Identifying the Best Smartphone Plan

The end of the year festive season comes with numerous offers from all quarters. Sometimes consumers get confused with the many promotional campaigns available during this period. One of the areas that experience heightened attention is the mobile phone industry. Many consumers get lost in the chaotic marketing campaigns that seek to sell different mobile phone options. Generally, the two most common options include the pay as you go phones, and the bill pay phones. Apparently, it is very easy for the lucrative offers from Smartphone vendors to distract consumers from noticing the nitty gritty of the different plans on offer.

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The pay as you go phones is easy to maintain but expensive to purchase. The subsidy applicable to the pay as you go phones is not as high as that of bill pay phones. Customers who purchased a pay as you go smartphones have the flexibility of changing plans and paying for the services they use only. The pay as you go plan does not have numerous restrictions for users. The prepaid option gives users several calls, data, and SMS packages to buy and use. However, users who choose to purchase the pay as you go smartphones do not enjoy reliable services such as unlimited calls and data bundles. Young people in college or high school prefer the pay as you go smartphones because of the flexible prepaid method. The pay as you go phones does not require users to have official identification documents. Therefore, minors can purchase this package.

The Bill Pay Phones

The bill pay phones allow users to acquire expensive smartphones at very affordable rates or even free. However, the deal requires users to sign a contract binding them to the company for at least two years. During this period, the user will pay a monthly fee. The monthly fee may vary; it either can be a flat rate or based on usage. Most mobile phone network companies have different flat rates that offer diverse packages for calls, data, and SMSs. The high monthly rates allow users access to unlimited services throughout the month. However, most companies give limited data packages. One advantage of the bill pay phones is having access to a high-end phone and using reliable services without any interruptions. The plan also ensures that the phone number of the user remains unchanged during the contract period. Some people unlock their bill pay smartphones after the end of the contract and resell them. However, in most cases, the monthly fee is quite high for people who do not use their phones regularly to make calls.

Sim Only Plans

Most companies offer SIM only plans. In such plans, users can purchase an open Smartphone and insert the SIM card from the company. The SIM only plan has different offers for calls, data, and messaging. However, all the packages last for one month only. Therefore, the user will need to purchase a new top up every month to continue using the plan. Even though this plan may be flexible, it may be unconvincing for a user to keep in mind that they have to buy top up`s every 30 days. Unlike the pay as you go phone plan that allows a mobile network provider to subsidize a phone and lock it, the SIM card option is different. It requires the user to purchase a new unlocked Smartphone without any subsidy from the network company. The advantage of such a plan is the ability to use multiple SIM cards and even a dual SIM Smartphone.

For an example I`ll use my local provider Meteor; if you plan to get Samsung Galaxy Core Prime you can get it for 110€ as a Pay As You Go plan or you can get it for Free with 24 months contract of minimum fee of 30€ per month.

I believe that if you browse your local providers you`ll find similarities.

Ultimately, the pay as you go phones seem to be the cheapest plan to purchase a Smartphone and use it. However, the plan is susceptible to inconveniences of disconnection when the prepaid amount finishes, unless you top up. On the other hand, the bill pay phones are quite affordable to purchase but expensive to use. Within the two years contract period, users pay high monthly bills but receive better services than the pay as you go phone users.

The SIM only plan is cheap to use but expensive to purchase the unlocked phones. Therefore, the different Smartphone plans allow users to choose the most appropriate for their lifestyle. Those who prefer to have a predictable and reliable plan go for the contract phone that attracts monthly bills. The others who have unique phone usage and love flexible payment go for the pay as you go phones.

Article written by Matt; an Amateur golfer and Account Executive at Advendium mainly focused on branding. Recently joined the blogosphere and has a huge interest in social media and mobile technology. You can follow him at @mattadvendium.