Cheapest iPhone discussion

Chimpofdoom

decsdad wrote: »

They do now, got an update with changes thru last week. Cover iphones, smart phones pda's etc:rotfl:

Indeed!

hazelwoods

Toe-Jam wrote: »

Royalties Gold insurance doesn't cover the Iphone, read the small print.

It does if you ask them.
Also, as of 1st June the maximum payment is going up from £350 to £1000. I'll be registering mine with them as it's a lot easier through them than via RBS Insurance. Even though RBS insurance paid out, there was a £100 excess

AfxTwn

Hi, I'm new to the mobile phone world having never previously owned one and still only use my Virgin landline. I am considering getting a mobile and have seen some friends' iPhones and myself have an iPod Touch so I am somewhat familiar with the OS/how it works and the apps etc.

Anyway, I am thinking of cancelling my current landline contract with Virgin and instead getting the new iPhone 4G when it comes out but having never owned a mobile before I am unsure about contracts vs pay as you go and what/how you upgrade your phone once you have bought it. I know that Apple regularly update their models so I'm assuming that it would be a good thing to be able to upgrade the phone as necessary but I don't know if you can only do this at certain time's during your contract or if it costs anything extra.

I like the idea of the iPhone as it combines all of the iPod Touch features that I love (listening to music, apps) with the ability to make calls, take photo's/video and has GPS/access anywhere internet on it.

I don't make a lot of calls on my current landline so I know that a mobile would be more expensive but I don't know if a contract or pay as you go would be better. I'm assuming a contract as it means you get the phone free whereas I understand the phone itself is very expensive on PAYG. Or would I just better sticking to my landline?

Sorry for this very long post but as I am a complete newbie to this, I'm hoping you'll understand my queries/naivety. Thanks for any help.

Chimpofdoom

AfxTwn wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to the mobile phone world having never previously owned one and still only use my Virgin landline. I am considering getting a mobile and have seen some friends' iPhones and myself have an iPod Touch so I am somewhat familiar with the OS/how it works and the apps etc.

Anyway, I am thinking of cancelling my current landline contract with Virgin and instead getting the new iPhone 4G when it comes out but having never owned a mobile before I am unsure about contracts vs pay as you go and what/how you upgrade your phone once you have bought it. I know that Apple regularly update their models so I'm assuming that it would be a good thing to be able to upgrade the phone as necessary but I don't know if you can only do this at certain time's during your contract or if it costs anything extra.

I like the idea of the iPhone as it combines all of the iPod Touch features that I love (listening to music, apps) with the ability to make calls, take photo's/video and has GPS/access anywhere internet on it.

I don't make a lot of calls on my current landline so I know that a mobile would be more expensive but I don't know if a contract or pay as you go would be better. I'm assuming a contract as it means you get the phone free whereas I understand the phone itself is very expensive on PAYG. Or would I just better sticking to my landline?

Sorry for this very long post but as I am a complete newbie to this, I'm hoping you'll understand my queries/naivety. Thanks for any help.

Firstly welcome to the forums!

Ok, so hopefully I can answer some of your questions!

When you take a phone on a contract, you are generally stuck with that phone until the end of the term. So if you took out the current iphone (3gs) for 18 months, you would have to wait until the end of the 18 months to get the latest version.

You can however buy out your contract, but that's usually costly and doesn't really reap you any benefits from doing so.

Insurance is always a good idea, because if you lose the phone and some unscrupulous person runs up a massive bill you would be liable otherwise! But check T&C's for mobile insurance related to the iphone!

Yup, had my 3GS for 1 day and i'm loving it, girlfriend isn't however

In regards to contract vs pay as you go. With the iphone, you generally don't get it for free when new, you do however get it subsidised. Looking at the 3gs on PAYG, the cheapest one starts from £449, which is a nice wedge of cash to put down!

In regards to getting rid of the landline or mobile, well it depends on what you want, why not go for the cheaper version of the iphone (3G) which is soon to be an out of date model, but it will do the job, on PAYG from £349 and keep your phone line?

Hope that helps

Chimp

Andyblizz

AfxTwn wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to the mobile phone world having never previously owned one and still only use my Virgin landline. I am considering getting a mobile and have seen some friends' iPhones and myself have an iPod Touch so I am somewhat familiar with the OS/how it works and the apps etc.

Anyway, I am thinking of cancelling my current landline contract with Virgin and instead getting the new iPhone 4G when it comes out but having never owned a mobile before I am unsure about contracts vs pay as you go and what/how you upgrade your phone once you have bought it. I know that Apple regularly update their models so I'm assuming that it would be a good thing to be able to upgrade the phone as necessary but I don't know if you can only do this at certain time's during your contract or if it costs anything extra.

I like the idea of the iPhone as it combines all of the iPod Touch features that I love (listening to music, apps) with the ability to make calls, take photo's/video and has GPS/access anywhere internet on it.

I don't make a lot of calls on my current landline so I know that a mobile would be more expensive but I don't know if a contract or pay as you go would be better. I'm assuming a contract as it means you get the phone free whereas I understand the phone itself is very expensive on PAYG. Or would I just better sticking to my landline?

Sorry for this very long post but as I am a complete newbie to this, I'm hoping you'll understand my queries/naivety. Thanks for any help.

I purchased my iPhone 3GS in June last year as PAYG handset. (02 netwrok) I binned the sim that came with it. (£440)
And took out a Simplicity contact with O2. (i took the 12 month option, gives more mins and text) Cost £20 a month

If i keep phone 24 months ---- Total cost is £920

If i took out the £35 a month 24 contract it would have cost £930 (Handset was £90)

I know it was only a £10 saving and i had to pay £440 upfront. But it gives me a lot more flexability. (even more if you take out 1 month Simplicity)

Also as i had a contract O2 unlocked my iPhone for free.

Also in regards to O2's latest simplicity contract there have iPhone specific ones now which give you even more bits, have a look at there website.

Also Quidco will give you cashback for O2 simplicity contract sometime over £100.

kusgirl

Boo hoo refurb came yesterday, got it all set up and then .... nothing :mad: It wont hold signal and the charger doesn't work. They're going to send me another one but after all the initial excitment I'm back down to earth with a bump and an old SE C905.

Hope the next one works! Guess the luck of the Irish only extends so far

AfxTwn

Thanks for the replies. From what I understand, when you are on contract you pay a certain amount each month and get a certain amount of minutes you can talk on the phone and a certain number of texts you can send, so if you go over that then you'll have to pay extra. So on that basis, that sounds like a more expensive version of my landline's line rental fee that I normally pay and instead of being charged whenever I make a call, on a mobile I wouldn't get charged unless I went over the monthly minutes allowance.

Also, depending on how long my mobile contract is for (and who with), I would only be eligible to upgrade my phone at the end of that contract period.

With a PAYG phone I top-up the phone with credit each month to allow me a certain number of minutes/texts to use but it can be considerably cheaper depending on how much I spend (I've seen amounts on various networks for say £10-15 p/m).

As I said before, I am not a huge phone user and so I'm guessing I wouldn't need a lot of minutes per month and I think my text usage would be next to nothing.

I'm thinking of waiting till the new 4G iPhone comes out as I may as well start with the most up-to-date model as I'll probably be stuck with it for up to 2 years. That is my final question really, if I go for a short contract, say 12-18 months, will I then be able to upgrade to the latest model?

That's the part that I don't understand. If I'm paying on average between say £30 to £45 p/m on contract, at the end of the contract do I then have to buy a new phone and change the contract, or does the network simply swap the old phone for a new one free of charge and keep you on the same contract? I'm assuming Apple will come out with a new model every year.

I am edging towards a contract phone simply because I'm not going to be able to afford the initial £300-400 outlay for a PAYG model.

Decisions, decisions!

Chimpofdoom

AfxTwn wrote: »

That's the part that I don't understand. If I'm paying on average between say £30 to £45 p/m on contract, at the end of the contract do I then have to buy a new phone and change the contract, or does the network simply swap the old phone for a new one free of charge and keep you on the same contract? I'm assuming Apple will come out with a new model every year.

I am edging towards a contract phone simply because I'm not going to be able to afford the initial £300-400 outlay for a PAYG model.
Decisions, decisions!

Well that's the problem, the iphone is considered a luxury device in the smartphone niche market, so they know if you want an iphone, you'll be willing to pay for it (google "iProduct" on images for a chuckle ).

At the end of the contract, if you take the latest model brand new, yes they will expect you to pay and take out a new contract Apple control the tariffs not the network.

A lot of people on here, previous customers of o2 have taken refurbished handsets, now they are extremely hard to get and you'll never get the latest model as a refurb at release!

Contracts versus Pay as you go.. it's hard to decide, if you call/text a lot then a contract is obviously better, if your paying £45 a month just to get the phone for free and rarely use the call mins, your probably doing yourself out of cash:

I'll use current tariffs as an example

PAYG iPhone 16GB 3gs: £449 for o2 - then cash for whatever you use.
Contract (phone for free)

Total: £449 + whatever top ups you use (no tie-ins!)

18 months 16GB 3GS: £50 - 18 month contract

Total: £900 - tied in for 18 months*

24 months 16GB - £45

Total - £1080 - tied in for 24 months*

*Ok bare in mind with o2 you can downgrade to the next lowest tariff, so on the 18 month contract, you could switch to the £45 pcm for the last 9 months and with the 24 month, you could drop to the £40 a month contract.

From what you've said your looking for, you would be best buying a PAYG iphone on a 12 month interest free credit card, rather than taking out a lengthy contract when you don't call much.

But that's my opinion of course, it's up to you what you want to do!

Chimp.

nickmack

AfxTwn wrote: »

Also, depending on how long my mobile contract is for (and who with), I would only be eligible to upgrade my phone at the end of that contract period.

Correct, sometimes you can 'upgrade' early, but this is not guaranteed.

I'm thinking of waiting till the new 4G iPhone comes out as I may as well start with the most up-to-date model as I'll probably be stuck with it for up to 2 years. That is my final question really, if I go for a short contract, say 12-18 months, will I then be able to upgrade to the latest model?

If it's a new iPhone 3GS/4G you're after, I've not seen any 12 month deals. Most are 18 or 24 months. Currently for these contracts, you will probably be looking at an £180+ outlay for the phone at the £25/30 price point. If you want no initial outlay, you need to look at a £40/45 monthly contract.

When the 4G is released, it will probably take a similar pricing structure to to the current 3GS. The 3GS will probably be reduced to the current pricing for the 3G.

That's the part that I don't understand. If I'm paying on average between say £30 to £45 p/m on contract, at the end of the contract do I then have to buy a new phone and change the contract, or does the network simply swap the old phone for a new one free of charge and keep you on the same contract? I'm assuming Apple will come out with a new model every year.

Your contract continues as a rolling monthly after the minimum period. After this, you may continue on this tariff, ask for a choice of new tariffs without a new phone, ask for a choice of tariffs with a new phone or take your business to another provider.

thatsfabulous

Does anyone know which is the best insurance company for iphone? or can recommend one that you may be with?

o2 said theres was £10 a month which is too much. Dont mind a one off fee.
I am with Santander so can't insure through bank.

Thanks in advance.