Mumsnetters needed to try the new Mobile by Sainsbury's service - sign up here NOW CLOSED

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

Sainsbury's has asked us to find 30 MNers to test out their new Mobile by Sainsbury's service. You can either try out the service yourself, or give it to your child or another member of the family so that they can use it to keep in touch with you and others, and then you can tell us how they got on.

Here's what Sainsbury's say about the service: "The average UK family is feeling the pinch, and Mobile by Sainsbury's is an easy way to make your pound stretch further. The Nectar savings you can make through Mobile by Sainsbury's offers will allow a family of four to eat an incredible 45 meals a year*. We know that many customers find choosing a mobile phone network a bit stressful, so we've opted to not only keep our price plans as affordable as possible - we've also made it incredibly simple. With our pay as you go service, customers know exactly what they're getting and how much they're spending, which means no nasty surprises at the end of the month."

This is open to all UK MNers with at least one child at home. One of the main benefits of the service is the amount of Nectar points you can earn, so you will need to have a Nectar card, or be willing to sign up for one if you're selected to take part.

Testers will be provided with one of the handsets below (these will be allocated at random) and you can keep it after testing. You'll also be provided with a SIM card and a £10 top up voucher with which you can purchase one of the Mobile by Sainsbury's bundles which includes 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of data, lasting up to 30 days. The services included within these bundles are for UK use only and the minutes can be used to call any UK mobiles and landline numbers.

Nectar card users will receive double Nectar points on their Sainsbury?s shopping (some exclusions apply) and fuel while they are using the bundle service, as well as double Nectar points for every £1 they top up. You can link your Nectar account to your phone by texting your Nectar card number to 40774 for free. All points collected through Mobile by Sainsbury's will be credited to your Nectar account within 28 days.

If you're selected to be a tester but you're not currently a Nectar card user, we can provide you with a sign up sheet. You can find more information about the Mobile by Sainsbury's Nectar perks here.

Nokia 100

Samsung E1190

BlackBerry Curve 9320

Sony Xperia E

Samsung Galaxy Fame

Nokia Lumia 520

You can find out more information about the handsets here and via Sainsbury's customer care line on 0845 440 0775, or 40775 from a Mobile by Sainsbury's phone.

If you'd like to stay with Mobile by Sainsbury's after the trial period of up to one month you'll just need to continue to purchase Mobile by Sainsbury's bundles or top ups. If you don't want to carry on after the trial, you don't have to.

All selected testers who add their feedback to a thread on MN will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £100 Sainsbury's voucher.

More information about Mobile by Sainsbury's can be found here and usage terms and conditions here.

If you?re interested in taking part, please sign up here.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

• Based on a family of four spending £75 on food (ONS family spending 2011) and £39 on fuel (ONS living costs survey 2011) per week and have 4 linked numbers on active bundles

In the op it Says includes £10 top up voucher. Do I have to pay for first top up or is it free?

There should an envelope in the package with hand written note on the front. The voucher is inside with the £10 top up on it.

Oh hell. I can't get the stupid thing to connect to the internet. Reset router and everything. Damn thing just keeps scanning - tries to connect (password is correct, I've checked it about 50 times) and then disconnects or keeps bringing up the password thing again and again.

I give up. Cannot think straight I'm so aggravated. I'd reset the phone and start over, but don't know how. I can't face an age on the phone with a help/support desk over this.

At least I can test the phone and text stuff anyway. sigh

Ok, just arrived and its an E1190 so the same as Ghostsgowoo. First impressions (and I know the review is not for the phone) is that this thing is going to last 5 minutes, very flimsy and plasticky and basic. But it's free and for that I am über grateful at the moment!

So impressions of the sainsburys bit...
Top up, connection is very sketchy and I had to try twice to connect my card and actually put my £10 on. You have to register a top up card first, I'm assuming this is the nectar card linking bit but in skim reading the instructions this isn't clear.
I now have to figure out how to convert the credit to a bundle, it seems I will need to make another (free) call to do this, it would have been easier if I could just do that straight away. I have two kids running around being noisy and making the first call was fairly challenging in itself :)
As this phone will be a very seldom used piece of kit (no Internet or camera or music etc) then I possibly wouldn't be too hassled about going through the whole process again to sign up to the bundles if this if i wasnt doing so as part of a test.
Ok, converting to bundle now, but its so crackly I can barely hear what's happening and it seems to have skipped straight back to the beginning of the menu without letting me know if my bundle request worked or not.

Free phone aside, First impressions not great here I'm afraid.

I had an envelope with the top up voucher inside, you then call and use the long number on the voucher to top up.

My internet connected no bother, found my wifi and I got the password right for once.

I also found inside the sim pack the phone number for the phone after phoning my own phone to get it

On my old phone I used to do top ups on the run, this would be near impossible on this system. It's barely audible and misses out great chunks of what the lady with the accent is saying. It's bloody frustrating!

One thing I do love is the Northern Accent though, as a Yorkshire lass I approve! :)

I had to agree, I was slightly annoyed at having to do a 2 step process to get the bundle sorted. First you put the credit on, then you access the bundle. I have managed to go online, but not using my wifi - which is annoying, but I suspect that's a PHONE problem not a Sainsburys service problem. I do, however, wonder where it's connecting.

Delayed You do get a top up card to register but I didn't need it to put on the initial £10 and I had to text my nectar number to another number.

Once you get the kids in bed, go through the pack as it explains it more.

Oh and would agree on the the tariff being much less value for money if you have a phone with no Internet access....rendering that part of the bundle useless, would think a few extra minutes would make up for that if you did a more inclusive tariff later in the future.

I ended up ringing the number back and speaking to a customer service rep re the bundle after putting the credit on, as I thought I'd done it all wrong because it said "you have zero bundles right now" or something like that. The rep sorted it, took my details, and then added my nectar card number as well. But it cost me 25p to do that. Hate having to pay to talk to rep.

Also when you register and use the top up card it puts it on the phone automatically. Then you would only have to do the bundle. But I like the idea of a rolling bundle.

Thanks Groovee, have done it now, kids quieter, am calmer! :)
Sending the text to connect my card was a little hit and miss too...couldnt get enough signal....bizarrely when I rested the phone on my ipad it boosted the signal hugely and sent it!

Just come home and my very lovely next door neighbours handed me a package which they had signed for - a Galaxy Y. Now, I don't remember receiving an email from Mumsnet saying I had been chosen but I am in the middle of school uniform shopping so anything is possible.
One reasonably impressed 14 year old. It's a touch screen phone so already a step up from the very basic handset he previously had.
He found the top up voucher very easy to use and he has linked my nectar card to the network without any problems.
He has already tested out the messaging facility and it certainly works ok from upstairs to downstairs.
The fact that there is a "borrow a pound" service is a really useful tool as it gives me peace of mind that he will never be out of credit. He was also impressed with the fact that there was a small amount of preloaded credit.
Connection to the internet using the home hub was easy but at the moment he can't access the internet via the Sainsbury network, not sure if that's him not setting the phone up correctly or a network issue. We'll have a longer look once the initial novelty of a new phone has worn off.

I thin it would have been easier if everyone had the same phone as I don't really see how you can give an accurate review when different handsets have different features e.g internet access. I didn't realise you could still buy a mobile that didn't have internet access.

Nor did I mummy as even my dad has internet on his basic nokia from Asda.

Agree mummyB I Last had a phone over a year ago and this is a very different kettle of fish, it's like going back 10 years :o

Not wanting to sound like a green-eyed monster or anything but I think its a bit pointless giving phone models to test the network that are poles apart. Some we were given were so basic we cant even review what the web connection is like, whereas others have got an all-singing-all-dancing model to test it on. I don't really get it.

I'm assuming that Sainsburys were given a certain amount of free phones by each company to use for promotional purposes? I'm very grateful for the phone tbh, i can't afford a hugely expensive phone and so have put off buying one at all, so to get one for free is lovely...

...but I am a little jealous of those with the fancy scmancy ones! :)

I am surprised - what's the point of asking people to check the internet service on phones that have none - or such limited capability that they just can't.

I'm not complaining - I've got a singing, dancing one. But I agree that it would have been more helpful with more varied feedback if everyone had the singing dancing ones of some sort.

I don't get it either tbh. Its put me off the whole thing really because I can't give an complete review of the network because the phone is so basic. The web access bit is an important feature in choosing a network for me and I would have to buy another phone in order for me to continue using the Sainsbury's network which I can't afford to do. Its such a shame as I wanted to swap to sainsbos network as it looked so good.

Ghostsgowoooh - I completely agree. Ive got the Nokia 100 and cant believe how basic it is and I will be surprised if it lasts long enough to do some kind of review on it. It is more like a toy phone. Like you, it has put me off Sainsbury's network straight away as I don't know what the web access is like where I am.

There's no 3G on the basic phones either. DS is heading somewhere very rural soon, where I have to use a 3G signal booster to get any signal. So it'll be interesting to see if he can use the service!

We got the Nokia 100 too, even the 3310 I had over 10 years ago had more functions. Liking the network so far but DD is already asking for an upgrade for xmas, even my mums tenner jobby has a camera. Would of thought that they'd given us phones with net access so we could check the service but suppose can't complain with it being free and she's making the most of the texting.

I agree its a bit silly that some can't test internet.
So far found top up very easy (once I found the envelope!) Adding the bundle was also very simple. Also have linked nectar card and wireless box.
So far all good, no problems.

I also was a bit surprised that so many of the 'basic' phones are being used for the review-You needed to have a child to take part in the review and for the majority of testers it is for their child to use -I would say the Nokia 1100 in particular with the features of 'large Keys' and 'a torch' would be aimed at the more senior market rather than a child/teenager?

However I guess it is the network we are reviewing and not the actual handset but I agree that it would have been good for everyone to have had one that could access the internet as that does effect the network review.

Has anyone received a Galaxy fame or a Nokia Lumia yet ? :)