping, so that put me off a little even though the V800 seemed a little more rugged than most clamshells. I also didn't like the keypad on the V800 very much. I did look at the V600, but with no expandable memory it wasn't really an option.

It wasn't any one thing in particular that made me choose the E1000. The price wasn't terribly different. The features of both phones were comparable: the V800 has a slightly better camera (1.3MP vs 1.2MP), but the E1000 has a better screen (QVGA vs 176x220). Both have bluetooth, both play MP3s, both do video PXTs. I just happened to prefer the E1000 a little more.

Thanks you all for your help.

If anyone has questions about the E1000, I'll try my best to answer them. :)

~squirrel

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