[costamarianavia]

Righty, Im going t but a HTC HD2, on what ever network just want to know who's the best shop to buy from deal wise.

who gives the best deals and which ones give the best support once you've purchased.

choices are:

O2 shop

Virgin mobile

vodafone shop

orange shop

T mobile.

then the conglomerate shops like

Phones 4 U

and car phone warehouse

any one get any good deals

[bushomeworkk]

They are all ok, except for Phones4U as they are bunch of arseholes and try to rip you off. If you want an O2 contract, buy it online as you will get more minutes and texts. Never buy an O2 contract from anyone but an O2 shop or online, as the contracts are run by carphonewarehouse / phones4u rather than direct with O2. This means you have less flexibility with the bolt ons etc and cannot speak to O2 customer service direct.

I have been with T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2. Out of all of them O2 offer by far the best value for money, especially with their bolt ons. Also signal is very good, however their 3G speed is not that great. Vodafone have far and away the fastest 3G, but again I had issues with reception in my area ( might be fine for you ) T-Mobile are flakey, I lost count of the amount of times I was in a low signal area or could not make a call. However if you have good coverage round your way, you may be fine. In terms of customer service, all of them are great!

I personally would recommend O2, as while their 3G is not brilliant ( it is getting better ) their 2G signal is second to none ( best in the UK ) so it is very rare you will not have reception. Also for me they offer best value for money.

As to Orange, my parents and sister were with them for years. Unfortunately they had bad reception at home, so they left for O2. Their 3G though has the best coverage in the UK. The downside is to get a decent contract with Orange you need to sign for 24 months ( 2 yrs yikes! ) and they are expensive.

For data, they have the following:

1. Orange - 500mb per month
2. T-Mobile 1GB per month
3. Vodafone - 500mb per month.
4. O2 - Unlimited.

Also Vodafone and 3 are the only ones who allow streaming BBC iPlayer via 3G, the rest require a Wifi connection.

BTW I have not mentioned 3 because they suck all round. They really bastardise their phones with crappy branded firmware that is never updated.

[jurhoonee]

]Never buy an O2 contract from anyone but an O2 shop or online, as the contracts are run by carphonewarehouse / phones4u rather than direct with O2. This means you have less flexibility with the bolt ons etc and cannot speak to O2 customer service direct.

WTF? I bought my iPhone from carphone warehouse and my bill comes direct from o2, I have an o2 website login to check my bill, and when I ring 2302 I get directly through to o2 customer services.

I dunno if it's the same for all phones they sell....?

I wouldn't recommend carphone warehouse though - I didn't have a problem but I have heard a lot of horror stories!

[bushomeworkk]

WTF? I bought my iPhone from carphone warehouse and my bill comes direct from o2, I have an o2 website login to check my bill, and when I ring 2302 I get directly through to o2 customer services.

I dunno if it's the same for all phones they sell....?

I wouldn't recommend carphone warehouse though - I didn't have a problem but I have heard a lot of horror stories!

They are all subcontracted, can be a bitch to cancel. Their bolts on are are not direct through O2, ring them up and ask them to add on one, they will refer you to carphonewarehouse.

http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?...44c38c86862f9b

Iphone might be different, but OHP hates iPhone :P

[jurhoonee]

They are all subcontracted, can be a bitch to cancel. Their bolts on are are not direct through O2, ring them up and ask them to add on one, they will refer you to carphonewarehouse.

http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?...44c38c86862f9b

Iphone might be different, but OHP hates iPhone :P

The iPhone is DEFINITELY different. I had o2 insurance on the iPhone I got from carphone warehouse until I put it on my contents insurance, and I was able to ring up and add unlimited texts and internet tethering straight away.

[exsmoker]

Not really looked around but this seems like a good deal on an 18 month contract, £25 a month, 500 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet, £75 handset http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/57939...tract-25pm-79-

[costamarianavia]

I just went with O2

get 600 mins 1,000 texts free unlimited internet on an 18mo contract

[costamarianavia]

/gets all excited [thumbup]

[bushomeworkk]

I just went with O2

get 600 mins 1,000 texts free unlimited internet on an 18mo contract

Congrats! Cost per month?

[costamarianavia]

Congrats! Cost per month?

35 spondoolicks