Android phones, apps and tablets

Hippy, you seem to dislike the idea of a contract, I just moved to vodafone from o2 and have come away with 600 mins, unltd texts, 500mb data, and a free desire for 18 months, for £25 a month. That's not bad right? i mean, could you do it cheaper buying the phone outright?
ps moved from o2 because their customer service is a complete joke and they pissed me around for the last time...

It's not usually cheaper buying the phone outright, but it is better. The major benefit to me is in the freedom to ditch network or handset as I please. With the pace of new device releases being able to throw the unit on ebay and pick up a new one is what I want. Do it soon enough and you can get a fair bit of money back on the device.
Unlocked devices are often available quicker, don't get bloatware, get updates quicker, etc. Also, you can expense the phone if it's for work. If you have the money, why get the contract phone?