Nokia E75 at $0

I've been itching to upgrade my handset for a while now, especially since my 2-year contract was coming up in a few months. Now and then, I'd pop into the myriad shops selling mobile phones near my home just to scout around and see what new models were upcoming.

At the end of the day, I decided to stick with a Nokia phone instead of something else, like an iPhone, cos I know I'm just not the kid of person who would use the phone for much other than calling, SMSing and surfing the Internet using WIFI.

The 2 phones that I narrowed down were the E71 and E75 models. I love the sleek and slim E71 phone. My only grouse was that it came with a QWERTY keyboard with very tiny buttons. SMSing would be a chore cos you would need both hands and frankly, a teeny QWERTY keyboard doesn't make for fast SMSing. At least not for me.

The E75 is a newer model. Its a slider phone that slides out from the left panel to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. Traditional method of SMSing is still available using the numerical keypad. Even though its a little thicker cos of the QWERTY slider, its still a tad slimmer than my existing E65. All in all, it sounded like a better fit for me.

What tilted the scales of the balance was a favourable review of the E75 on ST's Digital Life last week.

During one of my recce trips to the shops, I also found out that I could upgrade my handset even though my 2-year contract wasn't up yet. Hence, I started to pay more attention to the ongoing promotions and today, I finally bought my phone at $0. Here's how it all worked out for me:

• Best Price - M1 has a week-long roadshow at Bugis Junction this week and E75 was going at $168 based on my current subscription plan,
• Trade-in - My existing E65 had a trade-in value of $100
• Handset upgrade voucher - I called and enquired about handset upgrade vouchers and was given one valued at $70.

So now, I'm happily listening to the FM radio using my E75 while I'm writing this post.

What a sweet deal!