Which mobile phone?

[Rob G]

My family and I are moving to Normandy (76) in a few weeks. When we arrive we'll need to get mobile phones for my wife and I. I was therefore wondering if anyone has any particular recommendations about which network and package/forfait might be best for us. I can't imagine we'll need more than an hour or two of inclusive calls per month, but it would be very useful if there were a reduced tariff between our two mobiles.

Any suggestions welcome.

Rob

[Will]

I would not buy a mobile phone in France, for many reasons (we have had two). Far better to get hold of an unlocked or SIM-free phone in Britain. Then buy just the SIM cards in France. Which network or package you go for will depend on which give good signals where you are and which network features you need.

You may be able to get your British phones unlocked, it's very easy with Nokia handsets. Virgin phones are either SIM-free or can be unlocked as long as you have spent a certain amount on airtime - £30 I think.

[zrx1100]

I would agree with Will too, have just bought a cheapy siemens from Virgin (19.99), will have that unlocked from a small phone shop for a tenner and then get a french sim (will be over on the 14th - can't wait). But like you, I would like to know which french network to go for, like you we would be looking at a low usage payg sim. Any good ones out there?

[Eslier]

If you are into text messaging and are likely to send many texts (SMS) to the UK then go for Orange France as their text rate is only 0,15€ compared to at least double that for most other networks.

[LesLauriers]

This could be woth a look:

http://www.tele2.fr/mobile/tarifs/forfaits-sans-mobile.html

[Will]

[quote]I would agree with Will too, have just bought a cheapy siemens from Virgin (19.99), will have that unlocked from a small phone shop for a tenner and then get a french sim (will be over on the 14th - c...[/quote]

Have you tried a non-Virgin SIM in your phone? It may not need to be unlocked. I have a Virgin Siemens A57 which works on any network (including Orange F) without unlocking. We also have a Sendo (Virgin) which came SIM-free,and a Sony Ericsson T160 which was bought as an unlocked phone for use on British and French networks from Carphone Warehouse in England.

French PAYG SIMs or phones tend to have a limited life - credit has to be used within a certain period, and if the phone is not used for a while you lose the number. How long you get varies with how much airtime you buy.

[Rob G]

Thanks for comments so far.

I currently have a company mobile which I will have to hand back when I leave. My wife has an Orange PAYG, which we were planning on keeping as a UK phone for use when we're visting the UK.

I thought it was fairly expensive to buy a new decent-spec mobile handset without a contract?

A couple of you said that you wouldn't buy a new mobile in France "for various reasons" - would you mind explaining a little more why not?

Thanks,

Rob

[BJSLIV]

I think the main various reasons are :

1 The usual fears about after sales "service" in France.

2 That though like for like modern / latest model phones are often the same price in France as in the UK, it seems to be far easier to pick up slightly older models at bargain prices in the UK.

For example Carphone Warehouse have a PAYG Orange Nokia 2600 for £30 in the UK including £10 of callls.

The same phone in France from The Phonehouse (ie Carphone Warehouse France) is 79 Euros on Bouyges with an expiring PAYG card to boot.

Incidentally it is probably worth looking at the new NRJ phone service which offers PAYG with SIM cards that don't expire because of a time limit.

 

 

[Rob G]

To clarify: I think we will probably buy phones with a contract rather than PAYG, as our expected usage will probably justify this. So I can't really see the benefit of buying a cheaper, slightly out of date model in the UK. Presumably like in the UK, getting a contract usually means the handset itself is pretty cheap, and you get the option to upgrade it every year or two.

I don't want to dismiss comments about not buying a mobile in France, but so far none of the arguments presented have sounded very convincing, especially if you don't want a PAYG phone. Can anyone provide further clarification?

Rob