Which way to go - O2 contract phone or handset with SIM-free?

[Guest dancemb]

I need everyones advice as to the way forward.

My current O2 contract expires on 15 January, so I will be looking to go for the Streak beginning/mid december (even though it means, in effect, I will be paying for 2 contracts in parallel) and am stuck as to either go 2 ways with my purchase:

1) Go for an O2 contract Dell Streak for 18months/2 years

2) Purchase the Streak as handset only from Dell Direct, then find a SIM-free contract with either O2 or Vodafone (ideally)

Which would be the best option for me to go for? im toying with both options, but obviously need to make up my mind soon........HELP!

[Guest NAZty]

I need everyones advice as to the way forward.

My current O2 contract expires on 15 January, so I will be looking to go for the Streak beginning/mid december (even though it means, in effect, I will be paying for 2 contracts in parallel) and am stuck as to either go 2 ways with my purchase:

1) Go for an O2 contract Dell Streak for 18months/2 years

2) Purchase the Streak as handset only from Dell Direct, then find a SIM-free contract with either O2 or Vodafone (ideally)

Which would be the best option for me to go for? im toying with both options, but obviously need to make up my mind soon........HELP!

I was in the same situation and I decided to go down the SIM-free route as the way the phone market is our Dell Streak's will be very dated 18 months down the line and I didnt want to be 'stuck' in a contract! Keep in mind there's rumours flying around already about the next dual-core Streak coming out sometime next year (May I think)

As I said though that is my personal opinion...

[Guest noboard]

I need everyones advice as to the way forward.

My current O2 contract expires on 15 January, so I will be looking to go for the Streak beginning/mid december (even though it means, in effect, I will be paying for 2 contracts in parallel) and am stuck as to either go 2 ways with my purchase:

1) Go for an O2 contract Dell Streak for 18months/2 years

2) Purchase the Streak as handset only from Dell Direct, then find a SIM-free contract with either O2 or Vodafone (ideally)

Which would be the best option for me to go for? im toying with both options, but obviously need to make up my mind soon........HELP!

You can get finance from Dell and get the streak for £20 a month if you want. Allows you a bit more flexibility then a contract. There's a lot of good pay as you go deals now for £10-£15 and when they drop you could just switch.

[Guest NAZty]

You can get finance from Dell and get the streak for £20 a month if you want. Allows you a bit more flexibility then a contract. There's a lot of good pay as you go deals now for £10-£15 and when they drop you could just switch.

How much does the phone end up costing him at the end of the term? (If he were to go down the finance route)

[Guest rebski]

For me the equation is straightforward. Buy the phone (unlocked) you want just as you would any device. Then buy the network tariff that suits your usage.

As Android users and watching the debacle that is Dell’s upgrade to 2.1 and now 2.2, the other big lesson is to avoid being dependent on the network carrier’s influence. In the UK that would be O2. It is ridiculous that the network provider has the power to interfere with upgrades to the operating system.

In fact if Google was to make a Nexus Streak I would buy that and avoid Dell’s clumsiness too.

[Guest adzman808]

18 or 24 month contracts just make no financial sense in my opinion...

as others have stated the cost is monsterous (18 x 35pm = £630) & the active life of the handset is far less than the contract duration...

Buy the unlocked streak for £399

Put what ever SIM in it you want

when you're bored of it, (lets say after 1 yr) or when a device comes out that you'd rather have, then sell it on ebay & put the cost into the next device, just for the benefit of some math...

buy for 399

sell 1 yr later for 150

249 / 12 = £20.75 monthly cost (+ SIM cost, i'm on o2 PAYG min 10pm top up for 300 txt / "unlimited" data)

I actually bought my streak second hand from ebay, so i aim the play the 'game' i suggest above myself, with a even bigger margin!

HTH?

[Guest dancemb]

Thats the way that I would see it.

I just wish more networks had this phone available, as having it on O2 only means that the contract price will forever be artificially high, plus no special "xmas deals" or anything like that.

There was a special contract deal on Carphonewarehouse I was tempted to go for, but looking recently they dont have O2 contracts available there, just the sim-free phones.

We need to have a sticky thread on here for any good phone-only deals. I have currently seen Tesco and Argos selling them, with the Tesco one seeming to have 32gb for only £399!!

[Guest Tim6772]

Thats the way that I would see it.

I just wish more networks had this phone available, as having it on O2 only means that the contract price will forever be artificially high, plus no special "xmas deals" or anything like that.

There was a special contract deal on Carphonewarehouse I was tempted to go for, but looking recently they dont have O2 contracts available there, just the sim-free phones.

We need to have a sticky thread on here for any good phone-only deals. I have currently seen Tesco and Argos selling them, with the Tesco one seeming to have 32gb for only £399!!

Carphone Do have it on contract, Tesco is pay as you go. Tesco triple your credit though.

[Guest dancemb]

With Tesco it is as "handset only" which should mean that its open to all networks, but maybe its still locked to O2 which would make it a worthless handset as I would need an unlocked version.

The only good thing about the Tesco one is that it comes with 32gb rather than the normal 16gb. If I did go with a Tesco SIM it would have to be the contract version so you get the unlimited texts and unlimited internet, as its on the O2 network, so I would get the same signal as I have at the moment, as my current contract is with O2.

Only a few weeks to go until I pick my Streak, probably the SIM free from Dell Direct as so many have said its the best way to go.

Would Dell Direct update all there phones to 2.2 before shipping, or would they be with 1.6?

[Guest popetodd]

The noise about the costs being monstrous in an 18 month contract are ridiculous.

You can NOT claim the whole tariff as payment for the device.

In fact, the exact same service for me cost £25 per month before I got the streak, £35 per month after.

That means my Streak cost me in real world terms £180 total, the rest is the normal cost for service.

So if you buy it outright you end up paying far more than if you just get an 18 month contract.

But then again if you are the kind of ubber nerd that absolutely needs to bin your perfectly up to date device in order to be on the cutting edge then I suppose spending hundreds of £ extra per year is not even on your radar.

So the question to ask yourself is: what kind of person are you?

Edited November 28, 2010 by popetodd

[Guest dancemb]

Before I would have had no choice but to get into a long-term contract, mostly due to the fact that the last 2 18 month contracts involved phones that literally came onto the market the past month, so would have costed £500+ if I bought them outright, which would be far too much money.

This time its different, with the phone costing £399 unlocked from Dell Direct. The cost between going for an O2 contract and phone free with SIM free contract is very marginal, depending on what tariff you would be expecting to go onto.

As I do not make many calls, 300mins, unlimited texts and internet is good enough for me, maybe 1gb internet or unlimited, but many only give you 500mb, mostly due to iPhone owners grabbing all the bandwidth if they didnt limit the downloads.

But most people are saying go for Dell Direct handset only then grab a contract elsewhere, which I am leaning more towards at the moment

[Guest Tim6772]

Tesco Streak is only available on O2 pay as you go, not contract.

Tesco sim's do work as they're part of the O2 network