Think I'll move to Thee on their unlimited data sim (inc tethering) for £15pm if they do 4G for free when it comes.

[Edited on 01-10-2013 by A2H GO]

I always have a rolling 30day contract.. I hate being locked in because if your circumstances change (you move jobs, house etc.) you might end up being locked into a contract with a provider that has sh*t coverage in the areas you are working/living in.

Currently I'm on the T-Mobile Full-monty plan (£26/month), mainly for the unlimited Data but its also beneficial being able to jump between T-Mobile, Orange and EE networks :)

Although Three is looking the best at the moment.. but hey with a 30 day contract I can tell T-Mobile to stick it up their arse and take my number to Three :thumbs:

[Edited on 01-10-2013 by DaveyLC]

That makes sense... I'd like to have at least 1GB data really.

At the end of a contract are upgrades always free? Or do you still have to pay for the top handsets? I guess, it depends on how much you are paying each month...

Depends what you want, for example contracts with unlimited data tend to make it much more expensive than the equivilent sim only/PAYG option.

Most people tend to compare 500mb contracts to unlimited PAYG sims.

Does that remain true when you go down the route of say upgrading every year or two as well?

I know when you compare SIM free vs contract for the duration of one contract - say 18 or 24 months, the SIM free option can work out drastically cheaper. But if you look longer term - say three phones down the line - does this still hold true?

Once you've taken into account free upgrades if you stay on a contract, does it start getting cheaper?

I do the same, get bored of phones really quickly.

Phone outright and then giffgaff is just about the cheapest way to get it. It's more the not being tied down for 2 years that attracts me though.

So my current phone cycle involves buying a phone SIM free, using it for a few years (currently still own the iPhone 4), with what is currently a GiffGaff SIM on a £12 per month goodybag - 250 mins, unlimited texts and data. When I've run that phone into the ground, buy a new one - really want the 5S - and sell the old one to make back a bit of money.

This is all fine and dandy - but just wondering if I'm getting the best value for money by doing it this way. I also do like the idea of refreshing my phone sooner than I do currently... at the end of a contract is the new replacement you order always free?

Interested to hear peoples opinions on this, and what they are currently doing.

.............also just realised at the end of a contract you can also sell the old phone on if you wish, just as you would on payg, so that makes a bit of money back too.

At the end of the day, money isn't the deciding factor really unless there's hundreds of pounds difference going one way or the other. It would just be nice to have a newer faster phone, more often really. My poor old 4 takes an age to do anything.