Mobile Help Please

sharger

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Hi all

First post in the phone forum so sorry in advance for my lack of knowledge in this subject. I've always had a works mobile so have never really ventured into the phone market before.

The reason for my first time dab-ling is that I require Internet access while I'm not at home. What I need is access to the array of Internet based bookmakers to be able to back/lay bets. With this in mind, phone calls/ text messages are not at the forefront of any contract decision as they will be minimal. So I have a list of questions as follows:

1. Are there any contract comparison sites that show the best deals available?

2. What phone would be a good option for surfing?(I saw a Nokia N80 today which looked the part, or the N73 which is due soon as I don't want anything too big or bulky)

3. I don't quite understand 3G. Is it a separate service or is it a service that if available in your area will take priority over other download methods to deliver a faster speed? Does it auto detect and select over other services that your phone may be capable of?

4. What in your opinions would be a good provider/contract to go for bearing in mind my usage requirements? I have been looking at T-mobile web and walk with flext20 which works out at £27.50 a month with unlimited Internet usage. However when I mentioned this in Phones4U this afternoon, they said that it wasn't full blown Internet access but for want of a better word a T-Mobile Intranet service for information purposes. There suggestion was an 02 contract @ £35 per month with a data package bolt on which included limited download of 4mb for an addition £5. Is this true as the T-Mobile site just refers to unlimited Internet access?

5. Is an online purchase going to be better than a shop haggle purchase in your experiences? What tips have you guys got for haggling the price down as a new customer?

many thanks in advance for your time

cheers

Steve

*!*HIBS*!*

Hi :wave:

I will answer the questions I am more confident about.

1. Are there any contract comparison sites that show the best deals available?

Try here: http://www.reestitmutton.co.uk/

http://www.onecompare.com/enter.asp?PID=85&TC=MOBILES (MSE affiliated link) - by clicking on this link to go to the site, MSE will get some money, otherwise the non-affiliated link is http://www.onecompare.com/

After finding the deal that you quite like, remember to use cashback sites such as Quidco to try and get some money back for signing up online

3. I don't quite understand 3G. Is it a separate service or is it a service that if available in your area will take priority over other download methods to deliver a faster speed? Does it auto detect and select over other services that your phone may be capable of?

3G reception is only available for phones which are 3G enabled (these are usually the latest phones – not necessarily the newest ones, such as the Nokia 6630, N70, Samsung Z500, Sony Ericsson K600i). Most current phones are running at 2.5G or less. Yes you are correct, 3G will take priority if you can get service, otherwise they should switch seamlessly over to the older (current) 2.5G service. I think it should auto detect, but as I don’t have a 3G phone I can’t say for sure if you can turn this function on/off.

5. Is an online purchase going to be better than a shop haggle purchase in your experiences? What tips have you guys got for haggling the price down as a new customer?

Depending on the time of year, special occasions or whether the shops needs to get their sales targets it can sometimes be better to go to shops as you can haggle for extra “freebies”. Make sure you do your research first. Some stores (actual shops or online retailers) may try and match the same/similar deals found on the web.

Have a read of this article written by Martin Lewis for other advice.

HTH :cool:

sharger

Thanks for your help much appreciated. I think I'm going to go with T-mobile web and walk. T-mobile told me that they will be getting the Nokia N73 in this month, so I think I'm going to wait for that phone.

Can I just ask about posting links in my posts. There was a site that I linked to asking opinions of and it and it seems to have disapeared?

cheers

Steve

*!*HIBS*!*

No probs! I don't know about the disappeared link. Want to post it back again?

Browntoa

sometimes the site is a "white label" site that strictly does referrals to a site like e2save.com and the owner just makes money from the site (not that I'm saying the site you posted was yours !!)

these are not allowed on the forum due to abuse in the past and the mods may have removed it