[poppitypop]

So here is the deal. My contract was for 18 months which I received a free phone (not iphone) I was paying around abouts £26 a month for say 600 mins and 600 texts.
Then when I purchased my pay and go iphone 3 months ago and used it on my O2 contract O2 changed me to an iphone tariff and for £35 a month I got the unlimited internet. It was quite a bit too much but I knew my contract was coming to an end so in a few months I could maybe get a better deal.

Contract is up for renewal at the end of July so the other week I called o2 to discuss my options. I explained I did not want to get a new free phone as I was happy with the iphone I had and asked for money off per month.

They suggested the simplicity deal which is £20 per month for 600 mins, 1200 texts and a free bolt on - naturally I would choose the unlimited web bolt on. They have now switched me over a month early and all is well.

But the price of this is incredible. For £20 a month I get the 600 mins, 1200 texts and unlimited web, how on earth are they going to get me to upgrade to a contract now? Its far too good a deal to throw away.

I have no reason to want to leave O2, I have them for home broadband aswell and I would have opened a new contract if they offered it cheaper than I currently had, but now this non-contract simplicity is far too good to ever change from unless some kind of amazing uber phone heads our way.

Its a no-brainer really.

[zantarous]

You sure it is not 800 mins as I just signed up my wife for that on a 12 month contract and bought her a second hand 3G iPhone. It is a great contract and as you say why would you want to change?

No doubt when my 18 months are up I will move over as well to a rolling monthly one and wait till the next iPhone is out.

[RobM]

Originally Posted by zantarous

You sure it is not 800 mins as I just signed up my wife for that on a 12 month contract and bought her a second hand 3G iPhone. It is a great contract and as you say why would you want to change?

No doubt when my 18 months are up I will move over as well to a rolling monthly one and wait till the next iPhone is out.

The 12 month Simplicity deals give you more as you're tied into it for 12 months. You're only tied in for 30 days on the monthly simplicity so you don't get quite as much for your money, but can get out of it at any time. Great for when you see a phone you want and are willing to commit to a contract for!

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by zantarous

You sure it is not 800 mins as I just signed up my wife for that on a 12 month contract and bought her a second hand 3G iPhone. It is a great contract and as you say why would you want to change?

No doubt when my 18 months are up I will move over as well to a rolling monthly one and wait till the next iPhone is out.

No its not a contract. Its month to month so I can upgrade to a contract with a free phone at any time.

[ben.bayliss]

It's a good price but it's not *that* good.

My contract with Vodafone is 200 minutes, 200 texts for £8 + £5 for data.

Everyone is different, but I agree that the £20 deal being equivalent to the £35 iPhone tariff is good value if you don't want to upgrade.

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by ben.bayliss

It's a good price but it's not *that* good.

My contract with Vodafone is 200 minutes, 200 texts for £8 + £5 for data.

Everyone is different, but I agree that the £20 deal being equivalent to the £35 iPhone tariff is good value if you don't want to upgrade.

With regards to value for money, the O2 works out at better value for money than the Vodafone one if you calculate minutes and pounds.
If you go on the basis of 100 mins only - Vodafone charge £4 per 100 yet O2 works out at £2.08 per 100.
(I worked this out by removing the cost of web bolt on which is normally £7.50 and leaving a figure of £12.50 for mins and texts.

But not everybody needs 600 mins - so better value for money is not always best.

[premaru]

Speaking on Value For Money, I think 3 UK have a deal which no one can match.

£15 a month for 300 mins or text, 300 mins 3-3 calls, free Skype, free Voicemail.

All this on a 6 month contract only!!!

You can choose a Nokia 6120 handset free as part of this contract - and sell it off for £75 which means you effectively pay £90 (£15 x 6 months) and can get £75 by selling off the handset.

£75 is the lowest price I found for the Nokia 6120. If you are lucky you can even sell it for more.

Which means you get 6 months contract with the above minutes for £2.50 a month!!! AND get free SKYPE, free VOICEMAIL!!!

Can anyone beat that?

[Tom`]

Surely Skype can be used over your included data connection with simplicity anyway, so I wouldn't view it as a major selling point.

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by chris.chris

Speaking on Value For Money, I think 3 UK have a deal which no one can match.

£15 a month for 300 mins or text, 300 mins 3-3 calls, free Skype, free Voicemail.

Actually thats not a good deal at all. It is only 300 mins OR 300 texts. on a 100 min scale that works out to be £5 per 100

(I have excluded 3-3 calls because in the £20 O2 simplicity someone can have unlimited free O2-O2 calls as the free bolt on).

[premaru]

Originally Posted by Tom`

Surely Skype can be used over your included data connection with simplicity anyway, so I wouldn't view it as a major selling point.

O2 has blocked VoIP over 3G.

Even if you jailbreak it, 3G quality is nowhere near 3 Skype's gateway based Skype! Heaven and earth difference in sound quality.

Originally Posted by poppitypop

Actually thats not a good deal at all. It is only 300 mins OR 300 texts. on a 100 min scale that works out to be £5 per 100

(I have excluded 3-3 calls because in the £20 O2 simplicity someone can have unlimited free O2-O2 calls as the free bolt on).

But the point was, you get a handset as well, and the effective cost per month will be £2.50 for those included minutes, texts and skype (and free voicemail too)

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by chris.chris

But the point was, you get a handset as well, and the effective cost per month will be £2.50 for those included minutes, texts and skype (and free voicemail too)

Thats assuming you can get the price you expect for it second hand.
Skype and voicemail I would not include in my minutes for pounds guide because you can get skype on most phones and voicemail is also free on O2 simplicity (£20+).
Anyways, even at £2.50 it doesn't beat the current winner of O2's £2.08 per 100

[premaru]

Originally Posted by poppitypop

Thats assuming you can get the price you expect for it second hand.
Skype and voicemail I would not include in my minutes for pounds guide because you can get skype on most phones and voicemail is also free on O2 simplicity (£20+).
Anyways, even at £2.50 it doesn't beat the current winner of O2's £2.08 per 100

Yes, I considered the lowest price for Nokia 6120 BNIB.

The mix and match 300 works great for me, especially because I can use it how I want it, sometimes more texts and sometimes more minutes in a month.

I personally feel that 3 offers the best value for money, and they are really honest.

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by chris.chris

Yes, I considered the lowest price for Nokia 6120 BNIB.

The mix and match 300 works great for me, especially because I can use it how I want it, sometimes more texts and sometimes more minutes in a month.

I personally feel that 3 offers the best value for money, and they are really honest.

Well a best offer really is down to the individual and that is the best for you, you use skype so its an added bonus. Really there is no best offer we are all so different and thats why we have so many tariffs and bundles to choose from

[Andyblizz]

Originally Posted by chris.chris

I personally feel that 3 offers the best value for money, and they are really honest.

While 3 have had some great deals. They are not an honest bunch.

I am so glad to be rid of them, i cancelled due the the removal of 3LH. And in my notice period with them i received about 20 calls trying to get me to stay.

Offering me the same "deals" over and over again.

I told them 1st time i was going to get an iPhone and not to call me.

Each time they also said how crap the iphone is.... Well on my desk i have a nice 16GB 3GS iphone on a £20 simplicity deal. And a big smile on my face

[premaru]

Originally Posted by Andyblizz

Offering me the same "deals" over and over again.

I told them 1st time i was going to get an iPhone and not to call me.

Each time they also said how crap the iphone is....

That's very annoying if they called you so many times!

But, when I told them that I am going in for an iPhone, I was given a PAC code, no questions asked, and no one has called me back either. I'm happy so far.

[UnGreat]

I've always been put off getting an Iphone on contract as I see it as a little expensive (monthly) for what I would use it for.

Any reason why I couldn't just grab a used Iphone or PAYG one and stick in the 02 £20 a month simplicity sim with the 600 mins and 1200 texts (online exclusive) with the web bolt on?

[Saldawop]

Any reason why I couldn't just grab a used Iphone or PAYG one and stick in the 02 £20 a month simplicity sim with the 600 mins and 1200 texts (online exclusive) with the web bolt on?

No reason at all .

[Azzin]

Originally Posted by UnGreat

I've always been put off getting an Iphone on contract as I see it as a little expensive (monthly) for what I would use it for.

Any reason why I couldn't just grab a used Iphone or PAYG one and stick in the 02 £20 a month simplicity sim with the 600 mins and 1200 texts (online exclusive) with the web bolt on?

That's what I did.

I was already on Simplicity when I grabbed myself a 2g £169 Iphone in April last year, stuck my Simplicity in and away I went.

Earlier this year I decided to downgrade my tariff from £30pm to £20 (£19.58 now) pm as I wasn't using the minutes, I also decided as I was so happy with O2 that I would commit to a 12 month Simplicity tariff.

I now get 800 minutes, 1600 texts and the free web bolt on for my £19.58.

Worth every penny IMO-esp as I've recently moved to a 3G iPhone so I can send receieve MMSs now and O2 take 4 texts out of my 1600 for each MMS I send.

No brainer IMO.

[jerryjal]

Originally Posted by UnGreat

I've always been put off getting an Iphone on contract as I see it as a little expensive (monthly) for what I would use it for.

Any reason why I couldn't just grab a used Iphone or PAYG one and stick in the 02 £20 a month simplicity sim with the 600 mins and 1200 texts (online exclusive) with the web bolt on?

That's what i have done, i just added the unlimited data as my free bolt on. The only thing you don't get is visual voicemail but it's easy to live without that.
Hope that helps.

[Saldawop]

Can I ask : I know the web-bolt on is unlimited, but from what I have read there is actually a limit. I have sent 50.3MB and received 1.1GB of data.I imagine thats slightly higher than normal as I have been downloading apps, using cydia etc since updating to 3.0.
Would that kind of usage be OK on Simplicity?I may switch when my contract runs out.

[jerryjal]

Originally Posted by Saldawop

Can I ask : I know the web-bolt on is unlimited, but from what I have read there is actually a limit. I have sent 50.3MB and received 1.1GB of data.I imagine thats slightly higher than normal as I have been downloading apps, using cydia etc since updating to 3.0.
Would that kind of usage be OK on Simplicity?I may switch when my contract runs out.

I have heard elsewhere on this site that the unoffical limit on the "unlimited data bolt on" is 2GB, not 100% sure if thats correct.
It may be worth a call to double check, if you do then please post the result, ta

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by Andyblizz

While 3 have had some great deals. They are not an honest bunch.

I am so glad to be rid of them, i cancelled due the the removal of 3LH. And in my notice period with them i received about 20 calls trying to get me to stay.

Offering me the same "deals" over and over again.

I told them 1st time i was going to get an iPhone and not to call me.

Each time they also said how crap the iphone is.... Well on my desk i have a nice 16GB 3GS iphone on a £20 simplicity deal. And a big smile on my face

Its not really the done thing or good practice for a company to slag off its competitors and products.

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by Saldawop

Can I ask : I know the web-bolt on is unlimited, but from what I have read there is actually a limit. I have sent 50.3MB and received 1.1GB of data.I imagine thats slightly higher than normal as I have been downloading apps, using cydia etc since updating to 3.0.
Would that kind of usage be OK on Simplicity?I may switch when my contract runs out.

Well O2 have told me there is no limit and they go to say "there is a fair usage limit but it would be hard to cross it and you only get a warning text at first". So I asked if people download lots with streaming radio and they said that its not that much. So if they don't consider streaming that much then you should be okay.
I haven't heard of anyone yet who has had a warning on the O2 data.

If you do go for this deal, make sure you say you want your free bolt on to be web.

[Azzin]

Originally Posted by Saldawop

Can I ask : I know the web-bolt on is unlimited, but from what I have read there is actually a limit. I have sent 50.3MB and received 1.1GB of data.I imagine thats slightly higher than normal as I have been downloading apps, using cydia etc since updating to 3.0.
Would that kind of usage be OK on Simplicity?I may switch when my contract runs out.

Very good question.....

O2 Forum :: View topic - PAYG vs contract

O2 Forum :: View topic - Unlimited Web Bolt-on

[Edit] - I can't actually find a Ts & Cs section for the Unlimited Web Bolt on: http://www.o2.co.uk/termsandconditio...ffsandboltons#

[eaglemmoomin]

Originally Posted by Azzin

Very good question.....

O2 Forum :: View topic - PAYG vs contract

O2 Forum :: View topic - Unlimited Web Bolt-on

[Edit] - I can't actually find a Ts & Cs section for the Unlimited Web Bolt on: Tariffs and Bolt Ons - O2

Reading that it looks fairly clear to me that the difference is that the web bolt on is not unlimited data. As streaming is mentioned as a no no. I suppose when they mention file sharing they are talking about torrents. I wonder what they would do if you were to say use your Iphone to log in to a server at your home and transfer files across their network. Eg rather than streaming a tv show you have on a media server downloading it from an ftp server to the phone.

[zantarous]

It says "continuous streaming" which to me reads stream if you like put don't take the pee.

[PearlJam]

I'm leaning towards buying the Pay & Go 3GS and using a Simplicity card, but this line in the tariff details confuses/worries me:

"Browse the internet on your mobile for up to 98p per day"

If I choose the unlimited web bolt on, is it not free ? If it's going to cost up to 98p a day to surf, a £20 simplicity card won't last the month.

Am I reading this wrong ?

Cheers.

[Tom`]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

I'm leaning towards buying the Pay & Go 3GS and using a Simplicity card, but this line in the tariff details confuses/worries me:

"Browse the internet on your mobile for up to 98p per day"

If I choose the unlimited web bolt on, is it not free ? If it's going to cost up to 98p a day to surf, a £20 simplicity card won't last the month.

Am I reading this wrong ?

Cheers.

That confused me at first, but I can assure you that with the bolt on you won't get charged 98p a day

[poppitypop]

Originally Posted by PearlJam

I'm leaning towards buying the Pay & Go 3GS and using a Simplicity card, but this line in the tariff details confuses/worries me:

"Browse the internet on your mobile for up to 98p per day"

If I choose the unlimited web bolt on, is it not free ? If it's going to cost up to 98p a day to surf, a £20 simplicity card won't last the month.

Am I reading this wrong ?

Cheers.

Its 98p per day if you do not have the web bolt on - but you have to have minimum £20 simplicity.
On the simplicity page, look at the £20 tariff and you will see a drop down box where you can choose your free bolt on.

[UnGreat]

What happens if you do take the pee with the web usage (maybe too much youtube)?

A warning text, then what? I would take out the contract if I knew the worst I could expect was to be cut off from the internet for the remainder of the month but not if they start charging me per MB.

Also how easy is it on the Iphone to make the handset always look for a strong Wifi signal first or at least prompt before using the o2 network?