Nokia N8 Contract Deals: Free Nokia N8 £19.79/month, 600mins, Unlimited Text (via 5 month cashback from £25/m)

My housemate was looking to buy a Nokia N8 but with it being out of stock he some how ended up with a Sony Ericsson Satio. So in trying to convince him to return that for a decent contract price (he still paid £150 for the phone on £15 contract) I went about looking for some Nokia N8 deals. Here’s the cheapest ones I’ve found.

NOTE: When buying into a contract, it is important to factor in your usual monthly call, text and internet expenses. There’s no point getting a cheap contract that you’d consistently go over – especially if going into the next line-rental boundary accommodates your usage.

NOTE 2: These cheap deals are via cashback/redemption. They do work – the catch is that some people don’t bother/forget/can’t do them and the network keeps what should have been free line rental. Dependent on the instructions you may have to send back your bills every certain number of months (please check) within a specified limit (e.g. 28days). Failure to do so and you don’t get your cash back. Plus the cash back may not be instant and may take a long while. (Helps to send your claims by special/recorded delivery btw)

NOTE 3: Make sure that your chosen network has a good signal where you live/work/travel. No point choosing the cheapest contract when you can’t even use your minutes/text due to no signal. Also Network web speeds differ so factor this in if that’s also important.

NOTE 4: When finding online deals, check that they are from reputable, safe retailers. We have no affiliation with any of these sites/links/retailers – but they have been used by friends/acquaintances.

NOTE 5: Check how long the contract plan is for. 12 month is very rare, with 18 and 24 being the new standards. Though you could have a cheaper line, the longer duration may make it more expensive (e.g. 20 over 24m vs 22.5 over 18m). We’ve put total expenses with/without cashback in the sums.

NOTE 6: It’s worth checking with the retailer (over the phone or by chat) whether the phone you will be sold by contract is unlocked or unbranded. Sometimes a retailer may sell contract phones which are identical to unlocked phones. No branding (network specific software) or locking (stuck to that network, no other sim works). This might influence your plan choice if you want an unlocked phone BUT need to be on contract. (All phones I’ve ever bought on contract are also unlocked/unbranded)

1: ORANGE: Effective Line Rental: £20

Nokia N8: Free

Tariff: £30/M over 24 months. (Total expenses: 720GBP)

Minutes: 500 (let’s say 10p/min that’s £50 on pay and go)

Text: Unlimited (let’s say 5p/text for 1000 text that’s £50 on pay and go)

Internet: 500MB (call this £5 bundle/month on pay and go)

This alone is equivalent to an O2 simplicity tariff (no phone, just sim) that on its own already costs £20/month!

But it’s at £30/m? Well:

Offer: 8 months free line rental by redemption. Saves £240

£720 (contract price) – £240 (cashback) = £480

Factor in the value of the line rental minutes/calls/web at £20/m*24 = £480.

You’re basically missing out on an N8 if you’re on O2’s simplicity 20 for 24 months as here on orange you’re effectively and literally getting a free N8 by just paying for line rental.

Total Expenses with cashback: £480

SOURCE: E2SAVE

Oh – Alternatively you can stick at £30 without cashback and choose another “Free Gift”. Because of the loop jumping the none are worth the equivelant £240 saving.

2: T-Mobile: Effective Monthly Cost £19.79

This T-Mobile Tariff is quite flexible. You can choose from Unlimited internet/unlimited text/unlimited T-Mobile or Unlimited landline calls

Nokia N8: Free

Tariff: £25/M over 24 months. (Total Expenses: 600GBP)

Minutes: 600 (let’s say 10p/min that’s £50 on pay and go)

Text: Unlimited or 500 if you choose other free booster (let’s say 5p/text for 500 text that’s £25 on pay and go)

Internet: Can be unlimited (call this £5 bundle/month on pay and go)

This alone is equivalent to an O2 simplicity tariff (no phone, just sim) that on its own already costs £20/month!

But it’s at £25/m? Well:

Offer: 5 months free line rental by redemption. Saves £125

£600 (contract price) – £125 (cashback) = £475

Factor in the value of the line rental minutes/calls/web at £20/m*24 = £480.

I’d say this contract alone is good enough for £25/month actually. You can’t get this on T-Mobile’s site. The cheapest you can get the N8 for free is at the £35 mark and you only get 400 minutes extra for £10. Same text and web allowance.

Total Expenses with cashback: £474.96

SOURCE: buymobilephones.net

3: O2: Effective Monthly Cost: £22.50

We’ll take a closer look at the O2 one as this works out the cheapest over all

Nokia N8: Free

Tariff: £30/M over 18 months. (Total expenses: 540GBP)

Minutes: 300  (let’s say 10p/min that’s £50 on pay and go)

Text: Unlimited (let’s say 5p/text for 1000 text that’s £50 on pay and go)

Internet: Can be “unlimited” (call this £5 bundle/month on pay and go)

This alone is equivalent to an O2 simplicity tariff (no phone, just sim) that on its own already costs £15/month!

But it’s at £30/m? Well:

Offer: 9 months half price rental by redemption. Saves £135

£540 (contract price) – £135 (cashback) = £405

Factor in the value of the line rental minutes/calls/web at £20/m*24 = £135 <<effective Nokia N8 price.

Total Expenses with cashback: £405 <<Cheapest over all

SOURCE: DialAPhone

I’ve glossed over 3, Vodafone, TalkMobile but none as “cheap” as this. There are other things to factor in to the whole “value” for money depending on your usage. But that’ll be another time.

Looking to get a N8? What’s the best Nokia N8 deals have you found? What Network/Country/Inclusive Minutes-text-web?

If  you have an N8, what network/deal did you take?