What's the Cheapest Way to Get My New Phone?

Most of us are trying to save cash these days. Maybe you're cutting down on luxuries, like supermarket bills and your morning coffee. However, a mobile phone isn't a luxury for most of us, it's a necessity. So what exactly are you supposed to do when you need that new mobile phone but you're short on cash? Today we're telling about cheap options for getting a new mobile. Whatever your needs are, we're going to give you the cheapest way to get the phone that's so necessary to your life. So read on for cheap mobile tips...

Want an iPhone? Get a Cheap iPhone 4

iPhones do tend to be expensive, and you're probably going to be better off going for another model if you're looking to save money. However, if you're used to using an iPhone and want to stick to what you're comfortable with, then the best thing that you can do is get a cheap iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 is the cheapest model of iPhone available and brand new it's going to cost you a little over three hundred pounds. There are also a few contract deals on the iPhone 4, especially with Vodafone, so if you want a cheap iPhone 4 then you might want to check what Vodafone has on offer.

Signing an Incentive Contract

One of the most popular ways that people get mobile phones that they can't pay for up front is by signing an incentive contract. This is a calling plan contract with a mobile phone operator that comes with a mobile phone. You will need to be able to sign a contract for this to work. That means that you can't currently be in the middle of another contract, and the usual eligibility rules apply, you must be eighteen a UK resident and you must pass a credit check. In the long term an incentive contract is not going to be cheaper than buying a phone. You're buying your mobile on an instalment plan, you'll put no money down and an instalment on the cost of the phone will be included in each of your monthly phone bills. When you add all of the instalments together you'll pay a little more than retail price for the phone. However, signing and incentive contract has the advantage of not having to find the full purchase price for the phone all at once, giving you time to pay for the mobile that you want.

Or Getting an Instalment Plan

If you can't sign a contract right now, then you can get a regular instalment plan. Many major retailers will allow you to get an instalment plan on a mobile phone. Again, you will be paying a little over retail price when you add up the instalments, but again, you don't need to pay full price all at once. One disadvantage of going through a retailer rather than through an operator is that most retailers will require a down payment. This payment is generally equal to one month's instalment payment.

Buying Online

You're nearly always going to find the best prices on mobile phones online, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you can comparison shop far more easily online. Find a price comparison web site, enter the model that you want, and you can quickly and easily find out who's going to give you the cheapest price. But there's also the fact that many retailers, even high street retailers and mobile phone operators, offer discounts to online shoppers that they don't offer to physical shoppers. Because the overhead costs on internet selling are far cheaper than those on physical selling, retailers can afford to offer good discounts to online shoppers. Some people don't feel comfortable buying phones online, since they don't have the opportunity to handle the phone they want to buy before committing to buying it. If this is the case, you should go out on the high street and take a look at your potential mobile, and then just come home and buy it online. Be aware that there are many scams used for online phone sales. Always use a reputable web site, and take the time to research customer reviews of any site that you're using to find out what experiences other people have had. And do ensure that the web site you are using has a return policy.

Budget Smart Phones

There's a growing trend in the mobile manufacturing business for producing budget smart phone models. As producers begin to realise that many people don't want high end phones and can't afford to pay for them, they're making more budget models. It's perfectly possible to get a decent quality mobile phone for under a hundred and fifty pounds. Beware when budget phone shopping though; you're going to want to look closely at the specs of budget models to make sure that you're not going to sacrifice too much performance for that low price tag. You're looking for some minimum specs on a budget phone. Screen size should be around three and a half inches, which is the minimum practical size for on screen typing. You'll need a processor of no less than 800 MHz, otherwise you're not going to be able to run recent software including games and apps. RAM needs to be at least 512 MB, otherwise you're going to have problems with your phone lagging, freezing or even crashing. And internal memory needs to be at least 2 GB so that you don't have performance problems from overloaded memory. But if you can find these specs, then you should be more than satisfied with the performance of your phone. If you're looking for a great budget model, one of the best on the market right now is the Huawei G330. This device exceeds all of the specs mentioned above, but still comes in at around a hundred and fifty pounds, making it a true bargain. You don't need to spend a fortune to get a phone...