Good smartphone contracts in SA?

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Vulk

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It's still a while before my contract comes up for renewal, but I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do then. I would like to upgrade to a "real" smartphone contract, which I define as having three things:

1. Come bundled with a smartphone
2. Gives you a decent data plan (for the duration of the contract, not just the first three months!)
3. Some bundled voice minutes and text messages would be nice too

It's pretty bizarre, because from what I can tell, in other countries every network offers smartphone contracts, but in South Africa there are actually very few to choose from. Most contracts only give you voice minutes, seemingly oblivious to the fact that people actually want to use internet their phones these days.

This is all I can find:


Vodacom Smart 120S
Data: 500mb
Voice minutes: 120
Text messages: 100
Choice of phones: HTC Desire S, Motorola Atrix, SE Xperia Arc (other available with pay-in)
Cost: R450 pm


Cell C / Red Bull Mobile RBM200
Data: 500mb
Voice minutes: 200
Text messages: 100
Choice of phones: Motorola Defy, LG Optimus Black
Cost: R249 pm


Basically, RBM is much cheaper, but has a significantly inferior choice of phones.

Are there any other contracts I should be considering?
 
I noticed you looking for more data than anything else, there is the new Samsung Galaxy Note available on a cell c businesschat standard contract.

Its R379 pm and comes with 500mb data...only problem is it only comes with that, no minutes or text messages.

Only advantage here would be your internet experience since it's half the size of a tablet yet twice the size of a touchscreen phone.
 
CerealKiller said:
iPhone 4S 299 with Vodacom
Click to expand...

I assume you're referring to this offer? That's a pretty good deal! 100mb data per month is a bit low for me; I would really struggle to stay within that limit. But at least the dataplan lasts for 24 months rather than three - maybe they're finally starting to get a clue?

IAmLegend said:
I noticed you looking for more data than anything else, there is the new Samsung Galaxy Note available on a cell c businesschat standard contract.

Its R379 pm and comes with 500mb data...only problem is it only comes with that, no minutes or text messages.
Click to expand...

Well, ideally I'm looking for something that offers both data and voice. Like I said, this is the problem with South African networks: they seem to think that contracts must be either for phones (and get bundled with minutes) or for USB sticks (and get bundled with data). Nearly five years after the launch of the original iPhone, it still doesn't seem to have dawned on them that people might want internet access on their phones.

Nevertheless, thanks for pointing out this option.
 
I am currently on a CellC Businesschat 400, and could basically pick any phone on the market that I wanted.
Ended up getting a Samsung Galaxy S II.
With that I get 400 anytime minutes, and I took an additional data bundle of 250MB at R100-00, and 100 SMS's at R30-00.
Total cost is R750-00 excluding.
Then again I get free handset insurance, free CLIP,CLIR, itemised billing and all the other add-ons that normally cost a fortune.
 
Yeah... that's a bit more than what I would like to pay :/
 
You can get the SGS2 for R279-00 on a Casualchat 100.
That does not include data though. Check the CellC website under packages for data bundles.
 
Your best option is to get a top up contract on Cell C or Vodacom, then you can buy data bundles with your inclusive air time. I've got the Top Up 315 on Vodacom and buy a 2gb bundle once every two months. This way you get everything you want, but if you want a good phone be prepared to pay in on the contract (by my calculations this worked out better than adding a data bundle to a voice contract though). Today I would suggest get the RBM R150 contract and get the phone you want on the cheapest voice contract you can find.
 
oronte said:
Your best option is to get a top up contract on Cell C or Vodacom, then you can buy data bundles with your inclusive air time. I've got the Top Up 315 on Vodacom and buy a 2gb bundle once every two months. This way you get everything you want, but if you want a good phone be prepared to pay in on the contract (by my calculations this worked out better than adding a data bundle to a voice contract though). Today I would suggest get the RBM R150 contract and get the phone you want on the cheapest voice contract you can find.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm a big fan of top-up contracts. I especially like that there's a "safety net", of sorts - if you do something stupid like go overseas and forget to turn off data roaming, your phone just stops working. It doesn't keep racking up a bill.

But okay, let's run the numbers here. I did a similar calculation a while back, but it's worth updating the numbers. To keep this fair, I'll assume for the sake of argument that you really want a Galaxy S2:

Smart 120S
Initial pay-in: R1,279
Monthly fees: R10,800
Total cost over two years: R12,079

RBM 200
Initial pay-in: R3,546 (R6049 retail price from Vodacom for SGS2, minus R2500 which I think is a fair second-price for Defy/Optimus Black)
Monthly fees: R5,976
Total cost over two years: R9,522

Top Up 315S
Initial pay-in: R2,069
Monthly fees: R7,560
Total cost over two years: R9,629

Top Up 275S
Initial pay-in: R2,989
Monthly fees: R6,600
Total cost over two years: R9,589


I have to say, looking at this, it does really look like Top Up 315 is the best contract to be on. It costs about the same as RBM, except that the costs are less front-loaded and more spread out over the duration of the contract, plus you get more data and the security of being on a top-up contract.
 
You forgot to factor in the value included in the bundles which sees the RBM ahead again. It's only flaw is that the phone choices suck. And that Cell-Cs coverage can be patchy.

The Top Up 315S includes no data by itself. The S stands for per second billing, not that you assume from the Smart 120S that all S contracts have data. Which means you actually don't get all that much on the Top Up 315S.
 
Well, a 500mb data bundle on Vodacom is R159. So, TopUp 315 effectively means you get R156 of airtime each month to spend on voice calls/sms messages, and TopUp 275 means get R116 of airtime.

That works out to around 83 minutes of talk-time on TopUp 315 (calculated at Vodcom-to-Vodacom peak rates) and 61 minutes on TopUp 275.

That's definitely not as good as the 200 minutes you get on RBM 200. On the other hand, 83 minutes is already more than what I use in a month, so those extra minutes on RBM are probably just going to go to waste anyway. I'm also kind of discounting the value of the free sms messages, since I almost never use sms. (Everyone I know is on WhatsApp these days.) So maybe for a certain type of user, the additional flexibility, security and choice of devices means that TopUp 315 is worth it. On the other hand, if you make a lot of voice calls, RBM is clearly the better option.

To sum up what I've learned in this thread so far:

1. There are very few decent smartphone contracts in SA; most contracts don't give enough/any data.
2. TopUp 315 and RBM 200 are probably the best choices available.
3. Choosing between them depends on whether you prioritise data/flexibility/choice of devices (TopUp) or voice minutes/lower monthly cost (RBM).
3. You have to be an idiot to choose one of the dedicated Vodacom "Smart" contracts - they are massively overpriced.
 
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The Smart Contracts are antiquated, once upon a time before data bundles and mobile internet really took off they were quite smart for the people that needed that sort of thing (since the only other way to get it was out of contract or taking from your equally expensive net access through WiFi) but no more I'm afraid.

Personally though when comparing Contracts you have to take the full usage of the stronger contract into consideration, not just want the contracts offer.

So since that RBM offers more that would be 500MB Data, 200 minutes, 100 SMSs + then 10 more of each out of contract...and then the RBM becomes the MUCH better choice....well if you're not worried about signal coverage.
 
It's pretty bizarre, because from what I can tell, in other countries every network offers smartphone contracts, but in South Africa there are actually very few to choose from. Most contracts only give you voice minutes, seemingly oblivious to the fact that people actually want to use internet their phones these days.
Click to expand...

This. I am looking for exactly the same thing, based on my needs. The Smart 120S was what I was looking at getting, but I will end up with the iPhone 120 package when I am due to upgrade.

FYI- R499 a month, iPhone 4S 16GB, 500MB data, 120 minutes, 100 SMSes. Might pawn off the iPhone and buy a Galaxy S II or Galaxy Nexus.
 
Does Red Bull Mobile allow you you to pay in extra and get a better phone from the rest of Cell C's lineup?

Honestly, RBM would clearly have the best smartphone contracts in South Africa if only they offered a better selection of devices.
 
You have to be an idiot to choose one of the dedicated Vodacom "Smart" contracts - they are massively overpriced.
Click to expand...

That depends on your needs. Some people (such as me) would do well to have the full 120 minutes, data and SMS bundle (I use mine for work).

Granted- it is still reasonably pathetic that the best "smartphone" deal is this one.
 
Third Blue From the Sun said:
That depends on your needs. Some people (such as me) would do well to have the full 120 minutes, data and SMS bundle (I use mine for work).

Granted- it is still reasonably pathetic that the best "smartphone" deal is this one.
Click to expand...

I was comparing it mostly to RBM 200.

If you look at my calculations, I reckon you could take RBM, sell your phone second-hand, buy a new one, and still end up paying significantly less over the duration of your two-year contract (while also getting 200 minutes per month instead of 120).
 
Vulk said:
I was comparing it mostly to RBM 200.

If you look at my calculations, I reckon you could take RBM, sell your phone second-hand, buy a new one, and still end up paying significantly less over the duration of your two-year contract (while also getting 200 minutes per month instead of 120).
Click to expand...

Definitely agreed on that :) just not too comfortable with RBM and their service... Rather the devil you know?
 
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REMEMBER to first make sure that you have adequate network reception at home, work, etc. Especially with CellC that is not guaranteed. No good having a tailored contract only to find out that you don't have reception and can't use that fancy smartphone!

Don't believe what other people, including sales people tell you about reception - test for yourself. You might just find that a particular sport -study, office, holiday home, family, etc - is not covered by your network of choice.
 
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