missuscluck Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I need to ask some thick questions before I turn myself in at Carphone warehouse to buy a new phone. Please bear with me as I am uninterested in the world of mobiles so any new techonolgy has passed me by. I have been transferring my sim into any old phone for the past 8 years and my current phone keeps stopping sending texts so Im pondering on going mad and having a nice new shiny phone. I have been looking on the car phone warehouse site and have noticed that some pay monthly deals offer freebees. The kids are after a nintendo Wii for xmas so Im wondering if I could work this too along with shiny new phone. I have never had a phone contract before. If you stick within the advertised mins/texts allowed are they generally no bother. Im worried about being charged mystery 'extras' over and above and ending up with a big bill every month. Im not a large user though and usually use £10-£15 in texts and calls a month. Has anyone any advice of any phone companys to avoid or to reccomend good service. Also a thickie question. If you have a phone that can access the internet how does that work?? Do you pay a seperate tarriff for doing so and do you have to be in a cirtain place to do it? I really dont know how this all works. I only ever use the net when Im attatched by a wire I know thats a really thick question but if anyone would take the time to explain this to me I would be most grateful. I quite fancy being able to get on the net with it but I dont know how much this is likley to cost if its over and above normal time allocated in the contract. I dont want to be sold allsorts because I dont know what they are on about Sorry for wiffling on a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busybird Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I'm no expert on this - some young Omleteer should answer - but for what it's worth... My first mobile was a contract with included texts and minutes. I never went above these so only ever paid the monthly charge. The only thing that I had to watch out for was not calling any numbers starting 08 as these were not included in the 'free' minutes. Read the small print but if you know what costs and what is included you shouldn't end up with bills bigger than you expect. OH now works for a mobile phone company so has a totally paid for, all singing and dancing gizmo that does everything from GPS to Sports Tracker to MP3 player to full internet access and can even make or take the occasional phone call. The internet access is obviously slower than a computer and has to be read from a little screen but we have been able to use it on camping holidays (to get news and weather updates) in lonely fields, up mountains and on beaches so reception is generally fine. The GPS is useful as we do a lot of walking. The MP3 player we plug into our cars and with 8G of memory have a reasonable range of music. The phone can do a lot more and specialist packages can be downloaded so it can be customised to be what you want to use it for. However, it is all paid for by his work. I would imagine that time on line would be charged although our provider offers a daily rate of 50p for unlimited online time so you may want to consider that if you thought you would use it. The phone itself works well but to my mind it is a bit of a brick. My current phone is a lovely little slim pay as you go Sony Ericcson. It would allow internet access but I never use that feature as we can get it for free on OH's. When I try to do something that would be charged the phone tells me I will need to pay so I can cancel that application. I wanted a phone for texting, music and emergency calls. I generally spend about £10 a month. I can't comment on companies to use or avoid as we have the link through OH's work. I won't attempt to explain the technical stuff either but the success of the internet link depends on proximity to a mast in the same way as calls and texts can only be sent where coverage for your provider is available. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I think on the whole (and there are always exceptions!!) that the sales guys in the mobile phone shops are pretty good if you ask for advice. You seem to have a pretty clear idea what you want, and if you know that, the sales guy should be able to find the right contract for you. One "hidden" extra is insurance. Being on a contract, it is a risk that someone steals your phone, and makes some random foreign calls, leaving you to foot the bill. Many don't bother with the insurance, feel the risk is too small. But after seeing a friend have a bill for nearly a thousand pounds after her phone was stolen, I am paranoid! But it does depend on you. I am planning on moving to pay as you go, as I use my phone so little, it seems the easiest thing to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Sound advice from everyone. My thoughts are to look online first at the various contracts on offer as there could be better deals than in-shop ones. The amount you currently spend means you could stay on PAYG or go to contract, although contract can include a free (read: not the latest/flashiest/popular) phone. Mobile internet is generally slower than broadband and cost depends on how frequently you use it, how much you download, and if it's included in the contract. Beware, GPS can be attached to the internet and thus also cost you to use it. Also, your sim card is probably quite old and may not support the latest features such as 3G internet (which is basically faster) (BTW the Nintendo Wii is very easy to get the hang of ) P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchens Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Make sure you choose a network with good coverage. CW are good at advising. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Most of the time you won't get the wii instantly, it will be after a number of months. Why go through carphone warehouse? Go straight to the source, tmobile is best for mobile internet so ask in there. Orange are pretty good too. You will probably need insurance as most tariffs run up to 18/24 months now which is a long time to be on one tariff. If you go over your minutes and texts you will be charged VAT on TOP of that charge, so bear that in mind. I think there are so many good PAYG phones around especially on orange that contract phones are slightly defunct, the possibilities are endless but at some point youll have stop revving the engine and put it in gear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 OH now works for a mobile phone company so has a totally paid for, all singing and dancing gizmo that does everything from GPS to Sports Tracker to MP3 player to full internet access and can even make or take the occasional phone call. Can it OR OR OR OR Sorry .... couldn't resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busybird Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Why would he want his phone to do any of that - he has me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbier Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Carphone Warehouse and its like can sometimes be cheaper than going to the main providers, bizarre though that may seem. http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/ has some decent reviews on individual phones. If you use quidco you can often get some good deals on mobiles, especially the contract ones. For payg, Asda mobiles have a very good tariff, but you wouldn't get a Wii thrown in with that. I'd hazard a guess that you might be better paying for them separately, based on your usage. My son uses around £10 every three months on his phone. I have recently purchased a phone from mobiles.co.uk and they were very efficient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaJuliet Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Also, your sim card is probably quite old and may not support the latest features such as 3G internet (which is basically faster) You'll probebly find you get a new SIM card... whether you want one or not. You can keep your number (if that's what you want to do) whether or not you get a new SIM. You need to phone your old supplier and ask for a PAC code. You then give this code to your new supplier. If you are keeping your supplier but changing the SIM, they will probably advise you on how to do it. I have a SIM only deal on O2. When I started the "contract" (30 day rolling contract) I had a phone I liked so didn't want a new one. Later I bought myself a phone and kept the same contract (the only problem with that is that they insist you buy a PAYG SIM which never gets used but the manager in carphone warehouse did me a good deal on it so I wasn't too unhappy). I know you want a new phone so this is not necessarily the route you want to go down but you could buy the phone outright and get a SIM only contract. The point of all these ramblings is that I get one "unlimited" Bolt-On with my O2 contract. By default it's unlimited texts but I don't use that many. I discovered I can change it to unlimited web access and since TomTom used to use more than my 500k allowance some months I chose that option. Since having the unlimited access I do find I use it fairly regularly for surfing. I have looked around at other networks and they seem to charge a LOT more for web access - and none of them will tell me they have unlimited access for any reasonable price. I also find it very difficult to find out how much you'd get charged for web-access on some networks. Others will charge you a fixed price per day if you use it AT ALL on that day... which can work out more expensive if you do use it every day. PJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Glad I'm not the only one who is disinterested in mobiles! I have a basic Nokia 6303, it does what I need and I don't use half the facilities anyhow. I have a monthly contract so for under £10 I can get 100 free minutes of calls to any land or mobile line, and 500 texts (the last is laughable as I never text) Just don't let them sell you any insurance, your house insurance will usually cover this. Shop around for a good tarrif and be prepared to ophone the company direct if the store won't give you the deal you want..... the call centres will usually bend over backwarsd to make you happy. I never use the internet option - it's not worth the hassle; like surfing on an Etcha-sketch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missuscluck Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Hi folks. Sorry for not updating but its been one of those weeks Thankyou so much for the advice. Its so helpful being able to have input when you are not sure what to do. I went to the car phone warehouse and was served by a very nice, helpfull, very pregnant lady who answered all my silly questions I have now got an orange contract for 2 years for £20.00 a month which includes more than enough call time per month 500 texts and unlimited internet access and a nice purple blackberry curve phone. Im really pleased with the phone as I get all my home and work e mails sent direct to my phone so I can act on them straght away and delete anything I need to. It has a proper keyboard so you can type on it which is really usefull. The internet seems to work to an acceptable level too. Its funny typing on a diddy key board. I feel like a giant typing on a keyboard belonging to a pixie I was with T mobile and the reception at home was virtually non existant. The orange coverage seems to work much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
