If you’re a materialistic idiot like me, you’ll be interested in how you can get your hands on a disgustingly extravagant smartphone while parting with the least amount of cash possible.
The best deal I found for the Galaxy S2 (by far) has been through Tesco:
- Free handset
- T-Mobile network
- 300 mins/300 texts
- 24 month contract
- Free delivery
- 500MB Data Booster + Unlimited Internet
- £20 of free apps available (through some T&Cs)
- £20.42 per month
At time of writing, that is the best deal I could find and is even better than anything I could find through the (usually excellent) billmonitor website.
Chances are that deal should work out just fine for you. If so, I hope this post helped you out.
Current T-Mobile customers:
If (like me) you are already a T-Mobile customer then the checkout procedure will fail right at the end with an error code “existing customer“. I went into the tesco mobile shop and was told that the only way around it was to switch to a PAYG contract, then try again. This was a bit of a pain and I won’t bore you with the series of contradicting advice I got from T-Mobile on the matter. If you’re a T-Mobile customer, you have to do the following:
- Buy a PAYG sim card (I got one for £11.99 with £10 credit from Three but you can get cheaper).
- Ring T-Mobile. Tell them you wish to cancel. Also request a Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) so that you can keep my number. Your account isn’t actually closed until the number is ported.
- Contact your PAYG sim network to port your number. For Three there is an online form under “Bringing your number to Three”.
- Once your number has been ported onto your PAYG sim (mine took 1 day) you can order your phone from Tesco.
There are a few quirks with the tesco order form. For example, entering a landline number is mandatory and a mobile number is not accepted. I just made up a number and it still worked. Also, it asked me to enter my name as it appears on the card (MR M J BURNS) but then complained that my first name was too short. I entered both my initials in the firstname box and that worked.
Alternatives
The Google Nexus is the new kid on the block but costs big bucks at the moment. There’s also an upgraded Galaxy S2 in the form of the Galaxy S2 HD LTE floating around Japan. Don’t get too excited though, this isn’t coming to the UK for ages and there’s no foreseeable plans for a decent rollout of a 4G network in the UK for quite a while anyway. You should also consider if you can afford to commit to 24 months for a phone that won’t make your life any better/easier/happier. It’s just a phone. Pah, who am I kidding, it’s a work of art and object of pure desire!
Conclusion
Getting your hands on this Tesco deal can be a bit of hassle, but when you look at the savings over 24 months, completely worth it.
I hope this helps you if you’re in the market for a top smartphone.