Mobile Network Comparison

Tiny mobile phones designed to resemble wireless car key fobs are increasingly finding their way into the UK’s prisons. Prisoners are only allowed to make phone calls through overpriced shared landlines on prison corridors and being in possession of a mobile phone inside is a criminal offence. However, the rise of miniscule and easily-concealable key fob phones built in China means that its easier than ever for convicts to get hold of an illegal phone.

For many it’s a vital lifeline to keep in touch with friends and family especially given that the breakdown of these relationships is one of the strongest indicators for reoffending. But the prison service can condemned the sale of these phones as they are seemingly designed specially to make them easy to smuggle into prisons. The mobile phones sell from as little as £35 each and they are manufactured with minimal amounts of metal inside to evade special phone-detecting chairs installed in prisons.

Despite the fact that it’s a severe criminal offence, thousands of contraband mobiles are seized in prison each year. And the Chief Inspector of Prisons has admitted that it’s well known amongst staff that illegal mobile phones are owned by a huge proportion of prisoners. Nick Hardwick has actually called for a better way to give inmates more regular phone allowance that would be better managed and supervised so as to cut down on the use of illicit mobiles.

In response to the news, a Prison Service spokesperson claimed that they are working with Soca – the Serious Organised Crime Agency – as well as Trading Standards to “ban” key fob phones. Quite how they would be defined and how this would work is another matter entirely. And, as we all know, it won’t make any difference as it will still be trivial to import the devices from abroad.

In actual fact, it seems that Soca’s involvement is simply to issue alerts to car manufacturers who are having their logos and trademarks used without their consent. However, altering the phones to avoid copyright infringement would seem to be a simple way to sidestep any attempt at a “ban”.

The cynical observer would claim that this is another excuse to weasel out of installing proper mobile frequency jammers on prisons that would end the problem if they were seriously and genuinely concerned about inmates’ use of mobile phones. However, the Prison Service may well be reluctant to introduce this idea as it would prevent their staff using their own mobiles while at work. And install a mini-cell tower with an IMEI whitelist would be too expensive to tackle what is tacitly accepted as a minor problem.

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Despite Apple’s renewed efforts to create the strongest and sturdiest build yet for the iPhone 5, it still doesn’t like being fumbled around, and one unlucky drop could end your iPhone 5’s life for good. Luckily, there are plenty of cases on the market, and whilst some are better than others, there’s really only a handful that can guarantee your iPhone will be safe in the most extreme conditions. If you’re looking for a real tough case that can treat your iPhone how it deserves, read on below to find out what we rank as the 5 toughest iPhone cases available today.

Case Mate Tough Xtreme

Was £39.99 Now only £22.50

Case Mate has been in the game for a while now, and although they cover cases for various needs, they are still trying hard to show off something that can take a beating at the top of their range with the new Tough Xtreme.

Case Mate have previously gone with some interesting design ideas for older generation iPhones, but this time round the accessory manufacturer have kept things simple.

The case is a tight fit, but it’s justified by the three layers of protection that are offered from the case; the first layer covers the iPhone in a soft shock absorbing interior, whilst the middle layer is of a hard material capable of taking most of the brute force thrown at it, whilst the top layer is a softer one, making it not only comfortable to hold,but also quite a good looker too.

The edges have been cut into to help with grip, and whilst button accessibility is a little less smooth than without the case, it does warrant the holder the reassurance of avoiding any accidental button presses whilst holding the phone in the hand or pocket. Overall, the case could be a little less stiff, but the case itself is stylish, and allows owners to keep a bit more convenience over other cases thanks to its thinner build.

Impact Protection
Cost
Grip
Other protective features

Ballistic Hardcore Case for iPhone 5

Was £39.99 Now only £28.50

The Ballistic Hardcore case is a step up from the Case Mate, and although it lacks the well-known branding of other cases, it still carries a name that backs up the protection it can serve to your iPhone 5.

There are multiple layers of protection on the Hardcore case, all of which have enough shock absorbing qualities to keep you from damaging your iPhone 5 when dropped.

The case feels a lot bulkier than the Case Mate and despite the awesome grip that this case grants you, the rigid design can make it a little less comfortable to hold. However, the extra bumper size ensures that you don’t damage the screen when dropped at any odd angles, and when put together properly, we doubt the iPhone 5 will even feel the impact from most average drops to the ground.

Impact Protection
Cost
Grip
Other protective features

Otterbox Defender

Only £18.40

Otterbox has been in the game long enough to what works, and once again the Otterbox Defender manages to outperform many other tough cases in terms of protectiveness, thanks to the research gone into the case.

A nice feature on the Otterbox Defender is the built in screen protector that manages to keep the screen clean whilst the rest of the case keeps the handset from getting damaged. Previous models have had a few problems with this protector, but we’re glad to find that the Otterbox Defender for the iPhone 5 has resolved previous issues found on earlier generations.

The case itself also manages to absorb a huge amount of impact thanks to its polycarbonate design, which has also been paired with another layer of shock absorbing material.

The Otterbox Defender manages to offer a solid amount of protection whilst still giving users the full functionality of the phone, and whilst other casesmanage to give even more protection at the loss of some functionality of the phone, the Defender sure has enough protection for practical use.

Impact Protection
Cost
Grip
Other protective features

LUNATIK TakTik Extreme

Was £119.95 Now only £93.91

The LUNITAK TakTik Extreme is a case that has popped up and has slowly started picking fights against the big names like Otterbox, Case Mate and Griffin, and despite the great protection offered from the Otterbox Defender, it still stands out as a case that gives a lot more protection than the popular Defender.

When set up, the LUNATIK TakTik offers full accessibility to all ports, and the buttons (although with a bit more pressure) can still be pressed, however, the case manages to hold up a decent water resistance, meaning any spilt drinks onto the phone should not be a worry.

On top of this, the multiple layers found within the TakTik give it a huge amount of shock absorption, making the iPhone safe as sound within the case.

It is a lot bulkier than the Otterbox Defender, and although there are some thick cutouts, these surprisingly do not affect the call quality, and the speakers sound as good as they would without the case.

The downsidesare that the case needs to be held together with six screws, meaning that although its super sturdy, it’s not going to be a quick job getting it back out again, and on top of this, the price isn’t pretty. That being said, the TakTik is by far the sturdiest case you can buy right now, and the premium price is there for those who need protection in extreme conditions. If you’re serious about protecting your £500+ phone, this is hard to argue with.

Impact Protection
Cost
Grip
Other protective features

Griffin Survivor Case

Was £34.99 Now only £13.99

The Griffin Survivor case is not as sturdy as the TakTik, but it easily manages to land in second place. It’s multiple layers manage to keep it safe from dirt, dust, sand, rain, and of course big falls and drops.

It’s hard to say whether the impact protection offered by the Griffin Survivor is better than that of the Otterbox Defender without running a car over themboth; however, the case manages to hold together very well whilst retaining a very decent price.

The downside is that you may find yourself with less responsive buttons and screen, and you won’t be able to use your back camera as this is covered with the back case protection and a case stand/clip.

Impact Protection
Cost
Grip
Other protective features

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About a month ago we covered Three Mobile’s new groundbreaking 321 tariff. They’ve really stepped up their game by bringing out what are easily the UK’s cheapest PAYG rates ever.

Previously, calls used to cost 26p per minute but now you’ll only have to pay a tiny 3p. Texts were also slashed from 11p each down to just 2p each. And data went down the most dramatically from 11p/MB to just 1p/MB.

Unsurprisingly, industry experts and consumers alike have been praising Three’s bold move. This is really set to shake up the mobile market and hopefully will make the existing big players rethink whether they can continue to rip off the British public.

However, although these are easily the best rates currently available, we had to ask whether it’s really the cheapest way to use your phone. Longtime readers are aware that our main mission is to save you, the user, as much cash as possible.

While you won’t do better on standard PAYG, lots of PAYG operators have been offering rolling monthly bundles recently which can offer phenomenal value for money. How much are Three really upping the ante when compared to these deals? In this article, we take a look at the biggest competitor to Three’s new 321 tariff, Giffgaff.

Giffgaff charges quite a bit more than Three on their standard PAYG with calls coming in at 10p/minute and texts costing a comparatively-pricey 8p each. Data is also 1p/MB but only if you use 20 MB per day – after that it explodes to an exorbitant 20p per MB However, they also offer a variety of monthly goodybags ranging from just £5 to £20.

The showdown

Let’s start off with the cheapest, the £5 Hokey Cokey goodybag. this comes with 60 included minutes, 300 texts and 20MB of mobile data.

On 321, this would set you back a total of £8. And also bear in mind that you also get additional free minutes on the Hokey Cokey goodybag for every minute someone calls you and to all other Giffgaff customers.

Giffgaff wins

Next is the £7.50 goodybag which offers you 200 minutes, unlimited texts and 250 MB of data.

Even if we ignore the unlimited texts, this would cost more on 321 coming in at £8.50 for the same usage. If you use just 150 texts a month it would be £11.50 and if you went up to 300 a month your costs would be a whole £7 more at £14.50.

Giffgaff wins

Probably Giffgaff’s most popular goodybag is the £10 goodybag coming with a massive 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of tetherable data.

Taking an extreme example, if you only used half the allowances and didn’t send a single text you’d still have to pay more on 321 with your cost being £12.62 instead of £10. And if you just made 500 minutes of calls and didn’t use any data or SMS you’d have to pay £15 on Three instead. It gets worse – if you use up your full 500 minute and 1GB allowance as well as send about 150 texts, the price on 321 would be over 300% that of Giffgaff coming in at a massive £31.24.

Giffgaff wins

The next option is the £12 goodybag which offers 250 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

Again, 321 costs a lot more even if you only use a fraction of your allowance. For example, making 150 minutes of calls, 200 texts and using half a gig of data would be £13.62 on Three compared to £12 on Giffgaff. If you start to make the most of those unlimited allowances and still only make 150 minutes of calls but with 1.5 GB of mobile internet and 400 texts, it’s more than twice as much at £27.86 on 321.

Giffgaff wins

The £15 goodybag on Giffgaff gives you 400 minutes as well as the same unlimited texts and data.

Unsurprisingly, this also seems to beat the 321 tariff under reasonable usage conditions. If you manage to get through 300 of your minutes and send 300 texts as well as use half a GB of your data allowance you’ll still pay £15 on Giffgaff but over £20 on Three. If you use the full allowance of 400 minutes as well as send 300 texts and use 1GB of data, your costs on 321 would be almost twice as much as on Giffgaff!

However, to be fair we should also mention Three’s monthly bundle on PAYG which also costs £15. This offers 300 minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB of data. So while it’s not as good value as Giffgaff, it’s certainly a better choice than the 321 tariff if you have this level of usage. In fact, if you used these full amounts on 321, it would set you back a massive £79.24!

Giffgaff and Three draw

Finally, we’ve got the £20 goodybag which still comes with unlimited texts and data as well as a massive 1200 minutes.

Even if you completely ignored your unlimited texts and internet access and just made 700 minutes of calls, it would still be more expensive to choose 321 over Giffgaff. And if you wanted to make 1200 minutes of calls and just 300 texts and 1GB of data you’d be looking at over £50 compared to just £20 with a goodybag.

Giffgaff wins

Verdict

So there you have it. The final score is pretty obvious: in almost all our examples, Giffgaff turned out to be much cheaper than Three’s new 321 tariff. So make sure you run some calculations before you switch over! If you currently have monthly usage around any of the amounts offered by Giffgaff’s goodybags, you’ll almost certainly be better off than switching to a pure PAYG tariff like 321.

Of course, there are some important caveats to be aware of if you really want to save money. Firstly, it’s only worth getting a goodybag if you will normally use up a decent portion of it. If you spend £10 on a goodybag and only use a fifth of your minutes and, say, 100 texts and 250MB of data, you’ll still be paying but could have spent just £9.06 on Three (even though you could have saved money by going for the £7.50 goodybag instead).

If you are a very low user you will also do better with 321. For example, if you only make about 20 mins of calls and 20 texts a month and don’t user internet at all, your price on Three will be just £1 compared to £3.60 on Giffgaff. So make sure you’ve checked to make sure your choice is the best option for you.

And don’t forget that Giffgaff also has other ways to save money such as free calls, texts and video chats to all other Giffgaff users which can be a real money saver if you know lots of people who also use the network.

How much money can you save by switching PAYG provider? Let us know who you’re choosing and why.

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