Mobile Network Comparison

Charitable virtual mobile network, The People’s Operator, have launched a stunning new range of SIM-only plans for 2016. Available as a range of bundles we’ve compared them to some of the alternatives and it’s pretty clear they are some of the best deals currently available and maybe ever in the UK market.

So far this year, TPO have been signing up new customers at a ridiculous rate. And they’re not planning on slowing down – not content with offering such cheap deals, they’re also pulling out all the stops with an exclusive 50% off special offer for your first month. Here’s the current options available:

As you can see, these bundles are shockingly good value. For example, if you pay just £7.50, you will get a mighty 1000 inclusive minutes as well as 3GB of mobile data and completely unlimited text messages.

If you’ve only got £5 to spend, you still get a hell of a lot. TPO’s cheapest bundle includes unlimited SMS, 300 minutes of voice calls and a whole 1GB of mobile internet.

Ordering a SIM is completely free and you can get started in moments. You even get to keep your existing phone number very simply.

Here are some of the benefits TPO advertise for their SIM-only offerings:

Are these the best offers currently available? Do you know of any superior SIM-only plans currently available? And would you consider joining TPO for these deals?

Smartphones are one of the most competitive market segments in consumer goods. It is no easy task to introduce a new range of devices into this market, and succeed. There are so many factors which influence buyer decisions. Although shoppers are still fiercely price conscious, technical features, design and that elusive element – branding – determine the final purchase.

According to Tech Advisor, “The OnePlus X is the best value smartphone of the year.”

Selling in the UK for £199 (the Onyx model) and £269 (for the Ceramic version), it has view rivals which offer similar features and specifications at these prices. For example, the Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) has good specifications at £159 but cannot match the design and build quality of the OnePlus X. The closest rival is the Nexus 5X, but it costs 50% more and this confirms the excellent value offered by the Chinese handset.

The OnePlus X has a superior design in a compact package with excellent software and a quality 5” 1080p Active Matrix OLED screen. The phone is available in Onyx -black glass on a metal bezel – which gives the phone a premium feel normally reserved for much more expensive handsets. There is also a limited edition Ceramic edition which is crafted in a process totalling 25 days. The ceramic is fire baked up to 2,700°F for more than 28 hours before cooling for two full days. Scratch-resistant with a hardness of 8.5H on the Mohs scale, the ceramic model has no peers, even at twice the price.

A 13 megapixel rear camera combined with an f/2.2 aperture and an 8 megapixel front camera will meet most users’ needs with Auto, HDR or Clear Image modes. Good performance is provided by the reliable Snapdragon 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The OnePlus X supports two nano SIMs with one card slot providing optional expandable storage, allowing a maximum capacity up to 128GB.

The OnePlus X is not perfect and the battery life and camera could be better but at this price it has no equals. This smartphone may deservedly become one of the best sellers of 2016.

The bestselling smartphone in 2015 is the 2014 iPhone 6 16GB, followed closely by the 2013 iPhone 5S with the 64GB iPhone 6 in the third position. The newer, but pricier, iPhone 6, the 6S 16GB, is the fourth best seller of the year. That the latest iPhone 6S managed to get a 4th place is particularly impressive since the phone was only released in September. The iPhone 6 has topped the global charts since September 2014 and is a worldwide favourite. Samsung only managed a lowly 5th spot with their top offering, the Galaxy S6 32GB.

Remarkably, next in the list the iPhone returns with phones in 6th and 7th position. Budget conscious buyers have been pushing up sales of the now discontinued 5C to 6th place followed by the 64GB iPhone 6S. Samsung manages to secure the final top ten positions with the Galaxy S6 Edge 32GB, followed by the Note 4. Coming in at the 10th position is the Galaxy S5.

Rob Kerr, the mobiles expert at uSwitch.com, said, “Apple’s authority in the UK mobile market is unrivalled. It’s the only manufacturer that can still attract queues days ahead of its major launches. It even makes Samsung look like a perennial underachiever.”

What is interesting is that the large screen iPhone 6S Plus does not make it into the list, which seems to indicate that the market is happier with the smaller form Apple handset tarher than the phablet. This may be a sign that users want a phone which is light, high tech and still slips easily into the pocket. And of course, it still has that distinctive Apple logo on the back which is arguable one of the main reasons for buying an iPhone.

What was your last phone? And would you always choose an Apple iPhone over another phone from a different brand?