When buying a mobile phone there are three main choices, these are a contract, Pay As You Go or SIM free. With a contract mobile phone you pay a monthly fee which gives you a set amount of call minutes and text messages for that month, these work out cheaper than with Pay As You Go so if you are wanting cheap calls and text messages then a contract is the way to go.
With a contract mobile phone you also often get a free mobile phone which is a huge bonus as they are often expensive, this can save you well over one hundred pounds so is a real money saver. The free mobile phone with a contract can almost cover the monthly fees so they really are very cheap so with the cheap calls and text messages you can see why so many people buy a contract mobile phone.
Many mobile phone networks offer some amazing deals on their contract mobile phones too, you can often get half price line rental or some free minutes and text messages when you get a contract which makes them even cheaper. These free minutes and text messages or half price line rental can severely reduce what you have to pay monthly and if you also get a free mobile phone they are an absolute bargain.
The important aspect of a mobile phone contract is it's length as you are tied to the contract until it ends, they typically range from 12 to 24 months. The great thing is that once the contract has ended you can sign up for another contract and get another free mobile phone, the mobile phone you had on the previous contract will probably be quite out of date by then so getting a new free mobile phone is great.
It is also important to study what you are getting with the contract in terms of the calls you can make as they are often limited, for example so only offer off-peak calls and others have differing costs depending on who you are calling. For example some offer very cheap calls to people on the same network and other contracts allow you to call any network for the same price. So if you know when and to which networks you will be calling most then you should look out for a contract that matches this, for example if most of your friends are on Orange and you only ever call in the evenings then an off-peak contract on Orange would probably be best although there ay be better deals else where so it is still best to shop around for the best deals.
There are lots of places that you can buy a contract mobile phone online and there are also some amazing deals and offers available, the best place to start are the official mobile phone networks and then the top online mobile phone shops (see the links on the left at the top of this page). It is best to shop around as many of the networks and mobile phone shops have special offers and deals available that include free mobile phones, free minutes and text messages and half price line rental so it is best to check the main mobile phone shops and networks for the best deals. The networks are generally cheapest as they sell direct so have lower costs.
Contracts are best for most people as they are so cheap, they offer a free mobile phone and very cheap calls and text messages but they are not ideal for everyone. Some people that have bad credit ratings will not be able to get a contract as they do credit checks before they allow you to have a contract and people under the age of 18 will also not be able to get a contract. Buy for everyone else there are some great deals to be had so have a look through the main mobile phone shops and networks for the cheap contract mobile phone deals.
