Page 1 of NEC 616 VIDEO PHONE + 500 XNET MINS + 100 TEXTS £2.99pPER MONTH :0

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-Department?PN=SPECIAL.MAR05616LINER299
i know it`s a cashback deal, but i can`t see the catch :¦ it looks to good to be true :/

Sounds true enough, and if you are signed up as an affiliate then you can get £30 back ;) Total cost of £5.88.

You could stick it on eBay and make a tidy profit. ALl 3 contracts are really cheap recently think theyre making the push before everyone else launches their services.

or 3 could just be struggling ? thats a thought, if three went bump, would carphone warehouse honour any outstanding cashback ? (ie, if 3 went tits up 89 days into you`re contract would you still get you`re £90 cheque ? )

3 will NOT go belly up.
They are run by one of the world`s richest men (after Microsoft Billy, that is).

It`s worth noting 2 things:

(1) Hutchison were responsible for the success story that was Orange before France Telecom came in and ruined it. Again, people questioned Hutichison`s business proposition at the time (this was when mobiles still came with their own suitcase to carry them in)

(2) Hutchison are rumoured to be shaping their UK arm up for a flotation (after they float off their Italian arm) - as such, they intend to introduce a range of 18 month contracts next month, in line with many other mobile operators (18 month options are already commonplace on TMobile & Vodafone) - not sure if this is in addition to or instead of their current offering though.

That said, the NEC E616 (non-V variety) is not my favourite phone on 3 contract - `twas a fine toy at £29.99 upfront on PAYG (if you were (a) lucky enough to get it at that price inclusive of the free £15 credit and (b) unlucky enough not to get the V-variety advertised by CPW) and maybe as a spare emergency handset for anyone already on a 3 contract (i.e. a cost-effective alternative to mobile insurance).

However, I`d rather not tie myself into a high monthly spend (albeit reduced by a number of cashback claims) with this particular handset.

Just my own thoughts...

HtH
RM

Hutchison were responsible for the success story that was Orange

anyone else remeber "RABBIT" ;)

i know what you mean about the handset, it`s supposed to be awfull, BUT at an average of £2.99p per month over the course of a year, that would replace my land line that`s costing me around £25 a month :/ (inc the line rental) or are these offers more commonplace than i thought ? (ie, less than £5 per month + 500 anytime cross network mins + 100 texts ?) if theres a better deal i know you`re the man to ask reestit :D cos i gotta be honest, even tho i slag 3 off, this offers got my interest up :)

Just what is the difference between the NEC 616 and the 616V? (except the V)
or is it bloomin` obvious?

Quote:
Just what is the difference between the NEC 616 and the 616V? (except the V)
or is it bloomin` obvious?

I remeber reading somewhere (it may have been Reestit Mutton`s webpage) that the 616V was a much improved version of the 616 answering many of the main concerns about the earlier version. The major improvement IIRC was a far better battery life.

just to confuse matters, it`s actually the NEC e616 thats on offfer, ( & i dunno what the e means )

The "E" is an irrelevance - it`s always been an E616 or E616V, it`s just that many people drop the "E", just as many people talk about the LG 8110/8120/8138 when in actual fact, there`s a "U" missing - i.e. U8110, U8120, U8138 etc...

Okay...so there`s also a "C"616 in existence - but that`s just an E616 with additional Chinese character capability and so of no consequence to any of us in the West.

In answer the the question about the "V" - it`s a reference to the improved camera resolution. The non-V version only has a CIF resolution camera whereas the "V" version has a [V]GA camera. As for the battery issue, I think it`s simply a case of a higher capacity battery in the box with teh "V" version rather than any tweaking of the phone itself to make it more economical on power consumption.

In fact, when CPW erroneously advertised a cheap E616V PAYG handset over Xmas, it was a "C"616 (no V) that they shipped instead. The "C" wasn`t the problem here, it was the lack of VGA capability and the lower capacity battery that annoyed most people. TBH...I suspect that this deal is simply CPW`s way of getting shot of all their Xmas unopened returns (okay, so maybe that`s a little cynical).

HtH
RM

We bought our Daughter the E616v prior to Xmas and there were two batteries in the box. One was a higher capacity than the other, and you can charge both at the same time.