first phone advice

lola_rose_3

I am planning to buy my first mobile phone and need you advice. I want a flip phone but unsure who to buy from and which one to go for. Not bothered about video use, and not sure which contract to go for.

lola_rose_3

also would like a white flip phone. grateful for advice as to where to buy

ka7e

White flip phones - Sony Ericsson Z520i, Sony Ericsson W550i (orange version comes with alternative white cover) and Samsung E530. Where you buy from will depend on what sort of deal you want, contract or PAYG, network coverage, max. spend etc.

lola_rose_3

had a look at the sony z520i and I like it. where do you think is the best place to buy. I am not bothered whether I go on a contract or paygo, what do you think. can`t find the price of this phone

jelly_bean_6

If you've managed to wait this long to get your first mobile phone, you're probably not going to be a high-user! So perhaps you should go on PAYG for now.

The cheapest place you can get the Sony Ericsson Z520i phone is from The Carphone Warehouse:

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-pd-ProductDisplay?S=40&PN=PAYGO&filter_partModel=SOEZ520I

I'd recommend you go on the Fresh Mobile network - you'll pay £119.99 total price (which is more expensive than getting the phone on Orange), but you do get £20 credit, and calls and texts are much cheaper on Fresh than any of the other networks. Calls to any network any time are a flatrate 15p/minute, and text messages are 5p each.

Another white-ish flip phone you might be interested in is the Siemens CL75 (Poppy phone) from £89.99:

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-pd-ProductDisplay?S=40&PN=PAYGO&filter_partModel=SIECL75

lola_rose_3

who would you recommend I use for a contract if using the sony phone.

jelly_bean_6

lola_rose wrote:

who would you recommend I use for a contract if using the sony phone.

It completely depends on how much you think you will be using your phone. I.e.:

- How many minutes of calls will you use each month?
- What time of day will you mostly be calling from your mobile? e.g. weekdays 7am-7pm? Or after 7pm on weekdays and weekends only?
- How many texts messages will you send each month?
- Will you be calling mostly mobiles or mostly landlines or both?
- How much line rental do you want to spend a month?

gk172

As everyone else has pointed out it really depends on how you use the phone, who are you going to phone and when, if its after 7pm and at weekends then an off peak tariff would suit or if during the day a peak one (less mins) establish that and thats a good start. As for payg or contract i find contract suits me best as i control my usage and therefore stay pretty much close to my allowance and the beauty is no initial outlay for the handset.

There is the sony ericsson w550i which has changeable covers and some of them come in white, also the nokia 6111 comes in white and also the sony ericsson w900i but is a bit more expensive. Have a look at some of the online shops mentioned on this board - www.e2save.com or www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk also www.carphonewarehouse.co.uk any of these will give you an indication on what to expect to pay and how many mins in the deals offered also there are cashback deals which can work out really well IF YOU REMEMBER to claim some ever reimbuse you the full years line rental.

pigeonpie

Lola Rose, I bought a new Z520i white flip phone from CPW as I have always liked SEs but it's not as cute as it looks. The camera goes off uninvited and the 4x zoom doesn't work. The reception is very average. The white back cover scuffs extremely easily and the covers are hard to remove.
Plus side: it is a SE so is simple to use and it doesn't have the toggle that many SEs have.
NB: Try out a working one in CPW as if I had done so would not have bought the phone. They didn't offer to let me when I asked so I wrongly assumed I could only play with the dummy ones. Or definitely buy it from them online so you have a week to try it out and take it back.
Let me know if you go ahead and your camera isn't a prob and the zoom works as then I can chase CPW for a refund on a defective phone!!
good luck