Samsung’s third generation Galaxy Note smartphone-cum-tablet has finally landed on shelves in the UK, making a big splash alongside the Galaxy S4 and its ever-growing range of brothers and sisters.
Sporting a slightly larger but much higher quality Full HD screen than its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 3 packs in a more powerful processor, newer Android software and new tricks with a modified S Pen stylus. It’s definitely a high-end product and as such you’ll be forking out a wedge to buy it SIM-free – £594, in fact – so here are all the contract deals:
EE – Tariffs start from £41 per month, with the phone costing £150 up front on that particular deal. For your money you’ll get 2GB of 4G data and unlimited calls and texts. If you want 10GB of data then you can pay £46 per month and £70 up front for the phone.
O2 – EE isn’t the only UK network to take advantage of the Note 3’s 4G capabilities. You can pick one up on O2 for £47 per month, netting you 1GB of data – rather measly, compared to EE’s offering. Data can be bumped up to £52 per month for 5GB and £57 for 8GB, though.
Three – Whilst not offering 4G just yet, Three seems to have lower upfront phone costs. It has the Note 3 32GB in black and white for either £34, £36 or £38 per month, with all three asking £99 for the phone itself up front. The One Plan offers All-you-can-eat data, 2,000 minutes, 5,000 texts and 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes for £38 per month. Three estimates it can deliver you a Note 3 by October 8th, which is quite a wait.
Orange – To get the phone free you’ll need to opt for Orange’s £52 per month ‘The Works’ plan, which scores you unlimited minutes and texts plus 8GB data, which isn’t too shabby. There are plenty of other tariffs to suit lower budgets, texters and callers – for example £41 per month results in an up-front phone cost of £69.99, with 900 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.
T-Mobile – T-Mobile is the only network to not yet offer the Note 3 on its website, though it seems to be directing customers in its shop straight through to EE anyway.
Carphone Warehouse – CPW has the Note 3 free on contracts from £42 per month, with a selection of tariffs from all major networks. As is usually the case, this is one of the better places to come if you want a freebie or some extra value from your mobile contract – Whilst it isn’t giving anything away this time, those who order a Note 3 online get £50 off the purchase of Samsung’s also new Galaxy Gear smartwatch – which retails at £299.
Phones 4u – P4U has a range of tariffs from EE, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Orange, so no good for Three and O2 customers unfortunately. Vodafone’s offer of 4GB extra data on top of the standard 4GB for £48 per month plus £29 for the phone is probably the most attractive prospect. By buying a 4G phone from P4U you also net access to 12,000 Wi-Fi hotspots for free for 3 months, plus a Bluetooth speaker thrown in.