Why I Won't Go For The Razr Cdma Or Rather Any High Priced Handset For That Matter.

[gids 0]

First a lil brief about my self, i've been wid reliance since it started (dapo) n now currently in prepaid and soon to switch over to gsm aswell. My first phone was samsung sch n191( dead motherboard) next was lg 6000( the best looking in rim), later kyocera(my biggest mistake coz it just went kaboom after 1 month, n still remains lifeless wid me coz no one wants to purchase it and im not to keen on gettin it repaired) and now the samsung slim(second hand)

Now back to the topic.

hope u read the thread about the launch of Razr Cdma next week. i know u all must be excited once again, previously being in the case of nokia 6255(first bluetooth on cdma) , kyocera 7135 and the ever awaited nokia 6265.

But the case ain't same wid me, blame it on my luck with rim or whateva. hope the following points make it clear.

1.Difficulties in reselling the handsets.

The biggest flaw reliance has is that the handsets are network locked and cannot be sold further easily. This may not be much prevelant for low priced handsets but in case of high end phones this problem is just intrinsic.

i've been to the very famous gaffar market, delhi just to find out that the only phones which are traded are for less than 1000 bucks. (even i got a samsung slim for 550 bucks )

But the point is that in this era of ever changing technology we do have to consider the resale price of handsets and lets just face it phones(cdma) launched in india are not even a blurred image compared to the phones in other cdma markets so why spent so much for these outdated handsets.

2. Brand image of motorola.

Motorola has not been able to set up a good brand name in the indian cdma market as compared to that of others due to poor quality of its handsets and not having a good network of authorised service centres. And mind the after ales serivice provided by ASC's does matter alot, i've learnt it the hard way from my mistake of purchasing kyocera 7135 which still remains lifeless.

Even the previous model of motorola v730 was a disaster. From what i read here, almost every piece contained software problem and was subject to replacement. I am not still sure of this and am not aware if there was a possible bug fix later on.

3. Why did the Razr sold like hot cakes??

Was it the slim n sexy design, was it the various colors( black, pink, silver) or the brand of motorola???

The answer acc to me is NO, it only sold because of the massive cut in its price, mind u it launched for 30k n above and back then it was a complete failure just like the nokia 8800 which was only meant for the Look Concious.

But i do appreciate the razr v3i which contained the external memory, just what it exactly reqd.

4. Inconsistency or rather clever sales techniques on part of rim regarding its schemes.

Well we've all been there and expirienced it atleast once or maybe 1000 of times. Its no secret that reliance has always kept changing its schemes which we always used to simply love. And the younger Ambani is more keen on getting revenues rather than customer satisfaction(u can browse the unlimeted posts made by rim members)

perfect examples for above point can be the withdrawal of rs 55 sms unlimited, 440 voucher, on-net packs, change in india card schemes,180 sms card etc, etc, etc........

5. Gsm as a substitute

Well as the trend i see it the customer base(including me) is shifting again towards the earlier generation technology ie Gsm. even they provide competent rates like airtel-airtel 10p, 1500 local sms on hucth two 2 talk and many more. And the handsets!!!!!!!!! the are just like fantasies or science fictions for the cdma users. The most advanced handet in cdma(india), according to me is nokia 6255 priced at 12800 and in gsm i can get a nokia 6600 for 10000/- or better yet pay a 1000 bucks more to get black nokia 6681(my next phone ).even the Nokia 6265 is going to be priced more than its gsm twin and doesn't even have symbian base.

But, But, But

but we still can't leave reliance can we? , yeah lets face it it does offer cheapest calls and does have a excellent coverage and the free roaming(dunno how long that will last)

That's the prime reason im not leaving reliance altogether.Also i believe reliance has huge untapped potential and also i think that lil ambani would now focus on cdma again now that he has been denied to use both cdma n gsm together

Possible solution????

For people like me who need to make std to that special someone and are totally sick of reliance but can't afford the gsm call rates do what i do.

Me n my gf both hav rim prepaid she used to recharge wid 330 and i wid 1100. Now i've purchased a hutch connection n now i'll recharge her cell wid 1100 n rs 90 recharge for my rim(lifetime incomin in installments) and 330 amount for my hutch along with hutch two to talk voucher for rs 60 for 1500 local sms free and half the call rates.

Effective increase in cost per moth comes out to be 90 if u don wan free sms which i know many of us cann easily afford.

But it has a negative point of keepin 2 handsets but not compared to fact that i hav always dreamed of havin a high tech phone(imagine the loads of softwares n ringtones im gonna put )

FINALLY I CONCLUDE THAT ITS NOT WORTH INVESTING IN HIGH PRICED CDMA HANDSETS.

The above topic is meant for a discussion n i would appreciate it if you would pool inur thoghts as well.

[ani_meher 42]

Damn you gids! I was almost converted till you pulled me back!

But really, very good writeup. Even I don't feel that RIM is worth investing so much money. As for 7135, we are selling in the same boat, buddy. Even my 7135 is in Coma. I am still not keen on shifting to GSM, as RIM coverage is fine for me, but I doubt whether investing 5 digit money on a single handset which has to be used on RIM only will be a good idea. Besides, Razr, though having good features, don't entice me much as the planned Nokia 6275i etc (but hey, going by 6265 launch plans, the future phones from Nokia will be doubtful).

My current LG 6130 is going strong. In next update which is quite far away, I'll be needing bluetooth. So if any good Nokia handsets are not launched by then, then mostly I'll go by Motorazr.

But hey, no one can deny, this is the most beautiful piece that has ever come to reliance (barring the LG6000). If you plan to be on RIM forever, and don't give reselling cost a damn, then go for it. Else, hold your horses, as even in RIM, the resell value of Nokia will be anyday greater than Moto or LG in the same price range.

[Ramchi 0]

I wont blame you for doing this. Me too was a reliance post paid customer for almost 18 months then changed to prepaid for one month got a taste of their prepaid service plus Nokia 6255 problems.

Finally I sold my handset (replaced by Nokia with new one) and got away at the right time. I am not tied to Reliance any more. After seeing their latest moves like entering GSM etc...I think I have done the right thing at the right time I believe!

[solanky 0]

I have also used RIM for one year and than I have shifted to GSM 2 months ago. Now I am more happy than earlier. I have a Sony Ericsson K750i ( Rs. 11750/-), believe me it is the best phone ever launched untill today. It has saved my money which I was going to spent on a Digicam( if you don't believe check my album http://www.flickr.com/photos/deependra ). We can't wait so long for such types of phones in CDMA or I should say we can only dream of. Now a days there is not so much of difference in call rates of GSM and CDMA. There are a lot of SMS packs, low rates packs avaible in all GSM operators.

So after 2 months of experience of shift from CDMA to GSM I have no regret and I can suggest anyone for the same.

Edited July 6, 2006 by solanky

[KumaarShah 143]

Looks like it is high time to quit Reliance and shift to GSM of Airtel or Hutch or even BSNL.

Only problem I have is that I have 6 Rel. connections and no other operator is giving Free Onnet calling packs. So what to do?

I am frustrated by the lack of proper response even from CMO eg. handsets like 6265 etc and also withdrawal of facilities one by one.

Hope some one drills some good sense into ADA.

[gids 0]

@khs 123- i think there is a scheme on hutch postpaid where u get monthly 1000 mins free 2 any hutch.

[KumaarShah 143]

@gids, Thanks, I will check with Hutch, Chennai and post later.

[Lion King 0]

Hey,

I have just joined this forum...

I do agree with Manish on most of the things having gone thru all the same problems and more...

But I have to say that RIM does offer an excellent network and its call rates are some of the cheapest... though the free roaming is to end this month. They are going to charge 25 bucks a month for national roaming...

I do agree it is not worth spending on the current crop of CDMA phones coz u get much more value for money in GSM phones for the same amount....

BUT for those of us who have the old ON-NET pack which lets u call RIM to RIM free in your circle, its great...i mean the charges... I pay 125/- per month for calling free RIM to RIM in Maharashtra!!

But i still would not go for a RAZR unless the price is not more than 6k... definitely not buying it if it does not have xtended memory cards etc...

I use a Samsung Boss coz its one of the sleekest handsets, super tough and good memory... I use RIM for making free RIM to RIM calls... my whole office in on it.... and it has cut down my bills from around 2k to around 650/- and i satisfy my cravings for super gadgets coz i have a GSM connection also and use a 9300

all in all CDMA has a long way to go before the prices are similar to GSM...

[MVP 3]

@khs 123- i think there is a scheme on hutch postpaid where u get monthly 1000 mins free 2 any hutch.

Theres a corporate scheme where you get 1000 minutes local calls to any network at Rs 500/month. My friend got that scheme for Rs200/month as a special offer.

[Lion King 0]

Maybe but RIM is still cheaper... for those who have the earlier schemes then it is Rs. 75 to Rs. 200, depending on your base tariff plan for UNLIMITE RIM to RIM in Maharashtra & Goa.

For those who take it now charge is the same for 1000 mins.... so its still cheaper...

i heard the RAZR is coming in at around 12k...

NOT WORTH IT....

[kshah 452]

No one can deny the fact that CDMA handsets, especially in India, are far inferior than GSM. Globally GSM is accepted for its voice capabilities not the data. Agreed 90% of users in India are voice users, so GSM is more acceptable than CDMA.

But if we compare cost of communications including data than definately reliance is much much cheaper. Every one may be offering better prices in their own network but no one is comparable with reliace in terms of internetwork prices.

In GSM GPRS / EDGE data cost is astronomically high, 10 paise per KB. Where as in reliance it is 0.3 paise per KB (Considering 10 MB dowload in 1 hours and Rs 30 per hour), widest network (As single operator), Data connection availability even in roaming at same price.

Frankly I am been thinking toshift to GSM since last 1 year but when ever I go out of my town and can download mails on my laptop, I decide against shifting to GSM.

Perheps because we expect too much from reliance RIMWEB is doing so well. Had it been GSM we would have accepted what ever they offered.

[imvikky 0]

kshah- Even I agree to you I have had been waiting to quit reliance asap but only thing that holds me here is internet on the move... I roam all across india and hold a NJ149data with onnet sms pack... I get a average download speed of 55 MB per hour.... and pay 400+50/pm... If anyone could suggest me with a cheaper service than this I would anytime change over from this stupid ADA network...(I dont mind buying a data card or a tata phone) I dont care much about voice plans cos I gen speak to my relatives on voice chat... Only thing I am worried about is this uncertainity in plans from reliance...

Edited July 11, 2006 by imvikky

[kshah 452]

TATA would be nightmare, believe me. I started believing that because we expect too much from reliance, we have so many complaints. GSM guys are no better then RIM except they are more sophisticated so wont let you feel that you are cheated or you are not treated well.

I put download speed of just 10 MB so that it does not become so "cheap". If we talk about voice clarity, congesion etc. Reliance is still better rather best. They only need to free their control of handsets. It appears that soon reliace phones will be RUIM enabled as it seems that if CDMA wants to survive in regime of portability of numbers, then they must take necessary actions on this.

[jpatalia 1]

hi

just one major doubt.

cannot understand the jargon surrounding RUIM

can i use RAZR on reliance using UIM card of reliance

RELIANCE has started giving UIM cards.

in this case is it possible for me to use any good pda cdma phone with ruim slot, n reliance network in india.

can i get the phone from US.

jjj

[shashank 8]

Reliance will not allow the usage of other handsets on their networks as they need to program and install their softwares(R-World etc).

Only TATA allows it since they dont install any sofwares in it.

[amitbt22 2]

If Neone dont want Rworld then what dear.

[MOBILE FAN 42]

I have read the whole thread from starting and I agree on all the points. But you people are missing one major point. If you are DAPO/Delight customer you still enjoy the best STD RIM-RIM rates. Which is not available on any GSM netwrok. I am sticking to RIM just because of this. Please note that Delight is still available for anybody who wants to enjoy cheapest RIM-RIM STD. I will switch to other alternative when GSM players comes up with cheaper STD rates.

[basant_jp 0]

Yes, RIM2RIM std rates is a good reason to stick with Reliance. Btw, I think Reliance India One plans are comparatively better than Delight plans. You pay Rs 50 less in comparison to Delight plans (after including 50 rupees for RIM onnet SMS pack for RIO plans).

[Puneet 0]

RIO299 + Onnet SMS pack = Rs 349, no free talk time

Delight 399 = Rs 399, Rs 160 worth of free talk time

I guess delight plans are always better. You get Rs 160 worth of talk time by paying just 50 bucks extra.

[drali 6]

DAPO is the best. Free UNLIMITED SMSes to any of d mobile in INDIA.no such plan offer by any of d operators in India.I love free smses.my sms output is around 17-18 thousands/month = Rs 17k/month but all free.cheers!

Edited August 29, 2006 by drali2

[basant_jp 0]

RIO299 + Onnet SMS pack = Rs 349, no free talk time

Delight 399 = Rs 399, Rs 160 worth of free talk time

I guess delight plans are always better. You get Rs 160 worth of talk time by paying just 50 bucks extra.

Reliance website does not mention free talktime worth Rs 160...I checked on this link

http://www.reliancecommunications.co.in/Co...ans_tariff.html

Is the plan you are referring to different than Delight 399 and Delight 499?

[Puneet 0]

Delight plans were launched as replacement plans for DAPO customers, and the mailers that we had received did mention Rs 160 worth of talk time. Maybe the information on the website is not correct, or maybe they modified the plan later on. I guess some of us would still have those mailers.

Delight plans were discussed in detail on RIMweb.in too, let me search for them.

[kshah 452]

DAPO is the best. Free UNLIMITED SMSes to any of d mobile in INDIA.no such plan offer by any of d operators in India.I love free smses.my sms output is around 17-18 thousands/month = Rs 17k/month but all free.cheers!

How do you manage to type 17-18K SMS? Do you have typing machine

[amitbt22 2]

By making groups & sending to them d same message can also leads to that output

[drali 6]

yeah... amit u r 100% rite.i got a vast frend circle all over d country.

@Kshah

if Vx6600 has got distribution list feature i m also interested in it.