O2 Vs Vodafone ? in Caithness & North Sutherland

[emb123]

Hi, I'm thinking about upgrading my phone as I'm coming to the end of my contract with Orange. (Why I renewed in the first place is what I really don't understand :) )

I'm into using each and every feature extensively of the latest hi-tech phones (yes I'm a gadget freak!) and whilst I flirted with the idea of an iPhone, it's just too limited (can't expand memory, can't swap out a flat battery for a charged one) too captive to Apple and Quicktime is an abomination which takes over your PC.

The current most amazing phone on the market is the Google Nexus One, closely followed by the Motorola Milestone neck and neck with the Nokia N900 then the HTC HD2 (Windows Mobile Bleeurgh!).

I want a Nexus One on O2 (because the coverage is better here than any of the other networks and the deals are usually quite good) but simply can't run to buying one Sim-free for £500.

I see it is finally available on Vodafone in the UK.

I have indifferent experiences of being a Vodafone customer some time in the past.

Can anyone please advise what Vodafone are like these days in Caithness and the far north generally for coverage, rural coverage, network not being overloaded with other customers using up all available slots on the transmitters, data usage speed, and any problems that they have had with Vodafone here in the far north ?

I would hate to tie myself to a contract with Vodafone if the coverage and network availability or data speeds are poor.

Is O2 still the only viable network for the highlands ?

Thanks for reading :)

[Phill]

I use Vodafone with a Blackberry and up here it performs very well for fone/data/browsing etc.

There are a few little blackspots but they exist with every network and are generally the same areas.

I'd avoid O2 personally, the geographical coverage looks good but in my experience both up here and in major cities the network can't handle the capacity. Numerous dropped calls or network connection errors and as for customer service, well it doesn't exist.
I had the worst 18 months of mobile connection ever conceivable with that mickymouse outfit. Endless rows with them and failed promises of things being corrected and / or credits to my account.

I tried the iPhone for a while but had to send it back, a great toy with some interesting app's but as a tool for communication......nah!

[emb123]

Hi, thanks Phil. Very helpful input.

Likewise I had a 12 month with O2 whilst living in a huge town and had endless problems with terrible signal, the network was totally over-subscribed so you couldn't get a free slot on the transmitter to make a phone call until a few other network users came off their phones.

Also like you I found that O2 customer service was hard to get through to, then when you finally got through to a real person they were totally incompetent, pushed you from department to department, failed to keep their promises and were pretty grudging to do anything that didn't sound like a coffee-break. This was about 10 years ago though.

I've since noticed that up here, a number of friends and acquaintances are all on O2 and they are either having no problems or not telling me about them :) What O2 are like down in the cities now that there are even more O2 subscribers is something I can only speculate on.

The Vodafone tariffs aren't quite such good value for money as on O2 but having a phone you can actually USE (because there is a signal) would be a vast improvement over my current situation :)

I recall that in the big towns in the past, Vodafone was heavily over-subscribed as well in terms of trying to get a free slot on the cell to make a call but perhaps being a bit more expensive may have resolved that problem.

Maybe I should see if I can negotiate a deal with Vodafone directly, in the past I found they were quite amenable to discussions and were keen to get your custom.

Thanks again :)

[Phill]

Been on O2 back when it was Cellnet and then again a couple of years ago up here, I couldn't see any improvements at all. As you say, oversubscribed, the network just does not have capacity.

I've been with Vodafone for about 18 months now, never used them previously either. No problems anywhere, up and down the UK and recently across Europe, does what it says on the tin.

If you can, try and get a business contract, better customer service and phone backup (next day replacement etc.).

[Kodiak]

I am on VodaFone as is my Wife, my Son and his Wife. Both my Son and his Wife use a BlackBerry and they also use everything on it. They say the speeds are good even where they live, which is in the middle of no-where. We all find that VodaFone coverage up here in Caithness is very good indeed.

[Vistravi]

My mum and my step sister are on vodofone and O2. My partner is on contract with vodofone and he wants to go to O2 when his contract is up as he's had enough of vodofone. He's had nothing but problems.

As far as coverage goes they're both as good as each other. I used to be on vodofone pay as you go when i lived in thurso before and i got fed up with the mast constantly being down every couple of weeks and having a phone that was rendered useless for a week to two weeks at one point. I switched to O2 and never a issue with signal then.

[upolian]

Ive been with O2 for 10years ill always remain with them :)

[northener]

We've been using O2 on the taxis for two and a half years now. No real problems and good customer service. I'm a business customer so maybe different Customer Services?

Plus I think they're really nice at the moment as they're sending me 3 mobile interband dongle thingies with access FOC for being a 'good customer':Razz

[EDDIE]

I had o2 on my iphone changed it to orange that was terrible then went to vodafone the coverage is better than 02 in my opinion but in the year i had 02 i never really had a problem with 02 really
emb123 im a gadget freak to there is supposed to be a new iphone comming out this year might be worth waiting i have the 16gb iphone i havent filled up the space yet if you use itunes its easy to organise the music and change it quickly but i think the iphone is the best phone on the market at the moment the apps are cheap and doesnt take up hardly any space some of the games for 59 pence are quite good the only thing i would slag of about the phone is the battery doesnt last long if your messing about with apps and you need a charging lead for the car you can buy a battery pack the clips onto the phone but the new iphone comming out has a removable battery but other than that i cant fault the iphone

[bekisman]

Live 'out west' at Strathy, tried a couple, but found O2 + (Tesco) the best for this area..

[poppett]

We use Vodafone and the only real problem is in Brora at the car park behind the co-op where there is no signal, but have been told no signal there no matter which company the phone is with.

Vodafone customer services are brilliant to deal with. Have shopped with them online and the call centre staff are not just UK based, but scottish call centre based.

[Kirdon]

Carry both and o2 def better signal in caithness in general and less down time due to masts etc,

[emb123]

thanks for the input folks - very much appreciated :)

Feeling I seem to be getting is that they're both basically ok without either being exceptional, which is understandable given the geography.

I know what you folks who had problems with network masts being down mean - it is practically a weekly occurence on Orange - maybe they just don't care about the Highlands. :evil I shall have to inquire for specfics on mast problems with Vodafone if I decide to go with them and ask them if they have any plans, not pipe dreams, to ensure a reliable service for customers in this neck of the highlands. (Now there's a wicked thought... maybe Orange's coverage of the Highlands is just a pipe dream! :grin:)

I have considered the latest iPhone to be honest Eddie, and it's really lagging behind the Android handsets. Apple moved the goalposts way into the future when they brought out the iPhone, but the goalposts have been moved again, this time by Android and Google and the iPhone is now an also-ran. Sorry, but technology moves on the whole time - the iPhone in all its current incarnations is now an absolutely astounding piece of equipment in the past. Even now, I'm using a Nokia N85 with 16Gb card and it's been full to the brim from about a week into my getting it. I could easily fill up a finite 32Gb maximum amount of memory with my favourite songs and videos and apps within a matter of hours.

I suspect that the smart move will be to wait a couple of weeks and see if the Nexus One appears on O2 and then I can be really confused about which network to plump for! and I suspect at which point, Vodaphone will offer matching tariffs.

Thanks again for your advice folks!