By If you live in the UK it’ll only be a few more days until you can waltz into a local T-Mobile UK retail store and buy exactly what your little heart… wants – an HTC Desire. On the TMO UK Support Forums a team member has made it official by confirming an in-store date of March 29th.
Of course you could have already purchase the Desire either online or through telesales with a promise to get it one week later, but if you’re the type who needs to put your hands on the hardware and smudge up the screen a bit before deciding – the option is almost yours.
How many of our UK friends are going to hop on this opportunity?
FYI T-Mobile UK does not allow you to play with the actual device in store, so if you’re the type that needs to touch it before buying it, you have to wait for your friend to get it ;)
i order for mine on Vodafone yesterday, got an out-of-stock message today, in 24hrs the sales team said fingers crossed watch this space
Actually they do. I’ve been in quite a few times to the Manchester Arndale one to try out the G2 and a few others. There’s a guy in there that’s really nice so it might just be that store. I’m pretty sure they’ll let you do it though. Even Orange do and they have a horrible bunch of store staff.
Hopefully I’ll be going to get my phone sometime next week. I might order online if you can’t get the amazing £15 phone contract thats on the website in store though.
They said to me that I will get it on Saturday :)
lady told me that its gonna be available in 12 hours. so we in the uk need to get preping! Article on the latest and greatest android apps for the influx of UK users?
what makes you so special in the uk that you get your hands on every new gadget befor the rest of europe does?
tell me! (we have ways to make you talk, you know?)
Steffen – waiting for desire
The TMo shop in The Mall in Bristol allows you to play with the device in-store too so I reckon it’s just up to the staff in the store. Maybe they just didn’t like you Karl!
My contract is conveniently up for renewal on the 7th so reckon I’ll pop in next week just to feel one in my hands and no doubt make myself even more desperate to get one!
Actually they really should give you a proper demonstration, as it will give them a better chance of a sale, wonder if the management know about bad staff at the place where they wouldn’t let you try it out?
Im assuming this means it’ll be out in Taiwan around the same time. Any word on Asian release dates?
Ill be in stored on monday to check it out :)
WHAT ABOUT TMOBILE US D:??
We never get anything D=
Was hoping for the Bravo/Desire but since Deutsche Telecom insists on treating T-mobile USA like a red headed step child I got my wife the iphone. Come around october looks like I’ll be switching carriers just to get a decent android phone. Love my G1 but the android os has definatly outgrown it. It’s ok T-Mo USA we had a good run , Sidekicks one two and three , T-Mobile Wing , and my beloved G1. 6 years……man it feels like 9 ha ha ahhhh. Well it looks like the straw that broke the camels back has a name and that name is Desire.
I have just got off of the phone to T-Mobile upgrade department and have been informed that the HTC Desire FAILED a last minute ‘Quality’ check yesterday, 25th March 2010, and HTC will NOT be allowing the release of the Desire to ANY networks until the 2nd April.
Either this is the truth, and HTC have been particularly lax in their quality control, or T-Mobile have plunged to the lowest depths in their handling of existing customers and have as suspected sold all of their first batch of phones to NEW customers only and EXISTING customers can go whistle in the wind.
Steffan,
It might be something to do with the south of the country having one of the highest population densities in the world coupled with the fact that the whole country isn’t that big. That means that mobile phone vendors and networks get a relatively large market to sell to compared to the investment necessary to maintain a nationwide infrastructure of masts etc.
Or, maybe it’s just because we’re great!
FYI, we aren’t always at the forefront though. You guys got the Droid/Milestone way in advance of us. And the HTC Evo? Not even on the horizon in the UK.
Hi there thought i give you a heads up.
I pre ordered the HTC Desire from T-Mobile and was promised it would be with me Saturday 27th March, I have just recived a text from T-Mobile imforming me “That due to a shipping delay T-mobile will not take delivery on the handset till Wednesday 31st March
*****************Latest update*******************
Have received an email from HTC content below:
New Response From [ Pedro (UK – Ireland Support (Tech)) ]
Dear Paul
Thank you for contacting us.
We would like to be clear over speculation and confirm that the branded HTC Legend has received quality approval and meets all the requirements for public release.
Also our products can be re-branded to mobile networks and according with the needs they can change the original specifications.
We won’t comment on any decisions that a network may do to and pass to their customers but T-Mobile is still selling the device and advertising the HTC Desire on their website:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-phones/phones/pay-monthly/htc/desire/overview/
and the same applies to the other network who is selling our product.
I trust that this resolves your query, please do not hesitate to contact us again if required.
Best regards,
Pedro S.
HTC
With this response, and obviously beside myself with rage, I called t-mobile to get a genuine answer (I know good luck).
The upshot of this call is:
1. the test failed is t-mobile’s, and not HTC’s (not how it was originally, reported to me, but we’ll skip over that).
2. They cannot explain why the result of this internal test was only disclosed the day before the phone was due to be released.
3. They ‘understand’ my disappointment, and I’m not the only customer out there who feels that same.
4. Although I have been ‘pestered’ to upgrade my phone since January, my contract doesn’t actually end until 30th April 2010.
5. Is there another handset I would like instead?
6. Because I am obviously ‘upset’, they will call be back on Monday, and If their testing department has released them then, I might get one, and there MIGHT be a discount on the line rental (though towards the end of the call it did seem that they were playing the last part of that down).
*******************Update on Update**********************
Had a call as I typed this from the upgrade department, following an email complaining about the situation, result of this call is.
1. There is nothing wrong with the Desire, and t-mobile will start shipping the phones later today.
2. Because my contact expirers on the 30th April, I am not permitted a FULL upgrade until one month before the end of my contract. As a ‘highly valued’ customer from January I can have a ‘non-full’ upgrade, i.e. one with a selection of the phones on it. This is the first time anybody has ever mentioned this, if I call up the upgrades department just before I get through I get a recorded message saying that I am eligible for a full upgrade. I am shocked and hurt that the person I spoke to on the other end of the line felt that this was a transparent way of doing business.
3. All of those people complaining on the various forums about the appalling way in which t-mobile has handled the launch of the HTC Desire, are the ‘trouble making’ minority (ok he didn’t say ‘trouble making’ but it felt as though he was thinking it).
So where that leaves me, I don’t know, I might get a call on Monday, I might have to go to another network on the 5th April, who knows, I just know that at the moment it feels that you can’t trust anything anybody at t-mobile says.
Ah Bluepork, you beat me to it.
The UK has the biggest mobile phone market in the world and as such, we tend to get cheaper phone contracts an often other advantages.
At the store in Basingstoke the G1 was out to mess with, I hope the Desire will be too. I plan to go to the store just to play with it, I just want to have a play with the next gen phones as I can’t get it just yet with my contract…
Just got an email from T-MOBILE saying that my Desire has been dispatched. Very excited!
Got mine today!
Just called TMO sales number and told they were sold out within hours – no date yet for next batch.
Just called local TMO shop and was told release date has been pushed back and that it is likely to be mid to end april??
Go figure
@ken u dont have to wait for Tmo go to moibles.co.uk, u might get it on tmo or anothe netwrk if u like
Hey Alex, thanks. They have some nice deals on there, though what I really want is TMOs £25/Mth for 24 Mths with a £60 cost for the phone (Just dont want to pay the £60). Gets me 600 min 500 texts, + internet. If I can use the mobiles.co.uk ofers to leverage away the upgrade cost of the phone on that deal, I’ll be a happy bunny. :-)
Don’t mind waiting a bit, just want the right deal.
OK, called up and said I wanted to give 30 days notice, and then after usual “Why sir” etc, they went through my bill for me, told me my average calls last few month were circa 100 min, and texts were similar.
He then offered me 300 min/mth, 300 texts/mth, + internet + 1 free booster per month, for £15/mth + £20 one off cost. Not sure how long to be honest as forgot to ask, but probably 24 mths, but at £15/mth vs my current £32/mth who cares.
Only downside was that they don’t have the phone in stock, but expected within 7 days, and for that deal, like I said before, I can wait – Said they would send it out as soon as in stock. I’m 9 months past my contract end date, and been waiting for so many different phones, only to go off them when they finally become available because something else is around the corner. I wanted big screen but not too big (3.7 seems perfect). Love the iphone form factor, but not the proprietary lockdowns. Want to play divX on it (Not there yet but a divx update is promised for the desire) but iphone and even new Sony x10 wont play it. Like the Nexus one, but sounds too buggy for me. Loved the look of the new samsung galaxy, but not keen on samsung software etc (Been there!!).
All in all, i could have gone on forever waiting for the next best thing, but for this deal and this phone, it just seemed right on all fronts. Might even get the wife the same phone and deal, and in total it would still be less than what I was paying each month.
I’m happy :-)
Damn that looks ugly – Why the hell doesn’t the site use the paragraph spacing I put in the note. That sucks.
Just tried to get my wife the exact same deal, but the phone cost me £120. Still £15/mth thereafter etc, but they wouldnt subsidise the phone as much as mine. Said it all came down to projected revenue based on usage etc, and that for me it was one thing, but for my wife it was another. Either way, we still each end up with a desire for only £15/mth.
“Ken u ve got a good deal but to be honest i cant wait any more everyday is a like a torture, ave been off contract for 5-6 mths, i got a 35/mth deal for 18mnths and the phone cost 29.99 on vodafone i xpect my desire:) on tuesday even that is to long to wait :
I went into the T-Mobile store in Exeter yesterday and they told me it has been delayed for another week.
There seems to be conflicting news everywhere as to it’s release, it seems.
Just phoned a couple of T Mobile stores in London (Chelsea area fwiw) who both confirm the Desire is not on sale in stores yet and probably won’t be until at least next week.
Way to make false annoucements!
Just came from the tmobile store in portsmouth where they said that the phone has been delayed till the end of april in stores :( bad times
@ben go online to mobiles.co.uk u will get it before then