I understand the point is so they could use any network they like, but why not just buy the phone on 'pay as you go' with a network like vodafone for example, and then afterwards pay £10-20 to vodafone to have it unlocked onto all networks?

take this samsung galaxy ace 2: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mob...G_GALAXY_ACE_2

sim-free costs £259, whereas 'pay as you go' with vodafone only costs £189 and even if you factor in the £10-20 you'd need to spend to have it unlocked onto all networks, you'd still be paying substantially a lot less than you would with buying it sim-free

Have I missed something or is there a catch?

Its not so bad in the past couple years, but 10+ years ago when networks first started branding phones they went to stupid levels, so they savvy among us started paying a bit extra for sim free so the phone was as the manufacturer intended.
Some examples of terrible branding include Vodafones Sony Ericsson T610 where they actually replaced the menu icons (the WAP homepage I could understand, but not every icon) and they looked like a 5 year old had drawn them. Or 02s disaster of the SE K800 that resulted in the text message debacle. I remember reading that even SE engineers couldnt work out what the hell 02 managed to do. I understand why branding was so prominent back then (redirecting to the networks home page etc) but the K800 situation, and others, just damaged the manufacterers reputation in the eyes of the consumers, rather than the networks.

Thankfully there is less and less branding these days (and if you buy from CPW they use sim free phones anyway.) I use a second hand Samsung Monte ATM that is 02 branded but the only way you know is the startup/shutdown screen. I can live with that!

Isn't there a maximum time you have to have the phone before you can unlock it, or is that just contract?
I suppose most people would be afraid they couldn't unlock it.

most unlock companies (well the ones ive used ) say you must of had the phone for a month before they can unlock it

Yeah I see, I do remember phones which have logos of 't-mobile' or whatever other network brand painted on them. But they've all been very small and seemingly not worth the trouble of paying £50, £70 extra for a sim-free. And especially nowadays in the era of large screen smartphones, these sorts of branding have completely disappeared in most handsets, so they look exactly as they would fresh out of the manufacturer's factory. So I'm still baffled as to why such price discrepancies exist between network pay as you go and sim-free phones , do people have no idea that you could unlock your phones?

Most phones can be unlocked at a market/independant store straight away.

well according to this: http://giffgaff.com/unlock, quite alot of the big name networks only require 7 days or less

and even if it is a month, is it really worth an extra £70 to avoid this 'hassle'? I mean, its not as though you absolutely cannot use the phone during this period of time, you'd just be on a network other than the one you prefer, thats all

Its not the on phone branding that was the problem (the ones I came across could be scratched off easy enough) It was the software branding, in addition to the menu items they also used to disable/change features here and there. I seem to remember one network getting rid of SonyEricssons free song identifying program in favour of its paid for version.

Also with the branded ones, new firmware/updates are done if and when the networks feel like it. With sim free its when the manufacture releases it.

My current phone I bought on Tesco PAYG and just put my O2 SIM in, no unlocking needed.

Hmm I buy sim-free as in my case it was ultimately cheaper than going with a network. Whatever phone you intend to buy, its worth doing a quick calculation to ascertain which would be the cheaper option. the market changes so quickly its worthwhile checking to make sure you are not losing out, or the deal advertised is as good as it sounds.

Also I have a work phone, so my personal phone tends to switch to which ever network provides the best deal.

I bought mine as an upgrade with Orange from Phones 4 U but I wanted to use my Irish Meteor SIM in it rather than my UK one. I managed to put in my Irish SIM straight away (did it in the shop) and it works fine. I nearly bought it sim-free but I happened to get a very good deal on the "upgrade". The guy in the shop told me they were all unlocked. I didn't see the Ace 2 in Ireland so I'm glad I bought it in the UK.

I think you are confused by branding, its not the physical logo on the phone, its about all the extra crap they install and services they direct you towards. This is especially true of smart phones.

Also as others have mentioned there are minimum periods after which Ofcom have said the network provider should provide option to unlock phone. I believe for PAYG its one year and for contract its the period of your contract.

Because Tesco is a virtual operators who uses O2 network.

One example these days is that often the sim-free phones might get software updates several months before a network-branded phone or sometimes network phones just don't get the update. Branded here means they are using their own variant of the software not only physical logo on the device.

I buy sim free everytime as its cheaper in the long run, generally can get the phone on launch day, no operator bloat wear/quicker updates if its not an Apple phone, do not have to faff about with unlocking and generally can get it cheaper than the prices quoted for pay as you go.

The Networks also take awhile to release PAYG versions of the latest phones.

My reasons:
- Unbranded/uncustomised stock firmware
- Buying unlocked from CPW/P4U allowed me to buy a cheaper deal on Orange (though handset was unlocked) and stick my preferred SIM in (then 3).
- Useful when abroad. Sometimes its cheaper to stick a local SIM in and use that temporarily until you go home.

Branded and locked phones are crap. I always get my phones from CPW or P4U so it's already unlocked and unbranded they just give you a sim card with it. Also as said updates come straight from the manufacturer (in my case Samsung) not from the network. Doesn't cost any extra to buy it from there then it would from say Argos. Just the Argos one would be locked and branded.

I've just bought my wife an Ace 2 sim free.
http://www.phones4u.co.uk/shop/shop_...ge_find-phone-
sim-free_Samsung_Samsung%20Galaxy%20Ace%20II%20Black

It's £180 from Phones4u

Sim free handsets are unlocked, unbranded and you get firmware updates quicker. (Some networks don't even bother providing updates at times)

Buy a sim free handset and get a good sim only deal and it also works out cheaper in the long run.

I don't like spreading the cost and committing to long contracts. I'd rather pay £500 up front, then £10 a month for 2 years than £1000 spread over 2 years.

I can upgrade when I want
I get firmware early
I don't get operator junk installed
I can sell the phone when I want and put the sale cost to my next phone.

A 2 year contract is too long, technology moves so fast these days so 2 years is a lifetime.
Most (not all, before you get on your high horses) people get contracts because they can't afford to layout for a phone up front. Nothing wrong with that, circumstances will always dictate.
If you are on contract and have the phone unlocked after a month, you still have to keep your contract paid up.
Shop around and the cost factor is not that different and depends entirely on which contract and provider you choose.

Yes, I agree. If I had to put in one word, it would be "freedom".
Besides, I'm always wary of doing what "they" want you to do.
If they are keen to push you into taking a nice shiny new phone for "free" and pay for it over the two years on contract, they're not doing it out of generosity. It must be the best deal for them, but necessarily for you.

I agree with all of the above, but I rarely use the phone bit on mine once a month at the most. According to its logs I mostly use whatsapp and the camera.

I have a very poor credit rating which means I'm not able to get a contract (not that I necessarily would anyway.)
That's mainly the reason why I buy SIM free. The smartphone phone I have at the moment and the one before that, were only available with a contract or SIM free, there wasn't a pay as you go option.