o2 PAYG Smart Phone Advice

Treacle_Toes

Hello,

I'm really not very technically minded and I haven't changed phones for years, but I now need to due to a 'toddler/bowl of water/my old phone' situation!

I'm on a corporate package within o2 which I really do not want to change, so I was just looking to buy a PAYG phone to put my old sim card into.

I've heard a lot about smartphones, but don't really understand what they are.

What I'd like is to be able to access internet at home via my home broadband WIFI and also maybe when I'm out and about when I see free WIFI signs up. Am I right in thinking that if I use WIFI through a phone there will be no extra charge onto my mobile bill?

Also would I also need a 3G phone? I see that some phones have 3G and WIFI, but some only have WIFI. Do I need 3G? I've tried to look up what 3G is but the explanations confused me further.

Sorry if the information I've provided is too basic, I just want to move into the 21st century without getting a huge monthly phone bill!

Any recommendations for a phone would also be gratefully received!

Thank you

TT

Jon_01

Any smart phone with wifi will do what you want, it more a case of how much do you want to spend ?

3G is just a faster network, but if your sims old it may not be 3g capable. How long have you had it ?

You'll also have to make sure you are using wifi. If your corporate package doesn't have a data bundle you'll end up paying through the nose for any data the phone uses...

Treacle_Toes

Jon_01 wrote: »

3G is just a faster network, but if your sims old it may not be 3g capable. How long have you had it ?

You'll also have to make sure you are using wifi. If your corporate package doesn't have a data bundle you'll end up paying through the nose for any data the phone uses...

My sim is about 4 years old so I guess 3G won't make thatmuch difference to me.

Just to confirm, if I made sure I was using WIFI would that mean internet usage would be free?

I'd only be using my phone for internet on a rare occasion. I was looking at the samsung monte.

Thank you for your reply

Jon_01

Yup, as long as you use wifi and free wifi hot spots (or home wifi) there'd be no charge on the contract.

Not used a Monte, but the reviews looked reasonable.

JJ_Egan

Samsung Galaxy S i9000 PAYG £330 from O2 shop it came unlocked and uses my existing Virgin Media Sim .
Internet nearly all free WiFi with the occasional data charged internet access as needed .

I use Quick Settings to make sure Internet chargeable data is turned off .


jje

Treacle_Toes

After doing a bit more research, would I be able to use my existing 'bog-standard' sim card in a 3G phone? My husband thinks that maybe I would need a special 3G sim card.

I've been trying all day to get hold of the person in my company who deals with the corporate account with o2, but so far no luck.

Any advice gratefully received!

TT

ioscorpio

Prepaymania ebay shop have it on Vodafone for £79.99 + sex in the city dvd. Don't know if it will come unlocked, I have a contract Vodafone phone that came unlocked.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250681605182

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi Treacle Toes. I'm pretty sure that an old sim will work in a modern phone. If not, any O2 shop should be able to switch your phone number (and contract) on to a nice new sim for free. Just make sure you've moved all your phone numbers off the old sim on to a phone first, so that you can copy them back to the new sim card. I'd suggest going in to a shop to do this rather than trying to phone someone - they can also check then to see if your old sim is 3G anyway!

No one appears to have given you a good description of what 3G is, so let's see if we can do that in basic terms.

WiFi is the signal that comes from your router at home. The router is connected to the telephone line.
WiFi can also be found in shops and pubs. They also have a router connected to a telephone line.
3G is a signal that comes from the mobile phone mast and does not involve the use of a router and telephone line.

So WiFi goes:

Phone - Connected to Router - Connected to telephone line

3G goes:

Phone - Connected to Mobile phone mast

Connecting to WiFi at home is free. Some places will offer free WiFi (McDonalds, Weatherspoons, etc) but others charge for it (Premier Inn).

Connecting to the 3G network costs you money. O2 have 2 bolt-ons. The first is a maximum charge of £1 per day and the second is £7.50 per month flat rate. Make sure you have the first one if you are not intending to use 3G, so that you don't accidentally build up a big bill by your phone connecting overnight (lots of threads about that on here).