RedM Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I'm looking at a 16gb iphone 3GS. Vodafone and Orange are doing them free with a 24mth £45 contract. 1200 minutes from both. Vodafone offer unlimited texts, Orange just 500. Just...! Vodafone 1gb mobile net, Orange 750mb. At first glance it seems that Vodafone is the one to go for. Would that be a wise choice? What are they like for coverage and customer service? Also, is there any difference (beyond memory) with the 16 and 32gb iphones? One more thing. Is 1gb of net usage reasonable for a months usage? I'm guessing it must be. Thoughts? I have never been that interested in mobiles before so a lot of this goes over my head. Thanks for your answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Orange is pants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 The ORange offer i was offered on those terms said Unlimited internet Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Orange is pants Care to elaborate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 ive got my blackberry with vodafone.. unlimited texts, 900 mins and 1gb of internet usage. Ive never gone over my limit once. Coverage is pretty good also, ive only ever lost my signal when being in the middle of nowhere or going through tunnels like you do and the customer support for me has been spot on. Even when my 1st 1 locked up and stopped working outside the 20 day return period they still replaced it with another 1 rather than fix it free of charge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Care to elaborate? I personally dont rate there customer service or coverage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 The ORange offer i was offered on those terms said Unlimited internet Martin Aye. I have always assumed that the iphone had unlimited usage as standard. Apparently that's not the case though. All providers seem to have a cap but (according to some Googling) they don;t really do anything if you go over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian W Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I personally dont rate there customer service or coverage I personally found their coverage to be very good. Their customer service however, left a lot to be desired hence I left them after ten years loyalty to go with O2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 free with a 24mth £45 contract £1080 for a phone for two years? Jesus. It's not even a 32gb one. Seems like a hell of a lot of money to me. I thought you claimed to be poor mate! I'm with o2 for my 3GS. Seem alright so far. I was with Orange before that but I couldn't get any signal at all when I'm working at IBM, so that had to go. I'm not a big mobile phone user anyway so I just have mine on o2 Pay As You Go. I get unlimited free net and unlimited free texts for a month each time I top up £10. I really can't understand folks paying £45 a month for a phone. Dont you have a regular phone at work and at home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobD Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 i've been with voda for 4 years now! Never had any problems with customer service or coverage, i've currently got a nokia n97 with unlimited texts and internet and 600 mins a month for 35 a month! Last time I phoned them i asked about the iphone and what tariffs they do and they said they dont set them apple do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOW Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 The O2 Simplicity contract (approx £30 pcm) would be my recommendation, but then again I bought the iPhone outright, initially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I am about to save you a lot of donkey Work Martin, as my girlfriend is after an iphone so i've had to work best deal out. Every contract works out more expensive then each networks simplicity plan. First of all buy an iphone on Pay as you go roughly £450 (you will want a vodafone one) then go on vodafone simplicity plan £20 a month but the 12month contract one (12month just gives you 900 minutes instead of 600...benefit is listed below) 900 minutes + unlimited txt, 500mb internet (plenty stick to the wifi's) (she needs unlimited txt) Then use quidco http://www.quidco.co.uk to buy the vodafone simcard they give you £100 cashback...so equivalent of 5months free. You are then only tied into contract for 12 Months as well. Ive used quidco for 3 yrs pays to bank account or paypal, never a problem. Also when with vodafone use a code for 12 free cinema tickets when placing order online. Hope this helps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I'm selling my 16GB iPhone 3G if you'd be interested... it's factory unlocked and in great condition. Comes with TomTom too £1080 for a phone for two years... I really can't understand folks paying £45 a month for a phone. Dont you have a regular phone at work and at home? How much was your 3GS on PAYG and how much will you top up each month for 2 years? Granted, PAYG is the "cheaper" option, but it still isn't "cheap" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 How much was your 3GS on PAYG and how much will you top up each month for 2 years? Granted, PAYG is the "cheaper" option, but it still isn't "cheap" Apparently it was £538. I wouldn't pay that much for a phone myself, it was a Christmas present from my Mrs. I dont make more than £10 per month on mobile phone calls, usually more like £5/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Apparently it was £538. I wouldn't pay that much for a phone myself, it was a Christmas present from my Mrs. I dont make more than £10 per month on mobile phone calls, usually more like £5/month. So it will be 300 pounds difference over 2 years time. I guess all depends from phone usage (calling). @Red I found Orange customer service very good, UK based helpline, Orange Wednesday cinema tickets and very good coverage. I did used Internet few times on my HTC Touch HD and never had any problems, it's quite smooth, you can even watch youtube movies. Maybe try to get same deal through Carphone Warehouse or Phones4You and fetch PS3 or something similiar to fill up 300 pounds gap between your contract and PAYG option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 So it will be 300 pounds difference over 2 years time. I guess all depends from phone usage (calling). Well £300 isn't an insignificant amount, is it? But my one is a 32gig 3GS whereas the one Martin wants is a 16gig - I believe they are a fair bit cheaper than the 32gig version. I know approximately nothing about cell phones, I'm not that 'into' them, the one thing I do know is that they are amazingly expensive for what they are. Don't get me wrong, I really like my iPhone - ten times more than the Sony Erikson Satio I had before - but it is worth the price of a cheap used car? Not to me. ymmv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Orange have the best 3G coverage by quite a way over Voda. And it will only get better too as they're merging everything with t-Mobile so sharing infrastructure. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:lXTOfU71-xoJ:www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/broadband/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf+3g+coverage+maps&hl=en&gl=uk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiDWQKBcpVwG2GI4N0v7Q81pATqEioXigXv8SRu3JDEdmFVdQ8aiGFb3p95iKjE-iz4SKuwsUsBgFE5Bw-invmuAfie6DhT3kxQWh6i_eunfhk61_Xvi2VUMUik3IMFQTXJGmMF&sig=AHIEtbRoWksV1IDgrEopzDfxgBHH2bTWJg You want an Android phone anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 £1080 for a phone for two years? Jesus. It's not even a 32gb one. Seems like a hell of a lot of money to me. I thought you claimed to be poor mate! Strictly speaking I am poor. I currently spend about £30 per month on PAYG top-ups. So, £45 doesn't/didn't seem like too much of a stretch. I did start out looking at a HTC Hero with a similar package and that was only £30 per month or what I'm paying now. That's how I ended up looking at iphones. TBH I should probably look at reducing my call volume and stick with PAYG but you know how it is. You see all this cool stuff and think how nice it would be to have something fun for a change rather than just making do all the 'effing time, and besides, £30-£45 isn't a lot really. So what I should be asking is what new phone can I get that works out to about £30 per month with no extra charges? Oh, and Jake, thanks for bringing me back down to Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Got mine on T-Mobile (None of you read that) and on similar price plan. It is a more expensive price plan but it works out cheaper for me as it is now anytime any network. I can not comment on orange but I used Vodafone for 6 years as a work phone line alongside my T-Mobile. They seem to have very good network coverage, customer service was pretty good (We actually have a Vodafone team based in our office). I went for the 3GS 16GB and I previously owned the 2G 16GB for nearly 2 year, which I only used 5GB, which is still a lot of songs and photo's! They are brilliant phones and I am sure you will be amazed, depending if you like gadgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Sorry Martin. No offence intended, just trying 'keep it real', as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 Sorry Martin. No offence intended, just trying 'keep it real', as they say. I wasn't offended. I'm just tired of 'keeping it real' TBH. Still, I should be debt-free in about two years. I'll get myself whatever is the current hotness then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 I was told that Orange have the best 3G network, although I think the reception at my house (not that it means much for you) was better on 02. Go for whatever works best on your current phone. One nice feature about Orange (which I haven't recieved on o2 or voda) is that I get a text message saying that I have had a missed call from 'xxx' if I had no reception when someone has tried to call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 One nice feature about Orange (which I haven't recieved on o2 or voda) is that I get a text message saying that I have had a missed call from 'xxx' if I had no reception when someone has tried to call. This feature has also been on T-mobile for a few years. It's pretty good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprasize Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Im not a big fan of Vodafone persoanlly so I would have to opt for Orange. Only because they have charged me a extra month of usage after the agreed contract date. Terrible. Never again. However, im looking for an Iphone , have you looked at Tescos offer? If your like me and dont want to be tied into a 24month contract, and be on a "pay as you go" ... this is perfect . http://direct.tesco.com/q/N.2000278/Nr.99.aspx?Ns=P_HIDDEN_Stock_Available%7C1%7C%7CP_SORT_Price&btnResultSort.x=40&btnResultSort.y=12 Buying the handset is short term pain for long term gain . (Just make sure you get some sort of insurance) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 One other thing to bare in mind is that BBC iPlayer only allows 3G downloads for "3" and Vodafone users. Which is a bit of a bummer because 3g is all I have at work, no free WiFi access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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