When Mobile By Sainsbury's sent me a phone and a voucher with which to perform my first top-up, I had actually been in the process of researching new phone and tariff alternatives as my current mobile contract (that I have renewed every 12-18 months for the past 9 years) is due to come to an end next month. Every year I consider moving to a PAYG phone and every year I decide that PAYG isn't for me... until now. I expected to try out the new Sainsbury's mobile phone service, enjoy it, and then default back to my tried and trusted phone and provider but actually, I've been genuinely impressed enough to make the big move of letting my contract run out so that i can permanently move over to Mobile By Sainsbury's.
The features of the new Mobile By Sainsbury's pay as you go service that most appeal to me are:-
- Nectar points! Not only do you get Nectar points on your top-ups but also, when you buy a monthly bundle you get double points on your shopping for the lifetime of that bundle which means that the points quickly add up. I'm currently saving my Nectar points for Christmas presents for the girls.
- Good value bundles that can be bought and used each month. The £10 bundle offers the same number of minutes and volume of data as my current contract but with unlimited texts and all for less than my current monthly tariff. But for me, a bundle isn't always a great idea because I really don't use my phone very much these days so the fact that the bundle runs out in 30 days means that I might not make the most of it. But that's OK because...
- There is good flexibility - you don't HAVE to buy a bundle in order to use your phone. In fact, if you really are a very low user then you can even change your tariff to get better call and text rates than if you make ad-hoc calls outside your bundle when you're on the bundle plan.
- It is soooo easy to top up. It is 9 years since I last had a PAYG phone so I was a bit out of practice when it came to top-up but I have found topping up to be phenomenally easy using the top-up card linked to my phone number so I can get the card swiped in Sainsbury's stores to pay for credit OR I can buy a top-up from any mobile top-up seller and then register it by phone later on.
As to the phone... well, Mobile By Sainsbury's have a small selection of phone available (one handset for as little as £12). The Sony Xperia is one of their top of the range handsets. It runs Android and I've found it to be really fast when running apps and accessing wifi networks. I'm impressed by the colour touch screen and with the ease of integration with many of my online accounts, specifically my google accounts which means an almost seamless access to my mails, contacts, G+ and browser history.
Mobile by Sainsbury's runs using the Vodafone network and I've found the reception to be good at home, at work and one the move... even in the wildest depths of Cornwall when we went on holiday.
So all around, I'm a very happy bunny...hence the champers! So, when my current contract finally runs out next month, I am planning on moving my existing mobile number over to my new phone on Mobile by Sainsbury's.
