what should you look for in a mobile phone

[belgiangoth]

Recently killed my mobile off by dunking it in the canal (again). A new mobile will be about £20, with my current contract being just under £9 a month I'm thinking of getting "more" out of a £10.50 contract. With this I could possibly get some smart--phone or some-such, but I don't know what's good and how many MBs and all that stuff. What's worth it, or should I just sod it off and go for pay-as-you-go?

[LANDSURFER74]

Or do what i have done ...don't have one!
Freedom feels so good.
I have email and internet access, obviously.
But no one is tracking my movements.
Ever .. AAHH! bliss

[philg]

If you don't mind messing around with cashbacks and redemptions, then a Smartphone such as the HTC Desire S can be had on O2 for under £12 pcm on a 24m contract.

Integrated GPS & free sat-nav, reasonable camera, e-mails and internet (assuming you can live with the small screen) and more useless apps then you'll ever need

90% of an i-phone at a third of the cost.

[reohn2]

I've been "pay as you go" on Orange since 1998(?) even when I was running a business.
I like simple cheap and am provided by one of my daughters who give me a phone on a regular basis when they upgrade.So long as it makes calls and texts and has a big enough screen for me to see without me specs I'm laughing.

[Mick F]

I've dumbed down and got a Doro.
http://www.doro.co.uk/
I don't consider myself "senior" in the slightest but the screen is huge, the buttons simple and clear, and I can use it without my glasses on.

Simple, all it does is phone and text. Nowt else.

(another plus - nobody wants to steal it!)

[random37]

Surely if you keep murdering them, it makes more sense to get a cheaper one?

Mine never last more than six months.

[PW]

Similar to R2. I've been on Orange PaYGo since 2,000 using the kids' cast offs. If anything changes it'll involve a big hammer and the rubbish bin.

[belgiangoth]

If you don't mind messing around with cashbacks and redemptions, then a Smartphone such as the HTC Desire S can be had on O2 for under £12 pcm on a 24m contract.

Aye, I noticed I could get 400 texts more than I needed with a smartphone, but I was wondering how much is a reasonable amount of downloads to be able to use it as a GPS/appmachine?

[belgiangoth]

The well of cast-off phones appears to have dried up now that smarphones have hit the market. I also like to have a camera on the phone - at which point the cost works out the same.

[philg]

If you don't mind messing around with cashbacks and redemptions, then a Smartphone such as the HTC Desire S can be had on O2 for under £12 pcm on a 24m contract.

Aye, I noticed I could get 400 texts more than I needed with a smartphone, but I was wondering how much is a reasonable amount of downloads to be able to use it as a GPS/appmachine?

I get 500MB data with my O2 package and haven't come close to using that, as it's mainly used at home/work and in range of a Wi-fi network, which doesn't use up the data allowance.

I also don't use a fraction of the 100mins & 500 texts allowance either, but that's irrelevant - my 24m contract costs less than buying the HTC sim-free. Pay as you go really isn't an economic solution, though I appreciate the simplicity might appeal to some.

[philg]

The well of cast-off phones appears to have dried up now that smarphones have hit the market. I also like to have a camera on the phone - at which point the cost works out the same.

I also re-cycled my 2 years old Nokia 5800 and received £55 - I don't understand how this works, but the cheque was real enough

[Redvee]

You can get some good SIM only deals from Tesco and Virgin, I think. Tesco might be the better deal tbh. 500mb of data is more than enough, in the past I was checking emails every 1/2 hour, using the maps and surfing the net throughout the day and came nowhere near breaching the data limit.

[belgiangoth]

I get 500MB data with my O2 package and haven't come close to using that, as it's mainly used at home/work and in range of a Wi-fi network, which doesn't use up the data allowance.

Ah, so smart phones work as computers (well tablets) if they connect to wi-fi? (at no cost?). Do you use any apps, such as "fill that hole" or any of the GPS type apps? Do apps require constant internet connection, or do they run without using up your GB allowance?

[philg]

More or less, yes they are mini-tablets - connected via wi-fi or 2/3G networks.

I use a few apps, some are useful like the Dictionaries & Translators (the voice recognition is very accurate) and traffic/navigation etc. The rest are for fun - Google Skymap is an impressive demo of the 3-axis sensor, point the phone at any area of the sky and it shows the stars/constellations you are pointing at (allegedly)

Check out Android Marketplace for the apps available, most are free or under £1.
They download directly to the phone (no PC needed) and via wi-fi it only takes a few seconds.
Some apps are stand-alone, others, which are really just web-fronts, require a data connection (wi-fi or 3G etc.)

(I-phone & Blackberry have similar app stores)

HTH

[Trigger]

Pay as you go really isn't an economic solution, though I appreciate the simplicity might appeal to some.

Surely that should read "pay as you go really isn't an economic solution for me" ?

I've had my phone that long I can't even remember what I paid for it, I think it was around £30 4/5 years ago, I put £10 on it on average around every 3-4 months. In a world of £500 phones and £20+ p/m contracts, that's a pretty economic solution for me.