[CLOSED] NEC E616 for £1.99/month E:Soon

boblevin

e2save is Car Phone Warehouse by another name.

8383

hermione wrote:

What happens if you don't make enough calls to take you over your free call minutes? Would you then not receive a bill and find yourself unable to make the redemption(s)?

I think that you will receive the bill, you just won't be charged for anything only the line rental.

mobile-bits

MichaelW wrote:

The phone can be unlocked but I believe that you need a cable in order to do it, in which case it won't be free.

here is an example (but i'm sure it can be found cheaper) http://www.unlockthatmobile.com/nec2.html

I am sure a lot will be interested in if the handset can be unlocked so will run down the details

Yes they most certainly can, at the link mentioned above they say the v22 software revison of the handset can't be unlocked at present, that isn't true, they simply don't have the equipment to do it. There are two ways the v22 can be unlocked, the first is using an expensive direct unlocking solution, the second is to downgrade the handsets software to an earlier version and then unlock.

All versions earlier than v22 can be unlocked using free software (which also unlocks the E313, E616V and E228), however the software needs a modified USB cable and only works on Windows 98/ME. You can modify the original cable (or puchase a pre-modified one) but this is very difficult and not for the feint hearted!

Please be warned that there are some free codes and code generators going round on the net which DO NOT work, using these can disable the handsets phonebook and some other features, furthermore entering an incorrect code more than 3 times will dsiable the ability to unlock the phone by codes and you will then have to get the phone directly unlocked, which will cost

If anyone wants the software and cable schematics, along with some instructions and the required USB drivers for unlocking just PM me, or if it is allowed I guess I can even post a URL for download

Also if you have any further questions, just ask!

Robert

mbspuk

The price looks exceptional. However, it only took me a moments searching to find plenty of seriously bad reviews. This site had so many they had to stop people leaving comments:

http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/nec-e616.htm

Saw 3 where on Watchdog a while back again. I have no axe to grind (I have a donkeys old Siemens from Virgin), but I'm wary of a phone and service that appears to have so much bad publicity.

8383

mbspuk wrote:

The price looks exceptional. However, it only took me a moments searching to find plenty of seriously bad reviews. This site had so many they had to stop people leaving comments:

http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/nec-e616.htm

Saw 3 where on Watchdog a while back again. I have no axe to grind (I have a donkeys old Siemens from Virgin), but I'm wary of a phone and service that appears to have so much bad publicity.

All the reviews on that website are old, and did someone not previously say on here that they had fixed the phone?

mbspuk

8383 wrote:

All the reviews on that website are old, and did someone not previously say on here that they had fixed the phone?

I've just called Carphone Warehous to find out exactly what this phone is. It's still the old e616 and not the new improved e616V. More details on the difference between the two can be found here:

http://www.mobiles.co.uk/three-3g-nec-e616-3.html

Anyway, I called them to ask whether this is the one with all the problems. They said the new batch 'seems' to be alright.

Take what you want from this but to me it doesn't inspire much confidence. I can't see NEC tweaking the old e616 and releasing new batches if they've just made subtle improvements to the upgraded e616V.

In conclusion this sounds like the phone's a bargain for a reason. I can't see much changing in the last three months (the last of those reviews were from December 04).

Just a thought. Maybe anyone whose bought one of these in the offer can post an update here once they've used it for a while.

mr_pinkle

I'm sorry if I'm being really stupid but I don't quite get how it comes to £2.99. So are the first 3 months actually free or do you pay £15 a month and it gets automatically credited to your account? And then I don't understand where the £279.12 figure comes from when 9 monhs of £30 is £270. So if first 3 months are free and you get credited the full amount for the rest of year, where do you actually pay?
Once again, sorry if I'm being dopey!

mbspuk

mr_pinkle wrote:

I'm sorry if I'm being really stupid but I don't quite get how it comes to £2.99. So are the first 3 months actually free or do you pay £15 a month and it gets automatically credited to your account? And then I don't understand where the £279.12 figure comes from when 9 monhs of £30 is £270. So if first 3 months are free and you get credited the full amount for the rest of year, where do you actually pay?
Once again, sorry if I'm being dopey!

Not sure as I haven't looked at the maths.

I'm just very wary of the bad publicity that seems to have dogged this phone. If your battery cuts out at the end of every day without you even having made a call then even a £2.99 per month price tag is too much.

Even the person I spoke to at the Carphone Warehouse didn't sound convinced that the phone was of suitable quality.

randan

You actually pay £15 per month for the first three month then 9 months at £30 gives :-

(15 * 3) + (30 * 9) = 45 + 270 = £315

You can then claim back cash at mothns 4, 8 and 11 of 93.04 each time - a total of £279.12

this then gives a total of £315 - £279.12 = £35.88

and therefore £35.88 / 12 = £2.99 per month.

There are various sites that allow the collection of additional affiliate cash back so you could actually get another £22 back making the deal £13.88 for the year - just over £1.15 per month !!!!

At that cost even if the handset is bad which I don't think it would be that bad - I will certainly not be complaining as long as I get my cashback and have reception in my house that will make my total phone cost for the year under £14 !!!! (If I ignore my isp and BT phone line charges :>)

mr_pinkle

Aahh, thanks Randan. I get it now. I don't even need a new phone but its unbelievably cheap and I'm sure I could find a use for it!