So very confused

D101820

I live in France but return sporadically to the UK to work for anything up to 2 weeks at a time. I need to make occasional texts and calls and use email and sometimes the internet. I don't want a contract (and couldn't have a UK one as I am not resident there), and the more I look into phones and ask people, the more confused I am getting! Could anyone please tell me the best phone to get that would be PAYG/wifi/ etc. I really don't want to spend much on a phone and have been recommended Blackberry and Samsung Galaxy but to buy a phone outright is out of my budget. I hope someone can advise me without confusing me with science:D

WTFH

If you want pay as you go, then you will have to buy a phone outright - it doesn't have to be a new phone, but you won't get a PAYG sim with a free phone.

gjchester

D101820 wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me the best phone to get that would be PAYG/wifi/ etc.

No-one can really say the "best" thats down to your choice and what you have had before, however a reasonable but basic internet capable mobile will be around £50 on all the networks.

Use costs vary, but if your not using it a lot then I guess you'll not be buying a bundle deal and calls will be 25 to 35p a minute to UK lines or mobiles. Data cost vary, some networks do a set price per MB with a daily cap, others charge a set price per day for up to xx MB.

Most networks some sort do a bundle when you top up a set amount (say £10) and get some free minutes/texts or data, but depending on your use you may end up with an excess of credit on your account.

You'll need to use it at least once every three months to generate a "chargable event" to keep the sim (and your account and credit) active, that means make a call/text or use the web, or top it up.

And you can walk into most UK stores and buy a pay as you go phone off the shelf with no details required. Supermarkets may be cheaper but theres a lot of mobile phone shops over here.

grumbler

D101820 wrote: »

Could anyone please tell me the best phone to get that would be PAYG/wifi/ etc. I really don't want to spend much on a phone and have been recommended Blackberry and Samsung Galaxy but to buy a phone outright is out of my budget. I hope someone can advise me without confusing me with science:D

Any smartphone can do the job. The cheapest cost about £30 on PAYG.

For UK airtime Ovivo Freedom or '3' 321 will probably be the best for you. For the former I guess you need a UK address to order it. And both have to be used every 6 months to remain alive.

Also, Toggle Mobile sim is worth considering for using in both UK and France