Couple of example that I've found

Samsung Galaxy Ace
Free on £10.50 contracts on O2
Orange free on £25

iPhone 3GS
Free on £21.50 tarriffs on O2
Free on Orange £35

More competitive pricing I guess.

I remember seeing the Samsung Galaxy S2 on the O2 website at £399 which is also quite a good price for a top of the range Android phone.

O2 are more expensive for cheap PAYG phones

Too much of a good price it would seem as they have now removed the offer

Well rather than invest in a network to differentiate with, they are investing in their Acquisition spend, basically using their budget to "purchase" market share

Their tariffs are now the worst value in the marketplace, so the cheap handset cost will soon be swallowed up. Oh, and O2 like to change the contract goalposts mid contract so be warned.

It'll be a cold day in hell when I use O2 again.

You'll find out once you become an O2 customer and find that you can't get on the internet because the network has collapsed again, or that you have no 3G coverage because they aren't investing.

Thats why i left O2 and went to 3

Got so sick of the signal constantly changing mode between GPRS/3G/HDSPA and back again wherever i go due to their infrastructure not being stable and them not investing in making it better.

Also their internet services are pretty much useless, the HTTP 500 error shows up quite alot, another common issue is sites will not load at all! (no error, nothing... just a blank page)

Strange the Internet works fine for me on O2, in fact I travel with people on 3 and vodafone and we all get pretty good service.

I disagree. Even on PAYG the handset prices are highly competitive and the free allowances (minimum topup to qualify) are again highly competitive.

I agree with those that say their 3G coverage is particularly hit and miss though.

I was on O2 pay and go last year, I have found their 2G coverage to be the best out of any network, but it was rare I saw my phone say 3G and I travel about Northern Ireland quite a bit.

It's not really fair to say that they aren't investing in infrastructure as well.

They are in the process of adding an extra 1200 masts, to be completed by the end of next year.

3g@900 has worked well in London, they are the first to implement this.

It is not a lack of spending money, but sadly they are still behind in 3g coverage. They are investing, it will just take some time.

They still have better than average coverage for voice/text, which is the most important thing on a phone. I can't believe Orange have slipped so far (my work phone). They used to be awesome, now there are black spots and terrible data speeds.

O2 are currently spending £2million per DAY on improving their network - more I'd wager than any of the others! How much do they need to spend before you think they're not investing..??

I've found this with Orange as well, venture outside a town or city and you have no signal, and the T-Mobile venture did no good as they are as bad, O2 always has at least 1 bar even in the back of beyond.