Ok, long time lurker� first time poster, but here�s my N73 3UK story!
I have the N73 on 3UK and it was fine for everyday use. I got TomTom for Christmas, but after reading all about the Bluetooth connection issues feared it would not work. My suspicions were right as my GPS receiver could barely keep connected for more that 30 seconds and I would have to keep turning it on and off for my N73 to keep �finding� it again.
I kept checking the NSU website for updates, and all N&3 forums for info, but knew 3 would not be releasing the stable V3 f/w any time soon. I complained to 3 stating that my phone is pretty much useless without my Bluetooth connection working as I spend a lot of my working day on the road and it failed to keep a connection to both my GPS receiver and my BT headset.
3 replied very quickly, which I was surprised with, but started off with the usual� it�s your GPS receiver, it�s the TomTom software, and it�s nothing to do with the 3 software�. But then the guy on the phone said 3 had the new V3 f/w available to their service centres and I could send in my phone for upgrade.
Three days later my phone was returned with� V2 software! They updated the software to their new X-series with MSN, skype etc. But it was still V2! I rang 3 back, and they apologised again, and confirmed again that the latest f/w for the N73 was the V3 and they could upgrade.
Phone sent off again, and three days later 3 ring back and say I have the latest software for the N73, which was V2. I told them this was rubbish, but they wouldn�t have it, again saying try another GPS receiver. The next day the phone was returned and I downloaded Nemesis and proceeded to upgrade my 3UK handset to a generic N73 ME edition.
This process, thanks to all here and the tons of posts about the process went without a hitch, and I ended up with a Music Edition N73, complete with V3 f/w. Before doing this I copied all my 3 access settings for entering them afterwards. But to my surprise when I checked all the settings, they had all 3 info in them..?! I held down 0 to launch the homepage and low and behold Planet 3 came up. I could send a text, mms, browse both Planet3 and the internet (the latter using the Nokia web browser as usual) call, video call and more importantly� TOMTOM WORKS!
I have been on a 100 mile trip and to and from work and it has never lost a connection to my BT77 GPS!
I can confirm MSN will not install from Planet 3, because of the certificate thing, but that doesn�t bother me. I can download tracks from 3 Music Shop and they play fine (in the funky new Music Player!) and do not bother paying �5 for games that I can find on the net, not that I play many games anyhow! I am also going to try the above post with the MSN install.
So basically� 3 are useless in terms of what they know. There is a ton more knowledge in this forum than their customer service and service centre. You can either wait (maybe forever) for 3 to agree an upgrade with Nokia or try the upgrade to, in my case, the Music Edition.
It is still a 3G phone, with access to Planet3, my3 account and all the usual things a phone can do. But it has the benefit of Nokia (not 3) software support, so everything works fine. Plus you can get the barcode reader, great fun!! Haha! I cannot confirm whether I am being charged more for my packet traffic, but I think I am on a tariff that allows a fair amount of data traffic.
If you want any more info about what I did or how, feel free to reply, but go ahead and upgrade, you won�t look back!
(Don�t sue me if you brick your phone during upgrade!!) 😊