I'm thinking of getting a new mobile as my old one refuses to charge properly and the mono screen of my nokia 3330 looks like it wants to be put out of its misery

Any-whoo - with such a large range of phones out there I was looking for some impartial recommendations without all the contract BS that they give you at certain 'impartial' retailers.

What I'm looking for:

1) I want a 'pay-as-you-go' phone with NO contracts. I simply don't use it enough to warrant messing with direct debits etc.

2) Something that's all singing and all dancing would be nice - Java Games, Picture messaging, Polyphonic ringtones, PC connectivity etc.

3) Looking for something in the region of £150 - £200 although lower would be better. I don't mind buying from an online store, so long as they accept debit cards in GBP (not euros).

What I'm not looking for:

1) Special tarrifs and rates - just so long as SMS isn't wildly expensive and it's PAYG I don't mind too much.

2) Low Res Mono screen - cannot stand looking at that awful 80s font any longer

3) Tri-band - not leaving Europe anytime soon, so Triband is a waste on me.

I know that I could splash out on a magazine or something to find this for myself - but they usually only test a phone for a few weeks. I remember that some of the nokias got great ratings a while back, but people said they had useless batteries and started breaking after a few months.

the Sagem Myv-65
£99.99 in The Link or Vodafone Stores

Its all dancing! Amazing camera, 65k screen, WAV ringtones, GPRS, java games/applications, 4MB+ memory, MMS (photo msg's), can be connected to PC - there's not much it doesnt do!

yes i can vouch for that.

I got my sagem at christmas, when it was £150 on vodafone pay as you talk, smartstep. and its amazing.

Has everything you could want other than blue tooth.

The smartstep text messages are 12p for the first 3 of each day then 9p thereafter. same applies for calls, 30p for first three mins then 5p after.

This phone is also connected to the Vodafone Live wap service. It costs very little to go on there too!

If there is anything inparticular you want to know then give me a shout and ill be happy to help.

Its available in dixons, currys and the vodafone shop for £100 as well as the link and most likely others.

Dan

lol dixons have pulled you into there trap from working for them, naming 3 dixons group shops lol

Heres a good deal from Orange .a bonus you get text saver for free

http://shop.orange.co.uk/shop/show/h.../pay_as_you_go

damndirtyape - you say

I am on OneTel mobile (SIM card only) and I pay £4.99 per month DD. Last month I sent 36 text messages and made three calls. My total bill was £9.90 inc. VAT.

Thats a bit expensive

pah. i dont even work there anymore!

Dan

Currys, Always Cutting Prices... *snip* *snip*

I have a Sagem MYX6, I bought mine at Chrimbo from Orange.

It is a brilliant phone and I'm very happy with it.

I also have a text saver which came with the phone (£20 if not with the phone). I get 5 free text messages a day.

I've also just recieved a message from Orange saying that I can send 5 free photo messages.

The reception on the phone is also the best I've ever had.. The picture quality is superb also.

Very good quality.
Stubob

PS - my niece has the Motorola E635 and the picture quality isn't as good as the Sagem. I nearly bought the Motorola but then saw the quality of the Sagem. The menu system on the Motorola isn't too good either..

I have to disagree with picture quality on the e365..I had the choice between the sagem and the e365 and the main reason i went for the e365 was the camera and screen quality (compared to my old sammy v200) and of course there was the much cheaper price tag helped me in my choice.

I did get the chance to see some pictures taken by the two phones and personally didn't see any difference between the two and even reviews i've read recently don't seem to show the sagem any better than the e365

But I have to agree about the menu on the e365,its very average and i wish motorola look at other companies (except samsung!) menu systems and learn from them,but even saying that,i personally didn't find the sagem menu great either,especially compared to nokias.

Btw don't any of you guys that own the sagem find it a bit of a ugly brick compared to other phones on the market??

Anyway if it comes down to price,the Orange e365 is a bargain in anyones book

Thats rich.. the e365 is not the prettiest penny in the jar.

I'm asking a question thats all.

And i agree the e365 isn't the prettiest phone by a long shot (my e700 takes that title IMO) and i haven't got a problem saying that about the e365.
Sagems aint known for their small size and looks,thats why i was asking what owners thought??

Is ok mate, calm down... it a simple tounge-in-cheek comment. I always think that pictures never do sagem phones justice and they aint too bad to look at. I think nokia produce a look of ugly phones.

Whoooaaaa there fellas - your argument is spoiling my mobile buying karma Anyway - thoughts and questions.

I have to say that I rather like the look of the Sagem, and that the Motorola looks dog-ugly. I'm afraid to say that, whilst I am the least image conscience person I know, it's too darned evil looking even for me. I mean, it's a really nice phone - but I'd like it if, y'know, we were just good friends

Soooooo - back to the Sagem MY X-6 (I take it that's the model you guys mean). It sounds just about perfect - well hunted all! Few questions though - firstly, does it come with a PC link cable of some kind (I don't have an IR port on my cpu)? Secondly, can it truly handle Java apps/games? Most of those 'dial-a-game' overpriced pieces of junk they have in every games magazine seems to be incompatible with the Sagem - will I be missing out? Lastly, does it have an alarm function - the biggest use for my Nokia seems to be as an alarm clock at the moment else Not that a dedicated alarm clock isn't an extravagant expense or anything, but it's always good to have when spending a night somewhere unexpectedly

birchyboy said: My total bill was £9.90 inc. VAT.
damndirtyape said: That's as much as I'll use in a year NO DD thank you

Cheers all - mucho gracias

Perhaps next time use this

damndirtyape,the sagem will suit you down to the ground if you are the least image conscience person you say you are


smilies enabled ok guys!

i used to think that offer was good and that it good save me money, but then i worked out that I would need to send 10 txt messages to save just 1p.

So i went to Orange and got 5 free texts a day for a year and it usual cost £20 but I got it free with me new fone! yey!