• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Advice Please - New Mobile Phone

Status
Not open for further replies.

GW4117

Member
Joined
10 Mar 2021
Messages
19
Location
West Berkshire
I'm looking for advice on getting a new phone/SIM combination.
However, I have some specific issues that I need addressed.

  1. Call use is very low, less than 1 hour per month.
  2. Text use is very low, less than 10 texts per month.
  3. No requirement for camera, I appreciate all smartphones have a camera, but not important at all.
  4. Will be using apps for information - some BBC apps, travel apps, GPS apps. Therefore must have decent screen visibility.
  5. Some use of internet - Realtime Trains for example, plus a few others, still pretty low use though.
Ideally, I'll buy a new phone for £100-£150, then add on the best SIM deal, either PAYG or monthly tariff.
Appreciate any advice, websites to check out etc.

Thank You.....
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Tazi Hupefi

Member
Joined
1 Apr 2018
Messages
823
Location
Nottinghamshire
I'm looking for advice on getting a new phone/SIM combination.
However, I have some specific issues that I need addressed.

  1. Call use is very low, less than 1 hour per month.
  2. Text use is very low, less than 10 texts per month.
  3. No requirement for camera, I appreciate all smartphones have a camera, but not important at all.
  4. Will be using apps for information - some BBC apps, travel apps, GPS apps. Therefore must have decent screen visibility.
  5. Some use of internet - Realtime Trains for example, plus a few others, still pretty low use though.
Ideally, I'll buy a new phone for £100-£150, then add on the best SIM deal, either PAYG or monthly tariff.
Appreciate any advice, websites to check out etc.

Thank You.....
uSwitch exclusive plan £6.95

Includes 10GB 4G Data
+ Unlimited UK mins
+ 100 International mins to over 41 countries
+ Unlimited UK texts

No contract

Renews every 30 days


It uses the Vodafone network.
 

DelW

Established Member
Joined
15 Jan 2015
Messages
3,834
With your low level of calls and texts, I'd suggest checking out PAYG from Three. Their tariff rolls over credit with no requirement to top up every month, which I think all the others do (or at least did, when I last researched it).

My usage is fairly similar to yours, and even pre-Covid, when I was travelling more and using mobile data including in Europe*, I rarely needed more than a couple of £20 top-ups per year.

For phones, I have a Motorola (G6 iirc) which cost about £150 from Argos and which I find entirely adequate. The camera isn't great but I still prefer a proper camera anyway. It's predecessor was also a Motorola, vintage 2014 or so, which still worked fine but had too small a memory for current software.

(* at domestic tariffs of course)
 

D6975

Established Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
2,864
Location
Bristol
I am using a XIAOMI Redmi 9 4GB+64GB
I got it off Amazon for about a hundred quid and have a 3 PAYG sim, on which credit doesn't expire. I put ten quid on it about once every 3 months The phone is brilliant, it's fast and has a huge battery that easily lasts all day, even with heavy game play usage.






Buy it again View your item
 

GW4117

Member
Joined
10 Mar 2021
Messages
19
Location
West Berkshire
uSwitch exclusive plan £6.95

Includes 10GB 4G Data
+ Unlimited UK mins
+ 100 International mins to over 41 countries
+ Unlimited UK texts

No contract

Renews every 30 days


It uses the Vodafone network.
Thank you for the advice - That's more like the deals I need to look at. I'll check out some of the comparison sites, see what they come up with.

With your low level of calls and texts, I'd suggest checking out PAYG from Three. Their tariff rolls over credit with no requirement to top up every month, which I think all the others do (or at least did, when I last researched it).

My usage is fairly similar to yours, and even pre-Covid, when I was travelling more and using mobile data including in Europe*, I rarely needed more than a couple of £20 top-ups per year.

For phones, I have a Motorola (G6 iirc) which cost about £150 from Argos and which I find entirely adequate. The camera isn't great but I still prefer a proper camera anyway. It's predecessor was also a Motorola, vintage 2014 or so, which still worked fine but had too small a memory for current software.

(* at domestic tariffs of course)
Good call, my usage is just as you say, I'm happy to go with a PAYG tariff, rather than the £10 per month I have at present, which is mostly wasted.
I think I have 7 photos on my camera in about 5 years!!
I'll look at the Motorola and make some comparisons.
Thank you.

I am using a XIAOMI Redmi 9 4GB+64GB
I got it off Amazon for about a hundred quid and have a 3 PAYG sim, on which credit doesn't expire. I put ten quid on it about once every 3 months The phone is brilliant, it's fast and has a huge battery that easily lasts all day, even with heavy game play usage.






Buy it again View your item
Thank you, the Redmi phones look pretty smart and the Note 9 comes in at £109.
I'll see what I can get on the 3 PAYG.
Great advice, exactly what I need.
 
Last edited:

GusB

Established Member
Associate Staff
Buses & Coaches
Joined
9 Jul 2016
Messages
6,545
Location
Elginshire
With your low level of calls and texts, I'd suggest checking out PAYG from Three. Their tariff rolls over credit with no requirement to top up every month, which I think all the others do (or at least did, when I last researched it).
Without knowing when you last researched this tariff, I would caution against it. I was on the 321 (3p/minute, 2p/text and 1p/Mb data).Those prices have since increased to 10p/10p/5p respectively, although a web search does bring up the old rates. I don't make a lot of calls or send texts, but I was horrified to find that my data cost had gone up five-fold!

I went for a one-month rolling contract with iD Mobile. I'm still using the Three network and for £7 a month I have unlimited minutes and texts and 6Gb data. Unused data rolls over into the next month. Their app is easy to use and tasks such as turning on roaming or premium services can be done through it. Overall I'm quite happy with it.
 

DelW

Established Member
Joined
15 Jan 2015
Messages
3,834
Without knowing when you last researched this tariff, I would caution against it. I was on the 321 (3p/minute, 2p/text and 1p/Mb data).Those prices have since increased to 10p/10p/5p respectively, although a web search does bring up the old rates. I don't make a lot of calls or send texts, but I was horrified to find that my data cost had gone up five-fold!
TBH with so little travelling in the last 15 months I'm still running on a top-up from 2019!

When I start getting out and about more often, I do have the option of taking with me a pocketable 4G wifi hub which I use at home and which has 100Gb per month of data. I'll just need to remember to take that with me though.
 

PeterC

Established Member
Joined
29 Sep 2014
Messages
4,069
I'll add my vote for the three PAYG. Most calls and texts are done with WhatsApp over WiFi and phone usage is less than £5 per month.

I can't comment on cheap phones, I spent over £300 on the one I am typing this on.
 

david1212

Established Member
Joined
9 Apr 2020
Messages
1,464
Location
Midlands
Without knowing when you last researched this tariff, I would caution against it. I was on the 321 (3p/minute, 2p/text and 1p/Mb data). Those prices have since increased to 10p/10p/5p respectively, although a web search does bring up the old rates. I don't make a lot of calls or send texts, but I was horrified to find that my data cost had gone up five-fold!

I went for a one-month rolling contract with iD Mobile. I'm still using the Three network and for £7 a month I have unlimited minutes and texts and 6Gb data. Unused data rolls over into the next month. Their app is easy to use and tasks such as turning on roaming or premium services can be done through it. Overall I'm quite happy with it.

Until I read this I was unaware of the big pricing hike so Three is no longer 321.

The other issue with Three and any network that piggybacks onto it e.g. ID is coverage.

Unless anyone can advise otherwise the O2 Classic rates are still 3p/minute voice, 2p/text and 1p/Mb data. However AFAIK it is no longer offered.
If you can find a SIM for sale that with a connection expiry date in the future at least until O2 change the tariff for low usage probably the best PAYG tariff and better coverage too.

Tesco Lite is 8p/minute voice and 4p/text but 10p/Mb data.
 

johntea

Established Member
Joined
29 Dec 2010
Messages
2,585
Rather than buying a new phone in that price range, you would probably be able to get a lot more bang for your buck buying a second hand / refurbished slightly older model of something

I'm team iPhone as Apple support their devices for years and years with software updates, my 70 year old Dad bought a second hand iPhone SE for about £80 a year and a bit ago and finds it fantastic, but nothing against Android!
 

ABB125

Established Member
Joined
23 Jul 2016
Messages
3,746
Location
University of Birmingham
Unless anyone can advise otherwise the O2 Classic rates are still 3p/minute voice, 2p/text and 1p/Mb data. However AFAIK it is no longer offered.
I'm on O2's 321 thing, so it's still available to existing users, but I have no idea if you can get it as a new customer.
 

D6975

Established Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
2,864
Location
Bristol
Just found a company called 1p mobile. They have a PAYG plan for 1p per min, 1p per text, 1p per MB. Uses the EE network, so coverage will be good.
 

birchesgreen

Established Member
Joined
16 Jun 2020
Messages
5,043
Location
Birmingham
I use Giff Gaff whom I recommend highly, I think their cheapest bundle is 6 quid a month for 500MB data plus unlimited texts and minutes, though I pay 10 quid a month for 6GB.

I also recommend looking at a good second-hand iPhone.
 

takno

Established Member
Joined
9 Jul 2016
Messages
5,038
I use Giff Gaff whom I recommend highly, I think their cheapest bundle is 6 quid a month for 500MB data plus unlimited texts and minutes, though I pay 10 quid a month for 6GB.

I also recommend looking at a good second-hand iPhone.
iPhones are staying more expensive than decent cheap Androids for years. By the time it's in the price range you can look forward to a year of updates at best. Since iOS insist on tying Safari updates to the operating system updates, having an unsupported iOS device is far more serious than an unsupported Google device, since you are subject to a growing backlog of security flaws and an ever-declining range of websites and web-apps that you can use.
 

david1212

Established Member
Joined
9 Apr 2020
Messages
1,464
Location
Midlands
I'm on O2's 321 thing, so it's still available to existing users, but I have no idea if you can get it as a new customer.

O2 stopped issuing SIMs a while ago. The only to get it is if you can find a retailer that still has SIMs that have not expired.

Just found a company called 1p mobile. They have a PAYG plan for 1p per min, 1p per text, 1p per MB. Uses the EE network, so coverage will be good.

I've just looked at this and picked out two key facts

- Credit rollover - Your credit lasts as long as your account is active, with no credit expiry period.

- Requirements - To keep your account and SIM active, just make at least one £10 top-up every 120 days.

Hence effectively a minimum of £30 per year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top