www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/sep/11/iphone-5-affordable-...
The imminent sale of the iPhone 5 has triggered a rush of deals from networks and manufacturers trying to pre-empt the hype around that and other handsets being launched this autumn. Here is a round-up of some of the best.
Most of the biggest price changes have been on packages aimed at heavy users. Recombu is offering the Samsung Galaxy S3 - the iPhone's most popular rival - on the Three network for �31 a month. The two-year deal includes 2,000 minutes, 5,000 texts and unlimited internet access each month, and customers also get �100 cashback. The handset costs �29 upfront, so the total cost over two years is �673. This deal is available until 17 September.
Carphone Warehouse is also offering the S3 on Orange for �31 a month over two years with a free handset, down from �39 when it launched in May. The deal, which includes 600 minutes, 250Mb of data and unlimited texts, now has a total cost of �744.
If you don't use your phone so much you can get a cheaper deal from T-Mobile. It is offering the GalaxyS3 on a �7-a-month deal, which gives 50 minutes, 100 texts and a 250 Mb data allowance, with an initial cost of �350, leading to a total cost of �518 over two years.
Some of the handsets due to be superseded this autumn are available on very good deals: Phones4U is offering the Sony Xperia S for �15.50 a month, with no additional cost for the handset. The two-year deal includes 3,000 minutes and 1,000 texts a month and has a total price of �372.
Carphone Warehouse is offering the Nokia Lumia 710, again on the Talk network, for �7.50 a month with 500 minutes, 1,000 texts and a 250Mb data limit. Over the two-year deal that's a total cost of �180.
However, there does not seem to have been a similar drop in the price of the iPhone 4s, despite it being due to be replaced by the iPhone 5.
The cheapest deal on an 8GB model is from Mobilephonesdirect on Vodafone. Priced at �10.50 a month it includes 100 minutes and 500 texts but has no data allowance. With an upfront cost of �455 for the phone this gives a total cost of �707 over the two-year contract period.
It may be worth holding fire until the iPhone 5 is available on the high street because, according to uSwitch's technology analyst Ernest Doku, the arrival of the latest iPhone means its predecessor is "likely to receive a steep reduction from networks and retailers in order to make room for the new flagship Apple device".
Also bear in mind that none of the existing phones on the market will offer a 4G mobile service, which is set to be available in 16 cities around the UK by Christmas through the new EE network. Although EE has confirmed it will launch seven 4G devices including Samsung Galaxy, Nokia Lumia, HTC and Huawei handsets, it has made no mention of including the iPhone 5 in its range.
This means prices on 3G phones could fall further towards the end of the year and early into 2013, meaning even better bargains for those who are able to wait.
