Mobile phone deals with unlimited internet

Buying a phone with unlimited internet

While some people still only want to use their phone to make calls and texts, the latest crop of mobiles can be used for so much more. Many of us now love to get online with our smartphones, so getting a mobile phone with unlimited internet is certainly a big draw. So what are the options?

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Unlimited internet plans: Network jargon

Unfortunately, unlimited internet plans aren’t as easy to define as you might think. The biggest issue comes down to the differences between networks – or more in particular their differing terminologies and dreaded terms and conditions.

We’re not going to list these things here – networks tend to change their jargon more than the rest of us change our underwear! Instead, here are a few pointers when it comes to reading the truth of mobile phones with unlimited internet:

• We know it’s boring, but do read the small print before you buy. While now frowned upon, you do see ‘unlimited*’ offers advertised, where the * means within a fair usage policy. When you hit this cap, you may either be charged or have your service slowed down.
• That said, it is now possible to get a phone with unlimited internet. Three’s ‘One Plan’ is one such example, or T-Mobile’s Full Monty. They can be quite pricey though, so be sure you’re going to use a lot of GBs. We can help you decide below.

Another important thing to remember here is the coverage each network gives in the areas you’re likely to be trying to use it most. Unlimited internet is a great concept, but if you can only get a 2G signal in your area you’ll be struggling along at speeds of 0.1-0.3Mb – that’s limiting in itself, no matter what your download limit!

Be sure you can get a 3G signal where you’ll need it most. All of the UK providers have coverage maps on their websites (Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Three and Vodafone), so put in any relevant postcodes before you sign up.

If you decide to go with another company (such as Tesco or Virgin) they should also have coverage checkers. However, they all piggyback on one of the five actual networks mentioned above, so won’t offer better options on terms of coverage.

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Do I need a mobile phone with unlimited internet?

This is the million dollar question. But while ‘unlimited internet’ sounds massively tempting, how much are you really going to use? There are a couple of things to consider:

• What type of content do you download? If you’re simply logging into Facebook, checking your email and hitting a few websites, an unlimited deal may be overkill. However, if you’re thinking of using your mobile as your main source of broadband, perhaps via tethering (see below), it could be perfect.
• Where do you download? You may use your mobile a lot for internet access, but if it’s often at home – or other places you’re likely to have a free Wi-Fi access – you may actually find you’re not actually using as much data as you might think.
• Could you do things differently to save? If you have access to the internet for free, via Wi-Fi, then this is cheapest option; do you have to use your personal allowance all the time? This can be simple things, such as only downloading large files such as movie clips at home, or more conscious things such as turning off updates when you’re out and about.

• A song in MP3 form is around 5MB
• Watching iPlayer for an hour will use around 700MB
• Watching a five-minute YouTube video will use around 15MB
• 1GB should give you 30 hours+ of basic web browsing

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Choosing phones with unlimited internet

If you do decide to go for it, you’ll want to pick the right handset to go with all that lovely data. With so many to compare, what should you look for to get the best out of your unlimited mobile data deal?

• Battery life: Being online can be hard on your phone’s battery, so be sure to look through reviews and see what people think of each model’s battery life. You may have to get used to the idea that you’ll have to charge it every day.
• Touchscreen: If you want to get online a lot, it’s likely you’ll want a decent sized screen to check things out on. Touchscreen smartphones do this best, with some now having screens of more than four inches. They’re also great for watching video content.
• RAM: This is the amount of memory your smartphone can use to run programs, including your web browser. If you have a small mount of RAM, your handset may struggle to multitask and do more complex tasks. If you’re going to be using a lot of online apps, for example, look for 512MB+ of RAM.
• Java: This runs a lot of website applications, so if your phone isn’t equipped with it you may find pages you want to visit most won’t load properly.
• 3G: If you’ve not got a 3G mobile phone, you’re only going to be able to pick up 2G mobile signals. This basically means that even if you’re in an amazing network reception area, you’ll still get awful internet speeds – 2G (EDGE) will give you a maximum speed of around 0.3Mb.

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Mobile phone tethering

One of the big advantages with having a phone with unlimited internet can be ‘tethering’. If you haven’t heard the term before, it’s when you use your smartphone’s internet allowance via another internet ready gadget, such as your laptop or PC.

On the plus side, this can be a very cheap way to keep your self connected to the web both at home and on the move. However, there are couple of things to consider.

Firstly, even though your mobile phone unlimited internet deal gives all the data you can eat, it won’t do it at the kind of pace you’d get from a home broadband connection. Mobile internet in the UK struggles to get an average speed above 2-3Mb, where good fiber broadband at home will score you 10 or 20 times that speed – a big deal if you’re looking to download large files, or play online games.

Secondly, mobile internet can be unreliable; if you’re relying on it as your only connection to the web, you may be disappointed.

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The best mobile phone deals with unlimited internet

With your internet decision made and your phone model chosen, there’s still the rest of the deal to consider. Again, comparison sites such as Mobile Genie can help.

On the plus side, mobile phones with unlimited internet tend to be at the more expensive end of the prices spectrum, so you should find free call and text limits to be very generous by 2012 standards.

Beyond this, it’s worth looking out for extra sweeteners – especially if you buy from an online store, rather than direct from the mobile service provider. This can be anything from hardware (such as an iPod, Xbox or tablet) to cashback. Providers can offer sweeteners too though, including free virus software or money off other services, such as home broadband.

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