Vodafone’s discount SIM only promotion has proved so popular that the mobile network has decided to extend its offer for another month. Now ending on 30 April instead of 31 March, Vodafone’s deals feature SIM only price plans costing from just £8 per month on 90 day or 12 month contracts.

» See Vodafone SIM only deals (opens in a new window or tab)

For more details – including summaries of the price plans and their inclusive allowances (calls, texts, mobile internet data and BT Openzone Wi-Fi) – see our earlier post here.

Vodafone has launched a discount promotion on two of its cheapest SIM only price plans. The tariffs will return to their previous prices at the end of March April 2012 (offer extended by one month), so buy now if you don’t want to miss out.

The cheapest of the price plans now costs just £8 per month and comes with unlimited texts and a choice of 90 day or 12 month minimum contract terms:

SIM only price plan	Minimum contract	Inclusive monthly allowances
£8 per month (was £10.50)	12 months	150 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB mobile internet, 750MB BT Openzone Wi-Fi
£8 per month (was £10.50)	90 days	100 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB mobile internet, 750MB BT Openzone Wi-Fi
£13 per month (was £15.50)	12 months	300 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB mobile internet, 750MB BT Openzone Wi-Fi
£13 per month (was £15.50)	90 days	200 minutes, unlimited texts, 250MB mobile internet, 750MB BT Openzone Wi-Fi

» Buy Vodafone SIM only now (opens in a new window or tab)

Don’t delay – this offer ends on 31 March 30 April 2012.

Standard, Smartphone and BlackBerry SIM only options

Each of Vodafone’s discounted SIM only price plans is available in three versions. Simply check the box at the top of their SIM only price plans to switch between standard phone, smartphone and BlackBerry options.

The standard phone doesn’t include mobile internet or BT Openzone allowances. These are added at no extra cost when selecting the smartphone or BlackBerry options. The BlackBerry version also includes BlackBerry services and email, again at no extra cost. You really can’t sniff at that!

Vodafone vs Orange SIM only

Vodafone’s discounts bring its SIM only price plans within touching distance of Orange’s popular Dolphin 7 SIM only deal. Dolphin 7 costs a tad less at only £7 per month and has remained available to canny online shoppers for longer than expected. Orange’s ”limited time” tariff features 150 minutes, 500 text messages and 250MB mobile internet on a 12 month contract. See Vodafone’s site (via the link above) for full details on its discounted and other SIM only price plans.

In true oddball style, giffgaff is offering to rehome a battery hen for every new SIM card that’s activated.

» Order a free giffgaff SIM card now (opens in a new window or tab)

Offering an alternative to pay monthly deals, giffgaff’s SIM only deals have no minimum contract (as emphasised in the video). Having activated your free SIM card, you can buy goodybags. Each goodbybag lasts for one month and gives you:

- Inclusive calling and texts (most text allowances are unlimited)
- Unlimited mobile internet browsing and email
- Free calls and texts to other giffgaff customers.

A virtual network (like Tesco Mobile), giffgaff is powered by O2′s UK mobile phone network and offers better value than many similarly priced pay monthly contracts – especially for customers who’ve owned their phones for longer than their minimum contract terms with other networks.

In so doing, Apple wrong-footed hordes of journalists, analysts and mobile industry commentators, who’d collectively generated vast wordage speculating about the impending iPhone 5, only to discover that its arrival wasn’t so imminent after all.

The choice of name makes abundant sense, as the dimensions and outward appearance of the iPhone 4S are almost identical to its predecessor (good news if you already have an iPhone 4 case that you’d like to keep using – and even better news for case manufacturers).

In terms of functionality, the iPhone 4S delivers a number of significant advancements including:

- An 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording
- Other camera optics improvements including an additional lens, a wider f/2.4 aperture (for better low light performance) and refined LED flash
- Dual-core A5 processor chip, delivering up to 2 x faster performance and up to 7 x faster graphics
- Intelligent switching between two built-in antennae for better call quality
- Siri personal assistant software, offering advanced voice-based control and interaction with the iPhone

iPhone 4S contract deals

The iPhone 4S is currently available to pre-order from many UK mobile networks on pay monthly contracts for planned delivery from 14 October 2011 onwards:

» Buy the iPhone 4S direct from Vodafone (with 3 months “data test drive”).
» Buy the iPhone 4S direct from T-Mobile
» Buy the iPhone 4S direct from Orange
» Buy the iPhone 4S direct from Three
» Buy the iPhone 4S direct from O2

 SIM-free / unlocked iPhone 4S

Apple’s latest smartphone can also be purchased direct from Apple’s UK online store. These handsets are supplied unlocked, so can be used on any UK network when inserting a compatible micro SIM card.

» Buy the iPhone 4S SIM-free / unlocked direct from Apple UK

Apple Store’s prices include free UK shipping, with pre-orders currently scheduled for delivery within 1-2 weeks from ordering.

SIM-only iPhone 4S price plans

Many UK networks offer “SIM only” price plans specifically for the iPhone (delivered via SIM cards in the required micro SIM format).

Monthly costs for SIM only plans are typically much lower than for iPhone contract deals, as there’s no handset price subsidisation (implied or otherwise) included within the monthly cost.

iPhone SIM only deals come with as short as 30 day minimum contract periods, though longer terms are also available. See the UK mobile networks’ online shops via the above links for more details.

This time the incentive is £50 of FREE Marks and Spencer vouchers with each 12 month Simplicity SIM only contract.

» O2 SIM Only – view Simplicity deals

The new offer runs from today (8 July) until 5 August 2011. If you’re tempted, don’t hang about – time tends to fly faster than we’d all like to think!

Simplicity price plans include versions for standard mobile phones, smartphones, BlackBerrys and iPhones with prices ranging from £15.50 to £51 depending upon type of handset and how much inclusive mobile data usage is selected.