The Phone Spot

There are two kinds of mobile phone owner. The first is a pre-pay customer, the second is a pay-monthly customer. Pre-pay (or Pay As You Go) customers purchase a handset without a contract and then buy credit before making calls. Pre-pay handsets are frequently seen as a way to own a cheap mobile phoneand, in many cases, this is correct. PAYG handsets are without line rental, meaning that you can reduce outgoings by simply not making any calls. They are undoubtedly the best kind of mobile phone for children. Anyone using contract mobile phones, on the other hand, is tied to paying a certain amount each month whether any calls are made or not.

The disadvantage of owning a PAYG phone is that the handset itself is not subsidised like a contract handset and therefore the initial investment is greater. Also, calls generally cost more on PAYG than for anyone paying line rental. The upside is that controlling expenditure is much easier without a contract and receiving calls is free, so users can still be contacted even without having purchased any credit. This makes pre-pay phones very attractive to younger people and those with poor control of money/a bad credit rating.

Choosing a contract mobile phone opens up a whole range of mobile phone deals that are not available to PAYG customers. This is because service providers are confident of getting their money back over the course of a twelve month contract and want users to get into the habit of making regular calls from their mobiles. The latest handsets are generally only available to contract customers. Even then, not all handsets are available to customers of all networks. What may be available as an O2 mobile phone may not be available on Vodafone, for example.

There are five mobile phone networks in the UK and a selection of other service providers who sell space on these networks. The networks are Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-mobile and 3. When choosing a network and package it is important to consider exactly what you need your phone for. Some networks, for example, offer much better deals on making mobile calls in other European countries than others. Others provide better deals on 3G data, so that users keen to take advantage of mobile internet connection can benefit.

The world's most popular handsets are Nokia mobile phones - the Finnish company has around a third of the international market for mobile handsets, despite strong competition from Asian manufacturers who are pushing forward handset design in the 21st century. Due to their popularity, most high street outlets provide a vast array of Nokia mobile phone offers. Also popular are Sony Ericcson phones - a collaboration between one of Sweden's biggest companies and one of Japan's most famous brands.