If i get the samsung d500 on vodafone, will it have vodafone firmware? I mean, will all the menu's be white and red which are vodafone colours or are all D500's the same?

Im asking this because i have a samsung E710 which was only available on vodafone. All the menus and software is vodafone. It looks very rubbish.

No - Vodafone don't "officially" support the D500 yet so the phone will have Samsung Original Firmware...and thus be unlocked!

The E710 was a Vodafone Exclusive...they tell the whole world this by making use of only 2 of a phones 65,000 colours (red and white!)!

great news!!

I saw those colours on my friends Sharp phone. I just assumed this was because the phone was quite crap and couldn't actually cope with some flashier menu's.

There are European versions of the Sharp GX10/20/30 available which are factory unlocked, and have full and colourful menus - Vodafone just choose to present their handsets in a branded way.

Vodafone and orange are stupid, i really dont see the point of customising the firmware as they make it look cheap and tackey, if they want to lock it then lock it but the red and white crap aint nessesery, we pay money for a phone and they just make it look like crap with their pathetic branding.

I think another reason they do it is for brand identity - but they do not realise people are haunted by the colours Red and White (and Orange) now.

Could also be so that people are less unlikely to want to unlock their handsets (and leave the network) if it is overrun with Vodafone or Orange branding.

o2 are on their way down this route too now - The start up and close down logos are just the beginning! T-Mobile also quite bad too (RE: Samsung E700 and Motorola V300)

:S