Cheapish smartphone recommendations

leespoons

I'm looking at getting a smartphone, fed up with Mrs Spoons hogging the internet in the evenings and lugging a great big camera about when I go on days out.

Any recommendations? I'm on PAYG at the moment with my crap ?6 phone, happy to go on contract but don't want to spend more than ?15 a month if I can help it because I'm a bit of a tightwad (and will probably be using the wireless connection at home most of the time anyway)

Will probably need to be on Vodafone too, I live in rural Kent and they're the only ones I can get a half-decent signal with.

Anyone suggesting an iPhone will get a great big THWAP!

ccowley

You can probably get a good deal on a SIM-free Nexus 5 now, as they've just released the N6. Very good bit of hardware, that. Nice spec, latest version of stock android from Google, all the modern twiddly bits, and a decent screen. It will be vaguely "current" tech for a good couple of years at least, I'd say.

Or take your pick from Vodaphone's contract phone options, but I doubt you'll get anything too impressive unless you do spend ?15/month or more on a contract. And operator-branded phones tend to have crappy operator-specific versions of the OS on them with all their bloaty, sometimes broken, nonsense.

EDIT: If you really want an inexpensive option, the bloke that fixed my boiler (that is NOT a euphemism) a while ago had a cheapo Lenovo Android phone from Amazon, something like this one and he reckoned it was incredible value for money. Seems a bit too good to be true in the price/features department, but he seemed happy with it and looked okay from the brief glance I got.

polomint

How about an iPhone 6 with extra bendyness, :D








/me runs

Swevicus

Nokia Lumia series, particularly the 520. :)

thehive

You will probably laugh and scoff, but I bought one of these for my 16 year old daughter (who's had expensive phones and broken them);

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DOOGEE-DG300-5-0-inch-QHD-Android-4-2-Smartphone-3G-Dual-Core-GPS-Mobile-Phone-/201054945886?pt=UK_Mobile_Phones&hash=item2ecfcf025e

She is over the moon with it - she's even had other friends asking where they can get one. For the money it's incredible.

Gedlion

I use giffgaff ( Free fiver credit if you use an affiliate link https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/britlion [Disclaimer: I get a fiver as well if you do]) and they are pretty good on PAYG. I don't use many minutes, and right now I pay ?7.50. Thinking of going up to the tenner package, as I sometimes go over the rather small internet allowance.

?15 gets you a lot.

Phonewise, I tend to look at last year's phones in somewhere like cex (webuy.com) - second hand phones that have at least been tested and warrantied. Newer ones are still expensive, but unless you're a fashion head, then a phone from a year or two ago isn't too awful a choice.

It's definitely even cheaper to get a nearly new phone second hand, and if you stick with gg for 2 years, the cost saving over contract will pay off the phone.

Get a galaxy s3 or 4, or a galaxy note 1 or 2, and you're laughing to the bank overall. And still have a decent phone.

leespoons

Cheers for the advice*, will have a think. Might wait until the New Year anyway as I've only got one more payday before Christmas :o

*apart from polo, who gets a great big...

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Vampyre

I was going to suggest the Firephone - until I saw the prices!! I thought it was supposed to be cheap when it was announced :-o

leespoons

Vampyre wrote: »

I was going to suggest the Firephone - until I saw the prices!! I thought it was supposed to be cheap when it was announced :-o

I had a quick look at that but couldn't work out if it was a "normal" Android phone or if you had to get your apps through Amazon? Can only see it on O2 anyway and their service is a bit crap round here...

Vampyre

leespoons wrote: »

I had a quick look at that but couldn't work out if it was a "normal" Android phone or if you had to get your apps through Amazon? Can only see it on O2 anyway and their service is a bit crap round here...

I assume it's very much like the Kindle Fire where it IS Android but is tied into the Amazon ecosystem.

EDIT: Found this. It's possible to use the Android Marketplace with side-loading.

daveysludge

Gedlion wrote: »

I use giffgaff ( Free fiver credit if you use an affiliate link https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/britlion [Disclaimer: I get a fiver as well if you do]) and they are pretty good on PAYG. I don't use many minutes, and right now I pay ?7.50. Thinking of going up to the tenner package, as I sometimes go over the rather small internet allowance.

?15 gets you a lot.

Phonewise, I tend to look at last year's phones in somewhere like cex (webuy.com) - second hand phones that have at least been tested and warrantied. Newer ones are still expensive, but unless you're a fashion head, then a phone from a year or two ago isn't too awful a choice.

It's definitely even cheaper to get a nearly new phone second hand, and if you stick with gg for 2 years, the cost saving over contract will pay off the phone.

Get a galaxy s3 or 4, or a galaxy note 1 or 2, and you're laughing to the bank overall. And still have a decent phone.

Yeah I use that, if you work the system right you end up in the bizarre position of being paid back more than you paid in whilst having more texts and airtime...

polomint

leespoons wrote: »

Cheers for the advice*, will have a think. Might wait until the New Year anyway as I've only got one more payday before Christmas :o

*apart from polo, who gets a great big...

#######  #    #  #    #   ####   #####     #
   #     #    #  #    #  #    #  #    #    #
   #     ######  #    #  #    #  #    #    #
   #     #    #  #    #  ######  #####     #
   #     #    #  # ## #  #    #  #
   #     #    #   #  #   #    #  #         #

:D ty, :P