[3GScottishUser]

Saw the deal on the 02 website.

The 02 Ice 3G phone which has Bluetooth and a 1.3MP camera complete with Bluetooth headset for £59.99 including free delivery.

Best value deal for a multi-media phone with drive legal bluetooth facility presently.

I bet these get snapped up fairly quickly.

https://shop.o2.co.uk/phone/gallery/O2/Ice

[Hands0n]

Oh I dunno, it still sucks :D (this from the geezer who bought a Virgin Lobster the other week!)

Actually, I would like to play with one, but if I bought one in the Mrs would probably carve me a new one!

[solo12002]

" Best value deal for a multi-media phone with drive legal bluetooth facility presently"

Dam pity then they dont have a 3G network to match what this phone can do ! lol

[Hands0n]

There's the thing - if they had I'd buy one just on principle. But seeing as we've just eschewed O2 for having a crappy 3G network, and not a much better 2G one - it would be utterly pointless of me to get one of these, even if they were unlocked to any network.

Where on Earth did they go so wrong?

[solo12002]

mm

I Mode maybe?? I mean I think o2 has some good price plans etc, its just a dam shame they lack on a 3G network, really dam poor bearing in mind they are or were one of the main players in the UK.

Me thinks they should of taken over three, that way they would of had a 3G network with rollback onto their own 2.5 with UK CS support.

[Hands0n]

O2, formerly Cellnet, were the premier UK cellular network provider in the 1980s. Look at them now, something of a spent force that has not really benefitted from the acquisition.

Their network is shabby to say the least - in terms of 3G it is not even worth contemplating from my own, family and associates experiences in North Kent. We have tried to liaise with O2's CS about these issues and it has been without any hint of interest on their behalf.

Price plans aside, there are many things wrong with the O2 of 2007 - their disjointed and fragmented CS is one, you have to call the right one for your particular subscription (contract, contract online and more!). Contrast this with all the others where there is but a single number to dial. Then there is O2's use of 0870 numbers for contract customer support - wtf's that all about? The list goes on .......

iMode is likely to prove a great big white elephant for O2. Why would anyone need it outside of Japan - where they do everything different to the rest of the world anyway? The world is heading towards .mobi for such online eCommerce, although for the life of me I can't see why they can't just adopt a policy of creating dual-purpose sites which automatically adapt for mobile devices connecting. An example might be how http://www.mobilitysite.com/ formats the web pages depending on how you connect. The content is preserved and the experience is not at all dissimilar whether you connect with a regular desktop browser, PDA or mobile phone. Now thats how it should be done - all without the need for a redefinition of .domains!

I tend to agree with solo12002 - an O2 acquisition of 3UK would probably give it (O2) the 3G lifeline shot in the arm that it so desperately needs. O2 will get left behind as its 3G reputation begins to be realised by the buying public. All the while, O2's rivals will be delivering 3G and ever-increasing content while O2's customers will be saddled with 3G handsets that never leave 2G mode. Word will soon spread - and it does not matter what of O2's pedigree and history, it will not cope well with such bad press.

[3GScottishUser]

I fail to see the logic of all the negativity re 02.... they are still one of the most successful mobile operators in the UK with a growing user base, UK support and they have covered all the bases with GSM, i-mode and 3G. Sure their 3G rollout may have been cautious but that has been anything but a negative for them in terms of customer gains, dealer support and retention.

We 3G enthuisiasts often seem to confuse our aspirations for technological improvements with what most average customers needs and wants. 02 appear to have had their finger on the pulse in the UK and the growth of the brand and the value of the company proves they have made the correct decisions in terms of marketing, product and support.

BTW, the ICE deal is'nt quite as straightforward as first thought as it requires a monthly minimum top-up even on pre-pay although I am not sure how long that is mandatory.

[Hands0n]

Its simple really - O2 suck. No logic, just observation and practical experience. Not isolated either, and that is the shocking thing of it all.

O2's network does not work very well at all these days, at least where I operate and live in. Their 3G is non-existent (I've detailed the experience elsewhere on T3G) and makes a complete mockery of having such an instrument, let alone be sold one. You should see O2's SE K600i operate on the Vodafone 3G network - 100% solid everywhere I go! The same handset that I had to press up against my window just to get it to flip over from 2G to 3G - all within 200M of a 3G mast! Way to go O2!

O2's 2G network suffers from drop-outs and calls going to answer service even in supposedly strong signal areas. Their CS is a confusing array of at least three disparate groups, you have to get the correct number or they simply cannot help you. Further they use 0870 numbers for Contract-paying customers! When you do get the correct CS team they pay lip-service to the issues being reported, not that they could do much anyway as the problem is deep-seated within the network, obviously. No offer of a remedy, i.e. another handset - probably because they know it wouldn't make any difference. Not even the suggestion of a take-back and repair/replace, for precisely the same reasons!

O2's marketing successes are legendary - and in this day and age of Spin over Form I'm hardly surprised. They have a strong brand, for sure. They'd better not waste it - the buying public are fickle.

Its nothing to do with [anyone] being a 3G enthusiast and much, very much, more to do with the expectations for a Service from a Customer. As far as I am concerned, all of the others (including 3) do better than O2 in very many respects. In fact, I'm somewhat at a loss to identify what O2 do better than the others at all!

Anecdote: I have a die-hard O2 friend of mine who absolutely refuses to even contemplate "modern technology" in the form of 3G or anything else. He is quite happy with his Samsung D600 (first generation). He is, however, far less than happy with O2 as he suffers all of the problems I mentioned above in this specific post. He cannot await the end of his O2 contract when he will, in all likelihood, migrate to Vodafone - he's that much of a [original networks] die-hard he won't even consider the other three! Yes, O2 have miffed him that much.

Remember, there are very many "loyal" network customers - although for the life of me I fail to see why any Customer should or would want to be loyal to anyone taking money off them for services. The loyalty should be the other way round.

Me? I remain entirely agnostic to any supplier of any goods - each wins [or loses] my custom utterly on their own merit.

No surprises on the O2 ICE deal - the small print is always the gotcha. No free lunch and all that jazz ..

[3GScottishUser]

Well reception issues are down to geographic circumstances I suppose and where I live 02 have one of the strongest 3G signals available. No surprise though as it's very close to a major airport!

I recall with some satisfaction the lengths 02 went to to get me a 3G enabled SIM although I'm not a big spender on their PAYG service.

I hope the poor experience described is rare as 02 rate highly with young people generally and their investment in direct sales and customer support in the UK is extensive. I think them covering all the bases has also paid off for them although they have been one of the slowest to get involved in 3G and 3G related services.

I think it's worth pointing out that 02 were first to market with customer loyalty schemes and these appear to have won them some friends over the last couple of years. Of course no amount of loyalty rewards make up for lack of service and I hope 02 have not become complacent having achieved the status of becoming Britian's biggest mobile operator.

[Hands0n]

S'funny really - you and I experience diametrically opposite examples of mobile network operator performance.

Pretty much all the direness that you experienced [and expressed] with 3 in your neck of the woods I have experienced here in more or less all of North Kent. Now that is no small area at all. Contrast with 3 where I have practical experience of a near-solid reception of a 3G signal with nearly no fall-back to the O2 2G network partner. In this corner (!?) of the UK 3 have delivered a superb network since a faltering start in 2003 - I feel that they've been a solid [network] player in this region since 2004/5.

The experience I have of the 3 and O2 CS is mirrored - both are innefective (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=40443&dict=CALD) (and I'm being as kind as I am able to be).

The shock for me is how O2 have sunk to these lows. But it is not just here, is it. Elsewhere, T3G correspondents refer to similar 2G and 3G network performance issues outside of Kent. I don't bother to trawl the other forums (why when there is none better than Talk3G ). :)