Which cheap basic (non smart) mobile phones are recommended?

ElefantEd

Hi, I want to get a new basic phone but am struggling to even find out what the options are amongst the plethora of smart phones on display!

What models/makes are recommended, and where would be a good place to get them from?

I'm intending to get a giff-gaff sim, so I just want to buy a phone without any credit or being tied to another network (though I gather a phone locked to O2 is ok as this is what giffgaff uses.

Obviously I can get something second hand from ebay, but I was wondering if it was possible to get a new one.

Apologies if this has been answered before, I couldn't find anything through searching.

Cisco001

Spend £15 to one of those nokia feature phone on amazon.

mac.d

If you don't want really cheap and basic and want a solid but basic phone with terrific battery life, you could try the Nokia 206 for £40-50. It's showing as out of stock on Amazon mind you, so maybe being discontinued.

ElefantEd

I've just found some new Samsung E1200 phones on ebay for £12 - they look ok, any thoughts?

Thanks for the replies above btw! £10-15 is about what I was hoping to spend (I use a phone only rarely).

macman

Nokia 100, £9 at Tesco?

ElefantEd

Yeah, I looked at that, but it's locked to Tesco (and it doesn't seem worth paying more to unlock the thing than it costs in the first place!)

macman

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-RH-130CV-Festival-Mobile-Phone-Black/dp/B005UGJD3E
or dozens more SIM-free on eBay.

grumbler

If you or some relative have some PAYG already, it's worth checking CPW PAYG upgrades if you can qualify for it. All their phones are unlocked and the cheapest costs just 50p without any compulsory topup.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go/deal-finder?PPAYUPG

BTW, the above mentioned Nokia 206 costs just £17.45 on PAYG upgrade

Aletank

ElefantEd wrote: »

Yeah, I looked at that, but it's locked to Tesco (and it doesn't seem worth paying more to unlock the thing than it costs in the first place!)

Tesco uses the o2 network, as does GiffGaff, so will work on GiffGaff.

grumbler

AFAIK, this is untrue.
Phones locked to O2 work with giffgaff sim, but phones locked to Tesco don't work.

ElefantEd

Yes, as far as I've been able to tell, an O2 locked phone will work with any of the networks which also use their system (e.g. giff gaff and Tesco) but they are not sideways compatible (as it were).

Anyway, I've now bought a Samsung E1200 (new) from ebay - it doesn't have a camera which is presumably why it is a bit cheaper than other models. As I have a real camera this doesn't bother - in fact it's one fewer buttons to accidentally press!

Thanks for all the advice and help.