O2 Grabs Samsung I7500 Android Handset Comments

Honestly o2!!!! I swear someone at o2 is on a quest to convert all their subscribers to a minimum ARPU of like £30/month...

Anyway, i buy my phones sim free - have done since 1997 and i will do so FOREVER! Its just gonna take me longer each year to save for one, is all :)

This year, i'm looking at a touch-screen phone. Either a 2nd-rev 3GS (when they fix the over-heating), Samsung android device such as this one, or the SonyEricsson android device should it run smooooooth..

If not, i'll leave it a year and make do with my Nokia 6233 for another year :)

It should be illegal.

Beginning to sound like unfair (competitive) practise to me. I can't understand why the manufacturers are so star/awe struck with shacking up with O2. But there you go....

Things will only get worse once they get T-Mobile. Exorbitant 3GS style contract pricing will become standard. And they have the nerve to complain when handset makers treat them like what they are "dumb pipes". One of the only benefits of living in the uk if any was the competitive mobile phone market, in five years we'll probably only have two choices when it comes to phones 3/voip or O2. The UK phone market is starting to look more and more like the that of the US. Charges to receive sms' anyone?

Although they're buying strong marketshare in the smartphone area, there are still so many other types of phones out there on other networks that I don't think that this can be classed as uncompetitive.

I wonder if some other providers at this time have just decided that this is a part of the market that they don't want to be in. If the typical smartphone user is anything like me, they use their contracts to the maximum. I use the web constantly, for browsing and for e-mail, and when I go away I tether it to my notebook and use data at a rate that would make an O2 executive cringe (well, in fact they do write to me every other month to say I'm breaching their fair use policy).

There is another way though, and hopefully coming very soon - HTC Hero. The irony is that I'll probably end up putting it on to my existing O2 contract...

This is such a shame as I was looking at this phone as a replacement for my aging 6300. My problem is that O2 is the only operator with no coverage at work so another handset bites the dust for me.

I do think that this is down to the greed of the manufacturers rather than the operators fault as if they restrict supply of their premium handsets they can keep prices artificially high in addition to making more money from the operator....who then forward that on to us.

I guess if Apple hadn't made such a desirable product with the iPhone then the original sales model it started would not be such an attractive proposition. Looks like this trend will continue to grow and with this it will get worse for the consumer.

Perhaps the EU should spend less time looking at Microsoft and a little more time focusing on the this new practice.

Today's word children is : 'ANTITRUST'.

Oh ffs. This is getting silly now. Go away O2!

The networks will vehemently resist becoming dumb pipes. O2 appears to have awakened to the idea that the best way they can differentiate their 'product' from rivals', which is essentially exactly the same, is to have a line-up of devices exclusive to their network. I'm not entirely sure if I agree or disagree with this development at this time. We're going to have to wait a little longer yet to see what impact it has on the market.

Surely the regulators need to step in. It's not often I look towards the French but they were spot on when they stopped iPhone network exclusivity. There's a worrying trend of longer contract and higher prices. What happened to 18 months with a free phone?

I think you'd have a hard time showing AntiTrust on this occasion. The Galaxy and the Hero are very similar phones, and the Hero is not network exclusive, with Orange and T-Mobile both announcing it's launch. Add to that the Vodaphone offering in the Magic, plus up to 15 more Android devices due on the market later this year, and if you're prepared to wait a little bit there should be plenty of nice android devices available on the market within a few months. (just frustrating when like me you're waiting for the right phone to upgrade to).

I agree that the big networks have little to differentiate themselves from each other - 3 has Skype support for free while other operators block access. They also have the widest HSPDA coverage, and supposidly have the fastest average speed across their network.
Vodaphone and O2 have best 2g coverage. Vodaphone has fastest available broadband speeds (claimed).
Lets wait and see what happens... and hope that the Torys dont castrate OfCom

@ravmania: I say 'What happened to *12* months with a free phone?'. Don't worry, next year we'll be saying 'What happened to 24 months with a free phone?'.

Does this recent trend continue because high-end phones (particularly smartphones) are just generally more expensive than they were a few years ago and this manifests as higher contract prices? I mean, I paid £210 for a sim-free W910i 18 months ago, now an 'equivalent' W995i is £350! Too much. Weak pound affecting the prices maybe?

Either that or the networks are just fleecing us...

The most frustraiting thing about this is that they probably wont stock the Hero, which is a real shame as it's the Android handset I want! And they haven't stocked the N97 which is jusr as frustrating as their web bolt on is easily the best available!

I think they've shot themselves in the foot paying for the sole rights for the
Pre (a friend of mine works inside the product/buying department and is my source for this, it may not be 100% accurate but I believe him) as in order to stock this they were...persuaded shall we say....not to stock the N97.

@ AnRuaRI I didn't know T-Mobile had the Hero. That's good news. I didn't see that anywhere, where was it reported?

@Simon
T-Mobile and Orange will both have the Hero, but they're calling it the G1 Touch.

dont think this one is really gonna fly... not the best looking design, plus hero and the rumored se android are on the way....