[@NickyColman]

Last night I bought the INQ1 from Three on Pay & Go.









This morning I returned it.
:D

[Hands0n]

Good man :)

[hecatae]

any chance you will digress and list the reasons why?

[@NickyColman]

lol no problemo!

The handset itself is quite nice to look at and to hold. But inside, its appalling.

I'll list the problems/issues i had. .

-It crashed 3 times (no pun intended) before I had even managed to set the damn thing up and numerous times thereafter.

-The battery life was virtually non existant.

-For some bizarre reason, it couldnt hold onto a 3G/H signal - yet any other handset ive ever had on Three have had 150% coverage where i live.

-The Facebook & Windows Live! Messenger integration was a little bit of a false promise for me. For example, the Facebook "app" was more like a front-end face for the Facebook mobile website. Any link clicked opened the browser to take you to the Facebook mobilesite - just like any other mobile could do. I had believed it would be a front to back Facebook app (like that of iPhone).

Windows Live! Messenger was also a hit and miss affair. You constantly had to press refresh in order to get status updates, new messages etc. Again, i believed that the "always connected" selling point would mean just that. . ALWAYS CONNECTED. I cant see the benefit of constantly having to refresh an app on the off chance someone might have sent a message.

The Windows Live! Messenger client constantly crashed the handset. Requiring a full reboot of the handset and log-in into all the handset services which, due to the flawed signal of this handset, took an age and a half.

-Sending a text message is painfull. It requires 7-10 clicks to get to the message composition. Coming from a SonyEricsson where you simply press sideways on the D-Pad to get the option of a new text message, this is a big step down. It really p*ssed me off.

-The "camera" was disgusting. To even call it a camera is surely a breech of the Trade Description Act! It was blurry, temperamental and seriously pointless. According to INQ mobile's website, the camera is "perfect for Facebook". I'd like to meet the person who wrote that. :|

Thankfully when I stormed into Three Store Sunderland and launched the 3 branded bag at them and demanded a full refund, they happily obliged. I say happily, i mean to say, they never put up a fight. The guy, strangely enough, never asked me what the problem was when i told him it was faulty. He offered me an exchange or a refund. I decided on the safer option and got a refund.

Im very very very glad i never signed up for a £15 a month contract that they tried to get me into. Its plastered around the store on laminated notices that you can only return a handset if its faulty. If you use the contract sim in anyway to make or receive a call/text etc then you will be deemed as accepting the terms & conditions of the contract.

So now im off to purchase a good old Nokia N79 sim-free on my O2 contract! Bliss. :D

[Hands0n]

So now im off to purchase a good old Nokia N79 sim-free on my O2 contract! Bliss. :D

Eh? Whats the deal there then?

[Ben]

Crikey, sorry to hear it didn't work out well. Sounds pretty craptastic :(

[Hands0n]

I'm struggling to suppress a chorous of "I'm not surprised ..." :p

[3GScottishUser]

What is it with 3?

I notice that the majors are running rings round them now both on contract and PAYG deals.

3's response seems to be niche or novelty value. Skypephones, now the ING featuring Facebook (in Scotland that'll be a lead balloon as kids use bebo).

Time and again 3 UK fail to learn lessons from past errors, remember the folly of videocalling and VOD services like football on NEC handsets with a 2" Screen!!

Novelties are fine but not a substitute for relibale communication at competitive prices.

Kevin Russell take note!

[solo12002]

"I notice that the majors are running rings round them now both on contract and PAYG deals"

Are they. I have mix and match 1100 for £20 Pm , whos beating that with a free mobile as for PAYG, their cals are 12p a min, only network beats that is ADSA at 8p. I not talking about the great deals you get if you top up with x pounds a month.

[3GScottishUser]

In a recent newspaper survey of PAYG deals and SIM Only offers 3 did not feature as one of the best value networks. Being realistic, most users buy top-ups regularly and the added benefits have to be taken into account. 3's flat 12 was just about competitive when it appeared but has been overtaken by most others now. Sim only deals leave 3 at the starting grid...

3 have lots of complicated hybrid deals on offer and I am sure they might make sense to a few folks but for relibale, voice + text deals they appear to have lost the plot. 3 are attempting to capture the higher spec users with high value handset deals and their prices are OK in that sector but the relibility of the network will probably dissapoint those tempted to buy.

Looking at the market I dont know where 3 should pitch. The ING is interesting but looks like a very small niche market product just like the Skypephone previously.