Phone Contracts

[limpid]

 

All of the calculations above are based on 24 months. Now work out how much you save if you only keep your phone for 12 months.

But as I said, a lot of people will still have to spread the cost of the phone out over however long you have it. Not everyone can afford to buy a £400+ phone outright.

So over 12 months your monthly cost becomes more if you do that.

 

My point was that to keep the monthly cost down to below what a contract would be, a lot of people would have to spread the cost of that phone out over 2 years anyway

 

I disagree. Anyone that can pass a credit check to get a mobile phone can get interest free credit to buy the phone.

 

After 12 months the second hand phone is worth much more than a 24 month old phone. It's also not network branded increasing its resale value further.

[Nath182]

Many thanks nath and stevo for your advice. I've also seen people selling the iPhone 5 on Gumtree for £420.00 but factoring in what you get on contract is it better to go on contract?

 

If you have the funds to buy the phone outright, then I'd recommend checking out the below offer for refurbished iPhone 5. My mate bought a grade B iPad from them and it was perfect, these are grade A so should be as new:

 

Clicky

[Stevo985]

 

 

All of the calculations above are based on 24 months. Now work out how much you save if you only keep your phone for 12 months.

But as I said, a lot of people will still have to spread the cost of the phone out over however long you have it. Not everyone can afford to buy a £400+ phone outright.

So over 12 months your monthly cost becomes more if you do that.

 

My point was that to keep the monthly cost down to below what a contract would be, a lot of people would have to spread the cost of that phone out over 2 years anyway

 

I disagree. Anyone that can pass a credit check to get a mobile phone can get interest free credit to buy the phone.

 

After 12 months the second hand phone is worth much more than a 24 month old phone. It's also not network branded increasing its resale value further.

 

But you still have to pay for the phone if you get it on a credit card. That was my point. You'll probably be paying off that credit card monthly.

 

If you pay it off over 12 months instead of 24 then it's twice as much every month. Unless you don't pay it all off bu then you're either paying for 2 phones when you get your new one or using the money you get from selling your current phone to pay off what you have left.

 

No arguments about the resale value. But will what you sell the phone for be enough to cover what you've got left to pay off (if you haven't paid it off over 12 months like above) plus the cost of a new phone.

 

 

Again, I'm not saying it's NOT cheaper to do it this way. All I'm saying is if you break it down into monthly cost I don't think you save much. Certainly not as much as some people make out.

 

The benefit is, and it's a very valid one, the flexibility of not being tied into a contract. BUt even that is hampered a bit by financial restraints for some.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Stevo985

[Stevo985]

For example, I've checked ebay and a used Galaxy S3 (my phone) goes for around £200 from what I can see. Mint condition seems to be a bit more, but for an average condition, £200 seems to be about right. That's a 12 month old phone.

 

I can't remember what they cost when they were brand new, but I remember it being over £400. But we'll say £400 for ease of calculation.

 

So to break even I would have had to have paid off £200 of what the phone cost me by now (400 original cost - 200 I'd get for selling it now = 200)

 

That means I'd have to have paid off at least £16 a month of that credit card to be breaking even.

If you add that 16 to the £13 a month giff gaff deal you get £29 a month.

 

But my current contract is £26 a month.

 

Even if you up what you'd get for selling to £250, you're still looking at £25 per month total for the giff gaff deal, which isn't exactly saving you a huge amount.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Stevo985

[Morpheus]

 

Many thanks nath and stevo for your advice. I've also seen people selling the iPhone 5 on Gumtree for £420.00 but factoring in what you get on contract is it better to go on contract?

 

If you have the funds to buy the phone outright, then I'd recommend checking out the below offer for refurbished iPhone 5. My mate bought a grade B iPad from them and it was perfect, these are grade A so should be as new:

 

Clicky

 

Looking at the bottom of that has the offer now expired?

[Morpheus]

Given you are coming from an Android phone, your HTC I'd suggest not getting an iPhone. It is not worth the bother of going back to a bad os and having all the migration troubles.

I think you should go in and look at the HTC One in a store and you will be smitten. From what you've said and given you owned a HTC this is the best phone for you.

Decide yourself if you want to buy phone outright and get cheaper monthly bill or go the 24 month contract route.

I'd advise giving 3 serious consideration given the 4G network free upgrade at no extra charge.

Thanks CVByrne for the time you have taken for your advice. Have taken a look at some of the reviews of the new HTC One. Apparently it has a problem with overheating at the moment and short battery life although other reviews give it the thumbs up. Would also be concerned with re-sale value in 24 months time as compared to the iPhone 5.

 

As far as the 3 network is concerned what is the coverage like? I like the idea however of the 4G free network upgrade. Can you get this upgrade if you go with the iPhone through 3?  

[The_Rev]

Network coverage depends entirely on where you live so you need to be a bit more specific considering your (presumably out of date) profile says you are located in Ireland. 

 

For what it's worth, I'm with 3.  I move about an awful lot in my job and use my phone on a daily basis all over Warwickshire, in Birmingham (central, east & south), along the M40 corridor all the way through Oxfordshire, Bucks and into London (central and west) and have found the coverage to be fine.   I also go to Leeds quite a bit (north/north east of the city) and the signal there is beyond shit.   So it depends on where you live. 

[Morpheus]

Thanks Rev. i'm still living in N Ireland so will check the reviews on 3s coverage and then go from there.

[CVByrne]

I'm moving to 3 because O2's network is poor in Central London of all places. 

 

 

Also Stevo, as you know I upgrade my phone annually. I'm selling my S3 for £280, though mine is mint condition. You can get a Galaxy S4 for £530 so that works out as a £250 outlay to sell my S3 and buy a new S4. Monthly that'll cost me £21 over 12 months and my monthly bill will be £12 so it works out as £33 per month to have the absolute top of the line phone new every year, with no lock in contract or network branding etc..

 

Most people can put it on a credit cad and pay that £250 off over 2/3 months or better yet plan ahead and save for a couple of months first. 

 

 

I understand it's easier for people to sign up to contracts and get the phone there and then. But if you put in a tiny amount of work you can do better and save a lot. Have the best phone all the time, or simply save yourself a large amount of money if you are content with your phone when a new  one comes out. 

 

If ya run the numbers it comes out the same way every time. People need to get into the mindset, phone networks are dumb pipes, like the broadband providers you have at home. They don't subsidise your laptop do they? So phone networks should just supply you with data which = voice & texts & internet. The end.

[CVByrne]

Thanks Rev. i'm still living in N Ireland so will check the reviews on 3s coverage and then go from there.

 

 

I doubt N Ireland will have 4G roll out before 2014. As for the iPhone, no the only iPhones you can get in UK are for EEs 4G network and they make specific models for each 4G network. 

 

Samsungs Galaxy S4 & HTC One both use a new Snapdragon processor which has 8 band LTE radio built into it so whenever 4G rolls out these phones can use all the network bands used in Europe whenever they go live. 

 

Our you can get a Galaxy S4 with the octo core imported, it has a separate LTE radio which does all 20 LTE bands. But only I'm that crazy.

[Morpheus]

 

Thanks Rev. i'm still living in N Ireland so will check the reviews on 3s coverage and then go from there.

 

 

I doubt N Ireland will have 4G roll out before 2014. As for the iPhone, no the only iPhones you can get in UK are for EEs 4G network and they make specific models for each 4G network. 

 

Samsungs Galaxy S4 & HTC One both use a new Snapdragon processor which has 8 band LTE radio built into it so whenever 4G rolls out these phones can use all the network bands used in Europe whenever they go live. 

 

Our you can get a Galaxy S4 with the octo core imported, it has a separate LTE radio which does all 20 LTE bands. But only I'm that crazy.

 

So if i want to keep pace with technology over the next two years then you reckon its either the S4 or the HTC One. Have you heard anything about the HTC One over heating or it's limited battery life?

[CVByrne]

Well the HTC One battery is standard for smartphones they say. It'd be on par with an iPhone 5 maybe a tiny bit worse. But unless you are a "power users" ie spend 4+ hours of screen on time per day you should be fine.

 

For me who is a power user I have to go with the S4 and even paying a premium for the octo core one for even more improved battery. But normal use the HTC One should be fine. Given you were thinking of an iPhone 5 the HTC One is of equal (or as many believe superior) build and design quality. 

 

I've heard nothing about over heating, if any phone overheats it's faulty. So such incidents probably happen with all devices, but they are clearly faulty. 

 

Best bet is go in and have a look at the One and the S4 and see which you prefer. The S4 is, imo the superior phone but in inferior build quality to the One. The One is aluminium and the S4 is plastic etc. But both will be future proof for when 4G networks are turned on, you won't need a new phone as these two are future proofed already. Though the S4 will receive software updates (newer versions of android) faster than the One

 

But the simple fact is you cannot go wrong with either phone, both are hands down the best phones on the market and you shouldn't even consider anything else if you are buying a new phone today. 

[The_Rev]

Just going by the tech blogs I follow, most people in the industry seem to prefer the HTC One to the S4.   The S4 will sell more, obviously, but the HTC One might the the one to buy. 

 

Edited May 1, 2013 by The_Rev

[Morpheus]

Ok everyone thanks very much for your excellent advice and i will go and have a look at both the HTC One and S4 tomorrow. Looking at the contract deals the S4 seems to be the more expensive of the two but i'll see whats on offer. Thanks again everyone.

[CVByrne]

No problem Morpheus. 

 

I am advising people who ask me in general to buy the HTC One. Unless you specifically know what you want and can make the decision based on the pros and cons of both the One and the S4 then the sheer beauty and premium feel of the One makes it the one to get. 

 

I'll give a quick summary of the pros and cons here in case you are wondering.

 

HTC One - utterly gorgeous design, a phone that wows people to look at and touch. It has a camera with excellent low light performance (superior to the S4) and it has exceptional stereo speakers that can pump out some good sound. Screen more viewable in direct sunlight

 

S4 - Excellent batterylife, bigger screen by 0.3 inches than the One yet in a smaller and lighter phone, best smartphone camera in normal lighting conditions, removable battery and an expandable sd card slot. Screen very vibrant, colours pop. Faster with software updates than HTC. 

 

The screens on both phones have been described as inseperably stunning in terms of quality in normal conditions.

 

In general the tech press have reviewed both phones and agree both are the best 2 on the market. But the HTC has just shaded it due to it's stunning design in pretty much every review I've read (5 sites). 

 

Again, you can't go wrong with either. But HTC deserve your money as the company is unjustly in a spot of bother as it tries to battle behemoths Samsung & Apple. 

[Morpheus]

I'm very grateful indeed for your excellent advice CV Byrne. Should have mentioned by now the HTC model i have been using which is the old 'HTC Wildfire S.'

 

Great little phone but really struggling with battery life now and i guess either the HTC One or the S4 will be steep learning curve for me which i'm very much looking forward to.

 

My fiancee is also looking to upgrade but she absolutely hates touchscreen with a vengeance so maybe the new Blackberry Q10 might be the one for her with it's option of using the keypad or even the Blackberry 9900 which can be purchased on Gumtree now for as little as £140.00?

Edited May 1, 2013 by Morpheus

[CVByrne]

I think your Fiancee needs to bite the bullet and get a touchscreen phone. She will have to eventually, qwerty keyboard phones are a dying breed. The accuracy of the touchscreen keyboards has become superb, apps like swiftkey keyboard allows people to type very fast indeed. As does the very good screen size of the current phones like the S4 & One

 

There was a very good line used by Chris Ziegler of the Verge when he reviewed the Q10. "It's the best horse cart in the age of the automobile". 

 

Phones like the blackberry are a dying breed, indeed I and others on here expect the company to go under in the coming years. But if she must have a qwerty keyboard the Q10 is the best "horse cart" on sale at the moment.

[Nath182]

 

 

Many thanks nath and stevo for your advice. I've also seen people selling the iPhone 5 on Gumtree for £420.00 but factoring in what you get on contract is it better to go on contract?

 

If you have the funds to buy the phone outright, then I'd recommend checking out the below offer for refurbished iPhone 5. My mate bought a grade B iPad from them and it was perfect, these are grade A so should be as new:

 

Clicky

 

Looking at the bottom of that has the offer now expired?

 

 

Sorry I don't check VT out of work hours, it's out of stock but they get stock regularly I believe so may be worth while adding your email address to the waiting list for them if you're interested and they'll contact you when they're back in stock. 

[Morpheus]

I think your Fiancee needs to bite the bullet and get a touchscreen phone. She will have to eventually, qwerty keyboard phones are a dying breed. The accuracy of the touchscreen keyboards has become superb, apps like swiftkey keyboard allows people to type very fast indeed. As does the very good screen size of the current phones like the S4 & One

 

There was a very good line used by Chris Ziegler of the Verge when he reviewed the Q10. "It's the best horse cart in the age of the automobile". 

 

Phones like the blackberry are a dying breed, indeed I and others on here expect the company to go under in the coming years. But if she must have a qwerty keyboard the Q10 is the best "horse cart" on sale at the moment.

Ok mate will get her to join me when i go and have a look at the S4 and One to see if i can change her mind. Thanks again.

[Morpheus]

 

 

 

Many thanks nath and stevo for your advice. I've also seen people selling the iPhone 5 on Gumtree for £420.00 but factoring in what you get on contract is it better to go on contract?

 

If you have the funds to buy the phone outright, then I'd recommend checking out the below offer for refurbished iPhone 5. My mate bought a grade B iPad from them and it was perfect, these are grade A so should be as new:

 

Clicky

 

Looking at the bottom of that has the offer now expired?

 

 

Sorry I don't check VT out of work hours, it's out of stock but they get stock regularly I believe so may be worth while adding your email address to the waiting list for them if you're interested and they'll contact you when they're back in stock. 

 

Will do and many thanks again for taking the time to give me your advice.