Percy's Top Tip:

Apart from deciding whether you fancy a must-have iPhone, opt for a sleek Blackberry or latest Samsung, one of the first things to decide when buying a mobile phone is whether you want to take out a contract or opt for pay as you go. You need to weigh up several different pros and cons when comparing the two different deals.

 

Key considerations will include:

• type of phone you prefer
• network
• how much you use your phone

If you are never off the phone and having the latest handset is important to you, then comparing monthly contracts could be your best bet as this means you receive the latest handset for free or at a heavily subsidised price and inclusive minutes and texts can work out cheaper.

 

On the other hand, the one huge advantage of the PAYG arrangement is you are not tied into a lengthy contract and you remain in complete control of how much you spend. However, if you want the latest smart handset then PAYG could set you back as much as £500 because it won't be handed out free by the provider.

Other factors to consider for contract phones include the buyer being tied into paying a fixed sum for the entire length of the deal. Some providers do permit switching tariffs during the contract term, but you must double check this is allowed at the research stage. Contract users are credit-checked - will your record stand up to scrutiny?

 

The downside to PAYG deals is you do have to buy your own phone and today's state of the art smart phones aren't cheap. There's far less choice of phone in the PAYG market than there is on the contract side and if you run out of credit with a PAYG you can't use your phone to make calls - although you can still be contacted via a call or text.

 

Broadband

Increasingly, we are using our phones as mini-computers which means access to broadband is a important. Not all broadband services are the same and consumers will find that amongst the providers there are some broadband services that are much more suited to mobile usage.

 

Overall, on doing your research you'll want to be comparing cost per month, rental charges per month, speed, free calls and texts and access overseas for when you are on holiday. These are the prominent features that will make up the package offered to you.

 

You need to think about what you'll be accessing via your phone - how much data do you need to download and how quickly do you need it to respond. With broadband you've entered the world of megabytes and gigabytes and you need to have a sense of the difference between a 20Mb and a 10Gb offer.

 

The whole point of a mobile broadband is you can use it anywhere at anytime to access the internet. That's the theory, it's not quite like that in practice and some broadband providers have restrictions in terms of what they can offer by way of coverage in certain geographical areas. So make sure you ask the right questions about coverage before making your choice.

 

The quality of service of your mobile broadband provider will be important. One way to ascertain what service reputation has been earned is to search the internet and see what previous and present customers are saying about the providers you are comparing.

 

To get a real sense of cost, multiply the monthly deal total across the entire length of contract (is this 12 months? longer?) so you can see what you'll be paying for rather than be blinded by an attractive first month free offer.

 

SIM card

SIM cards are so invaluable to us as functioning communicating human beings it's hard to believe that just a decade ago, very few people had a clue what they were or what they did. Full name Subscriber Identity Module card - this tiny computer chip cards holds all the necessary data for our mobile phone network provider to identify us and our number. What's more the SIM card stores all the personal phone numbers, text messages and other data that the user keys in. SIM cards are transportable from one phone to another. Frequent travellers often keep costs of phoning abroad down by using local SIM cards in the countries they are visiting rather than their UK SIM card and thus avoid the high 'roaming' call charges. This switching between phones works because the card's interfaces between phone handsets and the cards are standardised for universal compatibility.

 

Mobile phone insurance

The first question to ask yourself about mobile phone insurance is: is your phone already covered? Check the wording of your home insurance policy and if it's not there, consider adding it to the policy because such an arrangement may well work out cheaper than taking out a bespoke insurance plan just for your phone.

 

Mobile phone insurance is not cheap and often users have found that the insurance premium is as much as a new phone itself. Another big complaint from consumers is such insurance comes with high excesses and a long list of exclusions.

 

Every consumer has the right to a 14-day cooling off period after buying mobile phone insurance. Use this time to make sure you feel comfortable with what you've bought, that you understand and agree with the full terms, conditions and premium payments. If you find you don't then you are quite within your rights to cancel and receive a full refund.

 

What key factor in favour of mobile insurance is that most policies will cover the owner were a phone to be stolen and a bill run up by the thief's usage. Although there is a responsibility on mobile phone users to not leave their phones unattended in a public place and to report any theft or loss to both the mobile phone company and the police in cases of theft, within 24 hours. Failure to comply with both conditions could mean the insurer won't pay up.

 

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