Charles on… anything that comes along

Look, here I am, about to be unencumbered by my contract with Orange, which is coming to the end of its 18-month run. I don’t spend a lot per month - about £15 on contract, which usually comes out to double that. I rang Orange the other day to find out what I could get, and they offered - on a one-time offer only, for the duration of that phone call only (yeah, nice try on the corner-the-customer negotiation, guys) a deal for £12.50 per month which would give me a huge number of talktime minutes and 100 texts free. Plus free calls to landlines. “At evenings and weekends,” the guy said, though I had to remind him of the latter when he was summing up the list at the end of the call.

I didn’t bite. I have until the end of the week to decide which network to go, or stay with.

Here’s me.

• I stick with contract.
• I need a phone that gets very good coverage because I live rurally and travel on trains.
• I don’t do a lot of data (yet; might change if I got a Blackberry or similar).
• I don’t want a long long contract (18 months counts as long long; 12 months doesn’t) because it’s clearly a way to tie you in to bad packages (yes, I’m looking at you, Orange).
• I’d like a Sony Ericsson, please, because that plays nice with my computer, and that’s very important. An iPhone might do the business, but they ain’t on any shelves I’m seeing.

So, what’s your advice? Twiddly stuff like editing your own videos, ringtones, watching TV, watching videos, slicing cucumbers, and finding lost kittens aren’t important. I just want something pretty low-cost that lets me yak a lot in many places and isn’t too restrictive. Suggestions?

(This is filed under “Chocolate teapots” and “Scams” because that’s how mobile operators feel a lot of the time if you’re a customer.)

These posts might be related (the database thinks..):
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• Is Plaxo on OSX any good? Or, indeed, any use? (6 April 2006; score: 40.15%)
• Mobile TV isn't a turn-on; and how about cinemas where you exercise? (17 January 2006; score: 37.55%)