SIM Phones are growing ever more popular, particularly with tech-minded geeks who are always on the look out for a better deal, more minutes, and the freedom to change their phone & plan without hesitation. He’s my top 5 reasons why you should choose a SIM free phone.
1. Provider Flexibility – SIM free mobile phones gives you complete flexibility as you are not bound to a particular network provider, don’t need to deal with long restrictive contracts and provide total control and freedom to switch providers without needing to buy a new phone.
2. Cheaper in the Long run – SIM Free phones are generally slightly more expensive to buy than handsets which are locked to a specific network. This is because they don’t benefit from the networks subsidising the cost, however it’s now easier than ever to pick up cheap SIM free phones and in the long-term it’s usually possible to easily save this small additional cost over the period of the phones life because you can always be on the cheapest PAYG or SIM-only tariff regardless of network.
3. Higher resell value – We want to have the latest and greatest, and a strong 2nd hand phone market continues to grow in the UK with companies such as CEX.co.uk making it easier than ever before. It’s important to consider what resell value your phone will have when this time comes, a great benefit of unlocked (sim free) phones is the noticeably higher resell value. This is because it’s available to a much wider potential market meaning you can happily sell your phone to anyone regardless of if they already have a contract or preferred network. This higher resell value will help you save ££ overall as you can recover a sizable portion of the initial phone cost at the end of use.
4. Using your phone abroad – For many who travel regularly a separate phone and/or SIM for the local country has become a necessity in combating extortionate roaming & call charges, with a SIM free phone you will have no problem in simply swapping your SIMs and away you go – no need to buy another handset & not use the phone you know and love just because you’re abroad!
5. Unbranded – Often the biggest annoyance with any new phone is discovering that the network provider has lovingly filled it with crap. Lots of network specific apps, ring tones and themes cluttering up your virtual life on the go. This is one of the great things about SIM Free handsets and one which I particularly enjoyed with my Nokia Lumia 800 I could just pick up and go without having to delete / hide / remove 10 pointless apps I’ll never use!