Mobile phones

[liv]

OK, so when I move to Stoke-on-Trent I'm going to be living initially in a flat that doesn't have telephone or broadband access. I do have the right to set up these services, but that seems pointless; it would take away the advantage of having somewhere temporary to live with no strings in terms of how long I stay.

So what I want to do is get a high-end mobile phone contract, the kind that includes a fancy phone, data access and some amount of free or affordable calls. Data access can be over the phone or via mobile broadband or ideally some combination (I already have a baby computer). The kind of phone I want is something like a Blackberry, with a real keyboard and decent sized screen. I don't find touchscreens or Apple design particularly sexy, and I don't need the absolute latest shiny model. I don't care if my phone can act as a camera or music player; I do want something that can more or less pretend to be a handheld computer / portable internet terminal. I'm happy to spend around £30 a month, and I don't mind signing up for a long period, as obviously I will keep said mobile phone after I move somewhere more permanent. Is this realistic?

The problem is that I have absolutely no idea about either physical phones or phone providers! Partly cos I've been out of the country, and partly cos I haven't been keeping up with the market. So, can any of you recommend me:

• A phone company
• The sort of services and perks I can reasonably ask for in a phone plan
• A mobile phone chain where people are helpful and will give me a sensible choice of options
• A website where I can compare price plans and services
• A website where I can compare phone models and their features
• A brand and model (or range of models) of phone
• Anything else I should be considering when I make decisions (network coverage? flexibility and bolt-ons?)

Alternative approaches: I could install a proper landline and broadband system, but make sure I can transfer the contract to my permanent place. I'm not so keen on this idea, because I basically do need a modern phone and sensible mobile contract anyway, and would rather wait until I know my situation before I start paying setup charges.

Also, I could perhaps take a more basic phone or even put up with my ancient dinosaur one, and source a not brand new model with the features I want on eBay (eg last year's Blackberry). This is probably only really worth it if there is a specific obsolete model which is really really good. Cos you rarely save money by refusing the phone that comes as a bribe to sign up to a mobile contract.

Comments

[naath]

If what you want is to have internet on your computer then you'd probably be better off getting mobile-broadband with a USB stick thingy, I don't have one but decent contracts seem to being going in the 10-15 pounds/month range.

I have internet on my uber-fancy phone, but the phone (Nokia E90) is a crummy way to spod (screen and keyboard both too small) and my contract (with O2) doesn't permit me to use the phone as a modem (I probably could if I wanted to, but it is not immediately obvious how). I do like the E90 as a phone and for occasional internet use (and also as camera, radio, personal organiser and all that happy stuff).

[mathcathy]

I agree that the best way to get internet is to get a mobile internet USB stick - you can get them on pay as you surf from Vodafone at least (£35 up front for the device and then you'd have to contact them to find out charges.) Or it's £10-£15 a month 'unlimited' use over 12 months.

High-end mobiles which include mobile internet are harder to come by in the £30 range. The iphone is the best, I think, and that's at least £40, knowing that because I've toyed with getting one.

With mobiles, you are always best to call the companies and talk it through. It's surprising what you can get if you haggle enough, especially if you already have a contract. I don't entirely agree that you can't do well out of not getting the free-offer phone. It depends on whether you are happy with the handset you've got. If you can use mobile broadband with your netbook, then your best minutes/texts deals are going to be without a handset.

[syllopsium]

I agree with the other two comments. 3G dongle for your laptop (assuming you have reception). You can buy it pre-pay, use it until it runs out, then top it up.

As long as you dont download movies all day, it won't be vastly expensive, either.

[pseudomonas]

For baby laptop, check that the USB-stick is supported by whatever OS you're running.

[rmc28]

Three have a good PAYG deal for mobile broadband - they brought it out just after I'd signed up with an long contract with O2.

I'm happy with my O2 contract, I have the assurance of internet connection almost wherever we go, and the dongle works with Ubuntu on my teeny tiny netbook (once I installed 9.04 rather than the 8.04 it came with).

[liv]

Thanks, this is helpful. I can see that mobile broadband might be better than a phone with a data plan, but I do actually need a phone qua phone as well, and this seems the simplest way to get one. Ideally I'll get one of those package deals with both phone and mobile broadband, if such exist.

For actual spodding, I'm thinking I shall get away with a couple of evenings a week of borrowing work internet out of hours, and / or taking my teeny tiny computer to internet cafés. But I want to be able to grab email and keep an eye on my friends pages at least once a day. Obviously for preference I want to have actual full-scale broadband at home with a real computer, but I also want a non-shared house rather than half a flat, and all those things are going to take a couple of months to organize. So I'll put up with improvised internet access for that time.

[liv]

My understanding is that plenty of them claim to be strictly Windows only, but there are usually workrounds for Linux based systems like mine. I would rather install a new OS for my baby computer than, say, pay to set up a phone line anyway.

[liv]

Wow, this is super helpful, just the kind of detail I was hoping for! I do agree that mobile broadband sticks are more useful in general than mobile phones with data plans, but the specific situation is that I need a physical handset, and I need some kind of phone plan with voice calls (and texts) as I shall be without a landline. So my plan is to take advantage of the perks and freebies phone companies use to persuade you to sign up, and get myself a decent modern phone with hopefully some internet thrown in. However, I will certainly look in to the possibility of getting a basic (possibly even PAYG) phone and a USB stick separately, in case that does turn out cheaper.

[liv]

I guess what I'm thinking about is coverage; a dongle may or may not work in my flat, whereas if I get internet on my phone I can hopefully access it anywhere there's a phone signal. Or am I confused about how the two types of data provision work?

Good to know that PAYG internet can be affordable; I was assuming I'd need a monthly contract to avoid unreasonable charges.

[liv]

Oh, this is fantastic information, thank you. Specific companies, great, and also very reassuring that you can get dongles working on teeny Linuxy netbooks, and get good coverage. It's probably about time I upgraded from the baby's first Linux OS that came with my miniature computer to real Ubuntu anyway. That certainly seems a lower setup cost than getting a landline activated!

[syllopsium]

It's precisely the same form of technology, just without a keypad and a screen :). 3G is quite fast; the other forms of mobile comms are somewhat slower.

You can check the coverage maps of each provider - whilst they won't be 100% accurate, several providers let you put in your postcode and find out what's available in your area.

[emma]

I'm pretty sure the types of data are the same. So, you'd have a Vodafone dongle and a Vodafone actual phone, both accessing the Vodafone data network, and it wouldn't make any difference as to the shape of the thing containing the SIM card, as they'd still be accessing the same network and level of coverage. The dongles basically use a SIM card to provide the service, which always makes me think that the phone is the better deal, if you can get it to behave as a dongle.

I never know how to give data on mobile phone networks. From experience, I know that T-Mobile and O2 don't work in the basement of my office, but Vodafone and Orange do. And that Orange tends to be expensive for data, and T-Mobile tends to be generous, and that O2's data packages aren't well regarded except for when they come with iPhones. For my part, I've been with T-Mobile for about a year, though I got bored of my Windows Mobile with a keyboard and bought an iPhone and bent it to my will, so it's on T-Mo. I find T-Mo support to be quite good, from the dealings I've had with them (I was with them when my old work paid for my contact, and they were helpful when telling me I couldn't get out of the contract only a few months in without buying it out for lots, but they were also sympathetic while being ultimately powerless to do what I wanted).

In terms of handsets, you might like to consider something like the G1 if that sort of thing appeals - Android, which is cool and open sourcey, physical keyboard. The HTC Hero seems to be the new big thing in some of my circles at the moment, but it doesn't have a physical keyboard. I tried a Nokia e60 when I was temporarily between phones and didn't like it. I find Windows Mobile frustratingly slow as a phone operating system. I like my iPhone because it feels quite speedy, and does everything I want. I also find Windows too fiddly now, and while some people criticise the iPhones for all being alike, I just don't need the level of customizability and control that Windowsy phones can give.

carphonewarehouse.co.uk is pretty good as a comparison point, though I've heard they can be a bit evil to actually deal with. When I signed up for my contact, I got it through Expansys because the handset I wanted was only available with the network I wanted from there.

[mathcathy]

What I was thinking is that you can get a decent handset with minutes and text deals for between £15 and £20.

I pay £15 a month for 600 mins, 1000 texts and unlimited internet (with O2 over 24 months, and I already had a handset I liked well enough) for example. Mine's a bit of an anomaly, because O2 were competing with Vodafone's staff deals, but it gives you a flavour of what you can push for.

Shopping around is key, knowing what you want and arguing for it. It's proper British haggling! And it's always easier if you've already got a contract, because the initial connection charges are the bit that cost the operator the most money, I think.

[helenic]

I hear the N900 is very shiny - coming out on oct 9th. It's their palmtop with phone usability, free on Vodafone with a 24 month £35 contract, which you can usually haggle down if you go into a store. Vodafone's 3G is fast and reliable, and their "fair usage" data allowance is reasonably high. Check out The Really Mobile Project for up to date reviews.

I've spent the last year using Vodafone mobile broadband - £15/month with a free dongle for 5Gb total data transfer a month. This is ridiculously low, but I manage to stay within it by downloading big files at work wherever possible, and never streaming TV or radio. I like streaming TV and radio, though, so this is a pain. The connection, coverage and user service have been excellent though.

Vodafone don't offer a higher data package as far as I'm aware. Three go up to 15gb, and I'm intending to check them out. I'll let you know what I come up with :)