XSeries is coming to three - June 25th!

randomer

I got a call from three late last week. During the call I was offered a free upgrade to a Nokia N73. During the call, I spoke to a team leader and gave out about the lack of X Series. I was annoyed with three and threatened to cancel my account. He told me that I could have the upgrade now, as X Series was being released on the 25th June. He told me that if they fail to launch it by the end of June I would be allowed to cancel my account without penalty.

I decided not to get the phone, as I dont want the N73. I am holding out for the Nokia E65 or the new Sony 950i.

So it looks like X Series will be here next month!

AlmightyCushion

Didn't say anything about pricing?

Yggr of Asgard

N73 as X-series is now in a 3 store for 399€ on PrePay with a 100€ call credit.

It's 399€ according to them because the phone is 484€ and they deduct 85€ as a 3Pay discout.

Davy

did they have much about it or was it just in the corner? which 3 store was it in

flodis79

dublin-texas wrote:

N73 as X-series is now in a 3 store for 399€ on PrePay with a 100€ call credit.

It's 399€ according to them because the phone is 484€ and they deduct 85€ as a 3Pay discout.

What do you mean by "X-series" here? Orb, slingplayer, skype etc? I thought it was not supposed to be out for another month.. Can't believe it's out already...

BTW, N73 is €379 on their website..

Yggr of Asgard

flodis79 wrote:

What do you mean by "X-series" here? Orb, slingplayer, skype etc? I thought it was not supposed to be out for another month.. Can't believe it's out already...

BTW, N73 is €379 on their website..

So it's 20€ for the privelege of paying it in shop instead of online and taking it home right now But in the shop there is also a 100€ call credit, I can't see that online.

The box says "X-Series" on one side and "3" on the other.

Messenger, Yahoo, Skype, Sling, Google, Orb, Ebay all pre-installed.
Planet 3 links to a "X-Series Home Page".

However beside Messenger nothing works and is pointing to a page saying "soon available in Ireland".

So I assume this is the X-Series Phone they are going to use and once 3 series is available you can change your price plan.

davton wrote:

did they have much about it or was it just in the corner? which 3 store was it in

In Swords, there was no display/advertising. The only reason it came up was that I tried to get a new battery for my K800 as the 3rd repaid of it did not work. I told him that I'm going to leave 3 once the contract finishes and that the only thing stopping me would be the x-series but with phones/service not available it would mad to wait. He promptly presented me with the N73 in and x-series box and told me, "phone is here... service comes end of the month. Wanna buy?" He had the 3Pay version for 399€ including 100€ credit and told me I could you my BillPay USIM in there without a problem.

culabula

Now available on 3 Italia too.

jesus_thats_gre

What makes this thing so great then?

culabula

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

What makes this thing so great then?

Loads of cheap data to use on your handset with built-in apps -the use of some, Skype for example, is effectively unlimited and does not come out of the X-series allowance.

There are three flavours of X-series in the UK -vanilla, Silver and Gold. I just got switched to Silver last week for use with my N95. That's officially not allowed but I managed it via a few fibs. Costs 8€ a month.

A hidden bonus is then using your handset as a BT modem. Again, this is officially frowned upon but I have never been charged. If I then use my X-Series in Ireland, I get HSDPA speeds.

jesus_thats_gre

But the handset needs to be a HSDPA handset to get those speeds surely?

Also, is there any restrictions on normal services? Seen something about not being able to connect to GSM networks?

culabula

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

But the handset needs to be a HSDPA handset to get those speeds surely?

Also, is there any restrictions on normal services? Seen something about not being able to connect to GSM networks?

Yes, of course, but I try to use it in my N95, which does offer HSDPA>

I don't know what 3 Ireland plan for X-Series given that they also offer Mobile Broadband add-ons which the UK don't. There are no apparent restrictions on the UK version, just a lack of apps for the N95 which they do not support and so I use fring.

With regard to GSM nets I think you're confusing X-series with the new 10GB tariff on the datamodem.

Yggr of Asgard

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

What makes this thing so great then?

Watching Dr. Who on the road from my sling box while being stuck in some dark airport in the UK?

Not being out bid last minute on eBay because now I can check it on the road?

Access to my home PC from my phone for last minute documents or that tune I just forgot to download at home?

Or the little software add on for 39$ which gives my phone push access to my e-mail so that I don't have to use an ugly Windows Mobile phone or blackberry for my e-mail/outlook/calendar/contacts.

More info on the x-series here.

I am now on a priceplan with a data add-on and I use a lot of push e-mail and internet (airlines/hotels etc) and it works fine, with X it's just all in one bundle for costing and also Skype will be great (if they allow international calls on it).

rogue-entity

Hmm, so X-Series launches here in June, only 5 months behind the UK, dispite 3 saying that it would be launching in Ireland in February when the HSDPA network update was completed.

Davy

Its now launching july 1st, on 3monthly only though I'm told at a price of 19.99 add-on.
Will be available on the N73 and E65 but is still under testing for other models.

i would rather wait for the N95, just hope i wont be death by then..........

FrankGrimes

davton wrote:

Its now launching july 1st, on 3monthly only though I'm told at a price of 19.99 add-on.
Will be available on the N73 and E65 but is still under testing for other models.

i would rather wait for the N95, just hope i wont be death by then..........

Where did you get this info from? If it's available 1st July I might just take a punt on it, can't wait much longer than that though.

Strange to see only one price plan - UK has 3 different plans. I'm mainly interested in it for ORB& SLingbox to access my PC on the go - any word if that's included in that package?

Am I right in assuming that x-series users will still be plagued by the problems experienced by other 3 Ireland users (e.g. problems with international texts, no webtexts, poor coverage in certain areas)?

Davy

FrankGrimes wrote:

Where did you get this info from? If it's available 1st July I might just take a punt on it, can't wait much longer than that though.

Strange to see only one price plan - UK has 3 different plans. I'm mainly interested in it for ORB& SLingbox to access my PC on the go - any word if that's included in that package?

Am I right in assuming that x-series users will still be plagued by the problems experienced by other 3 Ireland users (e.g. problems with international texts, no webtexts, poor coverage in certain areas)?

I was talking to one of the advisors today about my upgrade, and he was telling me. I forgot to ask why only one plan and why only 3monthly, but im sure more will come in time.

Orb is included but I dont knw if the slingbox would be, hardly.

If you dont wait, what you thinking about?

Davy

found out 2day there will be two packages:

Silver €14.99
Gold €19.99,, silver doesn't have the full range of services

culabula

davton wrote:

found out 2day there will be two packages:

Silver €14.99
Gold €19.99,, silver doesn't have the full range of services

Does not sound unreasonable to me. I'd em, 'go for gold'.

Davy

culabula wrote:

Does not sound unreasonable to me. I'd em, 'go for gold'.

no i think its worth the extra fiver, its the same as the unlimted broadband but including the orb skype extra

only down side i see, no n95. i use N80 and three want me to upgrade to the n73

Bluefrog

What a fiasco. All third party apps that do not use port 80 blocked.

Can not register with Orb as the process requires a UK phone number.

The Skype client is seriously crippled as it does not support text chat and also only seems to work in 3G areas while Fring (now blocked) allows text and voice on Skype even in GPRS areas.

The MSN client is a very basic one. Also only seems to work in 3G areas and is nothing compared to the official Microsoft Symbian client in terms of functionality which Three in their wisdom have also blocked.

Streaming from any rstp source seems to break after about 2 to 3 minutes.

Those on the 100mb pre-pay addon seem to face none of these restrictions while those of us on higher tariffs do. Essentially we are paying for a higher bandwidth when Three now with these restrictions we could never hope to even vaguely approach the limit.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055148669

culabula

Well, it is made clear that Skype has no chat function.
I use fring with both my 3UK X Series and 3IRL datasim. No probs.

Bluefrog

Where are you based C and what addon are you using? You seem to be the exception to the rule judging by the feedback on the state of x-series and 3 party apps on 3 threads.

WezzyB

I think the difference for culabula is that he has a data sim which is basically what goes into the usb modems, these sims don't support voice packages, i.e. 30c p/m

culabula

Bluefrog wrote:

Where are you based C and what addon are you using? You seem to be the exception to the rule judging by the feedback on the state of x-series and 3 party apps on 3 threads.

For the past two weeks I have been based in Dublin: I had no problems using my X-Series SIM (UK) and these apps, but occasionally transferred my 10GB 3 Ireland SIM into the N95 and used that instead. Fring continued to work (and knows automatically that both SIMs are registered and legitimate to use with the same bunch of contacts).

Bluefrog

Maybe I should emmigrate to the UK for decent X-Series...

Lunabu

Hi, I only just found this thread.
I've been thinking of buying the e65 from 3 on contract this December, but I've had an awful lot of hassle with my 3 modem, so I'm very weary of this cowboy outfit.
Still, the e65 is a good phone, I believe, and I have been fancying the X series services. Have there been any improvements since you guys last posted here?
I went to the Ennis Carphone Warehouse today to ask about it, and yer man said that the X series wasn't out yet in Ireland...
So I really need some feedback from people who've been using the service.:rolleyes:

quintron

Is there anywhere to download the IE x-series software to an xseries capable (but not obviously not yet installed) handset such as the N73? I would switch to x-series gold seeing as I got a slingbox recently but as yet there is no option it seems to get the software and upgrade your handset. So for now it seems xseries is only available on the E65.. thought I remember being promised back in January that when x-series came out I would get a text message with an "option to download the software" link. Needless to say that has not happened. :-)

Cheers.

towel401

Bluefrog wrote: »

What a fiasco. All third party apps that do not use port 80 blocked.

Can not register with Orb as the process requires a UK phone number.

The Skype client is seriously crippled as it does not support text chat and also only seems to work in 3G areas while Fring (now blocked) allows text and voice on Skype even in GPRS areas.

The MSN client is a very basic one. Also only seems to work in 3G areas and is nothing compared to the official Microsoft Symbian client in terms of functionality which Three in their wisdom have also blocked.

Streaming from any rstp source seems to break after about 2 to 3 minutes.

Those on the 100mb pre-pay addon seem to face none of these restrictions while those of us on higher tariffs do. Essentially we are paying for a higher bandwidth when Three now with these restrictions we could never hope to even vaguely approach the limit.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055148669

of course its all a big gimmick. for years they have been blocking anything besides port 80 on mobile phone networks. at least on meteor i can get access to all ports, still can't accept connections but they don't block anything. it is very expensive to use but i don't have to put up with any ****e to quickly check mails on my own server

3 is very good at milking its customers for all they're worth & providing fck all service. i'm sure the select group of companies involved aren't getting it for free either. if one looks back a few pages and see all the threads complaining about '3' then one will soon realise its nothing to get excited about

robinph

quintron wrote: »

Is there anywhere to download the IE x-series software to an xseries capable (but not obviously not yet installed) handset such as the N73?

From the my three page click on the internet link and there them should be a link where you can download the slingbox application from, unless they have that page customised for each phone as well. The pre installed apps on the e65 only seen to be links to that internet page anyway as i still had to download and install every thing again.
Three's own branded version of the sling player does not seen to run in full screen though for some reason and the new official un branded version is 30 dollars from sling themselves.

quintron

robinph wrote: »

From the my three page click on the internet link and there them should be a link where you can download the slingbox application from, unless they have that page customised for each phone as well. The pre installed apps on the e65 only seen to be links to that internet page anyway as i still had to download and install every thing again.
Three's own branded version of the sling player does not seen to run in full screen though for some reason and the new official un branded version is 30 dollars from sling themselves.

Cheers robinph. Ain't working my end. Set my phone to E65 and no difference.
I do have Slings trial player on the phone at the moment and its only so-so. Certainly not worth 30 bucks in its present incarnation. 3 branded or not it won't run full screen. I have been on to sling and they have no plans to upgrade it at the moment either.
There IS hope though if you have to download the .sis files to get them working on your E65...
Maybe someone could d/load them to phone and host the .sis files?
hint hint..

robinph

quintron wrote: »

Cheers robinph. Ain't working my end. Set my phone to E65 and no difference.
I do have Slings trial player on the phone at the moment and its only so-so. Certainly not worth 30 bucks in its present incarnation. 3 branded or not it won't run full screen. I have been on to sling and they have no plans to upgrade it at the moment either.
There IS hope though if you have to download the .sis files to get them working on your E65...
Maybe someone could d/load them to phone and host the .sis files?
hint hint..

Slings own player does definitely run in full screen on the E65, the 3 versions won't though. I was trying to figure out how to get the addresses of the pages from my phone so I could post the direct links to the Three download page for you but couldn't figure that out as the text goes off the side of the screen and won't let me scroll across to read the end of the line. If you know how I'd go about getting the .sisx files off the phone I'd be more than happy to do so, but again I haven't a clue how to get them from the phone.

Bluefrog

Using an n73 and n80 so I'm not sure if the e65 is the same but I would assume it is.

Go to the download page, bookmark it. Then go to your bookmarks, select the bookmark you just added and choose 'Manage Bookmarks' from the options menu and then 'Edit' This will bring up a form with 2 fields, one displaying the name of the bookmark, usualy the page title and the other displaying the URL.

Have to say X-Series is now working very well for me - the only issue I'm having is getting a codec missing message on most Internet TV channels in Orb but I can live without Estonian TV

quintron

^^ What Bluefrog said.
You can use the # key to select all the text in a field and then copy it in to notes application for example etc..
Though I doubt your links will work as I've gotten web gatway replies from similar type addresses. If I had the sis or sisx files instead of d/load links I could test it with the add on.
Once they are installed on your phone you can use either app manager or the excellent free Y Browser file manager to find the sis files.
Cheers!

robinph

It seems to delete the .sisx file once it's downloaded and installed but I did manage to grab a copy of it again by stopping it part way through the install so try taking a copy of it from here SlingPlayerMobile_N73_Latest_live.sisx.

quintron

Nice one Robinph! I'll test it against Slings generic symbian one!

jimmycrackcorm

Doe sling have any streaming problems with X-series? My orb streaming only lasts serveral minutes before going into a never-ending buffering. Pc to PC Orb is totally fine so it must be Three.

If someone has sling can they confirm that you can watch a complete program for say a half hour?

robinph

The streaming was working fine with sling over the three network yesterday. Whilst i was watching the rugby on the tv i streamed the ireland germany game to my mobile so i could keep an eye on the score, the stream only died once through the whole game.

jimmycrackcorm

robinph wrote: »

The streaming was working fine with sling over the three network yesterday. Whilst i was watching the rugby on the tv i streamed the ireland germany game to my mobile so i could keep an eye on the score, the stream only died once through the whole game.

That's the problem though. It's ok for sling as you are watching live TV and carry on. With ORB pre-recorded programs once the streaming stops you go back to the start again

robinph

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

That's the problem though. It's ok for sling as you are watching live TV and carry on. With ORB pre-recorded programs once the streaming stops you go back to the start again

The Sling streams are running OK for me for at least half an hour when I've left it running that long. I have been having trouble with streaming from the BBC radio though through Real player and that keeps on timing out after about a minute every time, I've just not got round to calling them up to complain about it yet though.

If I remember to leave my PC on tomorrow then I'll have a go at streaming via ORB during a quite moment in work and see how long that lasts for.

jimmycrackcorm

When I did a test for three support at work the stream managed to last 20 minutes otherwise the previous best was 11. Most of the time it's from one and a half to about 4. Occurs on more than one phone.

Bluefrog

Three's client isn't working for me so far - first I was getting a message can not locate finder id service. Then I got a 'this is not a valid finder id' message though I've confirmed the finder id is correct.

Anyway, tried sling's own client and it works, hmmmm, ok. Not great on my N80 though, viewing area is very small - only about half the screen even in fullscreen mode.

My two biggest gripes about both clients are:
1. you can't choose what connection to use - sometimes I'd like the option to use wi-fi but I can't seem to switch after I make my inital choice on the slingmedia player and three never gives me the choice.
2. You must install both clients on the phone memory - I would like the option to install on my memory card - it's a big app as phone apps go.

scary

Bluefrog,

are you connecting to your slingbox though ip address or finder id, running it on win mobile 6 device and cant connect through 3 at all but can through wifi.

corm

Bluefrog

Actually, did a bit more research on this and I found the direct download page for the n73 so was able to get that on my n80 and use it to download and reinstall. Able to connect now without issue with the Three client. Simpsons on the bus - my life is almost complete.

I'm wondering if there is a difference between the sisx file for the N73 and the E65 as the display looks pretty crappy on my N80 but the E65 screen is the same dimensions as the N80 as far as I can figure.

Anyone who has got an E65 version of this SISX file? I'd be mighty interested in testing

robinph

Bluefrog wrote: »

I'm wondering if there is a difference between the sisx file for the N73 and the E65 as the display looks pretty crappy on my N80 but the E65 screen is the same dimensions as the N80 as far as I can figure.

Anyone who has got an E65 version of this SISX file? I'd be mighty interested in testing

The E65 ssix file that I downloaded for the Three branded version of the player the file name actually called itself the N73 version so I think there is only the one version. The official Sling version does give me proper full screen though on the E65, I've not yet decided if I'll splash out on that version or not yet though.

Bluefrog

I suspected that as Sling's own client was behaving the same way.

I didn't get true fullscreen on the N80 but I think I may know why - I suspect that the better resolution on the N80 is the problem because it's shrinking the display even in fullscreen mode

I think Slingmedia have to do quite a bit of work before the Symbian client is worth paying for. I've heard much better things about their Windows mobile client. I guess I'm either watching a tiny screen or taking my N73 along with me.

Oh well, I had fun setting up the wireless bridge for the slingbox anyway.