Mobile Phone Buying Guide

Buying a contract (also known as pay monthly) phone is usually best if you're a medium or heavy user, but given that Three offer some of the lowest contract prices available, even light users might find that a contract deal offers them better value for money. Contract phones are generally free, i.e. there is no upfront cost, and come with an allowance of anytime, any network minutes, texts and internet data.

Contracts with Three last 1, 12 or 24 months depending on what kind of contract you're looking for. Currently, all phone contracts are only available on 24 month contracts, but SIM-Only contracts are available on a one month rolling basis and 12 month contracts.

Buying a pay as you go (PAYG) phone is usually best if you are a very light user or want to perhaps budget for your phone use. Three offer PAYG customers the choice of converting their top-up into add-ons. So instead of being charged for individual calls and texts, you can turn your £10 top-up, for example, into 100 minutes, 3000 texts and 500MB of internet data. For details of available add-ons, check out the Price Guide.

If you're under 18 you won't be able to buy a contract phone in your own name, so PAYG is your only option unless a parent is happy to buy a contract phone on your behalf.

Contract phones always involve a credit check. If your credit score is marginal you may be asked to pay a deposit. Provided you're sure you'll be able to keep up the monthly payments, paying a deposit is worthwhile since you'll both get the benefits of a contract phone and improve your credit score all at the same time.

Three offer three different kinds of tariff: Text, Talk and the One Plan.

All Text tariffs come with 5000 texts, a certain number of anytime, any network minutes and either 500MB or 1GB data depending on the tariff, e.g. Text 100 comes with 100 minutes, 5000 texts and 500MB data.

All Talk tariffs allow you to mix and match your texts and calls to suit you. 1 text and 1 minute are each seen as 1 unit. So, on a Talk 900 plan, for example, you can use the 900 units as 900 anytime, any network minutes with no texts, 900 texts and no minutes, or a combination of texts and minutes such as 450 minutes and 450 texts. All talk tariffs also come with either 500MB or 1GB of data depending on the tariff.

The One Plan is the innovative plan from Three that gives you more than enough of everything so that you don't ever have to worry about running up a huge bill! The One Plan comes with 2000 anytime, any network minutes, 5000 texts, 5000 Three-to-Three minutes (calls to another Three mobile) and All-You-Can-Eat data. All-You-Can-Eat data is exactly what it says on the tin - you can use as much data as you like with no fair usage policy. And on the One Plan, this also includes tethering - you can use your phone (if it is capable of doing so) as a modem to connect your laptop to the internet at no extra cost!

Three have now introduced All-You-Can-Eat data on some of their most popular Text and Talk tariffs. All-You-Can-Eat data lets you use as much internet as you like at no extra cost - no surprises in your bill and no hassle. However, it is worth noting that tethering is not permitted on these Text and Talk tariffs - tethering is only available on the One Plan.

But how much data do you need? 1GB of internet data is more than most people could ever possibly use in a month on their mobiles. To give you an idea of what 1GB approximately translates to in real terms:

• 1000 Outlook/HTML Emails
• Surf the internet for about 10 hours
• Download 5 four minute videos
• Download 32 four minute music tracks

If you're looking to use your mobile as your main way to connect to the internet and as a way of watching videos online, then the All-You-Can-Eat tariff is the best option for you. If, however, you just use your mobile for checking emails, facebook and surfing the web for a bit, without watching YouTube or iPlayer, then 500MB to 1GB should be plenty!

One thing to check before you purchase a contract are the additional costs if you exceed the included calls, texts and data. This information and costs of international roaming can be found in our Price Guide.

Handsets are increasingly regarded as fashion statements, and whilst your choice may be driven by look or feel, don't forget the importance of reliability and ease of use. Fashion moves quickly of course, so we won't presume to offer fashion advice!

Mobile phones are increasingly packed with features, particularly apps, cameras and music players. However, even the very best mobiles in these categories are unlikely to be as good as their dedicated digital camera and music player counterparts. The question you should ask yourself is whether or not the added convenience of one feature-rich device is worth the potential drop in audio or visual quality.

All of the handsets offered by Three support 3G video calling. 3G not only lets you make and receive video calls, but it gives you fast internet access - especially when in an area covered by Three's rapidly-expanding Turbo network. Three has the largest 3G network in the UK and has several partners around the world that let you use these features while abroad, though you should be wary of roaming whilst abroad - roaming is not part of your allowance and will incur extra charges as detailed in the Price Guide. Moreover, most smartphones will automatically connect to the internet, so it's usually best to turn this off before you travel!

Although most people get their handset free, this doesn't mean that all handsets cost the same. The more expensive and (usually) best handsets are often only free with more costly tariffs. One way around this is to choose a refurbished phone. These have been returned to Three within 14 days of purchase and have been tested to ensure that they both look and perform like new. Three are so confident of the quality of their refurbished phones that they offer the same 12 month warranty as a new phone and allow you, like any Three customer, to return it within 14 days of purchase if dissatisfied. To see all of the refurbished deals on offer, including the iPhone 4 16GB, just click here.