MOBILE phone companies believe that mobile television and instant messaging will take off in a big way over the next year or so.

But the relatively high cost of receiving films and television programmes through your mobile makes it even more important to find the right deal.

Here’s our guide to finding the right package for you:

What are the best mobile TV deals?

Vodafone has launched three television packages under the banner of Sky Mobile TV.

The first of these, which is free for the first 30 days and costs £5 a month thereafter, gives access to a range of factual and sports channels, including Sky News, the History Channel and CNN.

Package No 2 is aimed at those who want access to Sky’s music and entertainment channels, including Sky Movies, Sky One and MTV. It is also free for the first 30 days but then costs £5 a month.

The third package, Vodafone Live Variety, costs £3 a month after the first 30 days and gives users access to Fashion TV, Chilli Extreme, The Simpsons and HBO. Or you can get all three packages for £10 a month.

Orange’s mobile-television service is another option. It offers access to 20 channels, including Bloomberg and Bravo, for £10 a month. But both these plans are available only to those with 3G phones.

If you are unwilling to switch to one of these, it’s a better bet to wait for Virgin Mobile and BT to bring out their non-3G mobile package, offering five TV and 350 radio channels later this year. It is likely to cost about £8 per month.

What other smart new devices are heading our way?

Although they have been around much longer than mobile TV, mobile internet services are also still being developed.

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