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HTC Desire: Orange vs. T-mobile UK

T

thom.locke

Lurker
Hello all,

I've decided to get a HTC Desire but need some advice on service providers. Here are my options:

T-Mobile: free phone, 18 months, 300 mins, 300 texts & unlimited net (1GB) -
 
Depends how heavily you're going to use the net I guess. I've only used around 200Mb in my first month of owning a desire, but thats because I've only been at work and at home, so when I'm at home I turn the wi-fi on and don't use my data allowance. If I was away on a trip or out at more events etc, then I'd end up using closer to 500Mb at least.

As for coverage, I think its relatively equal from what I've seen. I'm on Virgin Mobile, whose 3G network is backed by T-Mobile and to be honest, I've been very impressed. Everywhere around home and work I'm getting a strong 'H' connection. Orange are meant to be equally good though, if not better.

I think the deal clincher is the data allowance, I wouldnt worry about coverage between the two.
 
Just so you know, Oranges 3g network went out on Wednesday and was not restored until late Friday... and even now it remains a bit slow.

This also happened about a month ago, albeit for less time.

I am not very happy with Oranges 3G service
 
Depends on where you live, I am in Essex and Orange coverage is great and T Mobile is lousy, but in fairness so are Vodafone and O2

Andrew
 
Orange and T-Mobile are being merged right now. Before the end of the year, Orange customers will be able to 'Roam' onto the T-Mobile network (for free) if the Orange signal is low, and vice-versa with T-Mobile customers.

I would look for the talk plan that suits you best over the life of your contract.

Just a quick note about Orange talk plans: they have a 500mb 'unlimited' option where you pay a capped rate of
 
bartlet said:
For an Android phone it'll be 3GB although you may have to call and get it upgraded. Personally the data was the main interest for me and the 3GB easily won out. I've not had an Orange contract with data so can't compare coverage, but T-Mobile seems fine for me.
Click to expand...

Deals direct from T-mobile will have 3Gb data.
Purchases through a third party can be different.

I went T-mobile because other networks just didn't compare for the price and data package. 3GB data/mo with 300 minutes, unlimited txts for
 
OFI said:
Deals direct from T-mobile will have 3Gb data.
Purchases through a third party can be different.

I went T-mobile because other networks just didn't compare for the price and data package. 3GB data/mo with 300 minutes, unlimited txts for
Click to expand...
 
Ordered a Desire on T-Mobile. I was about to get it on Orange and though I'd look at the TM plans. The 3Gb of data is what made me change my mind. The plan only came with about 500 texts, but you can pick unlimited texts as a flexible booster.
 
It depends on the area you live in. T-mobile isn't much good around me, so i went with Orange. 500Mb is plenty for me so i don't worry too much about that, although the thought of having 3Gb is nice. I got my phone from Carphone Warehouse and because they're generic phones from there i get updates when they are available rather than when the networks release them. :)
 
I'm on Orange and I find 500mb is plenty, i have never used more than 150mb in a month. I use WiFi at home and only use 3g when out or on holiday. I never find 3g to be that reliable or smooth as WiFi. Orange do put rubbish on your phone that you can't delete, but I like perks such as magic numbers and Orange Wednesday.
 
Jammy said:
Keep in mind that Orange brand their handsets crazily.

I'd say go with T-Mobile :)
Click to expand...

Them and Voda put too much crap on their phones. Luckily they've stopped with their external branding aswell. Hideous.

if the allowances are close calls, then it should come down to signal strength in your area. Also from my experience T Mobile's customer service has been better than Orange.
 
As far as coverage is concerned, it probably depends on the coverage where you live and work, rather than country-wide. If you're interested in country-wide, Orange claims to cover more of the population with its 3G network than other providers. However, I think that its geographical coverage isn't as good as other providers (although if roaming between T-Mobile and Orange becomes possible, it won't be an issue).

I've been happy with T-Mobile since moving from Orange when the Desire was released. Its customer service is better than Orange's.
 
To be fair, not all Desires on Orange are branded. As far as I can tell from my friend, who opted for the black Desire, exclusive to Orange, that's how you get yourself a branded phone. My Desire is the standard brown and mine came with no branding, even though I'm on Orange.
 
Hello everyone,

Many thanks for the replies, still not sure where to go with this. Hadn't considered the issue of orange/T-mo clogging the phone up with crappy software/trials.

The orange deal is through phones 4 u and the T-mobile deal is through buymobilephones.net. Does anyone know if these companies supply unbranded phones?

Lagerfiend, I can't find your T-mo
 
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