Budget-y Android phones
Discussion
My better half is in need of a new phone asap, but doesn't rant to be spending the earth since she's not techy in any shape or form. Just phoney things and taking photos.
Found the wileyfox swift which looks to fulfill the requirements but the reviews don't really like the camera. Iirc the hardware is the same as other phones with better performance so it's the software.
Two questions: Is there a better choice of unlocked phone at the same price point (£130). Sticking with the swift and accepting hardware is good, is there a good camera app to replace the stock one?
Found the wileyfox swift which looks to fulfill the requirements but the reviews don't really like the camera. Iirc the hardware is the same as other phones with better performance so it's the software.
Two questions: Is there a better choice of unlocked phone at the same price point (£130). Sticking with the swift and accepting hardware is good, is there a good camera app to replace the stock one?
I've just sent my second Wileyfox back.
It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
UMI Touch. Uses a Sony camera. Great bit of kit for about £100.
http://www.umidigi.com/page-umi_touch.html
http://www.umidigi.com/page-umi_touch.html
Edited by dudleybloke on Tuesday 5th July 21:49
Sharted said:
I've just sent my second Wileyfox back.
It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
For a bit of balance...we have two in the family.It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
I use mine for work all the time. Many conference calls every day, with many fewer dropped calls than I used to get with my iPhone 5S
Battery life perfectly acceptable: again better than the 5S
Never seen a reboot except when it's asked to after installing an update.
Never had to contact customer service.
Never tried to tweet them.
From my perspective: great, reliable phone at an exceptional price.
deckster said:
For a bit of balance...we have two in the family.
I use mine for work all the time. Many conference calls every day, with many fewer dropped calls than I used to get with my iPhone 5S
Battery life perfectly acceptable: again better than the 5S
Never seen a reboot except when it's asked to after installing an update.
Never had to contact customer service.
Never tried to tweet them.
From my perspective: great, reliable phone at an exceptional price.
That's exactly what I was hoping for.I use mine for work all the time. Many conference calls every day, with many fewer dropped calls than I used to get with my iPhone 5S
Battery life perfectly acceptable: again better than the 5S
Never seen a reboot except when it's asked to after installing an update.
Never had to contact customer service.
Never tried to tweet them.
From my perspective: great, reliable phone at an exceptional price.
I've got a Cubot note S, camera isn't great but apart from that it's a superb phone for the money. (£60)
http://www.review-hub.co.uk/cubot-note-s-phone-ful...
http://www.review-hub.co.uk/cubot-note-s-phone-ful...
dave_s13 said:
Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 was/is regarded as the "best" budget phone you can buy.
Not the best looking thing but cheap, and very good.
+1 I bought one from reading the reviews here. £105 from Amazon I think, plus a 99p unlock code from eBay threw in a 3 sim card and job done. Impressive phone for the money.Not the best looking thing but cheap, and very good.
Sharted said:
I've just sent my second Wileyfox back.
It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
This worries me. I was looking at the imminent Spark (the middle one) very seriously. It was just right for me - cheap, big but not huge, reasonable storage, with the only iffy thing being the mediatek soc. It drops calls nearly every time, do you remember analogue phones?
I expect the third to do the same.
Battery life is poor as well.
Reboots on every outbound call.
Customer service is robotic.
Don't bother tweeting them, they have no shame.
Apart from that, go for it!
Is the quality (phone and service) really that bad? I was all over the Oneplus 3 until I read horror stories about its customer service...
I've had Moto G's before and thy were great screens, wizzy processors and all round ace phones, until you got to the camera. It was s
t
I've since bought second hand mid range phones as you get a bit more for your money. Currently using a OnePlus, 64GB, latest Cyanogen take on the most up to date Android, cost £100 without a scratch or mark on it
tI've since bought second hand mid range phones as you get a bit more for your money. Currently using a OnePlus, 64GB, latest Cyanogen take on the most up to date Android, cost £100 without a scratch or mark on it
Got a Wileyfox Swift which I'm currently setting up in the odd spare minute ... just picked it up and looked at the amount of battery left 60%.
I think that's pretty remarkable given that it was taken off charge at 13:00 on 28/06/16 and has been sat on standby ever since. Battery screen shows approx 12 days left !!
I think that's pretty remarkable given that it was taken off charge at 13:00 on 28/06/16 and has been sat on standby ever since. Battery screen shows approx 12 days left !!
andy-xr said:
I've had Moto G's before and thy were great screens, wizzy processors and all round ace phones, until you got to the camera. It was st
I've since bought second hand mid range phones as you get a bit more for your money. Currently using a OnePlus, 64GB, latest Cyanogen take on the most up to date Android, cost £100 without a scratch or mark on it
Two things stop me from swapping from my second-gen Moto G to the G4 Plus are:tI've since bought second hand mid range phones as you get a bit more for your money. Currently using a OnePlus, 64GB, latest Cyanogen take on the most up to date Android, cost £100 without a scratch or mark on it
1/
Size - like most phones now, its 5.5 inches - too big for comfortable single handed operation. The Swift Spark (the two lower models) are only 5 inches, so it might work...
2/
The lack of a notification light. I know google are trying to depreciate them, but it's massively useful to have a completely silent and discrete indication that you need to look at your phone. Ideally, one that can display different colours for different email sources. Looks like the Spark has a two colour led, which is better than nothing, I suppose...
dxg said:
2/
The lack of a notification light. I know google are trying to depreciate them, but it's massively useful to have a completely silent and discrete indication that you need to look at your phone. Ideally, one that can display different colours for different email sources. Looks like the Spark has a two colour led, which is better than nothing, I suppose...
Wait...what? Why? The lack of a notification light. I know google are trying to depreciate them, but it's massively useful to have a completely silent and discrete indication that you need to look at your phone. Ideally, one that can display different colours for different email sources. Looks like the Spark has a two colour led, which is better than nothing, I suppose...
Probably my favourite feature of Android phones. Different colours for different notifications, it's a great feature.
Nexus 5X if you can stretch the budget. I've just bought one, currently on sale for £180 at Argos but if you get any kind of discount through your employer (as I do) this brings the price down a bit.
I've been shopping around for a while and I think this is probably the best phone in this price range. I thought about going for a Chinese phone but decided I wanted something with some comeback in case of problems in the future.
The Nexus is night and day compared to my old Moto G that it's replaced. Camera seems excellent and the phone is lightning quick to use. Comes with the latest Android version and as it's a Nexus I'm sure when the new Android N is out it'll be updated to that too. Only real downside is no SD card slot and battery life is just average (but mitigated by the fact it comes with a rapid charger).
I've been shopping around for a while and I think this is probably the best phone in this price range. I thought about going for a Chinese phone but decided I wanted something with some comeback in case of problems in the future.
The Nexus is night and day compared to my old Moto G that it's replaced. Camera seems excellent and the phone is lightning quick to use. Comes with the latest Android version and as it's a Nexus I'm sure when the new Android N is out it'll be updated to that too. Only real downside is no SD card slot and battery life is just average (but mitigated by the fact it comes with a rapid charger).
Edited by nmd87 on Wednesday 6th July 15:06
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff