Video: Nokia Unlocked – Unlock a world of choice (and N8 with Windows XP FF browser -#SimulatedScreenFail)

Now this isn’t the first time Nokia has tried to promote their unlocked devices, and neither should it be the last. Another tweet from @chansearrington, this video posted two weeks ago shows the benefits of having an unlocked device. This is something I take for granted as I’ve always been particular to choose unlocked phones from particular service providers and retailers. However, there is a situation (very prevalent in the US) that your choice of phone is limited due to the network provider available to you. It’s still funny to consider that there are networks without SIM cards.

In the UK, we’re very fortunate that most Nokia phones are available to most networks. That may not be the same where you are, even if you have the equivalent network in your country. e.g. T-Mobile might have N8/iPhone in UK but not in the USA.

With an unlocked phone you can pick your handset (Nokia) of choice and then the carrier that suits you. Even if they don’t have that device in their standard portfolio. This also means that you can use your phone overseas with local sim cards. It does seem to be a bigger up front cost, and prohibits many customers who would prefer smaller monthly instalments. With the right plan though, you could work it out to be a near equivalent or cheaper.

Question: How on earth is this playing Assassin’s Creed in Portrait? I think it’s cool they’ve managed to put desktop facebook on the N8’s browser playing flash (it does fine with embed youtube actually, embed facbook no. Fortunately here you have embedded YT). Not that you would get to the desktop version very easily or that you’d be able to read the text. Actually, if you look at it, they’ve simulated Internet Explorer FireFox (thanks @SimonLR and Gizmokid for pointing out my browser mix up) on the Nokia N8. That is Windows XP desktop browser with FF (not i.e. tho they look quite similar when small and blurry) Are they trying to push acceptance of Windows on Nokia phone subliminally? I also like how the sim card enters the N8 via the camera button. The “one” haircut thing is kinda funny/disturbing.

OK, enough being picky, back to unlocked Nokia phones.

A tip if you’re a UK customer:

• It is possible to get unlocked phones with contract plans. Always ask, they might not be locking their phones which means you get a subsidized handset that’s unlocked.
• Check also if it’s branded. This is different from unlocking. Branding puts carrier specific modifications (which may make updates a little slower, and gosh, we need all the help we can get in speeding them up)
• If you’re an upgrading customer on pay monthly and your handset IS locked, you may be able to pay a fee of £15 to get it unlocked without having to wait for new contract to end.
• When getting an unlocked handset, consider that a sim-only plan may be more worth it. It would work out cheaper than pay and go if you consistently use over a certain number of minutes/text/web per month.
• If you’re going pay and go (best really if you use less than £15, inconsistent with usage), doing some extra homework might help reduce costs. Some networks do 6 month web bundles for£5 or £20. Over 18 months, that’s around £45. Try to see if there are text/call bundles/bolt ons too.

Tags: Nokia, Nokia N8, Unlocked, Video

Category: Nokia, Nseries, Symbian, Video, Windows Phone