Recommended mobile phone tariffs

Crazy_Jamie

Hello people,

My contract is up for renewal with Orange at the beginning of April, so I have started shopping around for the best deal. I am currently on Racoon 35 (700 minutes, 100 texts, unlimited landline calls) for £35 a month, but I got a trade in with that that effectively makes it £26 a month or thereabouts. My phone is a Samsung G600.

My requirements are as follows:

1) I probably average 400-500 minutes a month, half to landlines, but this is only likely to decrease over the coming year. I hardly ever use more than 100 texts.

2) I like the Samsung G600 and am happy to stick with it, but do like my gadgets, so if I can get an upgraded phone I'll be happy with that. I'll want another phone anyway just so I have a spare.

3) I don't want to be spending £35 a month anymore. I'd say that £15-£25 is the range but that depends on the deal.

The best deal I have currently found with Orange is Racoon 25, with 300 minutes, 100 texts and unlimited landline calls, and a Samsung U800 (I think) with a trade in that knocks £8.33 off the price per month, so £16.66. The trade in value depends on the phone, and there is a choice of eight, but whilst the U800 is not really as good as the G600, I think it would be a fine backup. Personally I think that's an excellent deal, but would like to hear your suggestions. I intend to push them harder on that anyway, but hopefully with your recommendations I can stock up on ammunition for the inevitable phone showdown with 'the disconnections department'.


As an additional question, my mother wants a mobile with a good camera in it, presumably one that can replace the use of a digital camera. Anything out there with a decent camera and lense that will take pictures efficiently? I heard that the new Nokia N series has an 8 megapixel camera with a good lense, but it is also a 16GB MP3 player, which is very much surplus to requirements.