Worth getting from UK?

[rubberdemon]

I have a friend who's spending 6 months in the UK (started last week), and I'm wondering if there's any way to work it so that she could get a cheapish SPV on contract with Orange, I could pay for it, then she could use a different phone with her Orange plan for the 6 months she's there. She does want a cellphone while there, and my little brain started wondering if this was a way to beat the high price of one of these (on contract it looks about half the cost). Anyone from the UK have any knowledge of a good way to do this, or am I overly optimistic?

[mcsouth]

You could check out the rate plans that are published on Orange at http://web.orange.co.uk/ , and see if there is one there that would fit your friend's needs and your price point. There are plans that basically give you the SPV for free, but I suspect that all are probably minimum 1 year plans, so you'd have to work out the economics to see if it is worth it.

The only thing I can think of that may or may not be an issue, would be unlocking your new SPV for both other carriers, as well as for non-cert apps. I don't know how that is done, but apparently the information and tools on how to do it is floating around, so it might not be that tough to do.

Myself, I just purchased a new Orange SPV, unlocked, for about $300 from a seller in the UK - granted, it is the original SPV, and not the new E100, but you gotta start somewhere! :D