Which mobile phone?

[Dave and Ginny]

Hi all

My current contract with talktalk mobile is about to expire, thank goodness, so I'm in the process of trying to find the best deal. Ideally, I was thinking that I would be best to buy upfront an unlocked phone and choose a the best network on a SIM only contract, say with , who seem to offer a good roaming deal in France a least where we tend to travel a fair bit.

For further afield, such as Spain, I thought that having the un-locked phone was an advantage as I could then buy my SIM card locally as many on here do from what I've been reading in the past.

My needs are straightforward, don't download loads of music films etc, about 300 mins talk time is ample, not into loads of texting, just the occasional. I would however like at least 1GB a month allowance, more is desirable as would be 4g.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

Cheers Dave

 

[Traveller_HA5_3DOM]

I have a sim only with three and it has worked well in France and Austria. They are doing the new Nokia 735 for about £50 cheaper than anyone else £149.99 but only in black.
I pay £7 a month for 500mb data unlimited texts and a modest 200 mins call package but you can get 2gb data for £10 It also includes 4G which the Nokia has for areas where it is available.
http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Plans_for_phones

 

[GJH]

When I wanted an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 I found it was cheaper to buy one from Three than from the likes of Carphone Warehouse. All devices that Three sell are unlocked nowadays.

 

[Badknee]

When I wanted an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 I found it was cheaper to buy one from Three than from the likes of Carphone Warehouse. All devices that Three sell are unlocked nowadays.

Really, hmmmmm, cogs turning now for December change.

 

[Dave and Ginny]

When I wanted an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 I found it was cheaper to buy one from Three than from the likes of Carphone Warehouse. All devices that Three sell are unlocked nowadays.

Cheers Graham, I've been looking about now for about a month and I always seem to end up looking at '3' as seeming to have the best deals!

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[dabhand]

Same boat really, been sim only with T mobile for donkeys years. It would seem that EE have the best coverage in this country although it's looking that EE payg is the best option for light users if you don't want a contract £7.50 for 500 of everything, a bit more if you want more. If you take a 12 month contact you get a better deal but contacts are only ever worth it if you use your allowance.

3's feel at home package looks ok and there are lots of good reports about it, only covers certain countries though.

Would love a definitive answer myself as am just about to get a new deal, will probably get 1 year contract with EE, unlimited texts and minutes and 2gb data for 9.99

 

[GJH]

contacts are only ever worth it if you use your allowance.

Good advice. I switched from a 3 contract to PAYG back in March because I used nowhere near my allowance.
The 3-2-1 deal is very good but the fact that I can make free calls using Skype when connected to a WiFi network (like at home) means it is even better.

 

[Bobby22]

Would love a definitive answer myself as am just about to get a new deal, will probably get 1 year contract with EE, unlimited texts and minutes and 2gb data for 9.99

Where can one get this deal? I can't seem to find it any where?

 

[golly]

I bought a sim free Moto G from Amazon, it is a twin sim so should I wish to use it abroad, I could put whatever is the best deal at the time. Easy to tether, uses a micro sim, works for me

 

[Terry]

3 SIM ONLY unlimited data 1200 min any network calls 5,000 mins 3 to 3 calls and a shed loads of texts for £20 a mth or for £9.99 - 600 mins calls 5,000 3 to 3 and 5,000 texts with 1 gb data
Also got a cubot P6 phone for £60 and a THL t6s QUAD core for £58 quid who cares if it get broken at that price Both tether to my tablet
terry

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[Techno]

Where can one get this deal? I can't seem to find it any where?

2GB is £15.99 £9.99 gets you 250mb

http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-tariffs/sim-only-plans

I have the 5gb plan but only pay £11pm for the first 6 months for my loyalty

 

[Techno]

Dont forget that late next year roaming charges are being scrapped.

 

[dabhand]

Where can one get this deal? I can't seem to find it any where?

It's a cashback deal Broken Link Removed

 

[keith]

My vote is for '3', been with them for a few years so got a good deal - 5GB £8 pm in my MiFi. Use it instead of a land-line broadband as we have a good signal at home.

Decided this year to go it alone with a new Moto E (£89 from Tescos Direct, should have gone for the Moto G but I'm tight) and pay '3' £10 for 2GB 200 mins. unlimited texts.

The biggest advantage with '3' (If you travel a lot) is their 'at home' bit which hopefully will include Spain & Portugal soon.

 

[pappajohn]

Payg with 3.

£10 top up is none expiring if you us it as credit rather than buying a bundle.

A £10 bundle gets you 500mb of data, 150 minutes cross network minutes and 3000 texts....expires after a month.

Using credit instead of buying a bundle costs 3p per min all calls (ex premium rate)
2p per text and 1p per mb data.....never expires until used and a free 150mb with every top up.

3 also has 'at home'.....if registered you pay the same abroad (europe) as at home.

I mostly use wifi hotspots for internet so my mobile useage is very low and buying a bundle is very expensive for me.

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[dabhand]

£10 top up is none expiring if you us it as credit rather than buying a bundle.

Sorry about this, but what does use it as credit mean?

 

[GJH]

Sorry about this, but what does use it as credit mean?

Just pay for calls (3p per minute), texts (2p each) and data (1p per MB) as you make/send/download them.

I do very much the same as John and it costs me hardly anything (except buying the phone of course).

 

[iandsm]

I would buy an iPhone direct from Apple store unlocked then you can't whatever sim in it and do what you like.

 

[The Wino]

Got a moto 4g from argos the motorola phones all get good reviews as ones you can buy rather than have on a contract and use a 3 payg sim. Only just started using it but as I have no friends I only use 15 mins a month 5 texts and a bit of internet so should be £3 a month or less .
David

 

[pappajohn]

Sorry about this, but what does use it as credit mean?

As Graham said.

Apply credit then use as needed.
it doesnt expire on the 3 network so could last a long time if you are a low user.

This was how payg worked on all networks a few years back....no such thing as a 'bundle' back then, it was either contract or payg.

A £10 3 bundle expires whether its used or not.

Not sure if other networks do the same.

I had a none expiring voda data sim....apply credit and it lasted until used up....then voda changed the goalposts and you HAVE to buy a bundle which does expire after one month, used or not.

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[mjltigger]

I would buy an iPhone direct from Apple store unlocked then you can't whatever sim in it and do what you like.

I would say that's probably out if financial reach for most people in the UK..

Personally I am considering going for an unlocked android when my contract runs out next summer and going to payg until the price changes surrounding EU roaming regulations settle down.

 

[pappajohn]

Got a moto 4g from argos the motorola phones all get good reviews as ones you can buy rather than have on a contract and use a 3 payg sim. Only just started using it but as I have no friends I only use 15 mins a month 5 texts and a bit of internet so should be £3 a month or less .
David

Just checked and since 28th last month i have used 54p.....some calls, some texts and a little data.... 15mb or 15p off my credit

Looking at that i should have enough credit for the next 10 months or so.

My free BT hotspot useage on my phone is another tale.....same period = 1.72GB

 

[callumwa]

I was on 3 contract and when it finished I changed to sim only.

I have the One Plan, unlimited data including tethering any devices, 5000 mins, unlimited 3 to 3 minutes, and 5000 text, per month.
Fell at home plan so no roaming charges when abroad in many countries, which I have already used in Scandinavia, France, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland as well as the USA. More countries coming for 2015 and by 2016 roaming in Euro countries should be scrapped.

All for £15.99 per month.

As for my phone I still cant find a better phone than my iPhone, I am still using the 4S.
My wife tried Samsung and HTC but she also reckons that overall the iPhone is the better phone. Next time I visit the US I will probably by an iPhone 6.

 

[dna]

Do you need a new phone yet? I had an HTC handset on contract for 2 years. At the end of that I unlocked it and swapped to using GIFFGAFF as their deals at the time were really good (taking my phone number with me). The handset lasted another 2 years before the battery life became a problem and the Android version got too far out of date for some applications.

Don't laugh too much but I then bought a Nokia (Microsoft) phone (unlocked) for just over £100 and moved the GiffGaff sim to that. The only slight snag to using a Windows phone is that the number of applications is more limited than Apple / Android but that will depend on how many apps you really want. There will be lots of people who object on principle to using a windows phone but it works well for me (but I confess I have windows 8.1 on my PC as well). iPhones are good but for me personally the price being 5 or 6 times the cost of the nokia was too big a difference.

As ever it takes some research to work out what you need from the package and then finding the nearest match on offer from the various networks.

One snag with GiffGaff in particular is that their "goodybags" (monthly prepay packages) don't include roaming so you need to top up your account with money before going abroad - or swap to a local sim card whilst out there..

 

[dabhand]

Got a moto 4g from argos the motorola phones all get good reviews as ones you can buy rather than have on a contract and use a 3 payg sim. Only just started using it but as I have no friends I only use 15 mins a month 5 texts and a bit of internet so should be £3 a month or less .
David

I shall ring you and increase!!

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[dabhand]

I will probably by an iPhone 6.

Just got one of these!

 

[Dave and Ginny]

Cheers for all the great answers, has me thinking about the way I use the phone; just occasionally whilst at home and then more so when away in motorhome, mostly needing data. I think I'm going to be going for a PAYG SIM only and get an un-locked phone. The '3' SIM looks pretty good and same rates at least in France. In Spain I can either just put up with the roaming increase or get a SIM locally as many funsters seem to do.

 

[pappajohn]

As said, if you go payg on 3 dont convert your credit to a bundle.......as a light user you will lose most of your credit after 30 days.

I bought a 30 day bundle with my first tenner topup and lost 2985 texts, 132 minutes of talk time and 200mb of data.
now i know you can simply use your credit as you go.

 

[dabhand]

Think I'm gonna go PAYG with 3 as well, they have a lot less 4g coverage but say they will have the same as EE by end of 2015, been with EE for years on a business contract, never check my usage but did the other day, no data, 1 text, 160mins talk, have spent hundreds over the years total waste. Now Emails, well that's another matter!!

 

[Gellyneck]

Been looking for a replacement mobile myself for a week or two and seem to be settling on an unlocked Nokia Lumia 735 for £130 from Carphonewarehouse.

OK so it's Windows 8.1 (getting a bit fed-up with Google pushing everything I don't want!) but Microsoft confirm it will be upgraded to Win 10 on release. Has the excellent Nokia Here maps \ sat nav (usable offline), Office Word \ Excel \ Powerpoint and I don't really care about games \ apps.

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