If you're looking for a new mobile phone/tariff please look here first!!

I figured since we get so many new threads popping up asking about what phone you should get and tariff etc, we could create a sticky to make it easier for people. Not to mention stop creating the same thread over and over. I'll start off by providing some useful links in regards to the networks' priceplans and mobile phones.

GSM arena - www.gsmarena.com - To check out the latest phones

Mobile Review - www.mobile-review.com - Great site which has reviews of the latest phones and upcoming handset models

Network sites:

O2 website- www.o2.co.uk/

Tmobile- www.tmobile.co.uk

Orange - www.orange.co.uk

Vodafone - www.vodafone.co.uk

3 - www.three.co.uk

Dot.Mobile - www.dotmobile.co.uk/ucas

Virgin mobile - www.virginmobile.co.uk

Tesco mobile - www.tescomobile.com

Fresh mobile - www.talktalkmobile.co.uk/commerce/servlet/gben-server-PageServer?ARTICLE=MAIN.UK.INTERNET.PORTAL.TTMOBILE.STATIC.TTMOBILE.HOME.FRESH

Manufacturers websites:

Nokia- www.nokia.com

Sony ericsson - www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=global&lc=en&ver=4001&template=pg1&zone=pg

Samsung - uk.samsungmobile.com/

Lg- www.lgmobile.com

Cashback deals

www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk

www.phones4u.co.uk

www.one stop phone shop.co.uk (all one word)

A few FAQ's

1) Should i get a pay as you go or a contract

This will depend on your budget really. There are a number of benefits aswell as flaws to having either.
Benefits of a contract: When you sign up the phone is often free. Call costs tend to be cheaper and (from my own experience of the mobile industry), you tend to get better customer service althogh some may not agree i think its true. You also can upgrade at the end of your 12/18 month contract often for free. You even get cheaper inernation calls.

Flaws: Your tied into an 12/18 month contract, if you try and cancel early you could risk facing quite a large cancellation fee (which is often the line rental for the remaining months of your contract). If you just ignore the bills you could risk getting a poor credit rating. Furthermoe if your phone is stolen you must make sure you get it blocked by the network or someone could run up a huge bill which you will have to pay for. For this reason it may be wise in investing in phone insurance, however this does come at an additional cost as you would expect. So again it depends o your budget.

Advantages of payg: No risk of running up a phone bill, that tends to be peoples number one concern when entering a contract for the first time. There are contracts known as UFIX contracts (see tmobile site) which may get around this problem however :smile:

. You may also be able to budget easier. Payg's tend to be ideal for fairly low end mobile phone users. Insurance is also cheaper

Disadvantges: You have to pay for a phone when you get it. Which can be pricey. Calls also maybe more expensive, especially internationally. No possibility of an upgrade for free.

2) Shall i get an 12/18 month contract?

This may again depend on you're budget but also how long you plan to say in the country for (if your from abroad and also how many minutes you use) 18 month contracts tend to be better value for money than 12 month contracts. By that i mean you tend to get more minutes more texts and a wider choice of phones available for 18 month contracts. For example £35 pounds a month on O2 on a 12 monthcontrat will get you 400 minutes and 100 texts (roughly) on an 18 month contract you get 00 minutes and 500 texts for the same value of £35p/m. It also depends on how soon you want to upgrade or how patient you are for the latest phones etc

3) What if i break my phone or it gets damaged?

Carphone warehouse are able to fix all phone problems from software to cracked lcd's. If your phone has a software problem and by that i mean it freezes, crashes, Battery doesnt last long. Take it into carphone warehouse and provided your phone is under a year old and you have the receipt to prove it then they will be able to fix the problem for you free of charge by doing what is known as a "software flash" , however in doing so this wipes off any info you have on the phones, so it would be wise to backup your data beforehand. You have a one years manufactures warantee on most phones, 2 years on most new nokias, which is why any problems to do with software are fixed for free povided the phones under the warantee. If you break you phone you can calim it on your insurance, or if you dont have any insurance it can be fixed for a fee of 45 pounds from carphone(though i think this is a rip off and you should get it done elsewhere) or 85 pounds for any data phone (again a bit of a rip off). If you damage your phone through liquid then it cant be repaired at all. Its time to get a new phone if that happens!!. There are small shops certainly around london which can repair phones for you at a cheaper rate.

Feel free to add any suggestions of you're own and i can keep this page updated. Furthermore If you have any questions regarding latest handsets or are about to ask "looking to upgrade, which phone.." and "need a new phone.." questions, ask away here!.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

phobos

Nice idea!

Dot.Mobile - www.dotmobile.co.uk/ucas

Mobile Review - www.mobile-review.com

Reply 2

omicronlyrae

virgin mobile! i may be the only person with a virgin phone, but i have no complaints.

http://www.virginmobile.co.uk

Reply 3

iceman_jondoe

ahh yes sorry i totally forgot that one! lol

Reply 4

omicronlyrae

also, woo, stickied, nice one Iceman :smile:

EDIT: just a thought.... make it look neater? It kinda looks a bit of a muddle.

iceman_jondoe

any better? ^^

Reply 5

omicronlyrae

oh and by the way it's you're not your. just in case you wanted to fix that :p:

haha thanks olil!

one suggestion - give them proper titles, like i did in the edited version, and either have http:// or don't, else it looks a bit random.

also, you need tesco mobile (see my edited version of your original post)

Reply 8

Minardi

Really good post.

Could also add www.gsmworld.com for worldwide coverage/Uk coverage

Minardi

Reply 9

mkgm1

Nice one. 00 minutes though? :p:

Just after the bit about O2 12 month contracts have 400 mins, whereas the 18 month ones have...

Reply 10

phobos

www.carphonewarehouse.com
www.phones4u.co.uk
www.one stop phone shop.co.uk

(^ all one word. For some reason it gets censored)

Reply 11

monkeyboy129

I rate mobile-review very highly and use it all the time.
To search all the mobile phone sites for deals in one go (without having to visit them each in turn) use a comparison site
fone shaq lists to pretty much all of them.

I am currently with phoneboxdirect and am awaiting my first cashback so I cant rate them yet but I have had previous deals with **************** who were great. That was a 12 month free contract and I got all the money back without a hitch - they even sent me my bills back when I sent them too early, you wont get that in many places.

Reply 12

iceman_jondoe

why has this thread gone dead?

Reply 13

omicronlyrae

well it's a sticky, and i think people don't really need to post any more things - we've pretty much covered everything :p:

Reply 14

LexLuthorMustDie

02 do a really good sim only monthly contract.

Reply 15

philipgregory

If you're looking for a new phone go to

http://www.cheap3gmobiles.com/

Pick the phone you want from the drop down menu and the site will show you the cheapest deals from all the operators (incl cash back deals). it's absolute genius and saved me a fortune last time I upgraded.

Reply 16

Rivaldo_23

I'm a Greek and from September I'll be studying in Manchester.I'd like to know which one of all these companies have the best rates for a sim"not contract where I pay a fixed price every month).I'm interested more in sending cheap sms's than making phone calls.Could you suggest me a good solution?

Reply 17

sebbie

I've found a Cashback deal on phones4u, £35 a month (11 months cashback) with a k810i, 300 minutes and 400 texts. Obviously this is a very good deal, but do even better ones exist?

Reply 18

philipgregory

sebbie

I've found a Cashback deal on phones4u, £35 a month (11 months cashback) with a k810i, 300 minutes and 400 texts. Obviously this is a very good deal, but do even better ones exist?

Try this site: http://www.mobiles2yourdoor.co.uk/

Same phone & tariff with 12 months cashback! As found on http:www.cheap3gmobiles.co.uk

Reply 19

monkeyboy129

The Prada was 12 months free on Fone-Shaq but I think so many people bought it that it expired.
I did see an 18 month free deal on there for the SE S500i and the 580i saving £630 which is the biggest saving I've ever found.
750 free anytime minutes and 100 texts !!! strewth.