Budget smartphone choices

[peterb]

A friend of mine is looking for a budget smartphone for their mother.

Main use will be calls, texts, WhatsApp and maybe travel apps and the odd photo.

Choice has come down to a Motorola C or a Nokia 1.

Anything to choose between them or anything else comparable for the price (both around £60 on payg).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

What network are they on?? They might be able to get a subsidised upgrade even on PAYG. What is the maximum budget?? Another £20 would probably get you to the Nokia 2 or the Moto C Plus. If you don't mind import phones,the Redmi/Xiaomi phones are well worth a look too,as they have better specs at the price than many other phones.

Here is a comparison of the Moto C and Nokia 1:

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php...&idPhone2=9052

I would go for the Nokia 1 as it ships with the latest version of Android,but in its cut down Go version(which is meant to be more efficient). Also apparently there is a 20% code on eBay which is active later today:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/20-...om-4pm-2950568

[peterb]

Thank you.

Not a lot to choose between them. Version of Android not really an issue, both will do what is needed. The Motorola has a slightly bigger screen which might be an advantage.

Network will probably be Vodafone or O2 as they seem to offer best value for money for the users needs - Vodafone allow rolling over unused data/minutes from one month to another on monthly payg. This is really just for occasional/emergency use.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thank you.

Not a lot to choose between them. Version of Android not really an issue, both will do what is needed. The Motorola has a slightly bigger screen which might be an advantage.

Network will probably be Vodafone or O2 as they seem to offer best value for money for the users needs - Vodafone allow rolling over unused data/minutes from one month to another on monthly payg. This is really just for occasional/emergency use.

Its more to do with security updates - I certainly think since Lenovo took over Motorola mobile,they have gotten worse in this regard and its more hit and miss,but for basic usage it might not really be an issue as you mentioned. The Nokia and Moto C have the same basic hardware,but the Nokia 1 runs Android Go which is lighter on resources,and is dual SIM and mSD capable(together) which is useful when travelling. On Vodaphone PAYG upgrade the Nokia 2 is £70:

https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/no...twork=Vodafone

However,after having a quick look:

https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/hu...GB&dealType=pg

I think that looks the best spec phone for around £70 on O2 - the others only have 1GB of RAM and this has 2GB and a much better camera. For £70 its a solid phone - I know someone who has one and it seems reasonably quick for the money.

The only issue is it that it is Android 6 - my P9 Lite shipped with the same version but had an update to 7,so it migh happen with the Y6. The best spec would be a Chinese import from a UK reseller like the Xiaomi Redmi 5,but obviously with some caveats.

[kalniel]

Pop into your local CEX and get one secondhand, even an old Pixel will probably have close to 'normal' security updates compared to other manufacturers.

[peterb]

Pop into your local CEX and get one secondhand, even an old Pixel will probably have close to 'normal' security updates compared to other manufacturers.

Local is moot! And Ive seen problems with second hand phones, so I wouldn't recommend that to my friend. She just want one that she can pre-configure with the required apps and contacts and just hand it over.

[DanceswithUnix]

For occasional use I would recommend Three. Last I looked the smallprint on other networks made the per-use cost so crippling you still have to top up quite regularly, Three's topups never expire and the per call/text/mb cost is low. I use data on my phone daily including a couple of hours per week of commuting using Waze and only top up a tenner every three or four months.

My son bought a cheap spare phone on Vodafone, ISTR he had to buy it with £10 topup which expired after a month before he could buy a topup that didn't expire. Some twistyness like that anyway, I remember being quite cross at the time as on a £10 feature phone it basically doubled the cost. For data use, on Vodafone if a smartphone just does a location check to see where it is then you just used 20p as a part of the 5MB for 20p tariff. They cap it at £1 per day (£30 per month, lol) the lovely people. My kids used to turn off mobile data so their money didn't just disappear on the walk to school despite the phone not coming out of their pockets which means I couldn't send IM messages to them so what was the point.

Three costs 1p for 1MB, quarter of the cost and five times the granularity so you can just turn it on and leave it on. Just don't use their "value addons" as they expire so you have to be a heavy user for them to make sense.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I just saw this on OcUK:

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/alc...-topup-2951927

It didn't get the best reviews at £169,but at £60 inluding £10 of credit is not a bad spec at all,especially since it has 2GB of RAM too.

[jerry10]

Nokia is an optimal choice in low budget phones due to it's durability and long bettery life.

[bobyted]

Motorola Moto G6
Motorola's Moto G range of phones have become synonymous with punching above their weight, and that very much continues with the latest G6. It's a well-made smartphone that feels and performs better than its price would lead you to believe.

£219.99

[Bappy]

Moto G5 only - $139, Samsung Galaxy S9 is a high prize prize phone - but these are the best budget smartphone you can buy now.

Best Regards.

[Muaadib]

+1 to Moto G range, i'm still using my first gen Moto G (2013) until now and the thing just doesn't want to break.

[cheesemp]

I wouldn't touch Moto now. Used to rave about them but my moto z has been trouble since day one (boot errors, random reboots, switch offs etc) and my wife's G6 while better rarely gets security updates and has has some odd issues. Lenovo just don't care about quality (like they did with IBM Thinkpads when they took over). I just tried a warranty repair with my 18 month old z and was told no - its out of warranty. Thankfully Amazon are doing a full refund!

Edit: sorry wife has g5 plus...

[silent]

i purchased a moto E4 plus from tesco whilst in between phones. it was £149 unlocked but cheaper now. i was impressed with it for a budget mobile and i didn't think it took to bad pictures either. may be worth a look!

[taxineil]

I took my Moto C back after a month,the touch screen was awful and it wouldn't stay connected to hands free kit or 360 watch.Changed it for Huawei P8 lite which has now been running about 6 months without a problem.

[Nexcus]

I would buy a DEXP smartphone, it`s OK as a budget model!