Unlocking mobiles: where to do it and how much you save
Want a cheap phone? You can save a fortune through buying a pre-paid mobile and getting it 'unlocked'. This costs between €10 and €50 in dozens of independent mobile phone shops (ie not owned or controlled by operators).
Pre-paid models Pre-paid price Standalone price*
Motorola Razr V3 €200 €430
Sony Ericsson K750i €200 €430
Nokia 3320 €90 €250
Nokia 8800 €700 €1,000
VK530 (pink) €70 €200
Nokia 6101 €150 €300
*As displayed in Vodafone shops
The operators subsidise pre-paid phones a lot, on the basis that they're locked and won't be used on their rivals' networks. But lots of shops unlock them. For example, in Dublin's Camden Street/Aungier Street area, beside our offices, there are two shops which do this, FM Mobiles (also on George's Street; 01-4791745) and Simi Sim (01-4789087). Is this legal? Yes. Are there drawbacks to it? It's unclear. For example, calling customer care may elicit a piqued helpdesk agent given that you no longer have the handset they thought they'd sold you. Also, one or two operators vaguely threaten that having this done "might" affect your warranty. Lastly, they appeal to punters not to do this as it's an "underworld activity" used by "phone thieves". Thieves. Yes. Hmmm.
You can aslo get your phone unlocked in Gsm Solutions (018728722) and they do repairs too. They are too in Dublin.
Posted by: John | July 13, 2006 at 02:47 PM
GSMsolutions.ie are very dodgy and I am speaking from experience ,I was ripped off by their site unlockcodes.ie .Unlockcodes.ie charged me 40 euro to unlock my phone ,but no sign of any code and no response to any of my emails a week later!!
Anyways I googled them and here's
a shocking article written about the owner ,Alan donohoe, blow . Moral of the story : Google any company you are going to use first!!
www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_200307/ai_n12870822
It makes my blood boil to think of this thug and what he can get away with!! :(
Jen
Posted by: Jenny | November 20, 2008 at 02:34 PM