Contract advice

[dazzazzad]

My dad is considering getting an iphone (his latent tech geek erupted when he got an ipad, which is simple enough that even he can sort of get used to it) and even though he's pay as you go with vodacom now (using a really old POS non smartphone) I'm thinking contract with Cell C might be the way to go.

I'm also pay as you go with a Blackberry so I can't offer much advice. So I seek it from you knowledgeable guys and girls.

My dad doesn't use his phone a hell of a lot, so I'm looking at a modest/simple contract and iphone model. Cell C's new website to custom a package is great, but I wonder if Vodacom would be cheaper? I also wonder if the Cell C contract can be modified as it's hard to know how much data (there is wifi at home) and phone calls he'd use? He loves the new Cell C ad showing how he can use cloud services to have his phone and his ipad sync up...am I right in saying the it's only the iphone 4s that does this or do all models have that functionality?

Another concern is that he is in Constantia and had a very poor signal with MTN and Cell C - normally he has to go outside into the garden to talk. Eventually he shifted to Vodacom which has a better (but still quite poor) signal. So if he goes with Cell C, is there any way to test the signal around the house (other than asking friends to find someone who might be on Cell C)?

He's a bit nervous about contracts, having been screwed in the past by signing long 2 year deals and then having a phone that you can't even use at home cos there's no signal, so any advice would be most welcome.

[sajunky]

Only way to test it with prepaid 99c SIM card. And why contract? Cell C and 8ta have nice prepaid deals for data.
My choices:
- Cell C prepaid (3GB/365 days R399 voucher) or straight up contract with data bundle included
- 8ta prepaid with 2+1GB R149 GoBig bundle (valid up to 2 month) (if more data required)

[torgo]

Buy prepaid cellc sim and test

[dazzazzad]

Wouldn't he have to migrate over to Cell C to then use one of their sims?

The contract just seems simpler (as long as he has coverage at home and at the office). For instance, looking at Cell C...

iphone 4 8gb

100 mins
100 sms
400 mb

R374 a month

He says he's spending close to R300 on vodacom pay as you go as is so for R74 more bucks he gets an iphone. 100 minutes may be a little low...wish one could swap 50 sms' for more minutes.

Do they charge 99c per minute any time after you've used up the free minutes?

[dazzazzad]

Ah, was thinking there would have to be migration but no need to keep the number for a quick test.

[sajunky]

Do they charge 99c per minute any time after you've used up the free minutes?

Yes, also OOB 99c per MB which is not so great, so self control is required.

[dazzazzad]

Yes, also OOB 99c per MB which is not so great, so self control is required.

Is there a good app or functionality through Cell C that let's you easily track data and call usage every month?

[sajunky]

For prepaid UUSD is working fine, don't know about contract.

[dazzazzad]

UPDATE - My dad tried a cell c sim today and the signal is still awful at his home.

So either ****ty Vodacom deals (from what I can see. do they not have any deals for the iphone 4 8gb?) and good reception or ****ty reception and a good deal with Cell C. Gotta love SA.