I did a bit of wheeler dealing with upgrading my mobile phone yesterday. I’ve had my heart set on a Sony Ericsson X1 for a long time now, but in order to get one I would have had to switch mobile networks to Vodafone. I’m not a big fan of Vodafone who are the only network launching the Xperia X1, particularly as the reception is bad in my area, and my current network T-Mobile is a lot cheaper.
But, then I had a brainwave and I decided to see what upgrade deal T-Mobile would give me on my Nokia N95. I wondered if they would give me a good enough deal on a new handset that I could sell on eBay and a deal on a new contract, that would provide enough cash for me to buy an unlocked Xperia X1 that I could use on T-Mobile.
In the end T-Mobile offered me a fantastic deal and gave me a Nokia N96 for free, as well as a much better contract for only 1 pound extra per month. To get an equivalent contract with Vodafone would cost me around 15 pounds extra per month, so the savings on my contract over 18 months, plus the money I will get for the Nokia N96 will be more than enough to cover the cost of an unlocked Sony Ericsson X1, which I’ve just ordered from play.com for 500 pounds.
It’s been a long wait for the Xperia X1, and hopefully it’ll arrive next week so that I can finally get my hands on what will be the best smartphone on the market in my view for at least the next 12 months. I’m fairly certain my next upgrade will be to a Google Android phone as I think the OS is the future of mobile services, but the handsets need some time to catchup.
