Are there any good all-round smartphones under £250?
Discussion
Have been using the Nokia for a few days now. So far so good, it's miles smoother and faster than the old Moto G5 was. Screen is not only sharper but far more vivid, and can go ridiculously bright.
Camera produces much better images than the G5 too. Even compared with the iPhone 7 I use for work, they're slightly more detailed. The Nokia camera isn't as quick to respond as the iPhone but it's far quicker than the G5.
The battery life is proving excellent so far, I haven't managed to run it down below 40% after a full day's use, including some YouTube videos and games - similar use would have had the Moto demanding a charge well before bedtime.
Only downside so far is that the rounded edges of the screen mean that the glass screen protector I bought doesn't fit well. I may have to resort to the flexible plastic ones despite the lower level of protection.
Camera produces much better images than the G5 too. Even compared with the iPhone 7 I use for work, they're slightly more detailed. The Nokia camera isn't as quick to respond as the iPhone but it's far quicker than the G5.
The battery life is proving excellent so far, I haven't managed to run it down below 40% after a full day's use, including some YouTube videos and games - similar use would have had the Moto demanding a charge well before bedtime.
Only downside so far is that the rounded edges of the screen mean that the glass screen protector I bought doesn't fit well. I may have to resort to the flexible plastic ones despite the lower level of protection.
tobinen said:
My THL5000 is nearing its end-of-life so I have ordered an ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 for £200
I wanted 64Gb, Android 8, big battery and dual SIM. This seems fits the bill
That looks an interesting smartphone, I note from the specs it even has USB OTG which is a bonus and an FM radio, once you have it and used it would you be so kind as rate it on this thread in particular if the FM radio needs the earphones to act as it's aerial ( most do but an odd few don't ) and any teething problems? Cheers and hope it turns out 100%I wanted 64Gb, Android 8, big battery and dual SIM. This seems fits the bill
mikeiow said:
Captain Benzo said:
likewise, bought a Doogee S50 (wanted something rugged) from Banggood, service has been impeccable.
I’m considering one of these ‘cheapie’ tough phones....although having been on work iPhones for 8+ years, I’m unfamiliar with Android....What do you think of the Doogee? Camera, screen responsiveness, general speed?
Thx
6 months on, a review
128gb of storage is amazing, i had a 2 week offshore trip, took hundreds of photos, a load of videos. also took my entertainment with me ( books, music, movies, tv shows) still storage to spare.
i've dropped it onto concrete from my bike at 30mph, no problem. used it to take photoes in a force 8 storm west of shetland - no issues.
my single gripe is the bluetooth is temperamental with my skoda superb's stereo,
oh and it sometimes isnt completely silent.
other than that, i'll buy another chinese smartphone again when i get bored of this one, or i actually manage to break it.
mgsontour said:
tobinen said:
My THL5000 is nearing its end-of-life so I have ordered an ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 for £200
I wanted 64Gb, Android 8, big battery and dual SIM. This seems fits the bill
That looks an interesting smartphone, I note from the specs it even has USB OTG which is a bonus and an FM radio, once you have it and used it would you be so kind as rate it on this thread in particular if the FM radio needs the earphones to act as it's aerial ( most do but an odd few don't ) and any teething problems? Cheers and hope it turns out 100%I wanted 64Gb, Android 8, big battery and dual SIM. This seems fits the bill
Phone delivered on Wednesday after a delay in vendor's processing.
Initial thoughts are positive. It's not as heavy as I feared. The display is a marked improvement on the old phone as it should be being 4 years newer. It's faster all round, and I now have 4G capacity.
It's a lot louder which is good as the old THL was sometimes inaudible in certain environments. The biggest difference is becoming accustomed to Android 8 from Android 4, though I think this uses an Asus GUI.
I don't like the white background; I preferred the black on 4. I tried the inversion setting but that makes all my pictures appear in negative. It's too bright at night even with the setting down and 'night' thing ticked on.
Battery life is as expected with 5000 mAH. Charged up Wednesday now showing 78%. All good.
I backed up all my old apps/contacts etc from the old phone to a micro SD card. The contacts imported OK but I haven't yet worked out how to restore some of the app data I want (e.g. old Shazams, Whatsapp messages, etc)
Anyway, all-in-all I am pleased with it.
Initial thoughts are positive. It's not as heavy as I feared. The display is a marked improvement on the old phone as it should be being 4 years newer. It's faster all round, and I now have 4G capacity.
It's a lot louder which is good as the old THL was sometimes inaudible in certain environments. The biggest difference is becoming accustomed to Android 8 from Android 4, though I think this uses an Asus GUI.
I don't like the white background; I preferred the black on 4. I tried the inversion setting but that makes all my pictures appear in negative. It's too bright at night even with the setting down and 'night' thing ticked on.
Battery life is as expected with 5000 mAH. Charged up Wednesday now showing 78%. All good.
I backed up all my old apps/contacts etc from the old phone to a micro SD card. The contacts imported OK but I haven't yet worked out how to restore some of the app data I want (e.g. old Shazams, Whatsapp messages, etc)
Anyway, all-in-all I am pleased with it.
Porridge GTI said:
Just bought two Honor 8Xs as gifts. The 128GB versions is £209 here. Ridiculously good value. Looks and feels like an iPhone XS Max. Sure the specs don’t match but it’s one fifth of the price and is fine for any mere mortal.
Hopefully getting one this weekend for Mrs G.Porridge GTI said:
Who wants to keep a phone for five years?
Why wouldn't you if it works and you look after it?Porridge GTI said:
I expect Honor will provide Android updates forever. It’s the platform they chose.
You might be disappointed and that would be pretty extraordinary since in Android world 2 years is max (e.g. the biggest player Samsung are horrible at updates), except Google's own phones that get 3 from the year of initial launch and minimum 18 months from the last date the specific model was sold.Bullitt Five-Oh said:
How long are Hono(u)r going to provide Android updates for? That's the worth of the phone for me these days. If I can get iPhone Xs for a grand and keep it for 5 years (because Apple is good with updates) that will be 200 quid per year, which is reasonable.
Keep dreaming. You can get 2 or max 3 years out of iphones nowdays.LasseV said:
Bullitt Five-Oh said:
How long are Hono(u)r going to provide Android updates for? That's the worth of the phone for me these days. If I can get iPhone Xs for a grand and keep it for 5 years (because Apple is good with updates) that will be 200 quid per year, which is reasonable.
Keep dreaming. You can get 2 or max 3 years out of iphones nowdays.I've had my Nexus 5 since November 14, paid just under £200 iirc for a grade A+ refurb (I think it was an upgrade that had been returned.)
Battery is on its last legs, but is used for music and podcasts most days so its pretty much always on charge through the day, and use it for traffic to and from work so its usually on charge then too.
Keep eyeing up options for when the inevitable happens, currently the Nokia 7.1 is winning, but for now, it's still supported by ROM developers and I like tinkering (currently official LineageOS Nougat).
Battery is on its last legs, but is used for music and podcasts most days so its pretty much always on charge through the day, and use it for traffic to and from work so its usually on charge then too.
Keep eyeing up options for when the inevitable happens, currently the Nokia 7.1 is winning, but for now, it's still supported by ROM developers and I like tinkering (currently official LineageOS Nougat).
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