I asked a salesman what the options were for mobile email. He pointed to two BlackBerry phones, the 7130v and the 8700v. But he then said that a better buy was Vodafone's own 3G smartphone, the V1605 (a branded HTC Hermes). Under questioning he admitted that Visto was the provider of the email for what is called 'Vodafone Business Email.'
Being a user of the V1605 he appeared particularly keen to show off its touch sensitive screen and easy use of the Windows Mobile operating system.
On being asked about BlackBerry Pearl he said that it might be available soon but that it would be better for me to order it on the Vodafone web site due to 'lack of availability at the moment.'
When specifically asked he said other options for mobile email were the Palm Tree 750v; Nokias 9300, E61, E50; the Sony Ericsson P990i; and Vodafone's V1240.
It does seem strange that a Vodafone salesman is so keen to push a customer toward one particular phone. Not sure I would have been too keen to buy BlackBerry after his less than favourable companrison with the only phone he wanted to show me in actual use, the V1605. Could it be that there are better margins for salespeople on own brand products and services?
Finally he confirmed the view of many that upgrading is something of a black art. When asked how much it might cost if I bought a new contract and upgraded after a year he said: 'That will depend, you will have to ask and we will let you know,' followed by 'You don't really need to know right now.'
He said that Vodafone would want to make it attractive to keep me as a customer but it depended on current usage what they would charge for an upgrade.
Vodafone's current pricing plan gives four prices for each new phone depending on the tariff agreed. For example the BlackBerry 7130v is either free, £30, £100, or £150. If you want to buy it without a contract its £300.
So presumably if I am a high rolling customer I might get it for £150, whereas if they are only getting £25 per month off me because my calling habits are within the most basic tariff deal then I am more likely to have to fork out nearer £300.
He then told me that Vodafone have no policy on taking phones back. He agreed that I might as well sell my old phone on eBay. Come on Vodafone! How about taking about some sort of recycling programme?
We like: Helpful staff, plenty of phones on view, great brochure.
We don't like: Lack of interest in flogging BlackBerry, vague upgrade policy, big store with not much in it, no policy on taking back old phones.
Sidenote on mobile email: I met a guy at the weekend who, like my salesman above, is a devoted V1605 user. He pointed out to me that he would never need mobile email because he was quite happy to pick up email via his web account (Hotmail, I think).
Which raises the question: Will consumers ever need push email once accessing the web on a phone is a no brainer? OK, it's nice to have pushed email, but if your budget is tight would you really pay £10 - £15 a month for the privilege? Perhaps not if it represents 20-30 per cent of your monthly bill which it would for most consumers on tariffs of £30 - £40 per month.
Footnote: I went back the next day and asked about the 3G broadband data card which costs £99 in the brochure. Without even asking for a discount it was instantly offered to me at £50 - so make sure you don't pay the full rate. Maybe if I had negotiated it would have gone even lower.
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