£80 smartphone
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Discussion

NDNDNDND

Original Poster:

2,546 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all
I'm looking for a cheap smartphone, no more than £70-80.

I currently have a Motorola G3 that someone gave me for free, but it has a cracked screen and is apparently too old for some of the latest internet banking security protocols (I can't use the Tide QR code reader to bank on my PC through my phone).

Can anyone recommend a smartphone in the above price range, new or secondhand? Ideally it would be better than this Motorola thingy.

I've seen the Nokia 22 for about £80, or a Black view (never heard of them) A60 for about £70. Also considered a second hand Motorola G5. Dual SIM and a reasonablish camera would be a bonus. Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

(That said, I do quite like the karate-chop for torch, and twist-for-camera feature on the Motorola, do any other phones have that?)

Edited by NDNDNDND on Wednesday 11th March 20:21

Mammasaid

5,611 posts

127 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all

NDNDNDND

Original Poster:

2,546 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all
That's pretty good - thanks for the suggestion!

However it's a 1280x600 screen, whereas my current G3 is 1280x720. Not sure I'd be keen to go to a lower resolution... I noticed it's the same resolution as the Blackview, and the 720 screen is one thing that appealed about the Nokia.

Kinky

39,944 posts

299 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all
£99.95 for a Moto G7 at Argos. Over budget I know, but 'just in case' ......

NDNDNDND

Original Poster:

2,546 posts

213 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all
Hmm, I don't really want to stretch the budget that far, but looking at reviews for Honor/Blackview/Cubot etc. cheap Chinese phones seems to show the predictable variability in quality, with several reviews mentioning problems with phones freezing or behaving erratically etc.

At least Motorola is Motorola...

Who me ?

7,455 posts

242 months

Wednesday 11th March 2020
quotequote all
https://www.argos.co.uk/search/nokia-1-smart-plus/...
Differnt deals depending on network.

Paul Drawmer

5,162 posts

297 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
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Easternlight said:
I have one of these. Excellent value.

AJB88

15,896 posts

201 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Paul Drawmer said:
I have one of these. Excellent value.
Mum and Sister had these when they were new, they were ok for a bit then started to fail.

When buying cheap phones make sure you buy something with good support or else you might find the OS version is unsupported quite quickly.

Surprises me how many people keep old phones because "it works" and then do stuff like banking on them, same people are probably still banking on XP.


alorotom

12,788 posts

217 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Easternlight said:
I thought WileyFox weren’t supported anymore and therefore no longer getting updates which will leave the OP in a similar position

S6PNJ

5,846 posts

311 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Are you happy to buy from Gearbest? I have a Xiaomi Redmi 6a, I recommended it to my father (in his 70s) but when he came to buy the 7a was available at similar price - I think they are now at the 8a - https://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_0091561451...

Dual sim, 32gb RAM, 2 gb ROM etc etc

NDNDNDND

Original Poster:

2,546 posts

213 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
I've been bitten buying expensive(ish) electronics abroad before, so I'm reluctant to test my luck again.

I did look at the Wileyfox, and they look good value, but I'm hesitant to buy from a company that went into administration two years ago.

This looks quite good - the Umidigi A3S:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UMIDIGI-Unlocked-Mobile-A...

Any thoughts? Are these likely to be a reliable?

Android 10 too, so should be relatively future-proof (i.e three years the way things seem to be with smartphones...)

ajprice

33,482 posts

226 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Have a look at CEX or Game pre owned. £80 at CEX gets you a Nokia 1, Moto E or G, Samsung S5 mini, a few Sonys etc.

deckster

9,631 posts

285 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Kinky said:
£99.95 for a Moto G7 at Argos. Over budget I know, but 'just in case' ......
That's a cracking price for a great phone (note it's the G7 Play, rather than the full-fat G7, but still).

OP, seriously find the extra £20. This is well worth the money over a second-hand phone or some dodgy Chinese no-name brand.

Harpoon

2,542 posts

244 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
I've just retired a Huawei Y6 (2017 model) after about two years service and that cost me £69 or £79 (I forget which). It was reliable but frustratingly slow at times (open an app... wait, wait, wait a bit more, hang on... loaded) and the base 16GB storage become a hindrance. Camera was okay in perfect conditions but had very strange ideas on colours at time (turned a brown carpet blue in one picture). Obviously these points have to be considered against the initial cost though.

The 2019 version looks to be improved with 32GB storage.

https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/huawei/y6-2019 - yours for £79 on o2 PAYG.


boyse7en

8,199 posts

195 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
deckster said:
Kinky said:
£99.95 for a Moto G7 at Argos. Over budget I know, but 'just in case' ......
That's a cracking price for a great phone (note it's the G7 Play, rather than the full-fat G7, but still).

OP, seriously find the extra £20. This is well worth the money over a second-hand phone or some dodgy Chinese no-name brand.
Bought two of these and they look great. I guess that some people may find them not as good as "premium" models, but they do everything i need

Sebo

2,180 posts

256 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Just bought a Nokia 2.2 from Amazon for £79.99 and a GiffGaff sim for 1p

It is not going to set the world on fire but it'll be fairly clear of bloatware, has decent enough battery life and should zip along nicely as the only thing it will be used for is texting, calls and web browsing

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-Android-Sim-Free-Sm...

Olas

911 posts

87 months

AJB88

15,896 posts

201 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
NDNDNDND said:
I've been bitten buying expensive(ish) electronics abroad before, so I'm reluctant to test my luck again.

I did look at the Wileyfox, and they look good value, but I'm hesitant to buy from a company that went into administration two years ago.

This looks quite good - the Umidigi A3S:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UMIDIGI-Unlocked-Mobile-A...

Any thoughts? Are these likely to be a reliable?

Android 10 too, so should be relatively future-proof (i.e three years the way things seem to be with smartphones...)
If its got good OS/Security support that could be a winner! Other than that look for newest Android One device, that guarantees decent updates.

Sebo

2,180 posts

256 months

Thursday 12th March 2020
quotequote all
Sebo said:
Just bought a Nokia 2.2 from Amazon for £79.99 and a GiffGaff sim for 1p

It is not going to set the world on fire but it'll be fairly clear of bloatware, has decent enough battery life and should zip along nicely as the only thing it will be used for is texting, calls and web browsing

Also is an Android One device so should get updates for the foreseeable

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-Android-Sim-Free-Sm...