E-Mail v MMS-Which is better?

When it comes to sending images, such as photographs from you to a friend via your phone there is 2 very different methods that we've looked at. Firstly we looked at sending MMS messages and more recently we've looked at sending E-mails with attachments, but which is better and why?

MMS The Pros

1. Easy-It really is just a matter of clicking attach then adding the item you want to send.
2. Direction-It goes directly to your contacts phone meaning they will get it and will likely have their phone on them.
3. "Snap and Go"-You can literally take a picture and send it with in seconds

MMS The Cons

1. Cost-Unless you have a free MMS allowance they can cost quite a bit to send, anywhere into the 35p range which adds up.
2. Limitations of Receiver-Although most phones can now receive MMS some older phones can't and those new phone which don't have packet data on won't receive them either. 
3. Limitations of Sender-MMS messages typically have a limitation in size and will often only allow 1 or 2 pictures per message.

E-Mail The Pros

1. Simple-Although not as simple as sending via MMS it's still very easy and if you follow the guide on this blog you really will never struggle with them.
2. Open Receiver-Everyone has an E-mail address as long as you know it you can send the message and know it will get to them.
3. Price-This is completely free if you have either a wi-fi connection or a mobile internet allowance which most people do have.
4. The limits have been lifted-Rather than only being able to send 1 or 2 images per messages you can actually send quite a few by e-mail at once.

E-Mail The Cons

1. Return to Sender-You need to make sure you have the right address or the E-mail will fail.
2. Time to Receive-Not everyone has access to their E-mails on their phone and may need to wait to access a PC/Laptop to actually see the image.
3. New v Old-Whilst it's very easy to do on things like the Samsung Galaxy S2 it's not as easy to do on older phones like a Sony Ericsson C902.

So now the moment of truth, which is better?
Personally I'd tend to use the E-mail system whenever possible. The people I'd be sending images and things to are contacts I have the e-mail address for as well as phone numbers. Personally I think it's a bit pricey to be paying 30p a message (even though I do have an MMS allowance on one of my contracts) and I know at least 2 mobile contacts have packet data turned off anyway.

For some however, mainly those with perhaps older phones it'll likely be easier to pay the 30p or so to send the MMS rather than struggle through and send an attachment to an e-mail via logging in with the browsers that were used on the older phones. At heart though it's a personal choice, and one that could perhaps be avoided by sending them at home via something like an IM client. Personally I'd side with E-mail though it's not suited to everyone.

Cheapest places to get a Samsung Galaxy S2

After a very quick look on yahoo answers I recently found out one of the most popular questions about the Samsung Galaxy S2 was about the price. Although I can't guarantee that I've found the cheapest here are certainly some of the best.

Contract (direct with the company)
From Free with pretty much any network. The lowest tariff cost for the phone I could find was around the £30 marker.
3-The 3 network do the phone on a “TEXT 500” plan for £30 a month with 500 minutes & 1GB data
O2-The best deal from O2 seems to be their £29 tariff which comes with 600 minutes & 300MB data
Orange-The deals with Orange range from £40 (500MB data and 1200 minutes) though are far from the cheapest
T-Mobile-The cheapest “free” deal with T-Mobile is an odd one with a cost of £35.75. It includes 900 minutes, 500 texts and a 500MB data “streaming” allowance as well as a flexible booster (which will add unlimited texts)
Vodafone-The company I'm with actually offer what I regard as the worst direct deal with customers. They charge £41 for 1200 minutes and 750MB internet (deal only available online).

For anyone not already connected to a network 3 is the obvious choice if you want to deal directly with a network (as opposed to going through a retailer such as Phones 4 U or the Carphone Warehouse). I wouldn't advise actually taking up any of these offers to be honest. What is interesting, if you already have a contract with one, is just how much a company will try to keep you. In the case of Vodafone I know they bent quite a lot from their original price.

Contract (Via highstreet retailers)
Carphone warehouse-The deals with each of the networks are better than dealing directly with the providers, the best one I saw was with Vodafone for £30 which included 500MB data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts. 02's best deal cost an extra £2 for 100 minutes more than Vodafone one.

Although I think we all assume going directly to the networks is cheapest it turns out using 3^rd party retailers is actually cheaper (as they get discounts). The differences are huge and as a result I'd recommend you check out the high street retailers before you get your phone.

PAYG
3-£499.99
02-£479.99
Orange-Not available
T-Mobile-Not Available
Vodafone-Not available

This was a surprise that only 2 of the big 5 networks actually retail them as a PAYG handset. It was also shocking that neither Phones 4 U or Carphone Warehouse offered them on a PAYG deal via their websites. Whilst we accept the cost will be high for the handset it's shocking to see just how much it actually costs.

Disclaimer:
Remember though these prices will change and are only accurate at the time of this blog going up. Any fluctuations are beyond my control