I have finally, after much research and deliberation, upgraded my mobile phone. I had just finished a 12 month contract with O2 in December and as much as I loved my dear little Nokia 3330 (gone but not forgotten), I knew the time and technology had come when I had to move with the times and upgrade.

As there are so many different deals on the market these days, I thought it wise to fully check all the alternative mobile networks to ensure I got the best possible deal. I think I managed to, although they change so often its hard to tell! In the end, I stayed with O2, signing up for another 12 months.

Website - O2.co.uk

O2 have a very thorough and fairly easy to navigate website. You can register with them and log on, enabling you to personalise.

It has lots of features including Products and services section where you can find details of all handsets with details of their features, tariffs section, giving prices and deals. There is a shop section where you can buy ringtones, wallpapers, games etc. There is a section telling you about network coverage, where you can check for the area where you live. You can send text messages from your pc. There is also a section call O2 Active, (you can also get this on WAP on your phone), it has lots of games, sport entertainment etc. There are a lot of other features to the website, it would take me pages to explain it all.

I am going to download some new ringtones, games and wallpaper, of which there are quite a few, but to do this I will have to delve into the instruction book, as I do not possess the knowledge yet unfortunately. (I'll try to update my review when I have, but it could take a while!).

Phones / Tariffs / Coverage

There is a wide range of the most up to date phones (as far as I can tell they are up to date, I've only just parted with my 3330!). It tells you the price for pay as you go, or contract. They have most makes, from Nokia and motorola to Sony Ericcson. You can view technical information about each one, such as standby and talk time, any features such as camera, colour screen etc.

New customers can also trade in their old phone and get some money back.

The tariffs are divided into two: Online or Offline. The prices are cheaper for Online. There are various deals/packages, which can include free off peak minutes, free on peak minutes, free media messaging etc, at various prices. There is a different tariff to suit most people. (details of mine are below)

Joining / Ordering / Delivery

As far as I remember (its over twelve months since I first signed up), the joining / ordering process was fairly simple. When I upgraded, I was able to track the order for my new phone online, which kept me up to date on the progress. I was told it would be a maximum of 14 days for delivery, but I received it in a week, which was not bad.

Bills

I find this a very useful benefit of an online contract. I can view my bills online anytime. It also shows me the current month's calls for which I have yet to be charged. It helps keep an eye on the cost of your monthly bill in case you get carried away. You do need to be registered on the website, with a user name and password, but this is simple to do. I also receive an email each month, telling me my total bill and when it will be taken out of my bank by direct debit.

Online help and Offline help

Because I have an 'online' tariff, I get free 'online' help. This consists of a menu section, covering most questions about contracts, tariffs etc. If you are unable to find the relevant information in the help sections, you can contact O2 by email. You will receive a confirmation email in return stating that O2 have received your message and you will receive a reply within a few days. I have used this service four or five times. Only once have I received no reply. However, twice I have received an email back telling me that I need to ring the help line, for which they very nicely gave me the correct number for my query. What they did not tell me, until I had rung the number, was that the calls are charged at 50p a minute! It is also extremely difficult to get through and I have been in a queue for up to 20 minutes before I got bored and hung up. When I did eventually get through, the staff were very nice and dealt with my query promptly. They seemed to have a good knowledge of the products and services without having to put me on hold to check anything. Overall the customer services staff and information is good, the problem is there are not enough of them and it is too expensive to ring. (One staff member apologised for the wait and told me they were under staffed).

My contract

I tend to use my phone at off peak times and for sending a lot of text messages. I also have access to the Internet regularly to view bills etc. So this is the type of deal I was looking for. My brand spanking new upgraded contract is of the online variety. I have a new Nokia 7250i camera phone which was 'free' (I use this term loosely, see below). My tariff is ' Online, off peak 300'. For this I get 300 minutes of off peak calls to any network a month, 500 text messages a month, 500 off peak wap minutes a month and 0.50Mb GPRS (I would explain the GPRS further, but I admit it confuses me somewhat). I get all this for a bargain £20 a month. Having researched other networks thoroughly, I concluded that this was one of, if not the best deal for me.

My contract for last year was slightly different. I already had a Nokia 3330 phone from a previous network and so had a 'sim only' contract. The free minutes and texts etc were much the same as the current tariff.

Last years contract cost me £15 a month. When I decided to upgrade (ie, get a new handset), I choose a handset which was stated on the website as being 'free'. I already had my £15 sim contract, the phone is 'free', problem solved?? No, not quite. Customer service told me, it is only 'free' on a handset tariff at £5 more. Therefore I would be paying an extra £5 a month, so how could the phone be 'free'??? I am still confused by this.

Conclusion

After much searching and deliberation, I still believe O2 has given me the best deal, based upon my needs. The customer service when you can get hold of them are polite and dealt with my queries efficiently. The cost for said customer service at 50p a minute is way too expensive and a bit cheeky considering the contract is supposed to include ONLINE help. However, I am a patient person (maybe too patient) and can cope with the constant 'you are in a queue we will get to you shortly' voice on their helpline, for a while.. Hopefully now I have upgraded and started a new years contract, I will have no need to ring them anyway.

I was a little bit narked at the 'free' handset which I had to pay extra a month for, but its still cheaper than anywhere else so I won't complain too much, although I think they should change there advertising to state you have to have a certain tariff to get the elusive 'free' handset. Having had previous contract experience with Singlepoint (boo, hiss!!), which was nothing short of horrendous, I can safely say that unless I find a cheaper deal next year, I will stay with O2.