Want a Lumia 920 on Vodafone?

UPDATE: AS OF DECEMBER 19th – IT’S COMING! 

It ain’t gonna happen…

 

Lumia and Vodafone? NO.

The Nokia Lumia 920 is the latest (and greatest?) Nokia flagship phone. It was announced on September 5th, 2012 and sources are placing its release at around the middle of November somewhere.

I like the look of it and, since knowing mobile tech the way I do, I gave it the fairly highly-regarded label of ‘My Next Phone‘.

But there’s a problem. This morning this happened –

Dan Bowsher is one of the super-smart social media chaps at Vodafone and, as managing editor of the Vodafone UK blog, it’s kind of his job to be on the button with stuff like this – so I appreciate the heads up, Dan, thank you.

The ironic thing is, the same episode of The Voicemail that Dan is talking about is also the exact same one where I name-check Vodafone as being one service that I could not live without.

But now, I am in a quandary –

I’ve been a Vodafone customer for nigh on 16yrs. I honestly can’t think what kind of data they have on record or how much customer equity I’ve built up over that time.

And they’re not going to range the one phone that I really, really want.

My options are as follows

  1. Buy the Lumia 920 SIM-free (not ideal).
    –
  2. Leave Vodafone and join a network like EE (who are not only ranging the Lumia 920 but also launching with the first 4G network)?
    –
  3. Ignore the Lumia 920 and perhaps consider a different handset – like the new HTC Windows phones or in fact, an iPhone 5 (which is genuinely a serious option)?

 

Opinions please.

UPDATE: Vodafone have published a blog post confirming the above Windows Phone 8 device strategy 

–

 

 

 

Last updated by at .

Author: James Whatley

Chief Strategy Officer in adland. I got ❤️ for writing, gaming, and figuring stuff out. I'm @whatleydude pretty much everywhere that matters. Nice to meet you x

28 thoughts on “Want a Lumia 920 on Vodafone?”

  1. Pretty sure that the Lumia 920 is going to be an LTE exclusive with EE. It’s a total bummer as it looks like such an awesome device but some people may not be able to get one now.

    Interested to see what you’re going to do James…

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 13:31

    Given that EE are going to be the only network with LTE in 2012, that doesn’t surprise me. The whole 4G thing in this country is one massive (government-led) screw up.

  2. Not sure why you should care about vodafone? what do they offer thats such a point of difference over the other networks, I’ve personally always found them to be the most expensive network for no visible benefit.

    BTW sim free is always the best option as its cheapest over the life of a device.

    EE are going to sweep up the first adopters like nobodys business, not sure why you need LTE but you know I’ll probably plump for 2 or a combo of 1 / 2.

    iPhone 5, yeah its great if you want an iPhone. Its the best iPhone on the market

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 13:20

    I get 50% off my bill thanks to a friends and family offer from a while back. That’s one reason.

    And as for EE: 4G interests me, but the way they (EE) went around the market to do it just annoys me. Plus I went with Orange once and didn’t really like it.

    I’m thinking SIM-free might be the way forward.

  3. I’m going to buy one SIM free and stay with Vodafone, not least because I get an employee advantage discount. Having said that I would probably jump ship to EE if they had LTE where I live but they don’t 🙁

  4. Why is buying the phone off contract not ideal? Depending on your needs, a SIM-only contract (or even PAYG SIM) + buying the phone can work out cheaper.

    I bought myself a Galaxy Nexus last year when it came out for about £500 and have been happily using it with a £10/month SIM that gives me plenty of minutes/texts/data. The cheapest contract my operator had at the time with that model would have worked out more expensive over its 24 month term. Granted it gave me more minutes & texts, but given that I’d never have used them all it would have just been money down the drain.

    Of course, YMMV, so if you do actually need zillions of minutes or texts then you may be better off finding an operator that’l do your 920 on contract. It’s always worth running the numbers though.

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 13:33

    I think you’re right (plus you’re about the 4th person to suggest that so far). Good shout.

  5. Just thought of a 4th option: Get the phone with the highest re-sell value that your contract will allow (probably iPhone 5) and flog it immediately. Use the proceeds to buy your Nokia. 😛

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 13:35

    I think we might have a winner.

    Al Pavangkanan Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 19:49

    Flipping an iPhone 5 is usually the way to go.

  6. of course if voda/nokia have smart SM people you’ve recieved a phonecall / email ‘solving’ this problem soonish.

  7. This is a problem James… Do you know if EE have a short-term exclusive, or permanent exclusivity?

    I’ve been a long term Nokia supporter, however, SIM free maybe too expensive, regardless of how much I like it, and swapping from Vodafone is a no-go as I can only get a voice signal with them at home. I’ve checked coverage with EE by postcode and even that doesn’t look good.

    Its so frustrating when this happens. Maybe I will consider a RAZRi instead, or just keep my Lumia 900, or learn to be patient and wait for the SIM free 920 to drop in price. Perhaps I’ll wait as I really want Nokia to succeed. Decisions, decisions…..

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 15:45

    I really liked James’ idea above of ‘get the phone with the highest re-sell value that your contract will allow (probably iPhone 5) and flog it immediately. Use the proceeds to buy your Nokia’ – that might the way forward for us.

    As for the RAZRi, I’m hoping to have a go with one of those in the next couple of weeks 🙂

  8. Ugh, that blows.

    I just started using the 800 as my main phone since losing my iPhone 4S and tried the 900 for a bit too. I dig the size and feel of the larger model.

  9. James,

    If you really have to go with a Nokia Lumia 920, I would go SIM free on Vodafone:
    – I’ve generally found that Vodafone has the best network (emotive issue I know)
    – Whilst EE maybe rolling out LTE, it probably will take some time to be useful on a consistent basis

    I would suggest that you at least evaluate other Windows Phone handsets, particularly as Microsoft provides a tight hardware specification to manufacturers.

    Unless you have a dreadful phone, you could wait until you see what Jolla comes out with

    Best,

    Ged

    James Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 23:16

    You said the ‘J’ word 🙂

  10. Re: the J word, to paraphrase Fox Mulder in the X-Files ‘I want to believe’.

    On a slightly more serious note, I just don’t think that smartphones experience is moving forward that rapidly at the moment, innovation is lumpy and we’re at a slightly ‘flatter’ time. At the moment I think adoption numbers rather than innovation leaps is the big story.

    I have no doubt that things will take off when LTE goes mainstream spurring new use cases, or someone challenges the pictures under glass model of interaction.

  11. Vodafone has the best quality of all four networks. You could ask if they will give you more discount on your tariff. consider the new htc Windows 8 phone. That’s the best brand in my view. You could buy the 920 SIM free… a few people made a good point about it being cheaper.
    The thing with 4G Lte is that it’s a battery killer. I’d wait to see how these phones perform before jumpin in. [for me if vodafone offered all U can eat data, I’d go back to them without a second thought]

  12. Vodafone network no question. unless you live in central london in that first 4G area (and kill everyone else there) EE are not worth anything. perhaps post infrastructure consolidation in a few years, but not now.

    I compromised in Oct 2010 to get an LGE900 instead of a HD7,and stick with voda. a mistake I’ve regretted.

    I wil be SIM-freeing a 920 and sticking with Voda, for network quality and international deals.

    Unfortunately it appears tha 16 years is not equity with vodafone.

  13. Apparently Nokia has been having some success with WP 7.x in China with this huge carrier. I’m sure Nokia will be bringing the lower end WP 8 handsets there as well besides the Lumia 920.

  14. I called vodafone this morning and the gentleman in the upgrade team told me it will be available in mid November.

    James Reply:
    November 2nd, 2012 at 13:43

    The 920? That’s odd. I’m fairly sure that EE have the exclusive on the 920 for the time being.

    Perhaps they were confused and actually meant the 820? I don’t mean to ignore your comment, it’s just their sales/care teams have been wrong before!

    Paul Stevenson Reply:
    November 2nd, 2012 at 13:50

    @vodafoneUK tweeted me yesterday saying they were launching Windows Phone 8 handsets in January (no handsets mentioned), and said they “were planning some exciting things for release day. Watch this space.” I think in the meantime I’ll just watch others with a 920…

    I’ve ordered a SIM free 820 from CPW as a stop gap and will flog it when contract 920s come out on Vodafone. Poorer camera but can’t wait…

    James Reply:
    November 2nd, 2012 at 14:00

    Yup. Which ties in exactly with what Dan Bowsher said to me at the top of this post!

    “Just listening to The Voicemail @Whatleydude – Lumia 820’s coming into Vodafone but not the 920. Both WP8 HTCs incoming, BTW.”

  15. Maybe just wait to see what happens once they review the relationship? Also, waiting allows you to see any teething issues and bugs sorted.

    http://www.neowin.net/news/nokia-and-ee-clarify-nokia-lumia-920820-availability-in-uk

    James Reply:
    November 7th, 2012 at 15:45

    But Vodafone aren’t ‘waiting’, they were frozen out of a carrier-exclusive deal. That’s like a girl choosing a different boy over you and then you telling the world that you didn’t actually want her – y’know, because you’re just ‘waiting’ to see if she’s any good.

    😉

Comments are closed.