Budget phone (approx £130) monthly deals?

BatchedMetting

I just dunked my one year old Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 yesterday so need a new phone!

I got it for about £100 a year ago from Amazon so it wasn't too bad of an investment.

I currently pay £10 a month to GiffGaff for 2GB of data and lots of mins and text. I really do need 2GB of data or could go down to 1.5GB if pushed. Not bothered about texts and minutes.

So I guess my options are:

• Keep the £10 p/m Giffgaff and buy a phone for about £130
• Keep the £10 p/m Giffgaff and get a phone for about £10 per month
• Look for a contact that offers 2GB data and a phone for about £20 a month

I'm out of contact with Talktalk broadband so could do a deal with combined bb and mobile if such a think exists.

I was pretty happy with the Smart Ultra 6 and see there is a Smart Ultra 7 now for about £130. There's also the LG K10, Sony XA, plus a few from Huawei for around £130.

I really like the sound of the camera on the Moto G5 Plus but I think it will be about £250 to buy.

My main requirements are:

• 16BG+ storage (ideally 32GB)
• SD card slot
• Usable camera

Splash proof would be good considering I just dunked my current phone!
Not too bothered about battery life or gaming.

Any tips?

Thanks!

ballyblack

The moto G4 is around £130

Was on Tesco Direct but now out of stock from yesterday

BatchedMetting

Thanks, Eubyer has the G5 for £150.

http://www.ebuyer.com/784088-motorola-moto-g5-16gb-4g-phone-lunar-grey-pa600002gb?mkwid=s_dc&pcrid=51482425499&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KEQjwzpfHBRC1iIaL78Ol-eIBEiQAdZPVKsv7Cx_eXs8bCR95jLhdvhPluxcQ9zBSFXTC2P-Q8tIaAjET8P8HAQ

and GiffGaff are doing it for £50 up front then £8.21 p/m for 12 months.

Seems pretty good. No sign of the G5 Plus apart from CW.

BatchedMetting

If I pay an extra £8 per month to Giffgaff plus £50 up front, I can get the G5 alongside my £10 monthly sim only plan I'm on now.

Although the Moto G5 has mixed reviews....

Frozen_up_north

BatchedMetting wrote: »

If I pay an extra £8 per month to Giffgaff plus £50 up front, I can get the G5 alongside my £10 monthly sim only plan I'm on now.

Does this tie you into a two year contract, or is it just a straight purchase on finance?

I would always recommend SIM only and get an unlocked phone separately (I think GG supplied phones are unlocked). A lot can happen in two years, both to the user and network offers/deals come and go on an almost weekly basis.

There is likely to be some ruffled feathers among the networks when EU roaming charges are scrapped on 15th June... it's anyone's guess as to any price increases to cover it!

Neil49

A Plusnet offer through uSwitch is 2gb data, 1000 mins and unlimited texts for £7.50 per month on a 30 day contract.

BatchedMetting

It's a 12-month finance offer. I wouldn't do a 24 month as budget phones are creaking after 12 months and as I've just learned its hard to keep a phone alive for 12 months!

Thanks for the Plus net tip. If I could get my plan for £7.50 then the phone for £8.21, I'd only be paying £5.71 more a month than I am now and getting a new phone which I do need.

Thanks!

update: after checking uswitch, I could get 1.5GB for £5 a month on ID (are they any good?) with data rollover:
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/sim_only_deal/2d21367826963ec7f658f28505a6bf6e243c9616?comparison=c3Q9c3RhbmRhcmQmZD0xMDAwJm1vPTEwJmM9MSZzPWJlc3RzZWxsZXImcD0vbW9iaWxlcy9jb21wYXJlL3NpbV9vbmx5X2RlYWxzLyZwbz00

That would be super!

Frozen_up_north

iD use the Three network, GG use O2. Before jumping ship, try a Three PAYG SIM to check coverage. There is a thread running on this forum for iD issues, it appears their complaints/support is via Facebook or Twitter... read what you like into that.

There are some interesting contract deals around at the moment, but if you are happy with GiffGaff, I wouldn't be in a rush to switch.

Many of the contracts are for 12 months, many have no spending limits either (EE and Vodafone to name just two). Tread carefully!

BatchedMetting

Thanks. The iD one is a rolling 30 day contract.

I am happy with GG but its almost twice the price as the iD one. (GG 2GB for £10, iD £5 for 1.5GB with roll over)

I will see if I can order a free iD sim! Thanks.

Frozen_up_north

Be careful you don't exceed your data limit with iD, when you reach your data limit does it stop? Otherwise it can get expensive.

On Three you can set a zero overspend (on calls and data) why on earth isn't that standard on all contracts...

BatchedMetting

Good point. I will look into that. Thanks.

Also, I think I will get the Moto G5 for £140 (pay monthly) unless anyone has any objections?