Dealers dislike the Z-107

[3GScottishUser]

From Mobile Today's Dealer Panel (01/04/2005):

Orange reckons 3G is ‘3G peasy’, but try telling that to the tireless folk on the shop floor. They know that selling the phones is a darn sight tougher than coming up with a simple advertising campaign.
Despite Orange’s ubiquitous 3G advertising, the content, tariffs and, most importantly, handsets are pretty uninspiring, the panel says. In fact, Samsung’s Z107 is typical of Orange’s slim portfolio of 3G handsets. ‘There’s a running theme with [Orange’s] phones: big, boring and old-looking,’ says one dealer. [...]

Bell reminds the panel that the Z107 was supposed to be Vodafone’s launch 3G phone this time last year, indicating how old this device is – ‘two-and-a-half years!’ And, he adds, the only change in that time has been the addition of a TFT screen.
While Vodafone has moved on, offering handsets such as the Sony Ericsson V800 and Sharp 902, Croucher reckons that using Vodafone’s cast-off handset makes Orange look weak.

But our guest from Orange Retail is typical of many of the Orange stores we spoke to, saying: ‘It’s probably our best 3G phone; better than the Sanyo and better than the LG. But, sadly, it’s not better than the [Nokia] 6230.’ [...]

Camera resolution is a third of a megapixel and it includes a flash – the panel feels the camera is ‘adequate’. Battery life is a hefty three days, according to El-Khatib, but the presence of a supplementary battery in the box concerns the panel. It’s ‘always a bad sign,’ according to Croucher; apparently the inclusion of an extra battery is code from manufacturers that the original is poor.

Samsung’s reputation as a provider of excellent phones is not helped by the Z107. The panel laments the absence of Bluetooth with some bitterness. El-Khatib says business and techie customers who are interested in 3G find Bluetooth indispensable. ‘For a lot of our customers, it’s like giving customers a phone without a battery,’ he explains. In fact, he was so incensed that he emailed Samsung: ‘I told them I couldn’t believe they made a 3G phone without Bluetooth.’ [...]

Panel Summaries:

Alex Croucher, KJC, Southampton
‘I’d be mad if I chose this over other 3G phones.’

Joseph Bell, Isis Telecom, Ealing
‘An old phone.’

Edward El-Khatib, HFH Communications, Shropshire
‘No one wants a brick, 3G or not.’

Orange store, Sales assistant
‘I like Samsungs but I wouldn’t get this one.’

VERDICT: MISS

Dated looks and a poor feature set.

Full Mobile Today Dealer Panel review of Samsung Z-107