Advice Wanted : Mobile Phones

[lathany]

I'm thinking of getting myself a mobile phone for when I go back to work (so that I too can announce "I'm on the train!") However, I know next to nothing about how to choose one (I've never bought one before).

My criteria are:

Use : To ring out in emergencies and semi-emergencies. I'm not interested in deals that provide chat time, I have a land line for that (it'll normally be switched off).

Features : Just the whole "phone" thing. I don't care about cameras, ring tones, text messages, games, etc (although, I'm mostly interested in the cheapest option so if it's cheaper to get a phone with them, that's fine). I also want something that would fit in my bag, but frankly anything smaller than a brick works (also I find the really small phones annoying).

Main want : Something cheap.

Any and all advice appreciated!

Comments

[adamsmithjr.livejournal.com]

You should be able to get a free phone from any of the big four when you sign up for a year's contract. I use Orange and am happy with them.

Alternatively, these days a lot of people have old phones they don't use and that they may be willing to give you. Then you sign up for a pay-as-you go package and pay very little.

Everyone still seems to think that Nokia have the easiest menus and the longest battery life, even if they're no longer the coolest phones. Don't trust me, though - my phone is positively steam powered.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I'm not particularly concerned about "coolest" (which I suspect will come as no surprise!). Pay-as-you-go is sounding like the best option for me.

[dr-bob.livejournal.com]

Pay-as-you go is the best. Also, if you're ringing very few numbers, pick the network that's cheapest for those. Also, worth checking that where you want to call from has coverage. Eg, it's a lot cheaper to call from a BT number to O2 mobile than from other (eg NTL) options.

Also, is it worth getting a phone-PDA, so you can synchronise diary/addressbooks etc with your computer (home and work)? More expensive, but potentially very useful.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

Pay-as-you go is the best.
Really? Looks like a pain in the **** to me, all that mucking about with top ups and so on. Okay, so it's probably slightly less economic, but I just pay a monthly fee of about a tenner (I think) and they keep on wanting to give me a new handset, even though I'm happy with the one I've got...

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Though it's worth noting that lathany will probably average about £1 worth of calls per month, so your use of the word "just" is probably not appropriate here.

[dr-bob.livejournal.com]

Much like my consumption of top-ups. I probably fill (10 or 20 quid) the phone twice per year.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Yeah - that sort of cost is what I expect.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_alanna/]

'Fraid I disagree honey ;o) The top-up vouchers were a pain, but now that I've changed to pay-as-you-go direct debit (with Virgin), it's just as easy as your contract, and I pay far less (I think). The only downside is that I won't get the handset upgrades.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

That's sounding like my best option.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Also, if you're ringing very few numbers, pick the network that's cheapest for those.

I'm mostly ringing home when something unexpected happens (eg. South West Trains go up the creek). I imagine that I'll occasionally use it to ring someone else, but it'll be almost never (just based on past experience).

is it worth getting a phone-PDA

Not for me. But thanks for the thought.

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the plans are like over there, but I looked into pre-paid plans here in the States while I was pregnant (forty-five minute commute through farmland + possibility of short labor = very frightening prospect). All the ones I looked at had a minimum # of minutes you could get, and if you didn't use them up in a short amount of time, like maybe sixty days, you lost them.

All of the "pay-as-you-go" plans still had basic monthly service charges, and the price per minute seemed excessive.

Of course the regular plans all had far more minutes than I wanted, and I didn't want a yearly contract. Those seemed to be the best value, though.

If someone offers you an old 'phone, make sure it's not so old that it can't get service anymore. We have 'phones that are only five years old, but they're analog and all of the service now is digital, or something like that.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Not many of these concerns apply in the UK. PAYG plans don't have monthly fees any more. Price per minute is high, but if you're only expecting to make a few minutes of calls per month, it's pretty much irrelevant (roughly comparable with using a payphone). The downside of PAYG is that a cheap handset will cost about 50 quid, instead of being free.

And we've had a single digital mobile phone standard for about 15 years, so there's no way you'd mistake an analog mobile for a GSM phone, because at first glance you'd think the analog phone was a typewriter, or a WWII-era field radio, or a double-decker bus, or something.

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

Wow, that would be nice. I would have gotten a cell 'phone if I didn't have to pay monthly fees.

I always wanted a bag 'phone, but I don't think I've seen one for . . . about fifteen years.:-) They were a little on the large side, but everyone knew that you had one, then, and you could feel important because of it.:-) Now they're all so tiny that no one can see you've even got one. Maybe I should start telling people I've got a 'phone, it's just so small they can't even see it.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I reckon that your best bet would be to move to the UK and get a phone here.

</wishful thinking>

[onyxblue1.livejournal.com]

No, you wouldn't want us over there. the_original1 isn't as easy to get along with in person as you might think. Oh, wait, he might read this. Forget I said that!;-)

[lathany.livejournal.com]

The downside of PAYG is that a cheap handset will cost about 50 quid, instead of being free.

OK, thanks. Given that I really do expect to make less than a call a month, it simply means that it'll be better value after the first five months.

because at first glance you'd think the analog phone was a typewriter, or a WWII-era field radio, or a double-decker bus, or something.

Oooh! That sounds fascinating. I want! ;-)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

And you can almost certainly get a handset free from one of your less cost-conscious friends...

Note also that you can top up PAYG phones directly from your debit card at NatWest, Sainsbury's and I think some other cash machines these days, just by pressing a few buttons. So they really are pretty much painless!

[jezzidue.livejournal.com]

If you're struggling to get a phone (or even if you're not) I've got a beaten up but fully functional Ericsson ... moderately small flip phone, two chargers (one for work - one for home), no clever tricks but bomb proof (survived my round the world trip and a number of serious knocks, smashes and drownings). You are welcome to it :-)

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Answered by email.

[cuthbertcross.livejournal.com]

Pay as you go phones start from about 40 pounds; look at Argos or woolworths for the easiest ones, check which tarrif you are going to be cheapest with (if you have a BT line then O2 is probably best). Buy the cheapest handset you can get; Nokia is most likely for other people to have a spare charger about if you lose/forget yours, Siemens handsets tend to cost a little more but are hardier (esp in the screen department) and sometimes have atune composer- yay!

If like me and dr_bob you're a relatively light user, PAYG is by far the cheapest and best (I used to spend 15 A month on contract as a frequent user; now it's more like 15 a quarter, and dr_bob is even less. It's very very easy to top up PAYG; simply go to your own bank's ATMs and you can top up at the cashpoint (including LINK machines if you have a LINK compatible bank card). You can also top up by debit/credit card by phone (bit of a faff) or get an electronic topup card which you hand in at participating supermarkets/convenience shops/post offices and then they add topups on for you instantly; which depends on your provider.

Good luck and if you have a composer on your phone and want a customised ringtone let me know!

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll definitely go for PAYG. The question will be whether I nab jezzidue's phone or not.

[jezzidue.livejournal.com]

Sure you can - I'll bring it up to Oxford on Saturday ... passing it on to someone reliable if I don't see you at the party ...

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (We won't be at the party - no babysitting, try someone Tao to pass on please).

Incidentally - what's your email address? I quite evidently have the wrong one!

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Two years ago, I got a Siemens A50 (bog standard phone) on a Virgin Pay as you go tariff for £50 from Carphone warehouse. I set up the PAYG via direct debit, and currently pay about £3 a month, and that's mainly from texting the parents in Spain.