Substitute for a blackberry

[oldbanger]

My elderly mum has used blackberries for a few years now and is looking to upgrade/replace her current one. Unfortunately her mobile provider doesn't appear to do do them any more and she doesn't want to shell out for an unlocked one.

So, what smart phone might be suitable? I have been wondering if the Nokia Lumia might be easy to use, for example. She mainly uses her phone for texting and uploading photos on Facebook.

[mph1977]

oldbanger said:

My elderly mum has used blackberries for a few years now and is looking to upgrade/replace her current one. Unfortunately her mobile provider doesn't appear to do do them any more and she doesn't want to shell out for an unlocked one.

So, what smart phone might be suitable? I have been wondering if the Nokia Lumia might be easy to use, for example. She mainly uses her phone for texting and uploading photos on Facebook.

assuming she can cope with a touch screen any of the touchscreen phones may well suit , android is the most easily and widely adaptable being less tighly controlled thant winphone and considerably more flexible than the cu*t of Jobs one true way with iOS

[oldbanger]

She's quite wary of touch screen phones, so ideally I am looking for a very user friendly android, ideally on the lower end of the budget.

[jas xjr]

Moto g 2nd generation is what I use. Cheap and cheerful ,easy to use. People criticise the camera but it is good enough for me.
Facebook,YouTube etc a doddle to use.maybe not as slick as an iPhone but it is a fraction of the price.oh and it can take two sim cards and has a slot for an SD card.
Android and the touchscreen takes minutes to get used to.

[SwissJonese]

oldbanger said:

I have been wondering if the Nokia Lumia might be easy to use, for example. She mainly uses her phone for texting and uploading photos on Facebook.

I would vote for any Windows Phone. My dad bought one who is not tech savy at all. I made the tiles on the front really big, so he has phone, text and internet buttons (the only things he uses). I also made the text really big too. He loves it, simple to use and has had no problem. My mum uses Android and just finds it confusing and no where as easy as the Windows Phone.

[jas xjr]

If you set it up for her ,any o/s should be OK really.
Once the apps she wants are downloaded its pretty straight forward.

[curlyks2]

Got given a Samsung Galaxy Ace 4 by work to replace a dead Blackberry. The Samsung is better in every measurable way, and is on the cheaper end of the range.

[Tomo1971]

You may (may) find that if you go into the networks shop that they do have blackberries, and with a little persuasion they upgrade onto one. It maybe just that they generally use them for business accounts and dont promote them that much on the personal side.

Certainly worth an ask.

Failing that, try carphonewarehouse, they have BB's on display and again, maybe able to upgrade.

Also, SIM free BB's arent actually that expensive now, there has been a substantial price cut on some of them, BB Classic for instance ive seen for less than £300, yes I know thats a lot of money but certainly a lot less than they were. Have you thought about a Grade A secondhand from somewhere like CEX or Smartfonestore?

[Sheepshanks]

I've stuck with Blackberry Bold 9780's for years as they fit into a cradle in the car using its external aerial, so calls on the move work very well.

They seem to last about 2yrs and then just die, but I've replaced them with supposedly unused versions off eBay, for about £60 a time. I will say the overall quality of them is deteriorating - the last one is so bad I wonder if it's a clone.

[oldbanger]

Thanks for the recommendations and ideas. I think I am going to have to take her to the phone shop next week, so it's good to have some options to look at.

[andy-xr]

This is why I dont get new phones, there's nothing on a phone made in the £150-£500 price tag from the last 2 years that has anything over any other phone. Whether its Windows, Android or iOS, all phones now do the same thing, so it's pretty much going to be down to screen size and whether she likes the icons and where they are by default on the screen.