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Looking to get very 1st Smartphone. Low user. Don't want PAYG.

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  • chaucer
    chaucer Posts: 261 Forumite
    balletshoes wrote: »
    £15 per month for 2 years (24 month contract) = £360, and locked to whichever provider you take the contract with.

    Iphone 5c bought direct from Apple store, unlocked and sim-free = £319.
    I don't understand the 'locked' aspect ... why is that bad?

    £319 all-up-front though ... £638 cash needed now to go that route
  • chaucer
    chaucer Posts: 261 Forumite
    Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »
    If you use Giffgaff then calls/texts to/from your wife and yourself would be free (as long as you top up every 3 months)
    On any phone?
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,711 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    chaucer wrote: »
    On any phone?


    It's not the phone that determines the cost of calls but the provider.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,711 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    chaucer wrote: »
    I don't understand the 'locked' aspect ... why is that bad?

    £319 all-up-front though ... £638 cash needed now to go that route


    Locked means that you are required to use a particular network and have to pay a fee to unlock the phone to enable you to use other networks.

    If you start with an unlocked phone, you can move between networks at will.
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • Ms_Chocaholic
    Ms_Chocaholic Posts: 12,711 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Here's giffgaff's pricing:

    https://giffgaff.com/index/pricing
    Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
    You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »
    ...and have to pay a fee to unlock the phone to enable you to use other networks.
    Not very much actually.
    If you start with an unlocked phone, you can move between networks at will.
    You can start with an unlocked phone and a long contract, in which case you hardly "can move between networks at will".
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    chaucer wrote: »
    ...
    I have found iphone 5c for £14.50 / £15 respectively here
    http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/contract_deal/2794824?page=%2Fmobiles%2Fiphone_5_deals%2F
    £100Mb is laughably small allowance for a data-hungry iPhone.
    A recipe for disaster unless you are extremely cautious.
    and here

    http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/contract_deal/2794768?page=%2Fmobiles%2Fiphone_5_deals%2F
    500Mb is a more realistic allowance.
  • chaucer
    chaucer Posts: 261 Forumite
    grumbler wrote: »
    £100Mb is laughably small allowance for a data-hungry iPhone.
    A recipe for disaster unless you are extremely cautious.

    500Mb is a more realistic allowance.

    Given that I intend locking settings so there is no data usage away from home or free wi-fi spots, does your 1st point make a difference?

    Given that there is only a 50p difference, for many more minutes, text, data, is it worth just paying that nominal extra anyway, just in case?
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    chaucer wrote: »
    Given that I intend locking settings so there is no data usage away from home or free wi-fi spots, does your 1st point make a difference?
    Not really, but what's the point in having a smartphone then? Get a tablet for home use and a normal phone that you can charge once a week. Why would your even need a tablet at home if you have a PC or a laptop?
    Given that there is only a 50p difference, for many more minutes, text, data, is it worth just paying that nominal extra anyway, just in case?
    IMO, it is.
  • chaucer
    chaucer Posts: 261 Forumite
    grumbler wrote: »
    ... what's the point in having a smartphone then? Get a tablet for home use and a normal phone that you can charge once a week.

    Yeah - I get where you're coming from in some ways ... I know what I'm considering is not the 'low-cost' money saving option.
    Why would your even need a tablet at home if you have a PC or a laptop?
    We sometimes both want / need to use it at the same time.
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