Buying my first mobile phone - clueless!

[madamh]

I've never had a mobile and don't really want one, but for various reasons I'm considering my options.

Unfortunately, lack of experience combined with apparently infinite variety in phones means that I haven't a clue about decent makes, whether or not I need a contract if I get a pay-as-you-go affair (I've had conflicting information), what type of phone might suit me (although the word "cheap" springs to mind") and so on.

I suppose that calling people and texting would be about the size of it - no interest in apps, games, gadgets, video-links, watching films on a 2" screen or playing music at volume on buses.

Any words of wisdom from seasoned users?

Ah yes, I was you 6 months ago.

I went to Asda and bought the cheapest phone they did - it's a Nokia one and cost £16.

It's on the Asda network, a PAYG; I put £10 on it about every 6-8 weeks; I use it for texting people and the very occasional call. I actually make more calls than I might as there is no phone for private use at my work; when I worked in an office I made all the "hi mum can you get the kids from school" type calls from my desk.

But even so the money lasts well; a text is 4p and a call 8p/min which is pretty cheap.

It's pretty indestructible too - I am always dropping it.

Downside is that the kids at the school where I work laugh at it!

Do you have an idea who you'll be calling most? Find out which network they're on and then see if any of the phones in the shop on that network offer cheap (or free) calls to the same network. Could save you a packet.

Thanks for these tips :) It's starting to sound a bit less daunting.

madahm we could do this online you know. If you let us know what you need we could have a look at what the major stores are selling.

There are some really cheap phones out there but experience has taught me that the really cheap ones are such a pain to use they're not worth it.

Nokia are a good brand to go for, they do good cheap phones.

I have a personal dislike of Samsung! I find their cheap phones pretty rubbish.

Sony Ericsson do good phones, but I'm not sure about if they do good cheap phones?

Basically, get a Nokia

"Good, cheap phones" sounds perfect. I'll take a look at Nokia beasts first.

I think that I just want something that school can call me on. I'm in the process of adopting a 7 year-old and have been told that the new school will get disgruntled if they can't contact me immediately about the slightest mishap.

Grumble, grumble, when I was a wee thing, grumble, grumble, went to school unless I was dead, etc., etc...

Another member has pm-d me with some details about types and features to look for - something that I can't dial accidentally also sounds like a winner!