First of all, I am not very interested in the latest smartphone devices, so I am a person who thinks that there is no problem as long as the phone and internet work well. Smartphone devices are released by the latest brands every year, but the phone I’m using now doesn’t have much inconvenience, so I have the idea that if I change to the latest model, the functions I use are there. (Of course, the latest phone would be good, but the cost performance is the problem. -_-;;)
So I’ve been using cheap phones for a long time. At first, I used KT telecommunications company for smartphones and then I used U+, but I changed to a budget phone 7 years ago. After changing to a budget phone carrier, I have been using a budget phone as a used phone instead of the latest model. I have used Hello Mobile, SK7 Mobile, and Numobi (Uplus Affordable Mobile) evenly. Currently, I am using the 10G unlimited rate plan among the GS25 convenience store rate plans released by Numobi. 비지니스헬퍼
How should I start with a cheap phone?
It is much more beneficial to start by buying a self-sufficient air machine for a low-cost phone rather than a contract plan. If you sign up for a 2-3 year contract provided by a budget phone company because the device is expensive, the rate plan becomes expensive and you cannot use the cheap unlimited SIM plan. Even if you spend a lot of money in the beginning, starting with a self-sufficient air machine is much better in terms of cost. It’s not a bad idea to start with a used phone if you own a small amount of money.
Affordable phone and call quality?
Long ago there was a clear difference in communication quality. In particular, there was a lot of difference in call quality when using U+, and there were many times when it didn’t work in the elevator. But now there is absolutely no difference in call quality. There is nothing else because the affordable phone leases and uses the communication network of the existing telecommunications company. It works well even in an elevator or in the mountains, so personally, it seems difficult to find a place where calls are not possible. Therefore, there is no inconvenience caused by call quality in daily life.
Advantages of affordable phones
The advantage of budget phones is, of course, that the plan is much cheaper. The price has dropped from half to one-third compared to the existing three telecommunication companies, out of the cheap range. Currently, 1.5 gigabytes of monthly data and 150 minutes of calls are available for 5,500 won. Most of the budget phones have the same price, and there are sometimes cheaper ones, but there are cases where there is a contract, so you can take a good look and choose.
Call quality Same as 3 telecommunication companies.
Character verification possible.
Mobile phone payments are possible.
Samsung Pay available (Samsung Pay transportation card is also available from Android version 11)
Galaxy Watch available (Apple Watch not available).
Disadvantages of affordable phones
There are no big disadvantages of budget phones, but there are many if you go into detail. -_-;; First of all, call quality, text authentication, and micropayments (when applying) can be used without problems, but the following details are not possible.
There are no combined products, such as family unions or TV and Internet unions.
No carrier points.
There is no VIP level system.
Hard to find offline dealer.
Apple Watch not available. (Galaxy Watch available)
Samsung Pay can be used, but Samsung Pay transportation card cannot be used. (Transportation card is available from Android version 11)
In case of emergency, 112 or 119 location tracking is not possible (currently only KTm Mobile can apply for service).
Except for the lack of emergency location tracking, these are things that don’t need much.
What is the difference between budget phone carriers?
I’ve been using Hello Mobile, SK7 Mobile, and Numobi for two years, and there’s no big difference between the cheap phone carriers. However, there is one thing I experienced. When using Hello Mobile, I experienced that data calls through WeChat did not work.
I used the Hello Mobile U+ network, but when I made a data call using KakaoTalk or WeChat (Chinese messenger), it was so disconnected that I could not have a conversation. It worked without any problems in the Wi-Fi environment, but I couldn’t make a call using data. Now, it worked well on SK 7 Mobile before Numobi, but it didn’t work on Hello Mobile. Please note that this is my personal experience.
finish
I learned about the pros and cons of budget phones, but the biggest advantage of budget phones is the price. The advantage of low communication cost is enough to cover all the other disadvantages, so it seems to be used for a long time. Rather, if I switch to a major telecommunications company now, I think I will regret it because it is a waste of money.
In addition, these days, since the rate system has been released in various subdivisions, you can choose the one that suits you, so it is okay in terms of rate plan selection. If you are planning to change your smartphone or carrier, you may want to consider a budget phone.