On 26 Jan 2013 at 1:02am Phonophobe. wrote:
Hi all.
Want to pick your brains please on a new posh phone.
I want a phone that gets the internet so when I'm out I don't have to ring 118 118 or any other high price phone numbers.
Not bothered about a camera.
I don't go out much but want the convenience of my laptop,but on a mobile phone.
I can't do £40 a month for an I phone but I want something along those lines.
I am rather clueless about what is required.
Ideas welcome !!
On 26 Jan 2013 at 2:36am Lewes 30 wrote:
The Nokia lumia is a good substitute to the iphone
On 26 Jan 2013 at 3:53am Horseman7 wrote:
I'm very happy with my Sony Xperia Ray. It's on pay as you go. A £10 top up gives me more texts and data than I need for a month. After that I've got £9 left and use this up at £1 per day (for data). Then top up and start the cycle again.
On 26 Jan 2013 at 9:18am Cuban Raft Rider wrote:
An Android operating system will allow you to chose from a wide selection of free/low cost applications and are totally geared up for a good web browsing experience.
I have a personal pref for Samsung devices but wish I was not on the Vodafone network as it is very slow around Lewes/Ringmer.
On 26 Jan 2013 at 10:58am Rookie wrote:
Samsung Galaxy S3 on O2. I have unlimited everything and it's brilliant. I rarely use my laptop anymore.
On 26 Jan 2013 at 11:32am Phonophobe wrote:
Thanks to all for replying.
Lots to think about...
On 26 Jan 2013 at 12:50pm Phonophobe. wrote:
Thanks to your suggestions I will take receipt of my new Nokia Lumia next Monday.
I did a bit of Googling and came up with the deal below.
Rang customer services and spoke to Ellen and grilled her mercilously as I know next to nothing about mobiles.
£15.50 per month for 500mg of data... and I forget the number of texts or minutes but it will be more than enough for me.
At the moment I pay £10 for an 02 top up on PAYG...Get 300 free texts and when the month is up I just use my £10 on calls or texts.
£10 lasts me 3 months which is why I have to be very careful about how much I spend.
But £15.50 sounds doable to me.
I get £60 paid into my bank account after 90 days...I can migrate my old 02 number on to the new one I will get with my new phone.All I havr to do is go onto the 02 website and choose 'migrate number' and apparently I can keep my old number.
The phone company I bought from sells lots of different phones and apparently the Nokia Lumia is as good if not better than the I phone.
Link below....
Check it out here »
On 26 Jan 2013 at 6:30pm Ed Can Do wrote:
The iPhone does lots of things pretty well. The thing is though, they're all things that other manufacturors phones have been doing better for years, plus you never have to pay for any other phones.
Apple are masters of marketing and hats off to them. They've ridden high on selling a substandard product at an inflated price for years and years and it's only now that shareholders have noticed and their stock is collapsing.
I plan to get a Nokia Lumia as my next phone. I've always liked Nokias, they're very well built and often include features years ahead of the pack. That deal sounds entirely reasonable, just be aware that if you download pdf files or music then 500mb is not a massive amount these days. It's a lot for a phone but not much for a laptop. With O2 you can setup your account to limit your data costs to £1 a day so it might be worth putting that in place, just in case you do go over your limit.
On 26 Jan 2013 at 7:56pm Deelite wrote:
Apple are the masters of intuitive operating systems ECD. The iPhone has been such a hit because almost anyone can use them (haven't we been here before, you and I?). Nokia's haven't for a number of reasons, the biggest being that the Symbian OS was horribly user unfriendly.... However, it'll be interesting to see how they come out with the Microsoft OS because that looks quite good (but, I think, like Apple, Windows have had their day.. Windows 8, iPhone 5... both inconsequential).
Android came of age just recently. The Nexus 7 tablet is fantastic, with an OS that is easily as user friendly as Apple's iOS, but, unlike Apple's iOS it will talk to other stuff, share your home network etc. The apps stuff is also better now (RDP apps, which I have to pay for on iOS, are free for Android).
I am convinced it's a no-brainer. Android, then choose your device. As Android has by far the biggest development push I prefer a vanilla Android device (no confusing Samsung/HTC rubbish added on top) so think Google's own Nexus phone is the best buy... however, you have to buy this outright (£280 quid and supply is short) and then get a sim-only contract (hunt around though, and you can find a good one for a tenner).
On 26 Jan 2013 at 8:09pm Peter Pan wrote:
All smoke and mirrors to me
On 26 Jan 2013 at 11:42pm gooner wrote:
Don't go for anything Samsung. Mickey Mouse stuff.
On 27 Jan 2013 at 11:28am Ed Can Do wrote:
Haha, we have indeed been here before and I concede that at first glance the iPhone is easiest to use but I never found Symbian hard to use personally. In fact I find it constantly frustrating on my current, Sony phone how needlessly complicated it is to do simple things (Downloading a soundfile from the internet for example and then choosing where to save it). I think you're right that Microsoft are clutching at straws a bit these days though. Windows 8 kinda makes sense but they do seem to be chasing the pack rather than innovating but again, that's all Microsoft have ever done. I definitely agree that Android makes more sense for Apps, although even if you are silly enough to buy an iPhone, most apps just duplicate something you can do for free using a browser (And could have been doing since the mid-90s on any other phone). I've not really bought into the whole apps thing myself but I can appreciate for ease of use people like their hands held.
I have a friend with a Nexus and he loves it, never heard anyone say anything bad about them in fact.
On 27 Jan 2013 at 8:21pm Dickie wrote:
Bought the Nexus 4 (16GB model) via The Play Store for £279, which is incredibly cheap for what you get, and ships with the latest Android OS Jelly Bean 4.2.1. It's unlocked, so you can choose any network provider to go with. I went with 3 who gave me 200 mins a month for calls (very much doubt I'd ever use that) and 5,000 texts per month. The main thing I was actually interested in was unlimited (all-you-can-eat) broadband, as I use my phone to go on-line with a lot. I only pay £12.90 a month and compared to being in a contract, I save a lot.
If you can afford the initial layout of purchasing the phone, then you really can't go wrong with the Nexus 4. Being locked into a 2yr contract and paying £25+ a month for data you will rarely actually use is pretty nuts. You can also tether the N4 to your laptop should you be in an area where you can't find a wifi connection for your computer.
Wouldn't go near an Apple product if you paid me.
On 27 Jan 2013 at 9:39pm Ed Can Do wrote:
Haha, you were the mate I was thinking of Dickie!
On 28 Jan 2013 at 3:17pm Phonophobe wrote:
Update.
After spending the weekend fretting about taking on a contract for 2 years I rang the mobile phone company this morning and asked if it had been posted yet.
I was told when I ordered I would get it on Monday.
She said they are waiting for stock so it hasn't been posted yet.
So I cancelled.
I couldn't cope with paying the money as I am on a very tight budget.
But I have learned a lot over the weekend about mobile phones in general and still want an internet phone but I will get one and go on PAYG.
I am going to put a wanted free ad up on this fine forum so if you have a half decent phone languishing in a drawer that you would part with please get in touch.
Many thanks for all your input on this.
It has been eye opening...
On 28 Jan 2013 at 8:33pm Ed Can Do wrote:
I'm upgrading mine in March so if you've still not got one by then you're welsome to mine. It's showing it's two year age a bit though, the battery doesn't hold it's charge like it did and the touch screen isn't brilliant any more. Also the phone itself is comically small so might not be to everyone's taste. 
On 28 Jan 2013 at 9:55pm Phonophobe. wrote:
Thanks Ed.
I have been Googling and looking on E Bay and armed with a bit more knowledge I now feel better about buying a phone. My phone number is on the free ads page.
I am a very light user and have decided PAYG is still the best way to go,rather than a contract. Trouble is when you go on any mobile phone site there offers seem SO good. They are very good at advertsing aren't they...?
On 28 Jan 2013 at 10:42pm Southover Queen wrote:
They are very persuasive, Phonophobia, but I think you're right to be cautious. I took out a contract which tied me in for two years; the so-called fixed rate has gone up (not by much, but that's not the point) but I'm stuck with it for another nine months. I'm using a fraction of the services I pay for and I know I could get a SIM only deal for £10 or so a month which would be much more than I would use. So in a way I envy you the chance to get a hold of an old iPhone or Android and stick in a SIM card - you'll be paying a quarter of what I'm stuck with! There's a reason that some of the most successful companies in the UK are mobile telecoms providers, and it's not because they're offering great bargains up front.
On 28 Jan 2013 at 11:17pm Phonophobe wrote:
OK. After you 2 year contract runs out you will get a new phone?
E Bay is FULL of contract phones aquired through upgrades and they seem to fetch a good price cos I checked.
The Nokia Lumia which I would still like costs up to £200-£300 on E Bay.
Just suppose I had got that contract at £15.50 per month.That's £180 in the first year...£360 total paid after 2 years.Then I would gert the usual upgrade so I have 2 phones? Then I can cancel the contract and go PAYG...? Am I correct?
So I could hang on the 1 of them and sell the other one...
In some ways it seems a good deal but I just hate contracts.
On 29 Jan 2013 at 11:24am Southover Queen wrote:
No, the upgrade isn't free; that's how they get you locked into another two year contract. They snag you by offering a shiny new phone with new gizmos, and that's why you'll find two year old phones on Ebay. Effectively, when this contract runs out, I'll hold onto my old iPhone and put a contract SIM into it at £10 or so a month.
On 29 Jan 2013 at 1:42pm Phonophobe wrote:
I spoke to a friend this morning who told me the same thing SQ.
I now understand how the mobile phone selling system works.
Sucks doesn't it?
Well,for cheapskates like me it does.
I am SO glad I cancelled the phone now.....
On 31 Jan 2013 at 10:52am Ed Can Do wrote:
Well, the upgrade should be free if you do it right. Mobile companies rely on people being excited about getting a new phone and being too lazy to switch providers. When your contract ends, you ring up your phone provider to tell them you're cancelling the contract and moving to a different provider and they'll fall over themselves to keep your business. If you're on a contract and you'v ever paid for a handset then you're doing it wrong.
I was with 3 mobile for years and years, always had the top of the range phone for free on no more than an 18 month contract and for a reasonable monthly amount. I eventually changed to O2 a couple of years ago because 3 doesn't get signal where I work plus Carphone Warehouse were going to give me a free Playstation 3 with an O2 contract. When I rang 3 to tell them, by the time they gave up trying to retain my custom they were offering me a free iPhone, a monthly rolling contract for a tenner a month for unlimited data, 5,000 texts and several hours of phone calls. In retrospect, I should have said yes and sold the phone really. The point being, phone companies have huge room to manouver when it comes to tariffs so once an initial contract is up, you can bargain pretty hard for a follow up one. Also, as well as eBay for flogging old handsets, companies like Envirophone pay out a decent amount for a phone you'd otherwise probably stick in the bin. I've had a few hundred quid off them over the years.
I would always suggest getting a contract but get one from somewhere like Carphone Warehouse who give you a free tv, games console or laptop when you sign up, but make sure you don't get carried away and talked into a more expensive tarrif than you need. Then, once the contract expires, do a bit of ringing around and get a shiny new phone for free and pay less every month plus bank the money you get for selling your old phone. I do appreciate though that if you don't want to commit to a monthly outgoing then a PAYG is probably a better bet, I guess I just enjoy playing these companies at their own game.
On 31 Jan 2013 at 4:07pm Phonophobe wrote:
Thanks for that Ed.
I am very happy I cancelled the contract but still want an internet phone and am trawling E Bay as we speak.
At the moment I spend £10 on an 02 sim card and get 10% back every 3 months.
I get free texts for a month then spemd the next 2 months spending the £10.
So I spend £10 every 3 months.
If I had got a contract phone it would have totally changed the way I use my phone.
How I would have got on trying to use the minutes and texts and data to make sure that I got my monies worth was a bit of a worry.
And I was unsure whether the Nokia Lumia would have counters to tell you how much you have used and how much you have left.
I am obviously not made for a contract...