Vodafone Red Hot launches today

Vodafone UK is today launching Vodafone Red Hot, its first plan designed to allow pay monthly customers to rent some of its hottest phones, changing them every year, without the need to make a large payment upfront. Building on the successful introduction of Vodafone Red, Vodafone Red Hot gives customers unlimited calls and texts, 2GB of internet and WiFi on a 12 month contract.

From £47 a month, Vodafone Red Hot is available on three handsets and includes insurance, a screen protector and a personalised phone case as standard.  At the end of 12 months customers can either choose to extend their contract, or swap the phone for a newer model.

The decision to offer customers the ability to rent a phone comes on the back of customer research that demonstrated that many people wanted to change their phones more regularly, but did not wish to make a large initial contribution at the start of their contract. Florie Brizel, Mobilologist and CEO of Los Angeles-based Brizel Media, explains further on our official blog, Vodafone Social http://blog.vodafone.co.uk/redhot/

Srini Gopalan, Consumer Director, Vodafone UK said “We’ve been working incredibly hard to simplify the price plans we offer to customers. Vodafone Red Hot marks another way for customers to stay one step ahead of their friends, having the latest technology in their hands.  Coupled with unlimited calls, texts and a massive amount of internet, we think there will be many customers who will see this as a great choice.”

Vodafone Red Hot plan offers unlimited calls to all UK mobiles – not just other Vodafone customers – and standard UK landlines, with no restrictions on how long a customer can talk or how many people they call. Vodafone Red Hot will be available through Vodafone’s retail stores across the UK.

• Rent a smartphone, with no upfront costs and change it every year
• Talk and text as much as you want and get loads of internet with Vodafone Red Hot
• Truly unlimited calls and texts available for the hottest handsets

For further information visit vodafone.co.uk/redhot

iPhone 5 contract prices for UK phone networks revealed

While Apple had its preorders primed since 8am BST, British carriers have only just unveiled their monthly prices for the newest iPhone. Vodafone will offer it on contracts from £25 per month -- with an initial £249 outlay) or free on £47 per month for two years. That free deal will net you a 16GB iPhone 5, with 2GB of data, unlimited texts and voice minutes. On Orange, a 24-month contract at £46 will nab you the same 16GB model for free, with 3GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. If you drop down to the £20 rate, you'll have to pay £320 upfront and pick up a lightweight bundle of 100MB of data, 50 texts and 50 minutes. EE stablemate T-Mobile isn't offering any free iPhones on its carrier plans, but you'll be able to glean unlimited internet (alongside 2000 voice minutes) on a 16GB iPhone 5 for £109 and £36 per month on contract.

Confusingly, anyone looking to grab the UK's first LTE network on the iPhone 5 will have to sign up to a "4GEE from EE" plan -- which still hasn't revealed its pricing. Meanwhile, Three UK currently has the 16GB iPhone on its unlimited data One Plan at £79 upfront, on a £36 per month deal. We'll update again once we hear O2's plans. 

EE says "Customers can either wait for EE to launch (we will be announcing the date in the coming weeks) or they can sign up to a contract with T-Mobile or Orange and upgrade to EE free of charge once it has launched, as long as they move to an equivalent priced and length plan"

Phones4U is taking its own pre-orders for those who want to enlist with Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone. O2 has also chipped in with its details and is offering the iPhone 5 on plans starting from £26 per month; like Orange, you'll have to opt for at least a £46 monthly outlay to get one for free. The O2 plans offer the same unlimited voice and texts, but just 1GB of data. Lastly, Carphone Warehouse has chipped in with its own advance order campaign, although it's only taking online orders for the 16GB black iPhone at this stage: you'll need to call in for everything else.

[Source: Engadget]