14 
Not content with pushing out its own mobile network, it seems Phones 4u wants to make its own phones too. It’s apparently partnering with ZTE to make it happen. Would you buy an own-brand Phones 4u handset?
ZTE makes quite a few of its own phones, which are normally cheap but pretty good — not Nexus 4-good of course — and it makes own-brand handsets for the likes of Orange, like the San Francisco and Monte Carlo. But making a Phones 4u phone? Somehow that just sounds wrong.
Then again, they’re not really likely to be aimed at me, or you for that matter, because if you’re reading this you’re probably after a high-end flagship phone. But your Mum, your sister, or your Dad might buy one. Can you imagine the trifector of ultimate lock-in — buy your own-brand phone, directly from Phones 4u, on its network to boot. Something about that stinks for me.
Anyway, if you’re after what’ll likely be cheap Android phones, Phones 4u might have the answer, but it’ll have to dig really deep to compete with the £240 Nexus 4, at least in my book. [Twitter via Cnet]
Is Argos Looking at Running Its Own Phone Network too?
Samsung's Going With Windows Phone 8 (and Surface Competitors) too
Nightmare of the Ecosystems!
Q: Would you buy an own-brand Phones 4u handset?
A: No.
no
Read the First 2 words and was hoping this article was Looks like Phones 4U is going into administration, got very excited.
Also whats with the rogue a in the headline?
Yeah, cause nothing gets us more excited than people loosing their jobs.
Hey change is exciting, also relax a little (you will live longer), this was a light hearted comment on a light hearted tech blog.
The thing is, if apple decided to start there own network then the sheep would flock and they would be doing the exact same thing only worse because they will be producing the hardware too.
I wouldn’t put it past them to do that.
Grammar and punctuation must be expensive where you live.
Yeah yeah yeah. That’s what happens when I type in a rush
1st rule of Gizmodo: Never miss an opportunity, however tenuously linked to the article in question, to slag off Apple and its users.
Aside from the fact it would be rubbish, surely the fact that to buy one you would have to step foot into a Phones4U store makes it a no brainer.
No
As a former Phones 4 u employee I shudder at the thought of them making phone, it would steal you’re information and rip you off with advertising beamed half way through your’e call
Not a chance. Especially if we’re talking about Android phones as that’ll mean another “man in the middle” to block/delay Android OS updates. We’ve already got the phone manufacturer and the mobile network in the middle which is bad enough but to have the retail store in the middle as well is just stupid. Plus, who wants to walk around with a phone that’s branded Phones4U…haha
The San Francisco… I made the move from that to a new Nexus 4….. YESTERDAY!!!!
Being the worlds worst phone store, with a shopping experience only slightly worse than having your eyes removed with a wooden spoon I personally couldn’t give a rats marbles what they do.
Except, if they go into administration, that would be good. Don’t cry about the lost jobs either, they have a staff turn around of about 3 weeks and treat them worse than they customers.
what a terrible idea, also pretty sure thats a picture of an EE store, not phones4you