HTC Hero

The HTC Hero is a multi-touch Android smartphone with a 5 megapixel camera, assisted GPS, wi-fi and HTC’s Sense interface. The phone has been highly rated in the press: Mobile Choice named the Hero as their ‘phone of the year’ last year. As it runs the Android operating system which gives you access to the large wealth of applications in the Android Market.

Interestingly, 3 is bundling a HTC Hero together with a Spotify Premium subscription for £35/month. This allows you to listen to any song in the Spotify catalogue whenever you want, wherever you want (providing you have a 3G data connection).

• Operating system: Android
• Touchscreen: Multi-touch, heat sensitive (capacitive) touchscreen
• Camera: 5 megapixels
• Availability:
  • 3 – Free from £25/mo.; free from £25/mo. with Spotify Premium
  • T-Mobile (as T-Mobile G2 Touch) – Free from £25/mo.

Nokia N900

The Nokia N900 is a phone which really appeals to the geeks and gadget fans. Nokia calls the N900 a ‘mobile computer’. It runs the Linux-based Maemo operating system – the same OS previously used on the Nokia internet tablets. Because of it’s Linux background, it’s super-customizable and can  run applications such as a Firefox web browser with Flash support. My favourite feature of the N900 is the ability to hack it and play around it but you probably won’t want it as your first smartphone.

• Operating system: Maemo
• Touchscreen: Pressure-sensitive (resistive) touchscreen
• Camera: 5 megapixels
• Availability:
  • Vodafone – £150 on £35/mo.; free from £40/mo.

Blackberry Bold 9700

The Blackberry has traditionally been seen as a smartphone for businessmen but it can be great for every-day consumer use too. It is the only one of our phones not to have a touchscreen but it makes up for it by having a full QWERTY keyboard and trackball for input. It’s business background is clear: the phone comes with mobile versions of Word and Powerpoint. The phone has some decent multimedia features and owners have access to the Blackberry App World to download extra applications.

• Operating System: Blackberry OS
• Touchscreen: N/A, physical keyboard and trackball input
• Camera: 3.2 megapixels
• Availability:
  • 3 – £300 on £15/mo; free from £30/mo.
  • O2 – £200 on £20/mo; free from £45/mo.
  • Orange – £50 on £30/mo; free from £35/mo.
  • T-Mobile – £150 on £10/mo; free from £25/mo.
  • Vodafone – £150 on £30/mo; free from £35/mo.

Google Nexus One

Google launched their own phone in January 2010 called the Nexus One. Running Google’s own Android operating system, the phone features voice recognition and voice-control. It also features integration with various Google services and a free Google Maps GPS navigation. To buy a Nexus One phone, you must order it through Google’s website. The phone is shipped from the US so there are extra costs. According to Wikipedia: “Customers ordering from the UK are charged $29.65 international shipping and an optional $19.00 for an AC adaptor, with an additional 17.5% VAT.” Might be worth waiting until a UK network subsidises it.

• Operating System: Android
• Touchscreen: Multi-touch, heat-sensitive (capacitive) touchscreen
• Camera: 5 megapixels
• Availability:
  • Direct from Google.com unlocked for $529 (£340)

Palm Pre

The Palm Pre is smartphone with a touchscreen and slide-out keyboard. The key difference with the Pre’s WebOS operating system is that information from sources such as Gmail, Facebook, Outlook and Yahoo! are all collated together to produce a single address book. WebOS also collates together all of your conversations with each contact: for example instant messages and text messages will appear together in a single chat window. Unfortunately, there is no app store for the Palm Pre in the UK yet.

• Operating System: WebOS
• Touchscreen: Multi-touch, heat-sensitive (capacitive) touchscreen, slide-out physical keyboard
• Camera: 3.2 megapixels with flash
• Availability:
  • O2 – £100 on £30/mo. tariff; free from £35/mo.

Other Alternatives

Do you recommend another smartphone? We’d love to hear from you… drop us a comment below.

Related posts:

1. Buying a Smartphone – Alternatives to the iPhone?
2. T-Mobile release Pay As You Go Android ‘Pulse’ phone
3. Google’s Nexus One Smartphone coming to Vodafone

What has changed?

T-Mobile has entirely scrapped their old Combi, Flext and Solo tariffs. They have been replaced with new Pay Monthly tariffs (18 month or 24 month contract) and SIM Only tariffs (30 day rolling contract or 12 month contract). Pay Monthly tariffs provide customers with free/subsidised phones whereas SIM only tariffs don’t.

The new tariffs start from £10/month – one of the lowest in the market. They also feature ‘Flexible Boosters’ which allow you to customise the tariffs – this makes it possible to have features such as ‘unlimited’ internet for as little as £10/month plan.

On Pay Monthly, it is possible to get a free phone on contracts from £10/mo. An interesting deal is the free Blackberry Curve 8520 on a £15/mo. contract (300 minutes, 300 texts, 1 booster, 24-month contract).

What are Flexible Boosters?

Flexible Boosters are add-ons to your base tariff. The neat thing is that T-Mobile are providing all customers with one free Flexible Booster so it is possible to customise your tariff for how you use your phone. Flexible boosters can be changed every month and additional flexible boosters can be purchased for £5/mo.

The following flexible boosters are available:

• Unlimited texts
• Unlimited internet – fair usage of 1GB per month
• Unlimited calls to landlines – all numbers beginning with 01, 02 and 03
• Unlimited calls to T-Mobile
• Euro talk & text – Make 17 minutes of calls, receive 39 minutes of calls or send 68 texts from Europe. No, we don’t know how they chose those figures either.
• USA & Canada talk- 120 international calling minutes to landlines and mobiles in Europe and Australasia. The minutes are to be used from within in the UK.
• Europe & Australasia talk – 60 international calling minutes to landlines and mobiles in Europe and Australasia. The minutes are to be used from within in the UK.

What SIM only tariffs are available?

The following SIM only tariffs are all available with a free flexible booster:

Considering just the base airtime (minutes and texts), the inclusive airtime isn’t the best in the market. However, it could be a lot more attractive once you’ve factored in the Flexible Boosters.

photo: f650biker

Of particular note is that for £10/month it is possible to get a SIM only tariff with 1GB internet. We believe is the cheapest tariff in the UK suitable for use with a smartphone – previously 3 had the cheapest tariff at £15/mo. Granted, 100 minutes and 100 texts isn’t a huge amount and Three’s offering has a much more generous allowance of texts and minutes. However if you find yourself e-mailing a lot and calling infrequently, this could be a good deal for you.

What about Pay Monthly tariffs?

Just glancing through the tariff pages, a few interesting points we noted:

• The minutes/text allowance on each 24 month contract is the same as that for the SIM-only tariff of the same price.
• It is possible to get a £10/month contract with 100 minutes, 100 texts and a free phone. You can choose from the LG Pop, Nokia 6303, Samsung Tocco Lite or Samsung S3100. The downside is that this is a 24 month contract.
• The Blackberry Curve 8520 smartphone is available for free on the £15/mo. contract with 300 minutes, 300 texts and 1 flexible booster. Not bad at all for a smartphone.
• The HTC Hero Android smartphone (marketed as ‘T-Mobile G2 Touch’) is available for free on the £25/mo. contract with 900 minutes and 500 texts and 1 flexible booster.
• All tariffs are available on both 18 months or 24 months. The 24 month contracts cost an extra £5/mo.

Do let us know if you spot any interesting deals within the tariff pages.

Our Verdict

We really like the way that T-Mobile have moved towards a simpler and easier to understand price structure for their tariffs. We like the concept of ‘Flexible Boosters’ – we think it’s a great way to customise and extend your tariff. We expect that the “unlimited” internet (1GB) option will be a popular option and should provide sufficient data for most smartphone users (providing you don’t tether).

Related posts:

1. The UK’s 6 Best Value Smartphone SIM-only Tariffs with Internet Access
2. The UK’s SIM only tariffs: Prices and Tariffs compared
3. Mobile phones: Contract VS Pay As You Go

If you bought an iPhone 3G from O2 at launch in June 2008, your 18-month contract will be coming to an end this January. In this article, we explore the options which are now available to you. There are some huge savings to be made: most people should be able to save at least £180/yr with a quick phone call and other alternatives can give savings of up to £300.

Keep your iPhone 3G and Switch to O2’s Simplicity for iPhone

O2 offer two secret ‘Simplicity’ tariffs for iPhone customers who have completed their original contract. The cheaper of the two options costs £20/month giving you a saving of least £15/month on your current contract. O2 don’t advertise the tariff but we wrote about it last month and most readers have reported success in switching. It takes just a quick phone call to change (several readers said it took just 5 minutes) and you’ll start saving straight away.

photo: Jeff Kubina

Simplicity 20 for iPhone (£20/month) offers 600 minutes, 1200 texts, unlimited web & wi-fi and visual voicemail.

Simplicity 30 for iPhone (£20/month) offers 1200 minutes, 2400 texts, unlimited web & wi-fi and visual voicemail.

Both are one-month rolling contracts so you are free to leave whenever you want.

In order to switch, you’ll need to call O2 Retentions and ask them to switch you over. See our guide to O2 Simplicity for iPhone for more information.

Pros:

• Easy to switch
• Cost saving of at least £180/year (at least £15/month)
• One-month rolling contract
• You can keep visual voicemail

Cons:

• Compared to doing nothing and staying on the normal iPhone tariff… we can’t think of any!
• There are some cheaper deals around.

Keep your iPhone 3G and switch to a contract on another network

photo: kevindooley

It is now possible to unlock your iPhone from O2 for free. Unlocking your iPhone suddenly opens up a lot more options to you such as joining a different network. You’ll want to look for SIM only tariffs from the other networks. As SIM only tariffs only provide you with airtime and don’t provide you with a phone so they are cheaper than traditional contracts. Make sure you have a generous data allowance on that plan though.

There are some fantastic SIM only deals in the market. We compared 49 SIM only tariffs in one of our recent guides and also explored the UK’s 6 best value SIM only tariffs for smartphones.

Of particular note is Three’s £15/month tariff which offers 300 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited internet. Switching to this tariff will give you a saving of at least £240/year.

Pros:

• Huge cost savings (at least £240/year compared to staying on a normal iPhone tariff)
• You might experience better reception and reliability on a different network if you’ve had problems with O2
• One-month rolling contracts mainly

Cons:

• No visual voicemail.
• Switching involves a little bit more work: unlocking your iPhone and obtaining a PAC code

Keep your iPhone and switch to Pay As You Go

photo: Matt Burrows

Recently we’ve seen a huge explosion in the free allowances that come with Pay As You Go tariffs and for many people they could now work out to be cheaper than contracts. We cover these tariffs in our ‘Which Pay As You Go tariff is right for you?’ guide. PAYG is a great option for anyone who doesn’t make a lot of calls and uses their iPhone mainly for texts & internet.

If you would like to stay on O2, the ‘Text and Web’ tariff gives you unlimited free texts and 500MB internet for a month on top of your £15 top up.

For a little bit more work (i.e. unlocking your iPhone and obtaining a PAC code) you can sign up to a PAYG tariff on a different network. T-Mobile offer free internet and texts on top of your £10 top up. If you’re topping up £10 per month to get the free allowance, that’s a cost saving of at least £25/month (£300 over the year)

Pros:

• Huge cost savings (maybe £300/year compared to staying on a normal iPhone tariff)
• You might experience better reception and reliability on a different network if you’ve had problems with O2
• No contract

Cons:

• Calls can be expensive so this option is only better if you don’t make many calls
• No visual voicemail.
• Switching involves a little bit more work: unlocking your iPhone and obtaining a PAC code

Upgrade to iPhone 3G S

photo: Viernest

If you’re unhappy with your iPhone 3G and want to upgrade to an iPhone 3G S (the Apple website has a side-by-side comparison of the two phones) you now have over 20 tariffs to choose from. Use our price comparison website to find out which tariff gives you the best deal and to ensure you’re not paying for minutes and texts that you won’t use. If you send a lot of texts, you might want to consider Vodafone who offer unlimited texts on all of their tariffs.

If you decide to switch to Tesco Mobile, Orange or Vodafone then you will need to obtain a PAC code from O2 in order to transfer your number.

Be aware that there are rumours of a new iPhone 4G this June. If you sign up for a new 18-month contract, be aware that you won’t complete your contract until June 2011 – a whole year after the launch of the iPhone 4G.

Pros:

• New iPhone 3G S provides greater speed and some new functionality
• Visual Voicemail
• You can sell your old iPhone 3G for cash (it might cover the cost of your new 3G S)

Cons:

• You will be stuck with the 3G S for another 18 months; you won’t be able to switch to the iPhone 4G when it is released
• Expensive option but some better deals now available

Conclusions

With the rumours of a new iPhone 4G just around the corner, we feel it’s a bad time to upgrade to iPhone 3G S especially given the upgrade is incremental. We believe a much better option is to switch to Simplicity for iPhone until the iPhone 4G is released. For some people there are some greater savings to be had by switching to SIM only tariffs on other networks or a Pay As You Go tariff. We actively encourage you to switch if this is the case for you.

Related posts:

1. O2’s secret £20 iPhone ‘Simplicity’ tariff
2. The iPhone Tariff Price Comparison Tool – with 23 iPhone tariffs
3. Mobile Contract Ending? Save £180/yr. by switching to SIM-only deals

photo: Vince Alongi

One key area of growth in the mobile market recently has been mobile broadband. It’s something which is still unfamiliar to most people but I believe we’ll be seeing a lot more of it in 2009 as the mobile broadband speeds improve and consumers ask for “always-on” broadband connectivity on the move. In this guide, we explain how mobile broadband works and answer some of your most frequently asked questions. Do feel free to drop us a comment if you have questions which aren’t answered.

What is mobile broadband?

Traditionally, broadband meant a high-speed connection to the internet through your landline. Mobile broadband provides a high-speed internet connection but instead of going through your landline, it uses a 3G connection to the nearest mobile phone mast.

Although it uses the same technology as a mobile phone it should not be confused with one – you can have a mobile broadband connection without having a mobile phone and your mobile broadband connection can be with a different company to your mobile phone network provider.

The advantages of mobile broadband is that your broadband connection is no longer home-bound. You can use it when away from home – your mobile broadband connection will work anywhere in the country where a 3G signal is available. The disadvantages of mobile broadband are that it tends to be slower and more expensive than broadband through the landline.

In order to use mobile broadband you will need a dongle (which is essentially a mobile broadband “modem”) and a subscription to a mobile broadband service. Both contract and pay as you go options are available.

How does it differ from wi-fi?

photo: theowl84

Wi-fi is another technology which allows you to access the internet when you are away from home. For example, coffee shop and fast food restaurants may advertise free wi-fi internet access (or you may have to pay to access their wi-fi internet connection). It may be difficult to find a wi-fi internet connection to use on the move as wi-fi signals only cover very small areas. With mobile broadband, this shouldn’t be a problem as 3G mobile broadband signals cover large areas – you should be able to use it in a park as well as a coffee shop and you don’t need to worry about paying for wi-fi access.

Who uses mobile broadband and why is it becoming more popular?

So far it appears that mobile broadband has taken off amongst two groups:

• Businesspeople who want to be able to access their email and the latest news online on their commute into work or when away from the office. The alternative of finding and setting up wi-fi hotspots wherever you go can be time-consuming and frustrating.
• Students. Several good friends of mine (students) have chosen to sign up with mobile broadband connections this year instead of broadband through the landline. This is because broadband through the landline involves installing a new BT line (£125), paying line rental (at least £11/mo.) and then signing up for a broadband provider for at least 12 months (wasteful when you only have the house for 9 months!). For many students, mobile broadband is much cheaper and gives the additional benefit of being able to use it anywhere.

There are some signs that it could become more popular with the general population this year. Firstly, prices are coming down and it is possible to get mobile broadband on Pay As You Go for infrequent users. Secondly, the mobile networks have spent a large sum of money upgrading their 3G networks to improve performance and reliability. Thirdly, people are becoming more reliant on the internet – a mobile broadband connection means you can always have access to iPlayer/Spotify/email/etc. where ever you are.

What is a dongle?

A dongle is a mobile broadband modem which plugs into a spare USB port in your laptop or desktop computer. It’s about the size of a USB memory stick – usually you can plug it in and it will be installed automatically.

How fast is mobile broadband?

Probably much slower than a landline broadband connection. Although Three advertise download speeds of “up to 7.2Mbps” on their network and most other networks advertise download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, in reality you’re unlikely to get close to that speed. According to the BBC, a survey last September found that the average download speed was just 1.1Mbps. The average speeds by network were:

• Vodafone: 1.3Mbps
• Three: 1.2Mbps
• Orange: 1.1Mbps
• O2: 1.0Mbps
• T-Mobile: 0.9Mbps

photo: Mariano Kamp

The speed is likely to vary a lot depending on your location, the proximity of nearby masts and whether you are indoors or outdoors so I would take these averages with a pint of salt – they are essentially meaningless when there is so much variability in the download speed you will actually experience.

What should I look for?

When choosing a mobile broadband package you should look at:

• The network & coverage – What network offers good 3G connectivity in your area? Nothing can be worse than signing up for a long contract and then finding out you can’t use the connection when inside or the connection keeps breaking up! You can use the coverage checkers on the networks’ websites to determine the level of coverage. Alternatively you could bag yourself a free Pay As You Go SIM card, put it into your 3G mobile and see what the reception is like.
• Download limits – Mobile broadband packages are capped; they give you a limited amount of data. According to Three, 1GB of data is equivalent to sending 1000 emails, surfing the web for 10 hours, downloading 5 four minute videos and 32 four minute music tracks. You can use a programme such as tbbmeter to find out how much data you use and ensure that you don’t go over the limit. Charges can be pricey if you go over your limit so make sure you don’t exceed your data allowance.
• Contract length – Do you want to pay as you go or sign up for a contract? The benefits of Pay As You Go are that any data allowance that you purchase and don’t use gets carried over to the next month. However, regular users will find contract mobile broadband better value. Secondly: how long are you willing to sign a contract for? 12 months, 18 months or 24 months? Longer contracts tend to cost less but you will be tied to one network for a longer amount of time and you’ll miss any great deals in the meantime.
• Price – Shop around and find the best value mobile broadband package for your needs. Ideally you won’t want to pay for data allowance that you won’t use; at the same time you won’t want to accidentally run up large charges for exceeding your limits.

Who offers mobile broadband?

All of the major mobile networks offer mobile broadband. Shop around and find the best deal for you.

• 3 (Three)
• O2
• Orange
• T-Mobile
• Virgin Mobile
• Vodafone

Related posts:

1. Free Three 3G Mobile Broadband Dongle
2. 8Mbps Broadband
3. 8mbps Broadband

What does “Text and Call” offer?

When you top up, you’ll get a free allowance that lasts for 30 days:

The minutes can be used for calling landlines or other networks.

The free allowance is given on top of your normal airtime credit.

Is it a good deal?

photo: doug88888

It depends on how you use your phone. The sweet-point in this tariff seems to be the £15 top-up which offers 100 free minutes and 100 free texts.

As calls to other networks typically cost 25p/minute so you could be saving up to £25 with the free minutes. However as calls to landlines and O2 mobiles typically cost just 5p/minute (but 25p/minute for the first 3 minutes each day), the cost savings could be significantly less than that.

The 100 free texts would normally cost £10.

There are certainly some good savings to be had with this tariff but if you text a lot then you could find yourself better off with a tariff which offers free texts.

How do I get it?

If you’re not current an O2 customer, you can order up to 3 free SIM cards from the O2 website.

For current O2 customers: O2 haven’t been actively promoting or listing this tariff on their website so I am not aware of any quick or easy way to switch. However, O2 proudly advertise the fact that they don’t discriminate against current customers – current customers can get the same deals as new customers. I would recommend calling up O2 customer services (25p from your O2 mobile) who should be able to switch you over. Do let us know if you find an easier way to switch.

What are the alternatives?

I am not aware of any other mainstream PAYG tariffs which offer both free calls and free texts. Three’s 3Pay comes reasonably close: topping up will give you free 3-to-3 calls and free Skype calls. However, you can’t use it for landlines and other networks like you can on O2’s ‘Text and Call’ deal.

Other alternatives come in the form of PAYG tariffs which offer free texts or free data.

If you’re using ‘Text and Call’ or you think you’ve found a better alternative, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a comment below!

Related posts:

1. O2’s “Text and Web” PAYG tariff gives free, unlimited internet & texts
2. T-Mobile launch PAYG ‘Monthly Text and Internet Reward’ with free texts, internet on PAYG
3. Orange: Free PAYG SIM Card with 1000 texts, Facebook, Cinema

What is a Femtocell?

A Femtocell is essentially like having your own personal cellphone tower. That sounds scary but a femtocell is about the size of a wireless router so you can have it in your living room. A femtocell will typically output a 3G mobile signal which your phone can recieve. It plugs in to your broadband connection and utilises that to connect to the mobile network operator (i.e. Vodafone). All of your mobile phone calls, texts and web browsing are routed through that femtocell when you are in the range of it.

What are the benefits of the Femtocell?

Reception can be a huge problem for many people. Dropped phone calls due to poor reception are annoying at best and at worst can lose you money and waste time. Similarly, more and more people have probably experienced the pain of trying to browse the internet on a slow and unreliable 3G connection. It’s a frustrating experience.

Femtocells promise to guarantee you a great 5-bar signal in your home or office (wherever you’ve installed it). Because the actual base station now sits inside your house, you don’t need to share the connection with anybody else and it’ll work a lot better indoors.

If you normally experience poor reception, you may currently experience short battery life on your phone as your phone needs to increase the transmission power in order to maintain the connection with the network. Potentially femtocells could help extend your phone’s battery life by providing a better signal.

How does this differ from Wi-Fi?

photo: madnzany

In terms of what a femtocell and a wi-fi router do – they essentially do exactly the same thing but for different devices and using different technologies.

Wi-Fi can be used by other devices such as your laptop, games consoles or iPod. Femtocells can only be used by your mobile phone as they produce a 3G mobile signal.

Some high-end phones are now beginning to feature wi-fi support which allow you to browse the internet over your own wi-fi connection. However, most phones don’t support wi-fi. Femtocells should work with existing phones.

Who pays for the Femtocell?

Generally customers will have to pay for a femtocell themselves. On Vodafone’s Sure Signal, there is a one-off charge of £50 for a femtocell for customers on a contract of £25/month or more and £120 for everybody else. You’ll additionally have to provide a 1Mbps broadband connection yourself.

Crucially, even though your phone calls are now going through your broadband connection, you’ll still have to pay the mobile network for them. The network operators have been criticised for asking customers to “pay extra to fix their own failures” (i.e. poor reception). Gizmodo writes:

All of the carriers are ripping off their customers with these things, since all of the work is being put on your home internet connection, which you pay your broadband carrier for.

…

Where do they get off charging for this? Femtocells will actually reduce the load on their networks. It shifts the traffic over to the internet provider you’re already paying for (which I’m sure ISPs will just love).

Are Femtocells safe?

photo: conskeptical

Femtocells emit low-power radiation and should be no more dangerous than a wireless router. In fact, using a femtocell could even be beneficial – if your reception is better then your phone can operate and broadcast at a lower power.

What is Vodafone Sure Signal?

Vodafone Sure Signal is Vodafone’s femtocell offering. Although it was originally launched in July 2009, Sure Signal has just been relaunched to coincide with the release of the iPhone on the network. That said, anyone with a Vodafone iPhone can already use the wi-fi connectivity on there for free which achieves practically the same thing.

Which other operators offer femtocells?

At the moment, only Vodafone offers a Femtocell service. You cannot use Vodafone’s femtocell to connect to other networks. No word on when femtocells will be available on the other networks.

Will femtocells take off?

It’s hard to tell. The operators have put a fair amount of momentum behind them and I think £50 is a price that many customers will consider paying if they suffer bad reception.

That said, wi-fi connectivity is appearing on a lot of new smartphones. Not only is wi-fi connectivity free (assuming you already have a wireless router), it is possible to make cheap VoIP calls over wireless using applications such as Skype. Smartphones with wireless connectivity could easily make femtocells redundant.

Related posts:

1. Mobile Broadband Explained and FAQs answered
2. Orange, Vodafone launch iPhone – hold off your iPhone purchase
3. Google’s Nexus One Smartphone coming to Vodafone

photo: notsogoodphotography

When you originally buy your iPhone it will be locked to a specific network (i.e. it won’t work if you use a SIM card from a different network). This has two primary downsides. The first is that you can’t benefit from cheaper and better value deals on the other networks. The second is that when you go abroad, you won’t be able to use a SIM card purchased in that country – you’ll have to make calls at the expensive international rates charged by a UK network.

Is it legal to unlock a phone?

Yes, it is perfectly legal to unlock a phone. Mobile networks will often “lock” your phone because they subsidise them. They don’t want you to take their subsidised phone and immediately use it on a different network. However, you can usually ask your network to unlock a mobile phone. They are under no obligation to unlock your phones but many of them will offer to unlock them (sometimes charging a fee).

In this guide, I only discuss the official methods of unlocking your iPhone. You may find other unofficial methods of unlocking an iPhone on the internet. These methods might offer to unlock your iPhone by offering you a code or software. There is no guarantee that these methods will work: some of them are scams and some of them could render your phone unusable. At the very least, your warranty would probably be invalidated by unlocking your iPhone in this way. Please do your research very carefully and make sure you understand what you’re doing if you choose to unlock your phone another way.

What deals are available on an unlocked iPhone?

photo: Paulo Brandão

Once you’ve unlocked your iPhone, you’ve got free reign to choose the best value deal on the market. If you’re looking for a contract, check out our guide to the best value SIM-only tariffs with internet. It is possible to get a £15/mo. deal with Three which gives you 300 cross-network minutes (unlimited 3-to-3 minutes), unlimited texts and unlimited internet. Other networks can offer slightly dearer deals but with a more generous allowance of minutes.

If you’re looking for a Pay As You Go deal, see our guide to Pay As You Go deals. T-Mobile would offer unlimited texts and internet when you top up £10/month.

Note that Visual Voicemail won’t work on these tariffs as they are not designed specifically for the iPhone.

Do drop us a comment below if you find a better deal!

How do I unlock my iPhone on O2?

Pay Monthly: Your iPhone can be unlocked free of charge but you have to honour the entirety of your contract. So if you’ve completed your original contract, it’s totally free. If you’re still in your contract, you’d probably be better off sticking with it as you’ve already paid for it.

Pay As You Go: It costs £15 to unlock your iPhone. If you unlock your iPhone in the first 12 months, you will also lose the free Web & Wifi bolt-on that O2 gives you.

For more details and to begin the unlock process, go to the O2 website.

How do I unlock my iPhone on Orange?

photo: Seattle Miles

As all Orange iPhone users are still within the first 3 months of their tenure, it is not possible to unlock their iPhone. However, according to a post on the MacRumors forums, it is possible to unlock your iPhone for £20 after the first 3 months of your tenure:

If you are a Pay Monthly or Pay As You Go customer and your phone has been registered for more than 3 months, all you will need to pay to unlock your phone is the unlocking fee of £20.00 including VAT, payable prior to unlocking the phone.

To unlock your phone all you will need to do is call our Customer Service team on 150 from your Orange phone, or 07973 100150 from any other mobile or landline or 450 (07973 100450) if the phone has been used with a pay as you go SIM. Unlocking generally takes between 7 and 10 days.

If you are trying to unlock your Orange iPhone, we’d love to hear your experiences. Drop us a comment below!

Related posts:

1. Orange, Vodafone launch iPhone – hold off your iPhone purchase
2. iPhone 3G contracts ending now: your options, alternative money saving tariffs
3. Apple iPhone 3G on Orange, T-Mobile in the UK

An iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone part (you can’t connect to the mobile networks; you only have Wi-Fi connectivity on the iPod Touch). However, the MiFi hotspot connects to the 3G mobile network and produces a Wi-Fi signal which can then be picked up by the iPod Touch. By using the iPod Touch in combination with MiFi, it is possible to access the internet on the go without having to worry about finding a wi-fi hotspot.

What are the differences between iPod Touch and iPhone?

An iPod Touch is essentially an iPhone without the phone  part. However, it still runs the same operating system and applications as the iPhone.You can still check your email, use Google maps and play games. It’s slightly lighter and thinner than the iPhone as it doesn’t have the baggage of the equipment to connect to the mobile network.

There are a few things that the iPhone has but the iPod Touch lacks. Besides connectivity to a mobile network, the iPod Touch also lacks a microphone and a camera (although there are rumours of a new iPod Touch soon with camera functionality; a camera has been added to the iPod Nano). However, a microphone can easily be added to the iPod Touch by purchasing an additional accessory from Apple (about £20 on Amazon). This would make it possible to use VoIP calling programmes such as Skype.

With the microphone accessory, it would appear that the primary difference between the iPod Touch and iPhone would simply be connectivity to the mobile network (which MiFi can provide). This lead me to wonder whether the iPod Touch & MiFi combination could provide a cheaper alternative to the iPhone.

How much does it cost?

According to the Ken’s Tech Tips iPhone Price Comparison website, the cheapest iPhone would be an 8GB iPhone 3G on a Orange £30/mo. 18-month contract. The tariff provides customers with 150 minutes, 250 texts and 750MB of data per month. The total cost of ownership is £639 over 18 months. Alternatively it is possible to get an 8GB iPhone 3G on Pay As You Go for  £342.

In comparison, an 8GB iPod Touch would set you back £141 on Amazon – £200 less than the cheapest PAYG 8GB iPhone. For a fair comparison, you’ll have to add the cost of the MiFi device (£50 on PAYG, free on contract) and the cost of the headphones with microphone (£20).

Can I make calls on an iPod Touch with MiFi?

Yes you can download free VoIP software such as Skype for iPod Touch. This allows you to make free calls to other Skype users. You can also make calls to landlines, other mobiles, and send texts using Skype too at extra charge. However, it’s (as far as I know) impossible and impractical to receive calls.  You could receive calls from other Skype users (although probably not other landline/mobile users) through the Skype application but as the iPod Touch doesn’t support multitasking you wouldn’t be able to use your phone for anything else whilst Skype is open.

What are the benefits of using an iPod Touch with MiFi?

One benefit of using an iPod Touch & MiFi combination is that you essentially get “tethering” for free. Tethering is when you connect your iPhone to your laptop and use the iPhone as a modem to access the internet. Because the MiFi device acts as a modem itself, it’s possible to use a laptop through the same MiFi device that you use with your iPod Touch! MiFi allows all of your wi-fi supporting devices to access the internet anywhere a 3G signal is available.

Can an iPod Touch with MiFi replace an iPhone?

If the idea of applications, maps on the move, etc. really captivate you then the iPod Touch & MiFi combination can allow you to get that experience at a substantially lower cost. The experience would be very similar to that you would get on a real iPhone. However chances are you won’t be able to scrap your existing phone. Although it is possible to make calls using iPod Touch & MiFi, it’s not the easiest thing to do. And you’ll have a tough time receiving calls on your iPod Touch.

The iPod Touch & MiFi can be used to gain access to a wealth of applications and internet connectivity on the move. It provides a reasonably cheap way to do this. However, I think it’s difficult to turn it into a fully functional phone replacement. However, I could certainly see it as a good replacement to your existing MP3 player and a cost-effective way to supplement your existing phone. The question is whether it is worthwhile to spend the extra money to combine your devices into one. We’ve added the iPod Touch to the iPhone Price Comparison website to make it easier to see what the real price difference between the two devices are.

What are the options for this deal?

• Three sell a combination deal for £23/month which includes an iPod Touch 8GB and MiFi
  You have 5GB of data per month.
  The total cost of ownership comes to £552 over the 24 months.
• It is possible to buy an iPod Touch from Amazon for £141 and get MiFi for £9.50/month
  You have 1GB of data per month (more than enough for just an iPod Touch, maybe not enough if you use your laptop too)
  The total cost of ownership is £312 over the 18 month contract period.
• It is possible to buy a MiFi for £50 and then use PAYG mobile internet for £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB or £25 for 7GB.

Related posts:

1. 3 releasing personal 3G to WiFi Hotspot “MiFi” accessory
2. iPhone now £169 in UK
3. Skype & VoIP on the go – can it replace the mobile networks?

Last month, we wrote about SIM-only tariffs and how many people are able to save about £180/yr. by switching to one. SIM-only tariffs are perfect for people who have completed the original term of their contract and are happy to keep their existing phone. They are cheaper than traditional contracts because you don’t get a new phone with it. However, it’s still worth shopping around as whichever network you go to you can keep your existing phone number.

On this page we’ve listed 49 SIM-only tariffs from the six largest networks in the UK (we have omitted speciality tariffs such as those aimed at international calling). For each tariff we list the inclusive allowance, the costs of making calls, sending texts and browsing the internet outside of your allowance and also the add-ons available for that tariff (add-ons allow you to add extra features onto your tariff).

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the charges, features and intricacies of each tariff. My aim is to provide an easy at-a-glance overview of the different options available. You are strongly recommended to read the details of the tariff carefully and the small print before signing up for anything. The tariff may have also changed from the time this article was published – the details listed on the retailer’s website is correct.

We’ve listed the SIM-only tariffs in price order (cheapest first) in 3 categories:

• 1 month contracts
• 12 month contracts
• 18 month contracts

1 month

12 month

18 month

Related posts:

1. Compare Apple iPhone prices and tariffs: O2, Orange, Tesco VS Vodafone
2. The UK’s 6 Best Value Smartphone SIM-only Tariffs with Internet Access
3. Which Pay As You Go tariff is right for me? The cheapest & best value tariffs.

First things first…

Firstly, is your phone locked? If it’s a Nexus One it won’t be but there is a good chance that other phones will be locked if they were subsidised by a network when you bought it. If so, you’ll have to unlock your phone before you can use your phone on a different network.

Secondly, are you better off on Pay As You Go? The cheapest SIM-only tariff here is £15/month. If you spend less than £15/month on calls you could be better off on PAYG. Have a look at our guide on PAYG tariffs including free internet access. Of particular note, T-Mobile offers unlimited texts and internet access when you top up £10/month.

What should I look out for?

Firstly, make sure you choose a network that has good coverage in your area. You’ll want to choose a network which offers you 3G coverage (this gives you high speed internet). Failure to check and your phone could be as useful as a brick!

Then you’ll want to find the tariff that gives you what you want for the lowest price. We’ve listed five of the cheapest below. Are you happy to sign a 12-month contract for some extra minutes and texts? Or would you prefer to sign a 1-month contract and have the flexibility to switch to a cheaper deal at a later stage?

Finally, if you are switching network you may find our guide on PAC codes useful.

We’ve listed the UK’s six cheapest SIM-only tariffs with internet access below.

Three – £15 per month, 1 month contract

The cheapest SIM-only deal with unlimited internet comes from Three. They have a £15/mo. SIM-only tariff with a 1-month rolling contract.

Costs outside of your allowance:

Orange – £15 per month, 18 month contract

It is possible to build a SIM-only tariff on Orange with 500MB internet for £15/month. Start with the Dolphin 10 SIM (£10/month) and then add “500MB mobile internet browsing per month” for an extra £5/month. The caveats with this tariff is you’re limited to 500MB per month and you’re locked in for 18 months.

Costs outside of your allowance:

Virgin – £18/month, 1 month contract

Virgin Mobile are offering an £18/month SIM-only tariff with unlimited internet access. The tariff is practically identical to Three but is £3/mo. dearer. However, you might decide to choose Virgin Mobile over Three for reception in your area. Virgin uses the T-Mobile network.

Costs outside of your allowance:

O2 – £20/month, 1 month or 12 month contract

O2 have a SIM-only ‘Simplicity’ tariff with unlimited internet for £20/month (remember to choose the “Unlimited Web Bolt On”). It is available on both a 1 month or 12 month contract.

Costs outside of your allowance:

T-Mobile – £20/month, 1 month or 12 month contract

T-Mobile have two SIM-only tariffs available for £20/month. These tariffs come with a 1000MB monthly cap on data usage but you get unlimited texts.

Costs outside of your allowance:

Vodafone – £20/month, 1 month or 12 month contract

Vodafone have SIM-only tariffs available for £20/month – either on 1 month or 12 month contract. You are limited to 500MB of internet access per month.

Costs outside of your allowance:

Your thoughts…

Are you currently using a smartphone on a SIM-only tariff? We’d love to hear your experiences with the networks and tariffs. Drop us a comment below!

Related posts:

1. The UK’s SIM only tariffs: Prices and Tariffs compared
2. Pay As You Go Internet & Data Tariffs – The Good, Bad and Ugly
3. The iPhone Tariff Price Comparison Tool – with 23 iPhone tariffs