Anyone using this phone?
I normally look after phones well but last month dropped my modest Samsung in the toilet and then the other day dropped Mrs F's spare Sony I was borrowing onto concrete smashing the screen.
So I need to go and plead with Tesco to allow a change 22mths into a 24mth contract.
It's a touch larger than ideal for me but otherwise the 920 seems OK??
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 12:47
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I have just got a 1020, very similar but for a better camera - possibly the best camera on a smartphone.
Not IMO as slick as an iphone (what is?) but I wanted a bigger screen.
I find the Windows OS OK - no real difficulty adapting from iphone, unlike wit the boss's Android which frustrates me more often than not.
It does more or less oblige you to have a microsoft account, but that's no hardship - I have it set to upload all photos to onedrive (via wifi) which is very convenient for organising and sending links.
Obvious drawback is app choice. Firstdirect now oblige me to have either a secure key widget or a smartphone code generator for online banking; there's a iphone and android app but none for windows, unlike Barclays.
Not a worry for me as I still have the iphone with a giffgaff sim in it.
Ask if you want specifics.
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Iv been using a lumia 800 for the last 18 months and have had no problems at all. Very easy to use, same as a windows pc. Not as many apps as you would get with an android phone but i also have a tablet so its not a problem. If you use the phone for Email its simple to set up and works well. I like the way it doesn't have a menu to go through all the functions i use the most i can pin to the home screen like windows 8 one tap and im using what i want.
Battery isn't the best iv had last about 18hrs so needs a charge every night but i do use it a lot
during the day if not phoning, surfing the web or Emailing.
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Lumia 920 is over a year old now so I'd suggest hanging on for a either the 930, or going buying a 630 sim free for about £90.
If you do go for the 930, make sure you get the Windows 8.1 developer preview installed.
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Ha ha.. bear in mind FF I'm not gadget boy so last year's model is fine**... as long as I can phone, text and take an odd emergency pic now and again plus use the net once a month for a few mins it will be OK.
Might stretch the Wranglers back pocket though.... I'm off to try for size/deal tomorrow.
** Car 12yrs old, hi-fi 20+yrs old, favoured socket set 35yrs old, best jacket 30yrs old etc... you get the picture.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 15:12
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FL,
I would have thought that a SIM only deal would be ideal for you.
I would suggest that you look at a SIM only deal you could take out when your current contract expires and consider choosing your own telephone from eBay.
This would also avoid the need for any pleading, although usually they will negotiate a phone in return for extending your contract for another two years - and typically they will do this upto 90 days before your current contract expires.
Its typically advantageous with minimum contract terms and base cost as well.
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You're probably right NoFM but while there are some things I take trouble to get the absolute best deal on with crafty research and used buys I'm happy to go with the phone contract. I only need one at £12-50/£15-00 per month for my use and that is an insignificant amount going out to get a modest phone replacement every 2yrs and have a contract that is good enough if I suddenly need a month using the mobile as a primary phone.
I'm with Tesco as is Mrs F & daughter 2. Tesco/O2 network is good for us and so far we've had great help when needed from their customer services and the guy in our town store phone section.
You'll probably tell me I could get a cheaper SIM only deal elsewhere but with Tesco the phone only adds £5/mth to the SIM cost which is pricing the phone at £120 with 24 interest free payments. That seems fine to me as the cheapest "used once" new 920s selling on Ebay are £90-£100 inc post from private sellers with no warranty.
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You could get a SIM only deal from Tesco and not much would change other than the fact that you wouldn't be paying for the phone in the monthly payments.
The other advantage of the SIM only is that whatever happens to the phone you can simply buy yourself another, or indeed if requirements change.
Also, perhaps searchlight Ebay for a 920 isn't the way. Perhaps its to check what's cheap and see if it will work for you. Your local independent phone shop frequently has a bunch of secondhand phones not on display.
Lastly, and I haven't used one much, I don't think you'll like a Windows phone. Maybe you will, but if you don't you are stuck with paying for it, even if you replace it yourself.
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Appreciate the thoughts.
>>>I don't think you'll like a Windows phone
Well remember I'm a happy Windows 8 convert on two home PCs.... and I don't need apps.
What I was doing today has gone a bit wrong, it's hot (well OK only 26degC inside) and I'm unusually annoyed so I'm off out to be cooled by the 525's aircon, soothed by Steeleye Span and might just end up going the country way to Tescos for a look-buy!
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>>Well remember I'm a happy Windows 8 convert on two home PCs.... and I don't need apps.
A fair point, and to be honest most of the stress I suffered was setting the thing up, not in the actual using of it.
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After 2 years with an iPhone 4S, I'm happy enough with a 1020 which is near identical to a 920 but for the camera.
It certainly works better as a phone. The iPhone call quality was often poor, on mine anyway. I also hoofed it from Sheffield station about a mile and a half across town on Saturday using the map/navigation, much better than I ever managed with the iPhone. You can download the maps to use when you have no network, which I have.
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The PAYG service, GiffGaff, is owned by O2 and is even better value cost wise if you own your own phone and buy a GG Goodybag monthly. See:
giffgaff.com/index/offer
and scroll down for details of the various Goodybag offers. They can be renewed automatically if you wish.
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>> The PAYG service, GiffGaff, is owned by O2 and is even better value cost wise
>> if you own your own phone and buy a GG Goodybag monthly. See:
>>
>> giffgaff.com/index/offer
>>
>> and scroll down for details of the various Goodybag offers. They can be renewed automatically
>> if you wish.
Agree worth a look - but if you need a phone then not necessarily. GG wanted £429 for the 1020, which O2 did for £240. I pay £28 a month on a 24m contract, £10 for the phone and £18 for unlimited calls and texts + 2GB data.
I use GG for my other phone.
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Oh well the deed is done. I'm happy with the Windows interface. Screen so much larger and more responsive this is the first time I've posted from a phone. Probably used all my data already!
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 17:46
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>>Probably used all my data already!
How much data are you allowed per month?
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My contract is 1GB.... actually I don't get near that unless Mrs F or girls get on my phone. With the old sluggish screen one they weren't motivated to... with this they might.
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No. 1 daughter averages out around 750mb per month using the phone pretty heavily, although she's pretty good at using WiFi rather than 3G data.
My wife averages around 500mb per month and pays no attention whatsoever to using WiFi or 3g Data, but doesn't do anything with video or music.
If you exclude my habit of streaming UK radio in the car, I use around 200mb per month, but I am smart about using WiFi instead of 3G for updates and the like. UK Radio pushes me up around 2GB.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 18:26
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>>Agree worth a look - but if you need a phone then not necessarily. >>
GiffGaff has only recently started offering mobile phones. It's not the same as acquiring one on a contract, as you buy it yourself either outright or by monthly payment.
I bought my HTC One X £400) and, previously, an HTC Wildfire S (£150), SIM-free on eBay and Carphone Warehouse respectively. It cost me more (the phone companies usually subsidise the cost of phones on contract) as a result, but the GiffGaff PAYG Goodybag prices bring a substantial saving each month to counterbalance the fact.
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Oh well from those data stats NoFM I should be fine. Never really used it on the phone before as I said... just had a bad experience with a 3 dongle a few years back using £15 of data credit in less than an hour browsing while on holiday.
Question though....
We are very old fashioned in our PC/net use and have just the home email address with BT which self and Mrs F use jointly... plus she has one net based email for using to contact home etc when away for work. Our Skype account is shared between main PC and a laptop in the home. When we bought this PC with Windows 8 we had to create a Microsoft account.
So do I just login to the phone using that or would it be better to create myself a complete new ID for the phone with a separate Skype & email etc??
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>>So do I just login to the phone using that or would it be better to create myself a complete new ID for the phone with a separate Skype & email etc??
Difficult.
For me I pretty much need two accounts for everything - business and social, which is a complication for a start.
However, I don't want any confusion with the rest of the family; with all her very best intentions in the world, I still don't want No. 2 talking to anybody who pays me!
So I have mine separated, albeit that I use my accounts across all platforms.
So, for us we all share most hardware, except for our phones, but we do not share accounts and each user logs in under their own ID.
You'd have to work out what is important to you and go from there, but my tip is that you do not need different accounts to separate machines or platforms, but you do need them to separate people..
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>> >>Agree worth a look - but if you need a phone then not necessarily. >>
>>
>> GiffGaff has only recently started offering mobile phones. It's not the same as acquiring one
>> on a contract, as you buy it yourself either outright or by monthly payment.
It's actually pretty similar now with O2. They split the monthly payment into (e.g.) 24x £10 for the phone, and £18 for the network services (unlimited calls/texts + 2GB monthly data).
I could have paid £240 up front and £18/month but as it is interest free I took the £28 - they set up a separate CCA loan agreement for it.
There is of course some difference in that I have a contract for the £18 - but I would have had that anyway, I like unlimited as it fixes my call costs.
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Tesco do this now so the phone is 24 payments on 0% to a different account. This means you can swap anytime if you just pay off the remaining phone balance leaving the call/data contract to continue with the new phone. Also after the 24mths the phone element is removed dropping the monthly effectively to a SIM only cost.
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>>It's actually pretty similar now with O2>>
But you still haven't taken into account the fact that GiffGaff is vastly cheaper than O2 itself...:-)
GiffGaff also uses the scheme whereby you buy a phone, if you wish, through people who put up the loan through the RateSetter facility. It's a method becoming more and more popular these days as it provides those willing to lend money with a higher interest rate than through the usual channels.
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I thought this was a thread about the Lumia 920 and not about mobile networks. :-)
I currently have a work mobile that is on O2 and my personal phone is on Vodafone. The latter can be switched in a few weeks and I might. Some observations:
- At times my 3G signal on my phone can be poor at home - despite what Vodafone predicts
- O2 signal seemed better
So thought I'd try Tesco Mobile with free 4G... Well:
- Got a 4G SIM on PAYG to try (99p)
- Put it in my phone... no 4G despite what Tesco/O2/GiffGaff say for here. 3G at best
- Then checked and I'd set my non-data phone to GSM only... so signal not so good
So back to thinking what to do... Maybe EE? But Vodafone will soon offer 4G on the old GSM frequencies.
Then again I normally work from home... so have WiFi :-)
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The Lumia 920 is a 4g phone and Tesco/O2 has 4g service and my contract includes 4G use but you are warned if you travel in and out of 4G areas you will have less issues as it swaps if you set the phone to 3G.
The only error in an otherwise excellent sales/info pitch and admin procedure from the girl in the Tesco store was that she put my old SIM in the new phone and to use 4G I needed a new SIM so they are posting one out.
Also to get me up and running with 4G immediately (well if she'd remembered to give me a new SIM) she gave me a one off months unlimited 4G bundle until my new contract comes in at the end of that month.... remembering I'm swapping a month before my 24mths actually ends due to a damaged phone and my old contract wouldn't have allowed 4G use.
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>> >>It's actually pretty similar now with O2>>
>>
>> But you still haven't taken into account the fact that GiffGaff is vastly cheaper than
>> O2 itself...:-)
Smiley noted.
I'm a fan of GG and I use it for my spare/personal phone. But I can't replicate my unlimited calls and 2GB data (with tethering allowed) on O2 for £18/month with GG. Tethering is not allowed on the unlimited data goodybags, and none gives unlimited calls. If I bought one £10 goodybag a month I could probably manage on the 1GB data, but I'd bust the 500 minutes of calls and have to buy a second one.
The out-of-bundle minutes on GG are significantly cheaper than O2 and Vodafone for example, and provided you have bought a goodybag in the last 3 months, then calls and texts to giffgaff numbers are free.
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As I'm retired, the £10 GG Goodybag (and perhaps even the £7.50 one) is more than sufficient for my needs - if, like you, I was still working then I would agree you need a more comprehensive package.
But for most people the Goodybags are perfect, including the 1GB data allowance on the £10 card as there are so many wi-fi hotspots these days..!! Recent GG SIMs are already 4G compatible by the way (it indicates on the back of the SIM if this is the case).
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Tempted by GiffGaff but the name and the word" Goodybags" puts me off. I really must overcome this irrational hatred of things with stupid names, it's costing me money.
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Used to look forward to being given a goodybag when a child...:-)
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Nokia Lumia 920 - Manatee
