Need a little clarification

Does anyone know whether Virgin Media still puts their own branding/bloatware on their mobiles. Something along the lines of this; [bit.ly]

I'm thinking of getting a phone off them but don't want the bloatware/branding all over the phone as it looks immensely tacky and then doesn't work as well if you put another sim from a different carrier.

Thanks in advance for the rapid replies if possible.

Monil

P.S. This is in no way like the iPod repaint question

YOu can remove the branding though... peasy.

New case, or some light scrubbing.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

there was a post on lifehacker.com last week about removing the branding... and virgin media's software can't be as bad as skodafone's... my nokia is constantly dying cos of it, and if you close it, it won't connect to the carrier... (not taht it matters at the mo, my nokia's being fixed by nokia... i'm hoping when it comes back they'll have wiped it!)

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Team Japan Owner - GPGNC

Dan, he means the little animations and stuff when you turn the phone on, not just the logos on the case. my Samsung was locked to Orange, so i got it unlocked, but everytime i switch it on it still plays a little Orange animation.

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RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael

Quote
harjinator
and virgin media's software can't be as bad as skodafone's... my nokia is constantly dying cos of it, and if you close it, it won't connect to the carrier...

I bought a phone myself rather than getting locked into a carrier or contract, so obviously it has no branding either, but I do love the app from Vodafone that I have which allows me to top up my credit with about 2 clicks and a pin number and check credit with 1 click. I'm not pretending that all Vodafone software is fantastic or anything, but clearly it's not all rubbish either - maybe dependant on the platform.

Thanks for the rapid replies guys. Makes my job of choosing which network to get more easier .

danm Wrote:
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> YOu can remove the branding though... peasy.
>
> New case, or some light scrubbing.

Light scrubbing should work :D but not advisable if its a new phone on the market and no cases are available


Muks_C Wrote:
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> Dan, he means the little animations and stuff when
> you turn the phone on, not just the logos on the
> case. my Samsung was locked to Orange, so i got it
> unlocked, but everytime i switch it on it still
> plays a little Orange animation.

Yup that too

@Adam: Have you tried a full factory reset on the phone. You can get some codes from Nokia's site and then just fully wipe the system to get what you would normally get from Nokia themselves.

I would get the phone from the company itself but it's just to pricey to cough up 300quid at once. But I think I'll go with O2 and get it from them. I've bought phones from them before so they don't slap the branding on it.

Thanks again guys

Virgin Mobile don't do the iPhone so pointless network



You can easily get a Nokia's firmware upgraded to a generic EU one and get rid of any obtrusive software (Just remember to revert back to the original firmware if you need to take it into the shop)

i'll have a play when i get it back from wherever it is vodafone send them to to be fixed (speaker died). I've been googling this, and it's apparently near impossible to do a full factory reset on an N85 for some bizarre reason... i've been trying to find out how for months!

@gav, yeah i was more referring to the vodafone 'home screen' thing. everything else was uninstallable, but the my191 app was actually useful (told me how much i'd spent etc). But yeah, my main gripe was with the unkillable People app...

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Team Japan Owner - GPGNC

Oh no an Nseries Nokia. Those are *the* most buggiest phones ever. If your software works then the hardware usually fails and if the hardware works properly then the softwares no good. The NSeries should be avoided at all costs. Their new N97 (The big one not mini) failed in the market due to an overheating battery.

For a hard reset; check this link ---> [discussions.europe.nokia.com]

Just do *#0000# to check your firmware before you do it.