Upgrade Time...

[Sysem]

So, with an upgrade over the horizon, I set about looking for a new phone (and new contract with Vodacom). I’ve read all the articles on the cellular companies scamming us, so I decided to research, in depth, my choices, instead of choosing a good looking phone on my contract. What I found out (today) stunned me. I was looking at the Talk 120 package and noticed I was unable to get the Nokia N97 or the Sony Ericsson X10 – both in the region of R4.500 – R5.500 – even though my contract would total to R7200 over 24 months. I went down to my nearest Vodacom shop, hoping someone would tell me why this is this case (maybe there was a portion going to some unknown location). They women behind the counter was shocked when I said I could get those two phones for less than R6000 as they sell them for R8000+. Obviously the cellular companies have grabbed a hold of our keenness to get a “free phone” and doubled their prices of the phones to make a huge profit. I’m now looking at going to prepaid and just buying a new phone every 2 or 3 years like a lot of MyBB users have done, but – correct me if I’m wrong – I'm skeptical that the increased prices you pay for for making calls add up to the same price if you were to be on a contract. Are the cellular companies winning no matter what option I opt for and if so, which is the best option to go for in order to save the most amount of money?

Also, on a side note, I’m very keen on the Nokia N97 and the Sony Ericsson X10. Which one do you guys rate will last me the longest, has the best build and is overall a better phone? I'm not limited to those two, so if anyone has any better options, feel free to chip in.

Thanks for reading this rant, hope it helps anyone who's also deciding on an upgrade.

 

[francoislr]

Got the HTC Desire on MTN for 340 a month. I get R200 worth of airtime with that, and the phone. So subtract R140 from the base contract fee, and multiply by 24. I get R3360 that I am paying them for the phone over the 2 years. I also have a 200 message bundle on top of that and data (350mb), so all in all, it works out over R500. I talk way more than my R200 of airtime will allow, pushing the contract closer to R800. But those are actual usage costs. Considering the R3360 I am paying for the phone is not bad(about 7k for the phone from importers), they will still kill you with phone/data costs, so either way, it is a tough one. But if you do your homework and maybe get a bargain contract, you will probably save a ton.

Maybe look at importing a phone. Lots of guys sound like they have gotten the Samsung Galaxy S for about 5k, and that phone is still 2 months off.

 

[alt146]

Remember that the price of the contract is for the contract, not the phone. So before you say that the phone is costing you R8000, you need to subtract how much buying 120 minutes of airtime would cost you on prepaid. I am pretty sure R5000 for the phone plus 2880 minutes is a bit more than R8000. Buying the phone cash from a provider is a rip-off though.

I pay R425 a month for my Desire, and that comes with R315 rand of airtime, so at the end of the day the phone only costs me about R2400 - the other R315 is money that I would have to spend anyway if I was on prepaid.

As for your phone choices - the X10 is a fair bit newer and Android is much better than the symbian touch interface, so I would definitely go for the X10 over the N97. You might want to look at the HTC Desire, or the Galaxy S (which is arriving in a month or two) - I would rate both of those phones above the X10 and the N97.

 

[BLo_0p]

I agree with you guys, I pay R450 for R350 of airtime (also have the Desire). The phone costs R6000+ on Expansys, so if you buy it cash, plus you take 100 Mb data a month, plus 350 airtime, plus 200 sms' it will work out R17520 whereas on contract it will work out about R13200 over 24 months, and you can upgrade on 20 months, so it saves you a bit more. Contract is better than pre paid.
Xperia doesn't have multitouch, and it still has android 1.6, I'm busy downloading 2.2 on the Desire.

 

[Sysem]

I do realize the cost of the contract covers airtime etc, however, I'm thinking of moving over to Virgin on the Top Up 100 - which gives me R100 airtime, 500 sms's and much lower rates than most Vodacom packages. It doesnt come with a phone either, so I'm thinking of importing one from www.electron-world.com which has most of the phones you and I have looked at for less than R5000 including shipping. I tend to sms a lot more than call, spending roughly R35 - R50 on calls every months, so this Top Up option would leave me room for data usage. Hope I haven't missed some huge cost factor in this idea?

As for the android 2.2 business - I'm VERY new to the whole smartphone thing, and doubt it will make the biggest difference to me. I did see an article stating that the X10 will be upgraded to 2.1 in Q4 though. Multitouch isn't a great problem either (I don't think) as this will be my first touch phone. To put you guys in perspective, I got the Sony Ericsson w760i and, after having 2 of them, gave up and resorted to my trusty Nokia 1208 (which I'm currently using) until this upgrade arrives. So any phone capable of MXit would be revolutionary for me at the moment

 

[BLo_0p]

Yes but you will get used to the whole smartphone thing really quickly, and when new apps come out using multitouch and so, you will not be dissapointed or having to wait years. Also the Desire runs super smooth, if you have handled a smartphone before you will know that it plays a big part! Trust me, read through the forums and so, most people will tell you to go with the Desire rather than the X10. Also I don't hear very good things of Virgin, so you should perhaps rethink that option, it is your choice though. I am kinda in the same boat as you, not phoning much but using mxit and sms' more. So if you aren't really into super hyped phones for just mxit and sms', rather go with the good old x1, my friend has one and he is very happy with it. On the other hand if you want to get the whole smartphone experience, go Desire!