Nokia N80 on 3

GenericName

Hi guys,

I have a couple of questions for anyone using the Nokia N80 on Three's Network. Or anyone using this operator in general.

Currently I'm a Vodafone customer. I've had a pending upgrade for about 15 months, but no phone has really grabbed my attention in that time. Now I've heard the Nokia N80 is going to be available in the next month or so. Seems like an interesting handset. For me, having been using Sharp for so long, a high res screen is the priority. It's got lots of toys, decent size and I've never had a smartphone. Not too worried about battery life as I've been using Sharps for years and gotten used to daily charging.

However the N80 is available on Three right now with the price at about the same as Vodafone will charge (€399) I reckon. I was thinking of porting to 3 as an alternative option.
As for the 'walled garden', I work for a mobile messaging infrastructure company and so I have a company paid vodafone sim for testing on site and I am allowed use it for personal use also. I will use this sim most of the time. I just want to hold onto my number as some people still contact me with it, and I've got the upgrade. So can anyone tell me..

1. What is the branding like on 3's N80. I really detest Vodafone's butchery of all my previous phones. Hopefully 3 are a little less intrusive. Or better still, has anyone debranded their phone successfully with a generic firmware or something?

2. I need to use the handset for testing on different networks so getting it unlocked is a requirement. I've always been able to get unlock codes over the phone from Vodafone immediately. What are 3 like regarding unlock codes? Will I have to wait a year? Or can I have it unlocked by a third party?

3. I reckon 3's VideoTalk & Text 200 is pretty comparable with Vodafone's Perfect Fit 100 with Text Add On. Better value even. Anyone disagree?

4. Can I buy insurance from 3?


Cheers guys

Edit: Just noticed that there is a thread dedicated to topics on Three. To the mods: If required just delete this thread and I can ask my question in there.

skearon

1 - Never seen 3's branding on N80, however have debranded a number of N80s and it's quick process, plus latest V4 firmware appears very stable.

2 - Vodafone Billpay customers always get unlocking codes quickly, 3 seem to be the worst network and claim they cannot supply Nokia BB5 unlocking codes.


You may be better off getting a SIM free N80.

paulshir

You won't be able to use your vodafone sim with 3 because they can't unlock it.
Is the N80 definitely coming out on vodafone? You can get it for €500 on One Day Mobile unlocked