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Can you beat it? PAYG Packages for as little as £...
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Can you beat it? PAYG Packages for as little as £18
Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) mobiles are the right choice for those who just want an emergency (granny-in-the-glovebox) phone. They're also useful for under 18s and those with poor credit histories who can't get contract mobiles; plus it's a great way to get a cheap handset to put your existing Sim card in.
With PAYG you simply prepay for calls or messages via vouchers or electronic top up.
The Cheapest PAYG phones?
The following are the cheapest currently available PAYG deals. Yet this is just the handset price; if you're planning to actually use the phone to make a substantial number of calls always examine the tariff (the actual cost of different calls). Often cheap handsets mean expensive tariffs, so if that applies to you, instead read the Mobile Phone Cost Cutting article to find the right tariff.
The Cheapest PAYG Available Online
These are arranged in order of how much you will have to lay out, but some include airtime actually making them cheaper overall if you intend to use that tariff too.
£21.99 (free delivery) Sony Ericsson J220i*Basic phone with a colour screen and polyphonic ringtones, available on Vodafone from Amazon.
£22.95 (incl. £10 airtime + free delivery) Nokia 1600*. This is another basic phone with a colour screen and polyphonic ringtones. It's available on both Vodafone and T-mobile for £14.95 when purchasing £10 of airtime from Phones4u.
£24.95 (incl. £10 airtime + free delivery)Sony Ericsson J100i*.
Available from Carphone Warehouse on Virgin, Take5 and Mobile World networks. This is a pretty basic handset; it's not as good as the J220i above, but it still does everything it needs to.
The Cheapest In-store/over the phone
£17.99 in-store (£22.94 delivered) Alcatel E105* at Woolworths . A basic phone with a monochrome screen. It's available from a few providers, but it's cheapest on Virgin Mobile.
£19.99 (inc £10 airtime) Alcatel OT-E205 from Orange Retail. Similar in looks to the E105 above but with a colour screen. It is only available in Orange high street shops for this price; online it costs £10 more.
£24.99 Siemens C72 from Sainsburys. Available on Vodafone, this is in-store only Christmas clearance stock of slightly more advanced phone, but availability is very limited.
£29.99 (inc. £10 airtime) Alcatel E801 from Orange Retail. This is only on the list as it has a built-in mp3 player and 128mb memory card. Again, this is an in-store only price and you'll pay an extra tenner if you buy online.
CAN YOU FIND A CHEAPER PAYG? If so please report it in the thread below
Contract mobiles are cheaper for most users
If you can get a contract and you are likely to make regular calls, then it will be cheaper. For full details read the Mobile Cost Cutting System to get the best deal, or if you're fed up with the current tariff Batter Down Your Contract.
How to use these PAYG's just as a handset for your existing tariff
If you want to simply use these phones to upgrade your existing handset on a contract (or current PAYG) tarriff, it's usually quite easy to do. The only problem is most mobiles are 'locked' to a network, meaning that if you use a Sim card from another network, they won't work.
Yet it's usually (though not with every phone) easy and legal to unlock phone for free; effectively it just means typing a code into the handset. Read the full Unlock Your Phone For Free article.
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Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert.
Please note, answers don't constitute financial advice, it is based on generalised journalistic research. Always ensure any decision is made with regards to your own individual circumstance.
The Nokia 1112 is a simple and precise mobile phone designed by Nokia. The Nokia 1112 is simple to look at as well as being simple to use. The Nokia 1112 comes with a large keypad and a navigation button for ease of use.
Dual band
Handsfree
Interchangeable fascias
Polyphonic ringtones
The Nokia 1112 has an LCD display that comes with a backlight & provides a good resolution. The Nokia 1112 has an easy to use navgation and menu system, making it a no fuss simple mobile phone. The handset weighs 80 grams in total which makes the Nokia 1112 an extremely light phone to carry around.
Nokia 1600 - £22.95 Vodafone
The Nokia 1600 is yet another great value for money, low cost, candybar handset from Nokia.
Games
MP3 Ringtones
Picture messaging
65,000 colour screen
The sleek, smooth design of the Nokia 1600 together with its chrome detail provide an extremely easy to use mobile phone whilst retaining a sophisticated style alongside all the practical features you have come to expect from your mobile. When you view your picture messages on the 65k colour screen you are sure to be impressed.
The Following User Says Thank You to turbodiesel For This Useful Post:Show me >>
The Nokia 1112 is a simple and precise mobile phone designed by Nokia. The Nokia 1112 is simple to look at as well as being simple to use. The Nokia 1112 comes with a large keypad and a navigation button for ease of use.
Dual band
Handsfree
Interchangeable fascias
Polyphonic ringtones
The Nokia 1112 has an LCD display that comes with a backlight & provides a good resolution. The Nokia 1112 has an easy to use navgation and menu system, making it a no fuss simple mobile phone. The handset weighs 80 grams in total which makes the Nokia 1112 an extremely light phone to carry around.
I just bought one of these from Phones4U as 'clearance' earlier in the week when they were just £14.95 - net cost was £9.95 as got £5 cashback through Quidco. It arrived in almost pristine condition (apart from the previous owners email address still being the greeting on start-up!) but had a Virgin SIM with £5 credit on it and was also unlocked neither of which I was expecting! Bargain...
* conference calling
* dual band
* Java™ capable
* Java™ games and applications
* Line 2 compatible
* polyphonic ring tones
* predictive text input
online you have to buy it with £10 top up so comes to £29.99
if you go to orange retail at the moment they have the same phone for 9.99 plus £10 top up, total cost - £19.99
we've also got the alcatel 801 with a 128mb memory card (its a music phone) for £19.99 plus £10 credit so total £29.99
Hi,
I need a new PAYG phone and it looks like the Alcatel OT205 is the cheapest from Orange. I know its far from being all singing/dancing, but I am a very low user. My Nokia 3310 is just about dead but I have quite a bit of credit on my 02 sim card which I would like to use. Does anyone know if the Alcatel is easy to unlock? Thanks. - sally
Hi
I got a Sagem myX2-2 Virgin PAYG (ok its not a high spec phone - but it makes phone calls and thats all I need) from Woolworths website - £19.99
I had it delivered to my local Woolworths, making it free delivery.
and it came with £10 of air time all ready on it.
I was well pleased ! ! !
ATB
Orange retail charges £10 "top up" on all new PAYG phones so you have to take this into account. To avoid this take any registered orange sim in and tell them you wish to "upgrade" this avoids being charged the top up cost.
A really good saving at the moment is there for anybody that knows someone that works in the NHS.
Orange retail offer a £20 discount off their PAYG phones upon production of proof. You can also use this with the upgrade route so the discount really drops down to £10 off and a free £10 top up. (Or the full £20 off if you upgrade) On the cheaper phones this can be really striking.
You can walk out with a phone costing you only nothing if you upgrade or 9.99 with £10 credit already on it.
Trying................yes really trying
Last edited by pebsham; 31-01-2007 at 8:11 AM..
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to pebsham For This Useful Post:Show me >>
Virgin have the Nokia 1112 for £24.99 with £15 credit and a joining pack and also the Siemens AX72 for £29.99 with £15 credit (plus £2.99 delivery), if you're already a Virgin customer logged on to your account they knock £10 off the phone price and give you £10 credit (so Siemens Ax72 becomes £19.99 with £10 of credit).
If you are a Virgin customer who has built up a Red Reward upgrade allowance you could potentially get a better phone for only a few pounds, for example I currently have an upgrade allownace of £30 which would enable me to buy the Benq Siemens E61 (which has a camera and 512mb memory card with it) for £39.99 (not sure whether with or without SIM) - £30 allowance, with £30 free credit, when adding in delivery of £2.99 I'd have a phone that they usually sell for £49.99 (+ £2.99) for just £12.98 including delivery and which has £30 credit with it.....I think this is pretty good and I have no complaints about the Virgin network having been a customer for about 3 years now.
I have used my upgrade allowance before to get my son the AX72 which although basic is a great first phone for kids (and touch wood seems to be durable having been lost on the football field several times!). Delivery is usually next day too so you don't have to wait long.
I am interested in the offer posted by Roadhog. I have searched the web site advertising this offer and nowhere can I find info regarding the £30 free airtime. What I need to know, as I am a very low user (emergencies only) and I didn't use the £10 airtime each month, would it prevent me for getting the 2nd and 3rd months airtime added. I can't really see how it would, but would like confirmation. At the time of posting, this offer is still available. Thanks - Sally
I am interested in the offer posted by Roadhog. I have searched the web site advertising this offer and nowhere can I find info regarding the £30 free airtime. What I need to know, as I am a very low user (emergencies only) and I didn't use the £10 airtime each month, would it prevent me for getting the 2nd and 3rd months airtime added. I can't really see how it would, but would like confirmation. At the time of posting, this offer is still available. Thanks - Sally
Here is a link to the Phones4U offer on the Nokia1112 with £30 free airtime. You do not have to spend anything apart from initial loading of £5 when you get the phone, the £30 is then paid in three instalments at the end of each month, it is not dependant on you spending more on top-ups. http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_...ItemKey=155229
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Can you beat it? PAYG Packages for as little as £18
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