Another Xenon owner...

Hey folks, I've had my Xenon for the last year, but I only recently discovered this site after getting it back from repair.  Up until now, I never really looked into using the phone as anything but a voice and SMS device, but while it was out for repair I was using a Motorola KRZR as a back-up and I really hated it.

I'm also a former employee of Rogers Wireless, where I was a member of the Network Operations group; they are the ones responsible for the inter/intra-site transport, switching and base-station network.

While we never got to play with too much consumer hardware, I do know for a fact there is 'un-branded' firmware available for every phone out there.  Before a carrier decides to carry any phone they get a base model from the manufacturer that they demo and put through tests - finding one of these demo units would probably be easier said than done however.  Most of the time, they just get passed of to friends or family members who don't even realize that the phone is unlocked and unbranded.

It drives me nuts that these carriers are allowed to get away with this behaviour - it'd be different if I was renting the phone, but by purchasing it (3 year contract which basically means you finance it) means that the consumer should be able to use it like any other device you own.

Anyhow, that's my two cents on the matter, and I'm optimistic that my current employer will not be as draconian in their branding when they get their new AWS network off the ground in 2011 - they're philosophy is no contracts...

Until then, hopefully the research continues in getting the full potential out of these phones, I'm willing to help the cause...