Pay As You Go Cell Phones - A Buyer's Guide

Cell phones are everywhere these days and with more and more people turning to them for business as well as personal use, they simply continue to become more popular. However, the one dilemma people face when buying a cell phone is ‘should it be a contract phone or a pay as you go one?’ Generally, the pay as you go option tends to be the most popular.

Finding the Right Pay as You Go Cell Phone for You

When choosing the right cell phone, there are certain factors you will need to bear in mind. These factors include:

• The Network

The type of network that you are on will really affect the type of calls you take and where you can take them. Each network has a different coverage and for example the 3 network may not work in some parts of the country whereas another network might. It is the same with all networks – one may work in a certain part of the country but another network won’t. It all depends on where they have their masts, as to how good the signal on your phone will be.

So when choosing a phone, always ensure that there is a decent signal in your area with the network you are choosing.

• The Tariff

The tariff is another important consideration to take into account when choosing the most ideal pay as you go cell phone. Each network varies and the tariff will also vary greatly with each one. Obviously, you will want to choose the cheapest network for you and often there are even deals for you to choose from to make the decision easier. An example deal could be a certain network such as ‘Virgin’ offering 3p texts to others on the same network as opposed to the usual 15p texts. Other offers may include free weekend calls to one of your friends.

There are quite a few different offers to choose from, usually, so take your time looking though them before making your final decision.

• The Handset

The actual handset is another factor to take into consideration when purchasing any cell phone. There is a wide selection of different handsets to choose from and it will all be down to personal preference as to which one you finally settle with.

Handsets vary depending on which network you go with, so the handset you like may not necessarily match with your tariff or network requirements.

So, as you can see there are a few factors to take into consideration when choosing a cell phone. The great thing about pay as you go is that you control how much money you spend on your phone calls. With a contract phone it is easier to forget what you are spending and when your monthly bill comes, it may be a little bit higher than you expected!