HTC Hero on sale tomorrow at Orange UK
By Darren Murph 
posted July 21st 2009 3:02PM
posted July 21st 2009 3:02PM
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posted July 21st 2009 3:02PM
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Woot!
Gimmie!
Wish the US got free smartphones on contract. Can't wait for the full review.
The contract terms over there are much more onerous. You end up paying the same in the end.
@kjb434 - that really would suck, if it were true.
An 18 month/600 minute/unl. text/500MB data plan costs $57 - less data than T-Mobiles G1 plan, but quite a bit cheaper.
And, compared the the US pricing we'll see, this is an outright steal. In the US I'll expect to pay $250-$300 for the phone on a 2-year contract, plus $75-$100 a month for "unlimited" voice, data, and text. Mind you, the data limit is actually closer to 1GB.
Perhaps somebody with a better view of all this can point out why I manage to pay so much more for these phones?
"kjb434" is full of shit. Over the years, I have kept up with the iPhone pricing between countries, and you can definitely get a far better deal in the UK. The plans are cheaper, and they offer top-end devices like the iPhone, Nokia's flagship, HTC's flagship, etc for free on contract. And many contracts are 18-months, and you can still get a hell of a subsidy with 12-month contracts too.
Fuck Orange! Boycott Orange and their 24-month contracts! Down with Orange!
Oh, and Vodafone, too.
Orange?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I agree with you, silly Nokia fanboy!
Orange must DIE - not Romeo.
Well here in the US just about every phone you buy from a carrier carries a 2yr contract. So youre left with the option of buying an unlocked phone, at a ridiculous price, or a used one, which is not easy for a new phone. So its contract or go broke. But we dont get newly released phones on contract.
I'm glad we agree on something, you tool of fruity oppression.
Yes, but, over there in the US, you've always been getting raped. By huge companies. With no lubrication. Over here, the raping has been increasing gradually. That's why my brethren in the UK must boycott Orange and their shitty 24-month contracts, for the sake of our collective butts.
Plus, of course, Orange then make you pay another £5 a month for a shitty 500MB intarwebs allowance. Vodafone are about the same.
Twats.
Noo, I don't orange to vanish. You never use them yourself, you make sure you have a friend on Orange, that way you can get into the cinema on Wednesdays for half price with them and be with a better carrier on your phone.
@Phil Perman
You don't even need to be on Orange to get that deal!!
Orange do 12 month contracts - I've just ordered the Hero on one from their site! The phone isn't free of course, but what do you expect if you want one of the latest handsets?
I hope the US gets this phone within the month :(
What's the ETF over there? Is it possible to buy it on contract and then cancel for cheaper than it is to buy one unlocked from an importer?
-Taylor
PENALTIES! PENALTIES! PENALTIES!
Over here, to cancel your contract you'll have to pay the amount that you would pay if you kept your contract. I'll try to explain that better:
If you're on an 18 month contract, at £35 per month, and you wanted to cancel your contract in the 3rd month, you would have to pay off the remaining 15 months. 35*15=525. You'd have to pay £525 to cancel the contract.
@iloveapple
That makes more sense then for the trade-off, but really how many people cancel contracts? Here in the USA, it's usually $150-$200 cancel fee, I believe, so not nearly as bad.
However, we can't get new phones regularly and the prices are astronomical by comparison. You also get 12-18 month contracts where as 24 months is standard here. I'd much rather have a shorter contract with a high cancel fee.
OMG OMG I may have to invest in one of these first thing tomorrow!
Was so jealous when America got the Palm Pre before us in the UK, now how the tables have turned!
Just a quick question out of curiosity:
Can Windows Mobile be installed in place of the Android and vice versa on the HTC devices?
Nope.
-Taylor
Not entirely accurate.
Android on WM devices does work.
Although you can get Android to work on a Windows Mobile phone, when you turn it off and back on, it goes back to WM, so you have to relaunch the Android boot loader. It's only a minor pain in the butt, to get the chance to play with two OSes on one device.
Going the other way would be tough though. I'd think that the HVGA display would present problems, along with a number of other hardware issues (depending on the other components of the phone).
BTW, here's just one HTC WM device running Android... the Vogue. There
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=382265
The only real drawback is some of the button mappings are weird. I can't wait for the Hero ROM to find its way to XDA. :)
From Orange's Hero tariff page: "Want a plan with unlimited email? Sorry, the phone you have chosen is not compatible with our email plans. For unlimited email, take a look at our email-friendly phones and BlackBerry® range or browse our Panther plans. Just remember that if you select one of the links below, your current phone choice will be removed from your basket."
Eh? So ANY plan doesn't include email? How about internet? What a crippling offer. :(
My cousin just scored one from Orange, free phone, £20/month, 2000 minutes, unlimited data, unlimited texts. One hell of a sick deal.
boooo hisssss won't let me upgrade online. booooooo.
nice phone, but
no qwerty key...no worky me (i just made that up :)
Upgrades are your bitch
ugh! come to america! i dont want a mytouch. this is so much nicer.
with similar plans/prices, too. tmobile will probably get it next year, rape us on $200 phone + $70 a month data/voice
That is awesome. I'm gonna see if I can get that!!
Ugh, meant for Turis PC's post
Europe always has sweet prices for phones
Info on how?
Awful bloody comment system.
Anyway, yeah, any info on how he got that dea, where from and the like?
Got mine ordered today.
Got it on a 12 month contract at £30 a month plus £5 for the data addon.
Will be here tomorrow between 9 and 6
Really?! Did you order from a store or online?
Ordered it through upgrades.
Free phone as well so working out pretty cheap
I miss 12 month contracts. We only get 24 in the US now.
Man I want to know who the US carrier will be so I can decide if I'm going to wait for this or not...
Ditto
HTC Hero in graphite is sexy
This phone is soo cool.
Going to Norwich tomorrow to buy mine.
Will probably get it on a £30 pound a month contract.
The fact that you get 8mb broadband for free with it kinda helps sell it to me
Definitely worth phoning Orange to negotiate, online you can only get a £40 a month contract with the data package! Lets face without the data it would be waste of time. Seems fairly dumb of Orange not to offer packages that are on par with the iPhone even if the handheld is cheaper!
Hm, I was in an Orange store today listening to a sales representative telling a customer that they've heard the Hero is meant to be out tomorrow but no-one's got the stock yet meaning it'll probably be delayed a week. Also, Orange tariffs are RIP OFFS! T-mobile Solo 20 is amazing value, £20 a month for unlimited sms, 1 gig of internet and 600 minutes, and it's only a 30 day contract!