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How exactly do you choose the perfect mobile phone deal? Or mobile broadband? Join me, as I show you how!

Let's face it, if you're trying to find yourself a new mobile phone, or if you're trying to get yourself that perfect mobile broadband deal, it can be a bit of a minefield. You have to factor in the tariff, how many minutes you get, how many texts, whether you get international roaming... well, the list goes on. But the thing is, it doesn't have to be a minefield. It can actually be really, really easy. Like anything, though, it takes a bit of preparation. You need to get your mind straight, and then everything else will follow on from that. There's no point running in half-cocked, and buying a mobile phone or a mobile broadband package, purely on the spur of the moment. Otherwise you'll get buyer's remorse, and you won't enjoy your purchase. Like anything in life, prepare, prepare, prepare!

Step 1 - Analyse what you really want from your new deal

Ok, it sounds obvious, and it sounds silly, but you'd be amazed how many people don't do this. You need to ask yourself: 'What factors determine that I need a new mobile phone or mobile broadband? What benefits do I want to get from my new gadget? How am I going to use it?' In essence, sit down and follow this rough guideline:

- How many minutes-worth of calls do I, or will I, make per month?

- How many text messages do I send per month?

- Do I need to send photo messages?

- Do I need internet access? If I do, might I be better off getting a mobile broadband package?

- How much am I willing to (or can afford to) pay every month?

Only when you've answered those questions in your mind should you move on to step 2.

Step 2 - Choosing the right handset

This is the bit that traditionally is the hardest. You know, now, what deal you want, but have you decided on a phone? As before, don't just buy the first one you find! Fortunately, you have a tool on your side, here: comparison sites (think along the lines of MobileShop, Pricerunner, or Kelkoo). They list everything you ca buy, and will let you search under various criteria, like price, how many minutes and so on. So, go on to one of them, armed with the knowledge you have from Step 1, and start searching. Once you filled in what you want from the deal, no doubt lots of mobile phones or mobile broadband packages will come back.

Now, the next bit of advice may sound contrary, but basically... once you have fed in the details of what you want from the deal, the comparison site will bring back handsets that match that deal. So, you know that whatever you're now seeing is within your range of options. Once you know that, it lets you move onto the next step with confidence...

Step 3 - Choose from the heart!

Now that you've made all the logical choices about what you need, you have a list of mobile phones and mobile broadband packages that fit your needs. So, now, you can choose a handsets based on what you want, on how the handset looks, or how you like the feel of it, or the fact it's got a massive camera, or the fact that it plays back 93 billion different types of music. Or if you're looking at mobile broadband, how it can run at speeds of 300 Megamassivemungabits per second!

You see, this is why you made all the important choices early on. This is why you did all the boring 'what do I really need?' stuff right at the start. You did it so that NOW, you can jump in and grab whatever mobile phones catch your eye, whatever mobile broadband package says, to you, 'Buy me!' And voila, before you know it, you'll have bought the perfect deal!

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