[ROBIN50N]

they dont do them anymore, its 18 or 24 month now. pretty bad if you like upgradeing alot.

[samjpullen]

You sure ?

They just offered me a new 12month deal just about 40min ago.

I could not get any decent hands sets etc, they were just going to reduce my line rental by £100 per year...

Then the guy said he would offer me one of there 30 day deals, so now its £20 for 600 min, 1000 texts, Unlimted o2 to o2 AND Unlimited Web (extra Free bolt on)

All on a 30 day rolling contract, sounds good to me , i just hope they get the HTC Touch Diamon in soon ...

I will then take out a new 18 month deal if they offer me what i want :D

Funny thing is i am now not tied down, I am saving £80 more than they were willing to give me on a 12month deal and i am getting FAR FAR more then i was getting, seems a bit silly!!!

[ROBIN50N]

yeah have a look on there sites. maybe if its an upgrade theyd still do them, hope so as i wont be signing an 18 month one.

[jerryq7777]

Originally Posted by ROBIN50N

yeah have a look on there sites. maybe if its an upgrade theyd still do them, hope so as i wont be signing an 18 month one.

Me neither.

[weeman2]

Hi Mate

I got a samsung tocco today from phones4u on a 12months contract through o2.

£40 a month with 12 months half price line rental (redemption)+£50 Quidco.

Grand total £190 for phone and 600min and 500 texts,well happy.

George

[ROBIN50N]

its on the o2 site i ment. am guessing this will filter through to other retailers.

[RobM]

This is the way things are going, sadly.

24 month contracts are already the norm in the US, usually with less subsidising of handset prices too. We are very lucky over here.

It wont be long at all until 12 month contracts are a thing of the past. And no doubt in the future 18 month contracts will become the new 12 month contract... i.e. less favoured by the networks and with less good deals compared to 24 month contracts.

[Desmo]

We've had it too good basically. Too many handsets are being given away every 12 months and costs obviously aren't being covered.

[jimgee]

Originally Posted by Desmo

costs obviously aren't being covered.

Their vast profits must be coming from somewhere?

[Desmo]

Well yeah, I'm not saying they aren't making any money

But they must soon be reaching a saturation point for new customers. Most people these days who want a mobile must surely have one by now. So that just means they're constantly giving out handsets worth £100's every year for no real reason.

[chrism_scotland]

I've noticed with other networks notably Orange that even the cost of upgrading has gone up, was quoted £200 to upgrade to an N95, the days of free phones and upgrades certainly seem over.

[Sy1441]

Originally Posted by jimgee

Their vast profits must be coming from somewhere?

Some networks don't make profit at the moment, three loose millions for example.

[ROBIN50N]

even there prices have shot up. a 18month contract at £35 wont even get you a decent phone free anymore.

[kayzee]

Originally Posted by chrism_scotland

I've noticed with other networks notably Orange that even the cost of upgrading has gone up, was quoted £200 to upgrade to an N95, the days of free phones and upgrades certainly seem over.

Yes but you can fight this. When I rang up for my upgrade they wanted £99.99 from me for my new phone... I simply said I wasn't prepared to pay this and 02 are doing it for free so why can't you? 30 seconds later I had a free phone on the way...

[RobM]

Originally Posted by ROBIN50N

even there prices have shot up. a 18month contract at £35 wont even get you a decent phone free anymore.

This is what Desmo and I are saying above... for a long time the networks have been subsidising the cost of phones, including upgrades and this is slowly but surely coming to an end. Most other countries charge nearly the full price for a phone on top of a 24 month contract. On top of this, as phone manufacturers try and squeeze more and more tech into phones, there will be a natural price rise to deal with which somebody has to foot.

IMO, SIM Only deals will become increasingly popular as time goes on, with customers buying their phones separately from their contract.

I wouldn't mind paying more for a phone if I knew it would be unlocked and unbranded. But paying full price for something that's been bastardised by the network really doesn't appeal.

[Digger]

Expansys offer unlocked phones with contract sims, also on 12 month cotracts. Nearly bought a Touch Pro just now, but will wait for reports from new owners first.

[RobM]

Originally Posted by Digger

Expansys offer unlocked phones with contract sims, also on 12 month cotracts. Nearly bought a Touch Pro just now, but will wait for reports from new owners first.

Carphonewarehouse and Phones4U often do the same. Some of the phones they sell are locked and branded - usually the network exclusives like the Nokia N82 Black was to begin with. But a lot of the phones they sell are SIM free stock that they bundle with whatever contract you ask for.

Same with PAYG stock, which is a great way of getting a SIM free phone slightly cheaper. Buy it from these sort of places on PAYG and chances are it'll be SIM free, unbranded with a SIM card selotaped to the box

[smokedog]

I have given up on contracts, 18 months is just too much. No contact tariff comes close to 02s simplicity tariffs for £20. With the money I saved, I can afford to buy a new phone every 12 months.

[MarkusThatch]

My 12 month contract is up shortly and the rather daunting prospect of 18 months is looming. I quite fancy an iphone but need a phone with a decent quality camera so it does feel a bit galling to face the prospect of no upgrade for 18 months after being "spoilt" with these 12 month upgrades. It's a bit farcical really - every year I ring o2 and say "hello I'd like to upgrade to <insert phone name> please" and they say "that'll be <insert value> please" to which I respond "can you put me through to the cancellation line please" and then the cancellation department say "we can do you that phone for <insert discounted price>". Lovely, speak to you again in 12 months. Or 18 months as it will be now. This time I feel they may actually take my threat to cancel seriously

[richcandy]

Some websites have been reporting that more and more mobile phone customers are going for sim only contracts. I guess contract customers will go for sim only as you get more for your money and prepay customers will also go for sim only as it's better value than pay as you go and you can still cancel when you want.

If this is the case and more and more of us are changing to sim only contracts. Then does it not stand to reason that more and more companies will sell unlocked mobile phones?

I hate the idea of signing up to an 18 month contract. I would be happier to pay the full cost of the handset and then just go for a sim only contract. That way I can change network if I am not happy with the service or a better deal comes out. I can also change handset when I want and with luck not have to shop for handsets via ebay as more people will be selling them.

It must also be better for the networks in that they can sell the mins and data without paying towards the cost of handsets.

[ROBIN50N]

Originally Posted by richcandy

Some websites have been reporting that more and more mobile phone customers are going for sim only contracts. I guess contract customers will go for sim only as you get more for your money and prepay customers will also go for sim only as it's better value than pay as you go and you can still cancel when you want.

If this is the case and more and more of us are changing to sim only contracts. Then does it not stand to reason that more and more companies will sell unlocked mobile phones?

I hate the idea of signing up to an 18 month contract. I would be happier to pay the full cost of the handset and then just go for a sim only contract. That way I can change network if I am not happy with the service or a better deal comes out. I can also change handset when I want and with luck not have to shop for handsets via ebay as more people will be selling them.

It must also be better for the networks in that they can sell the mins and data without paying towards the cost of handsets.

carphonewarehouse sell any phone they stock sim free and loads of well known sites sell them with a good discount sim free, play.com being a good one.

[sagor]

Originally Posted by ROBIN50N

carphonewarehouse sell any phone they stock sim free and loads of well known sites sell them with a good discount sim free, play.com being a good one.

they are not all unlocked from cpw

[berry080]

Originally Posted by sagor

they are not all unlocked from cpw

I've ordered about 6 phones from cpw (dont ask why )
They were from mixed networks: voda, o2, tmobile and they were all unlocked.

They just give you the unlocked/unbranded phone in a box, then a sim card with the £10 on it.

[ROBIN50N]

Originally Posted by sagor

they are not all unlocked from cpw

they only sell unlocked mobiles, even pay and go phones from there are sim free models that they give you a sim with. iphone will be locked though.

[aamaan]

I think the OP was talking about on o2 website as only 18 and 24 month contracts seem to be available. I'm on a 18 month contract but would prefer to be on a 12 month. I thinks its to long.

The one question I have is do most phones last longer then 12 months? It seems to me that only the top of the range phones are built with any quality .