please empty your brain below
Pay as you go - I strongly recommend GiffGaff (go to GiffGaff.com). £10 gets you unlimited internet, unlimited texts and 250 mins. Owned fully by O2 - it's not a dodgy outfit :)

MarcB | 03.05.12 - 8:17 a.m. | #

BTW - You buy your phone SIM-free off Amazon/Play.com/wherever if you take this route^

MarcB | 03.05.12 - 8:19 a.m. | #

That Giffgaff tariff is a good deal, but it sounds like an inclusive contract! How does roaming work?

You'll probably need a 12 month contact to make the up-front cost of the handset manageable (consider the total cost over the term if the contract), but you can switch later.

Andrew | 03.05.12 - 8:33 a.m. | #

Another vote for PAYG & Giffgaff.

My phone attitude is very similar to yours: I only ever owned two mobile phones in my life and used my first one for 7.5 years before switching to an iPhone 4 - and my monthly costs went actually down (I don't do 'always on 3G') to below £50/year. Easily beats any contract despite a high initial investment.

Hope I can use my current phone for 7+ years again.

commonliner | Homepage | 03.05.12 - 8:49 a.m. | #

Three's pretty good value if you can deal with non-UK customer service helplines.

If you have Virgin TV/broadband they have some extremely good deals too.

urpert | 03.05.12 - 9:08 a.m. | #

Giffgaff is hard to beat, and I'm assuming you're not teched up at home with satellite TV and so on, so contract bundles from Virgin or Sky aren't likely to be that interesting to you.

Ben | 03.05.12 - 9:23 a.m. | #

Yes, pay the full cost of the phone up-front, without a carrier subsidy, and don't blanch when it turn out that tiny computers cost several hundred quid. Buy an unlocked contract-free phone As a low user, you'll more than make the cost back over the next couple of years by paying £5 per month instead of £35 per month.

If you're not planning to use much Internet, I'd look at Virgin as well as GiffGaff.

Mike Scott | 03.05.12 - 10:25 a.m. | #

I'd stick with Pay As You Go if you don't plan on using your phone a lot.

Andrewh | Homepage | 03.05.12 - 10:49 a.m. | #

I have a contract but a cheap one. Means I don't have to worry about remembering to top up

gilly | 03.05.12 - 12:31 p.m. | #

You can get some decent contract deals with free data.

BethPH | Homepage | 03.05.12 - 12:32 p.m. | #

Pay as you go is the best thing, ever. Don't ever let it go.

But be prepared that having a smartphone has the potential to unexpectedly change your phone usage habits. My last phone was an old Nokia brick that I got as a hand-me-down from a friend when I couldn't find anything sufficiently fuddy-duddy in the shops. I used it similarly to you, too--mostly occasional texts to let someone know I was running late or a quick call to let Mum know I'm still alive. Got an iPhone and BANG! Suddenly I use 2GB of data a month. It's just so convenient.

Moral of the story: unlimited internet is crucial.
Giffgaff sounds quite good. Three is a bit more expensive but also has no fair usage clause on Internet.

Georgia | 03.05.12 - 4:04 p.m. | #

I'm PAYG and spent about 25 quid a year on calls and texts with my Nokia brick. Tempted by the Huawei (T Mobile Rapport) I ordered and picked one up at Asda with 6 month's internet free - for forty quid, all in! As far as I can see, I can do everything with it that my mate does with his iPhone 4. It's Android, comes with free Apps, the touchscreen works with my sausage-like fingers, voice-input works brilliantly, camera and video works well, mp3 and radio work fine, and it's got 3G, Bluetooth, etc. It works well with Broadband and Skype thus saving me a mint - making phone calls while abroad.

I've dropped it a few times and it's OK. It lives in my pocket with my keys and doesn't scratch either.

My only regret? Apparently the price has since dropped a fiver ... to 35 quid!

http://direct.asda.com/Pay-As-You-Go/4032,default,sc.html


JohnT | 03.05.12 - 8:16 p.m. | #

Always a contract for a smartphone, even if it's a cheap one like giffgaff. PAYG is very expensive in comparison, and because you run in credit you'll never be caught short waiting for a top up.

Also - pay for an iphone upfront if you can afford to do so. It gives you flexibility in tariff - 'inclusive tariffs' just include the full cost of the phone spread over the life of the contract which tethers you for often two years now.

This spreadsheet is probably out of date now, but gives you an idea of how the different tariffs, both inclusive and exclusive of a phone, interact

[spreadsheet]

Another Andrew | 03.05.12 - 10:56 p.m. | #

PayG for light use, contract if you use it a lot.

Debster | Homepage | 04.05.12 - 2:21 a.m. | #

Giffgaff are great if you're a relatively low usage person. For £10 you can get free net and probably enough minutes and texts.

Ed Lyons | 04.05.12 - 7:55 p.m. | #

PAYG and Giffgaff - I swear by it.

Dan | 04.05.12 - 8:42 p.m. | #

@Andrew Roaming with GiffGaff works like any other network - similar prices too.

Their model is PAYG with opt-in monthly Goody Bags - which are like a no strings one-month contract. Each month they tell you which of their plans would work out cheapest for you based on usage.

Their support is slightly held-together-with-string but for the price you pay it is unbeatable.

Dan | 04.05.12 - 8:45 p.m. | #

Just to add a different alternative - I'm aware Giffgaff is a good deal at £10 per month, but if you make next to no calls like me, O2 Text & Web will give you 300 texts and 500MB web for the same price, and you get to keep the credit to use for anything else not covered!

None | 05.05.12 - 12:45 a.m. | #











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