Best PAYG for battery life/ connection/ cheap calls

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Planning to get DS (aged 11) his first mobile phone soon and want a no frills PAYG, just for making calls really. Not teccy savvy at all myself and don't use one myself wither but will probably also buy one for me too.

Which has the best battery life and is most likely to have no problem with line connection? Are there any phones that, if you call another mobile from the same company, the calls are v v cheap? He'd initially only use it to call me either on landline or a mobile.

If your DS is like mine then he will have definite ideas as to which phone he would like so no point in asking us :)

I suggest you go to carphonewarehouse.co.uk and go through the choices with DS.

It might be worth putting DS on a £10 a month contract. We did the maths and it was cheaper than payg

T-Mobile does a 30 days rolling contract which means you can get out with 1 month notice if you decide its not cost effective.

You mentioned battery life. Its one of life's contradictions but the more basic the phone the better the battery life. Basic phones have small screens therefore draws less power. DS can't surf or play games so draws less power. A smart phone last about 24 hours per charge whereas a basic one can go for about a week.

Check Tesco contracts (SIM only). They go from £7.50, also on a rolling month basis.

Tesco uses the O2 network which is pretty comprehensive too.

They also do monthly contracts which are good value. I can't recommend any specific phone though. Just be aware that he may want to have a smart phone at some stage so there is no point in locking him in a 24-month contract on a cheaper phone that may not satisfy his requirements in a few months' time.

Ok, you said no frills....

How about this one? Samsung E1080

Having seen how my DS who is also 11 uses his phone, I certainly wouldn't spend a lot of money on it.

My DS is now on his third phone having lost the first two. His texts & calls generally revolve around "what time is dinner?" and much to the annoyance of his big sister, is still on his original £10 credit I bought him about 6 months ago. I say annoyance as I use DS as a shining example of thrift whereas DD can rack up 1200 texts in a month.

My point is that it's easier to start with a basic phone and make him prove he can look after it and behave responsibly before rewarding him with a better phone.

Going Pay as you go means you can control his spending easily by giving him a set amount each month for credit. Makes him think and realise it's a cost each time he uses it. Whereas giving him a contract (even capped) from day 1 teaches him nothing but the bank of mum & dad will fund things.

Oh and let's not forget you can easily not pay for the next top up if he steps out of line whereas a contract you must pay regardless of if your DS has set the cat on fire or not!

As he grows older you can put him on a rolling SIM. I've got DD(15) now on a Giffgaff £10 per month contract but only after she proved to me she could look after her phone, manage her credit and (most importantly) agreeing to additional household chores!

Definitely don't want a phone on a contract. PAYG Samsung one sounds great, niceguy2. Need to ask a stupid sounding question but - does this phone arrive ready to use or do you need to buy an Orange top up card separately?

And another stupid question - how does a top up card work? Do you plug in a barcode from it into your phone?

As you can see, I'm pretty thick when it comes to mobiles but given I'm from an era where you actually dialled a number on the rotating wheel (think old-fashioned gigantic phone that you couldn't even walk around the room with!), then I'm v backward about the basics of mobiles!

Thanks

"DD can rack up 1200 texts in a month"

Jeeze. Thats a lot. I hope you got her an unlimited text bolt on :)

My kids have an app called whatsapp. It is similar to Blackberry's BBM ie free texts/pictures to other phones with the app.

Blog - When you buy a phone the shop you will be asked to choose which carrier - eg O2, Vodaphone - you want. An automatic top up of £10 is included in the price of the phone. You can decline the top off but that simply means your phone price will increase by £10 so you might as well accept the offer.

The top up card is a relic from the past. Go to your cashpoint machine, put in your bank card and next to the options to take out cash you will see options to top up your mobile. Type in your mobile number and how much. Job done

If you have decided on PAYG, you need to compare the cost of calls and txts across carriers, as there will be variations.

It is not always straightforward to find these costs but they are usually stated on the carriers' websites. In your comparison, make sure you check companies such as Tesco Mobile and Asda mobile too.