Best Mobile Deals
The best deals for pre-paid mobile phone in Australia for July 2010 onwards.
Things are again changing in the mobile phone market. Our analysis shows that the touch screen phones are being sold as at reasonable prices which means mobile phone that isn’t a touch screen are going to be cheaper. Along with Nokia targeting the low end of the markets we will continue to see a rise in phones being sold outright rather than subsidized with a new phone. The pre-paid market is slowly increasing due to networks offering better deals to retain users. Beware any network that does not have pre-paid offers at competitive levels.
There are an increasing number of really good mobile phones that can be purchased outright for not very much money hence getting a SIM only package and a good un-locked mobile phone can be cheaper than a package.
The rise and rise of the iPhone and now iPad will see data plans as part of a package decrease in price and increase in use just like SMS.
We have once again sifted through the press announcements and ads to bring you our opinions on what the best pre-paid mobile handsets are. Note that we are covering only the major carrier brands based only on initial price vs phone features.
We are DO NOT take the call charges or network features into account (unless a real standout) on this page purely because they change often. This recommendation is based on the best mobile phone for your dollars. That is, the phone has the most features for the price.
Also be aware that many pre-paid deals that come with mobile phones that are network locked. It may be a better option to purchase a new phone outright and IF purchased from certain retailers are completely unlocked so you can use it on any network!
Overall Winner
The best mobile phone as part of a pre-paid package priced at sub $100 is the Nokia 6120. Quite a few networks offer this phone as a pre-paid package. This is a 3G capable phone that that can do everything the more expensive phones can do! Of course its relative small screen and standard keypad makes it less convenient to use but at least the screen quality is a standout in this end of the market.
The next best network locked pre-paid phone package is still the Nokia E63 and now priced around $179. The E63 is brilliant do it all phone and such a bargain compared to the competition. If you can come up with the cash you won’t be disappointed.
3 (Three)
There still isn’t any outstanding deals from 3. It is disappointing since they have been one of our favorites just over a year ago.
Vodaphone
No change for Vodaphone this month. The Nokia E63 from Vodaphone is priced around $179 is by far the best value phone you can get at the pre-paid level.
There are others lower priced phones but in the long term the E63 will keep you much happier than the cheaper ones.
Optus
The best offer we could find was the Sony Ericsson C903 retailing for around $159 as a pre-paid package. At this price it is a must have if you want a 3G capable and GPS equipped mobile phone! Sure it network locked to Optus but at the price you could do much worse!
The LG KP500 is also worth considering priced at $159 but it is a touch screen. There’s lots of functionality built in to the standard phone but because it is only a GSM model means it cannot take advantage of fast data downloads we have become used to in touch screen models. We rate it equal to the F480.
The Nokia 6760 is one of the newest mobile phones being offered by Optus. Priced at $229 this is a pretty neat QWERTY slider phone. It is a rather basic phone mobile phone but we have put it here because it is different from the others we usually put. The only thing really missing is Wi-Fi – but since it is a 3G phone it shouldn’t be a problem. Perfect solution for text and email on the move and only a tad expensive. Expect the 6760 to come down in price soon BUT remember that the older E63 is still a better overall package.
Telstra
The best pre-paid and phone combination from Telstra for this period is the Nokia 6120. Priced at under $99 the 6120 is a cheap do it all phone (check out our review). It is good at everything is fast too. Just poor keypad design.
The LG GR500 pre-paid package price at around $199 is also worth considering for a better camera but at twice the price it is not twice as good. The slide out keypad makes emails and other text so easy for most.
Telstra are also offering free 1000 SMS if you sign up and lots of savings there for ’selected’ phone models.
Both of these phones can use the 3G or NextG network so you can get data as well.
Virgin Mobile
From Virgin Mobile this period the LG Viewty priced around $149 is the best pre-paid phone combo you can great phone for the price. We haven’t reviewed it yet – but but all accounts a very decent phone for the price!