Buying Phone or going contract

who_ru

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a Sony Xperia T, never had a smart phone before.

I've seen it for sale online for 499 euro, i have yet to check out the carphonewarehouse regarding contracts, seems to be zillions of options, 18 month contracts, 24 month contracts, sim only, different plans with different call/text/date bundles. plus the argument of which network has the best coverage.

say for example i go for a 24 month contract at 40 euro per month. over 24 months thats 960 euro, nearly double the cost of buying the phone.

at the moment i'm with tesco mobile sim only costing 20 euro a month, but with only 500MB data allowance which wouldn't really be enough for a smart phone, i also get 200mins/texts which is enough.

what do you think - is buying the phone outright worth it?

theteal

500mb is plenty for average use, op. I wouldn't be fan of anything longer than a 12 month contract.

If the €20 payg suits, I'd buy the phone outright

quad_red

is the phone free on the 24 month contract?

If so that's €960.

To buy the phone for €500 and pay €20 p/m is €980.

So it's €20 cheaper to go for a 2 year contract? Total madness in my opinion unless there is no way you can get the €500 together now.

You can see on here that lots of people come across serious problems with their networks. Coverage issues, data issues. We use our mobiles so much that it's a serious burner to get stuck like this. And, in general, if companies have you on a long contract they know you're stuck.

Whereas if you're on a short term sim only contract you can leave pretty much straight away if the network fails to perform.

BroLo

Check out plans and phone costs on the plans. Phones are subsidised when going on a contract.

For example, a Galaxy S3 on meteor to buy the phone alone is 599.99. Fair enough, BUT my minimum monthly spend on that would be 25.24.

On an 18 month contract its 199.99 up front. The contract is 25.41 per month for 12 months and 30.50 for the remaining 6 months.

Buying the phone outright total cost for the 18 months: 599.99 + (25.24x18) = 1054.31

Buying it on an 18 month contract over the 18 months: 199.99 + (25.41x12) + (30.50x6) = 681.91

Total saving over the 18 months: 312.4 or 20.69 a month.

I don't see how you could argue for buying the phone outright. In addition, if any T&Cs change in your contract you can cancel it without fees, meaning your out of contract and free to choose the best sim-only plan, but beware you may get refused from the operator you left if you try to go back to them.

@above posters, 20 PAYG is not comparable to a 40 bill pay. If 20 PAYG suits, a 20ish plan would also suit.

cookie1977

there are other aspects to consider such as flexibility with moving providers if someone suddenly offers a very good sim only plan. Also your device will be unlocked from the get go rather then you having to abide by the networks rules on when they will unlock your phone.

Mossess

Dont eMobile have an offer on at the moment, 32 euros a month for Unlimited calls/text and 15GB of data a month. On a 30 day rolling contract. But no phone.

BroLo

cookie1977 wrote: »

there are other aspects to consider such as flexibility with moving providers if someone suddenly offers a very good sim only plan. Also your device will be unlocked from the get go rather then you having to abide by the networks rules on when they will unlock your phone.

Yes there is the problem with being locked into your contract, but your phone is not unlocked from the get go. Most have a minimum top-up of over 150.

cookie1977

or for 22 euro a month from emobile you can get unlimited landline calls, 2GB data and 300 mins and 300sms any network (Sim only 30 day notice)

cookie1977

BroLo wrote: »

Yes there is the problem with being locked into your contract, but your phone is not unlocked from the get go. Most have a minimum top-up of over 150.

If you buy the phone sim free (which is usually in and around the same price as PAYG) then the device is unlocked from the get go.

BroLo

These are all sim only plans. Yes they are competitive plans but you have to add the pre-pay price of the phone over the contract length, and be comparing it to a comparable plan, ie, a 40/month plan is almost never going to be comparable to a 20/month plan.

@Cookie yes, it is. I was presuming he was buying from a network.

cookie1977

a 499 phone over 24months would be 21 euro a month roughly. Add to that the flexibility offered by sim free with cheap plan then in many cases if you can afford sim free phones they are usually worth it.

Riesen_Meal

My mate bought a lovely sim free LG optimus 4x hd from expansys the other day, 400 including delivery, lovely handset and not as pricey as a SGS3 if your interested in Android...

BroLo

@ cookie I personally disagree with that. But I am biased towards a contract plan. I know myself that I won't be leaving Meteor any time soon, for reasons other than the fact that it's the best plan/overall price I've found, so I have no problem entering into the contract.

Yes the phone is 21 a month, but then add 20 for your plan and its 41 a month, and given the fact that if you were on a contract you would have gotten the phone for 8 a month on top of a comparable 20 a month plan I'd rather go for the 30 a month over the 40 a month.

quad_red

BroLo wrote: »

@above posters, 20 PAYG is not comparable to a 40 bill pay. If 20 PAYG suits, a 20ish plan would also suit.

I meant sim only (30 days).

Select 300 on emobile
300 minutes/300 texts + 2GB data

12 month contract €49.81
18 month contract €35.78
Sim only/30 days: €22.37


http://www.emobile.ie/phonesplansmore/plans/postpay/detailsCallTextBrowse/?gid=47

cookie1977

That's it exactly. It all depends on your needs and wants. I was just pointing out that in many cases for many people (myself included) sim free devices with cheap plans offer overall better value and for you (and many others) contracts suit. But that neither should be discounted until you've done the math.

misslynny

im in the same boat but i want an iphone?? help!!!!!!!!!!