3GScottishUser
30th August 2005, 10:58 AM
From Mobile News:
Motorola blamed 3 last week for its poor showing in a Which? magazine report into faulty mobile phones, writes James Blackman.
In a report published this month, Which? deemed Motorola and Sony Ericsson handsets the most likely to fail, with around one in five developing faults within a year of purchase.
Which? said that one in seven mobile phones develops a fault within its first year, on average, following a poll of 2,500 UK phone users. It found that 3 was the least reliable network, with almost one third of its customers complaining of faults in the first 12 months.
Motorola marketing manager James King said:
"Once a handset is in the market, there are so many things that affect it, from the kind of usage to which a device is submitted, to the negative backlash of being associated with a network. One of the operators had more issues [than others]. Because we are one of the few suppliers to that operator, we have got a bad rap. It isn't reflective of Motorola as a whole."
A 3 spokesperson said: "Which? has taken a sample size that is not representative. It has spoken to 50 of our customers, when we have a customer base of three million. The other thing is that you can't possibly compare text- and picture-messaging GSM phones with the new and complex technology available on 3G handsets."
Which? magazine principal researcher Pete Tynan said:
"There is no way that we would recommend Motorola or Sony Ericsson handsets, or the 3 network, to any consumer. It is staggering. Around 600,000 phones are going wrong every year, and those customers don't receive the right help."
Tynan added: "It is a statistically valid sample. Any number over 30 gives you a valid sample. And when almost a third have a problem, then it sends out a very clear signal."
Other UK network operators dismissed the report.
A statement from Vodafone said: "Over 90 per cent of the population in the UK now have some sort of mobile phone, in a market which is extremely competitive between network operators and the mobile phone manufacturers.
"At the end of the day, a phone that doesn't work cannot make money for us, so it is in our best interest to sell a fault-free handset. Whenever problems occur, we seek to solve them for our customers as soon as possible."
An Orange statement said: "We offer a 14-day, no-quibble money-back policy. Additionally, we offer a policy that, in the event that a mobile phone is faulty, an Orange customer can return the phone to the Orange shop they bought it from within 28 days to exchange it. These policies are in addition to customers' statutory rights."
The network added: "The recent Which? report fails to make the distinction between a network operator and a handset manufacturer and doesn't address whether, when a customer has had a problem with their handset, the problem was resolved by Orange."
Tynan responded: "Customers get passed between the network the manufacturer and the insurance company. But it is up to the retailers - both the high street chains and the networks' own stores - to sort this problem out. If they have problems with certain manufacturers, they should stop selling them."
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/cgi-bin/show_more.cgi?id=8288&referer=lister.cgi&area=News
Motorola blamed 3 last week for its poor showing in a Which? magazine report into faulty mobile phones, writes James Blackman.
In a report published this month, Which? deemed Motorola and Sony Ericsson handsets the most likely to fail, with around one in five developing faults within a year of purchase.
Which? said that one in seven mobile phones develops a fault within its first year, on average, following a poll of 2,500 UK phone users. It found that 3 was the least reliable network, with almost one third of its customers complaining of faults in the first 12 months.
Motorola marketing manager James King said:
"Once a handset is in the market, there are so many things that affect it, from the kind of usage to which a device is submitted, to the negative backlash of being associated with a network. One of the operators had more issues [than others]. Because we are one of the few suppliers to that operator, we have got a bad rap. It isn't reflective of Motorola as a whole."
A 3 spokesperson said: "Which? has taken a sample size that is not representative. It has spoken to 50 of our customers, when we have a customer base of three million. The other thing is that you can't possibly compare text- and picture-messaging GSM phones with the new and complex technology available on 3G handsets."
Which? magazine principal researcher Pete Tynan said:
"There is no way that we would recommend Motorola or Sony Ericsson handsets, or the 3 network, to any consumer. It is staggering. Around 600,000 phones are going wrong every year, and those customers don't receive the right help."
Tynan added: "It is a statistically valid sample. Any number over 30 gives you a valid sample. And when almost a third have a problem, then it sends out a very clear signal."
Other UK network operators dismissed the report.
A statement from Vodafone said: "Over 90 per cent of the population in the UK now have some sort of mobile phone, in a market which is extremely competitive between network operators and the mobile phone manufacturers.
"At the end of the day, a phone that doesn't work cannot make money for us, so it is in our best interest to sell a fault-free handset. Whenever problems occur, we seek to solve them for our customers as soon as possible."
An Orange statement said: "We offer a 14-day, no-quibble money-back policy. Additionally, we offer a policy that, in the event that a mobile phone is faulty, an Orange customer can return the phone to the Orange shop they bought it from within 28 days to exchange it. These policies are in addition to customers' statutory rights."
The network added: "The recent Which? report fails to make the distinction between a network operator and a handset manufacturer and doesn't address whether, when a customer has had a problem with their handset, the problem was resolved by Orange."
Tynan responded: "Customers get passed between the network the manufacturer and the insurance company. But it is up to the retailers - both the high street chains and the networks' own stores - to sort this problem out. If they have problems with certain manufacturers, they should stop selling them."
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/cgi-bin/show_more.cgi?id=8288&referer=lister.cgi&area=News