Best phone for 11 yr old son

smudge2006

Now I realise that this post will attract some people saying that an 11 year old boy is too young to have a really good phone and I should give him a cheap payg one. I know this because up until a couple of weeks ago, I would have said exactly the same thing!

But...I'm looking at getting something that he can play decent games on (clash of clans etc), text his friends and not be embarrassed by. I would also like the contract to be capped.

Just wondering if any of you clever people have any ideas because the internet is scrambling my brain at the moment with all the info!

globalds

do you have a budget ?

the bargains are with the phones that have just been updated...Depends how much street cred he wants.
So Samsung S3 and S4 will probably be more reasonable offers than S5

The only thing I would add ..both my kids who are much older than 11 ..broke there smart phone screens ..it is easy done but costs a rocket to fix ..google a cover or case that is bullet proof ,whichever phone you pick

smudge2006

Thanks, forgot to mention the budget. Ideally £10 per month max - thus the pulling hair out!

mije1983

If you are after a capped contract, I believe it's only Tesco that do them.

What minutes/texts/data are you looking for?

Have you thought about buying the phone upfront and then using PAYG, or something like giffgaff with a goody bag?

grumbler

smudge2006 wrote: »

Now I realise that this post will attract some people saying that an 11 year old boy is too young to have a really good phone and I should give him a cheap payg one.

Well, an expensive PAYG is fine if you can afford it and can afford repairing/replacing it if it is broken/lost/stolen (or can insure it for 11 y.o. user).

I would also like the contract to be capped.

You are right, but your choice will be limited by Tesco Mobile and, possibly, Three. With the latter make sure that it's a solid cap, not some 'credit limit' that can be easily breached.

For 24x£10 you can get Motorola Moto G 8 GB with 250m+500MB that is one of the best value for money smartphones ATM. Moto E for 24x£7.50 is a very decent phone too, especially for 11 y.o.

sillygoose

I just kitted my 11 year old with a phone before he goes to big school in September, with after school activities needing pickups from and going on the bus he needs to be able to keep in touch. Also as his friends are going to different schools it is a way to keep in touch with them so I am fine with it at 11, its not necessary any younger.

I got a Virgin Zte Blade Q Mini on PAYG (its not really a 'mini' as it has a 4" screen) its a really nice high quality very slim phone with dual core processor and a 5MP camera. Specification is respectable and it works very well, plays games including Minecraft perfectly. Has a memory slot so I stuck a £10 32GB SD card in so he can carry movies and plenty of music.

Bought off Argos on Ebay its currently £55 and you avoid having to buy a useless Virgin airtime topup voucher like they force you to in a store.

Next unlock it for any network, (this phones good because Virgin have virtually no customisation on it, its just a plain android phone) £2.75 for an unlock code on Ebay, just send them your IMEA number and you get the code to type in the phone by return, once its done its done for good

Finally order a sim and set up a giffgaff account with your credit card with £15 of 'emergency' credit on it and an auto recurring £7.50 Goodbag bundle gives monthly 200 minutes, 250mb data (he has been told to use wifi and only switch mobile data on in emergencies) and most importantly for a kid, unlimited texts!

As long as you set the account so it does NOT auto top up then its effectively capped, worst case the child or anyone stealing the phone could only use the bundled minutes and data, then it would use up the £15 credit and that would be it, when its gone the phone won't work and you wont have to pay anything more.
(obviously you would log into your account and cancel the recurring bundle! easily done)

This way no contracts, no tie in, just £7.50 a month cost and freedom to cancel or change anything how and when you want. Your son wouldn't be disappointed with this phone, it has a nice matt rubber feel back but you can get a silicon shell for a couple of quid that adds good bump and drop protection without the phone becoming bulky.

PS a lot of retailers get the spec wrong, according to the manufacturers site its has a superior IPS screen not TFT and with Corning glass, has a camera flash but no front camera.

Cisco001

Have a look at Moto E or Moto G.

Then get a PAYG like Giffgaff such that you don't suprise yourself with unexpected big bills.

SteveHenshaw

I would recommend the Moto G personally just because it offers great value. But there's a lot to choose from, https://www.tigermobiles.com/2014/07/smartphones-young-children/ they recommend the Moto G, Motorola Defy, Nokia Asha 201 or the iPhone 4S.

I haven't used the middle two, but the 4S isn't a bad option either especially since you say you don't want your child to be embarassed, it's a good looking phone - good for games and it has the best parental controls IMO. Can pick them up for under 20 a month.And they will be even cheaper in September when the iPhone 6 comes out.

And only Tesco + Three do capped contracts. You can have a slight buffer on them just in case.

macman

You are confusing 'PAYG' with 'cheap handset'. There's no connection, You could have an iPhone 5s and still be on PAYG, assuming you are prepared to stump up the upfront cost.
If you want a capped contract rather than PAYG, then Tesco Mobile is the only option.

warehouse

You can get an IPhone 4 on ebay for under £70 right now, buy a sim only contract for less than £10 a month, sorted.

sillygoose

warehouse wrote: »

You can get an IPhone 4 on ebay for under £70 right now, buy a sim only contract for less than £10 a month, sorted.

Have it cut off a week later cos' the owner has reported it lost/stolen and put in an insurance claim... unsorted.