O2

About O2

If you want to find the right deal and get impartial advice about O2 mobile phone deals then we can help you to do just that! We compare mobile phone deals with all the major retailers, letting you choose your perfect deal! We’ve also got bags of information, including everything you need to know about O2.

As one of the oldest networks in the UK (they were once called BT Cellnet), and the second oldest after Vodafone, O2 are obviously going to have enough power to make the big manufacturers produce O2-exclusive phones for them. Undoubtedly the most unique of these is the O2 Cocoon, a clamshell mobile phone that, when closed, looks like a single, rounded pearl gemstone. That is, unless you have it docked in its ‘nest’ for the night, where it shows up the time as your alarm clock, using a hidden LED display. That same display also tells you when you have a call or a text and, to see what was a blank plastic front pop into life and light, up is truly a sight to behold.

At the other end of the scale, O2 have the awesomely powerful XDA Stellar, a Windows Mobile-powered smartphone with touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. Not only that, but you get a 3 megapixel camera, ultra-fast internet access with HSDPA and built-in GPS meaning that, no matter what great pictures you go hunting for with the camera, in this O2 beauty, you’ll never get lost!

So, that’s cool mobile phones and super-smart mobile phones covered, but what if you already have a phone, and don’t want a new handset, just a new package? Well, O2 have the answer yet again, with their Simplicity package. This offers a sim-only deal to give you the perfect solution if you either can’t be bothered to learn the ins and outs of a new phone, or just want a super cheap way to get some minutes and texts. Oh, and with a minimum contract of just 1 month, it’s perfect for you if you only need a short term deal!

The history of O2

How many of you can remember the name BT Cellnet? Well, that’s where O2 came from! O2 were born in 2001, when BT decided to ‘demerger’ its mobile phone wing, thus setting up as a completely independent, separate network. That network was O2.

O2, even when they were BT Cellnet, were among the first networks to properly embrace the mobile web. Ok, it was hideously slow, horribly monochrome, text-only and was about as much fun to use as Teletext on a broken telly, but there was something there. It was quite clear that one day, the mobile internet would take off and it was O2 that blazed the trail.

As of December 2007, O2 are reporting that they have more than 40 million customers across Europe, including both fixed lines and mobile phones; of those, O2 UK has 18.4 million customers, so it’s fair to say that the UK is really a rather important territory for them!

Today, O2 is a worldwide brand, running mobile networks in countries as diverse as Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the Isle of Man, as well as offering broadband internet in the UK and Germany. They’ve also branched into other areas and own the prestigious O2 Arena, built on the site of the old Millennium Dome! (Hint: The O2 Arena’s better…)