Cellphone contract help pls..

D

dlc

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Hi guys,

Can you maybe help me out with some contracts. I've had my Samsung D600 for about 4years now, and yes its on prepaid! I've noticed that my calls are getting increasingly expensive. I mean 5min during peaktime costs me R12! So now I'm looking at getting a contract. But I don't even know where to start. My budget for a contract would be +- R300-R400.

Contracts i've noticed is the MTN anytime 350, vodacom talk 120, 240 etc. How do these stack up against each other?
I would love to stay on the Vodacom network, but they seem a bit expensive with their contracts??

The advice im looking for is which contract will cover my basic needs??
On average I use about R400 vodacom airtime a month. Which contract (Vodacom/MTN) will be sufficient for me?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Beware of MTN anytime as once you go out of bundle, you get screwed.
For eg. MTN 200 is R2.30 pm (anytime, no peak or offpeak) and if you finish that then pay R2.75 pm. Sms's are 75c. But u get 25 free to start with.

What you are asking is way too broad of a topic, you will need to specify what do you actually do with the airtime (just calls, sms, data...).
Then u gonna ask what phone u want... again what r yr needs, media, battery life, camera quality, browser....
 
I have four MTN contracts and one Vodacom Contract. Both the networks are oversubscribed hence I get the same amount of dropped calls on both Networks. With 5 Contracts it still not sufficient airtime/bandwidth. Anyway that not your problem. I too concur that Vodacom's contracts are wee bit expensive than MTN, I would suggest you compare peak and off-peak rates between the two on calls and data. I prefer MTN as I have always felt I got a better deal.

Further, It all depends on how important the device is. Remember that a more expensive phone will cause your monthly subscription to be more, example, N97 for R359.00 n a MTN Anytime 200 where you get R200.00 airtime which is basically nothing. The N79 however on the MTN Anytime 200 is R259.00 for R200.00 airtime. If airtime is more important, take out a cheaper device with more airtime.
 
Thanks for the replies so far guys.

I use the phone mostly for voice calls. 5-10min calls during the week in peak time as i get irritated quickly when i need to send more than 3smses to a person so i rather give a quick call. The phone is not used for business, so its all private calls and smses to friends etc. I'm not heavy on data usage as I rather use my adsl at home. On average i use about R12 vodacom airtime a day, sometimes i need to load another R12.So that equals to about R350 - R400 airtime a month. So i'm looking at spending that on a contract per month, hoping to get some more minutes talk time? It's getting a shlep to buy airtime da whole time.

Regarding phones, I'm leaning more towards a media phone. Good quality camera and GPS. The touch screen phones looks so good but I'm a bit wary of them. Don't know if the user experience is that good? I tend to get impatient very quickly so i think the old style of phones will suite me better. Although those HTC's, diamond2 and touch pro2 and nokia N97 looks very impressive. So Im thinkin to get the samsung innov8 or sony erricsson c905 or something in those lines.

I know this is a very broad discussion, but im really in a flat spin as to which contract to opt for. just based on the rates and airtime included. What are you guys take on the vodacom talk 120 vs mtn 350 contracts? as they are in the same price bracket basically?
 
Its such a broad topic that I having being doin research now for 4 months and still haven't decided (contract up in 8 days) in phone nor contract.
For phones, if a camera is very important then Sony and Samsung are the best (i personally prefer my Nikon camera and Sony video cam which no phone even comes close).
For typing - Iphone is the best touch screen, typing is easy and responsive (unless u have fat fingers) and Blackberrys (BB) for physical buttons (the quickest).
Interface and OS - Iphone also the best.
Web browsing - iphone again, but BB offer unlimited browsing on a good browser and unlimited GPS navigation (most phones have GPS maps, but not navigation).
Battery life very important: check www.gsmarena.com once you probably have narrowed down your list (also has ratings, ...)
HTC - i cant rate as no experience on that.

Contracts:
MTN normally gives slightly better deals than VC while reception i would say is the same.
VC better customer service according to this forum.
Contract comparison - as mentioned, i dont like the flat rate on MTN anytime out of bundle for off-peak mins.
I checked my bills, and usually 80 mins is enough for me, but once in awhile i go way overboard (one case it was 250 min in a month) so i would have been screwed by the flat rate off-peak.
Which is y i am leaning towards VC cos i dont want that off-peak falt rate restriction on MTN.
Also, u must go for per second billing (which is what i am learning now so the reason i am still debating with myself for 4 months).
 
You can get the MTN 100 and 200 contracts as "off-peak" as well. You get charged a lower rate for off-peak calls, but the peak rates are quite high.
 
MTN

seedat77 said:
You can get the MTN 100 and 200 contracts as "off-peak" as well. You get charged a lower rate for off-peak calls, but the peak rates are quite high.
Click to expand...

Yep, but why does MTN not cater for both, its either off-peak or peak (peak being the anytime thing). All they need to do is change the off-peak in out of bundle rates to an acceptable figure of below R1 pm and not R2.75 pm.
 
I agree with you superskully! I think that's why MTN's cotract/phone offerings looks so attractive. Because they make up for it with that flat rate they charge. Vodacom charges massive prices for the decent phones. These contracts are giving me a headache! Whish vodacom could come up with some new competitive contracts. As atm I'm still very undecisive. What about the VC TopUp315? Is it worth it?

Regarding phones, i like the idea of having a decent camera on hand, not that it will ever replace a dedicated digital camera..but is handy to have as i always have my phone with me. What phone are you looking at getting superskully?
 
Top up choices are a personal,well, choice. I for one dont want to run around topping up when i really need the phone.
What i want in a phone is browsing (and normal phone stuff like calls) and battery life.
My choices narrowed down now are:
BB 8900 curve: MTN (offered at a special discount as they want to keep me as a customer - BTW never upgrade, always wait for contract to end)

MTN Anytime at R200 pm, 25 sms + BIS@ R69 with R500 pay-in
VC BB 100 at R359 (incl 100 min, BIS, 50 mb data, no sms) R800 pay in

Iphone - Talk 120 (120 min, nothing else) @ R300, pay in 3k. I will also bolt on data here @ R190 for 500mb every 2 months.
Phone comparison - Iphone is the best in my opinion purely cos of browsin (its even better than using yr keyboard and mouse on a computer).
BB Curve : Browsing - ok, good phone, but no 3g, but BB server does compress data making it look quicker.
 
My grudge with MTN is ethics.
The recent competition they had, R7.50 per sms and u had to be the highest (one guy spent 50k in a week to win a car (he cheated btw)), imagine all the other fools (ppl are desperate now and MTN used this).
And 1 million customers X R7.50 = much more than the prizes.
Next is this anytime contract, which again is abt the out of off bundle rates, i mean y charge R2.75 for off-peak. VC nor cell C does that. Its a catch if u dont realise it.

But they r offering the better deal, it means though i have to check what my balance is.
The iphone is great - but is it worth payin so much for a phone that does not have long lifespans.
I still haven' decided:(
 
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