Feel swamped by choice of phones, need some guidance

sweetdaisy

I have to admit that I am not 'with the times' when it comes to mobiles and my Samsung which I have had for around 7 years is not going to last much longer, as it has started doing strange things.

I am on a Sim Only deal with Orange costing me £15 a month which I am happy with, so I am looking to just purchase a new handset. My normal usage involves a few texts a day, a couple of phone calls, I also use my mobile rather than using the landline during the day. I don't currently use the internet on my phone as the screen is so small I can hardly see it, but this is something I would like to do when I change phone.

Just wondering if I could get some recommendations as to which phone to buy, as I feel that with my lack of phone knowledge I am a prime target of being sold an 'all singing and dancing' phone which I may not need.

Ideally I would like:
a camera with a flash on it, at least 5MP
a screen of around 4 inches
a battery that lasts a long time (doesn't need to be charged up every day/other day)
I want to be able to access the internet for checking emails and mobile banking etc
don't want to be paying more than £170 for a handset, but would also consider a Contract if it works out cheaper

I have had a look on a few websites but I am baffled by all the choice and was wondering if someone could steer me in the right direction.

Thank you

Frozen_up_north

There are a few pointers that may narrow your search a little:

The cheaper handsets seem to be deliberately downgraded with regard to speed and ease of use. My OHs mother has a Samsung around 2 or 3 years old that was originally around £80 on pay as you go, it is so awful to use that I'm surprised it hasn't ended up in the bin. However there are some quite good offerings in your price range.

Unfortunately, the shops love to sell phones with airtime contracts... There is more profit/bonus for them. So you might find they haven't much time for someone who only wants to buy a SIM free handset. However, they are a starting point and may be fine if you can pop in during the week when they are less busy.

A SIM free phone that isn't locked to a network will give you the best flexibility, especially as 4G is rolling out which may result in mast/site changes leaving you with poorer coverage. This has already happened to several folk on this forum. At least on a SIM only 30 day contract you can change to another network with only 30 days notice.

Poor battery life is unfortunately a fact of life for the newer smart phones, thin cases, bright screens and fast processors are what many users want and that drains a very small battery quickly. The manufacturers specification can seem very good for battery life, however in the real world web browsing in a poor signal area can flatten a battery in a couple of hours. Having to charge a smart phone every day is pretty much the norm unless you hardly use it, which kind of defeats the object of having one.

Beware that data use can be significant on a smart phone, you might end up using it for purposes you hadn't envisaged, for example my OH listens to the radio on her iPhone at work... via the internet of course. In her office there is so much electrical interference from computers and printers that DAB and FM radios struggle, but there is a good 3G phone signal. It annoys me when the networks offer deals such as 4G with only 1 or 2 GB per month... What's the point of having a good bandwidth (4G), only to be severely limited as to how much you can use it?

So I am sorry I haven't said "go buy model X", but I am sure you will get a few replies mentioning specific models... Happy shopping.

grumbler

For £15 you must be using a huge number of minutes. This, combined with a biggish screen will make it difficult to meet your requirement of the long battery life. If you want a smartphone, be prepared to charge it every day.

All other requirements are pretty easy to meet.
Motorola Moto G 4G is believed to be a very good value for money ATM and you can get it for ~£125+
It's worth noting, that only few expensive smartphones have a proper flash. Most have LED one that has nothing in common with a traditional flash except the name. It works only at very short distances.

For a smartphone you will most likely need to change your tariff or, possibly, even change the network for a better deal.

For other phones try playing with Phone Finder

System

Moto G or LG G2mini would be my choice for that budget (or any budget for that matter!)

Screens are larger than 4 inch but TBH it shouldn't make much difference with either of the two above phones.

keith1950

]I am on a Sim Only deal with Orange costing me £15 a month which I am happy with, so I am looking to just purchase a new handset

Hi, you do not state how many mins/texts/data you need but I second the choice of the Moto G 4G.

You can get it on Tescomobile for £13.50p per month but for only £1 more than you are paying for a sim only you can get it with 750 mins/5000 texts and 1GB of data for £16 per month with no upfront cost for the phone.

Tesco run on the O2 network so check their coverage in your area.

As already stated , whichever smartphone you get, be prepared to charge your mobile every night.

sweetdaisy

Thank you for all the replies .

19lottie82

Hi OP - I don't want to derail your thread but you say you are paying £15 a month for a SIM only deal with orange, that you are happy with. However I very much doubt you're getting a good deal there, Orange are not known for their fantastic deals, SIM only, or otherwise.

If you can confirm how many minutes / texts you use we may be able to suggest alternatives. 1 May be 3 mobile pay as you go, who charge 3p a minute 2p a text and 1p a mb of data. It's easy to keep your existing number and change network.

In regards to the handset I'm another one to advise the motorola moto 4G....... I got one for my DSM for £135 and she loves it.

Yorkie1

I've got an earlier version of the moto g, and am happy with it. Not sure if the 4G has expandable memory; if it doesn't, then bear in mind that the 8GB version only has 4-5 GB actually free for you.

You can buy from tescos and get it unlocked for £2 with an online code. I'm using three's payg tariff too.

Dreamnine

keith1950 wrote: »

Hi, you do not state how many mins/texts/data you need but I second the choice of the Moto G 4G.

You can get it on Tescomobile for £13.50p per month but for only £1 more than you are paying for a sim only you can get it with 750 mins/5000 texts and 1GB of data for £16 per month with no upfront cost for the phone.

Tesco run on the O2 network so check their coverage in your area.

As already stated , whichever smartphone you get, be prepared to charge your mobile every night.

I charge my Xperia Z3C every 2 or 3 days due to its stellar battery life.

sweetdaisy

19lottie82 wrote: »

Hi OP - I don't want to derail your thread but you say you are paying £15 a month for a SIM only deal with orange, that you are happy with. However I very much doubt you're getting a good deal there, Orange are not known for their fantastic deals, SIM only, or otherwise.

Hi

I was on a Sim Only deal with Orange and now realise that I was paying too much for what I got. I now have a contract with EE for £14.99 a month and I get 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB (which is more than enough for me) and it's 4G.

Frozen_up_north

sweetdaisy wrote: »

Hi

I was on a Sim Only deal with Orange and now realise that I was paying too much for what I got. I now have a contract with EE for £14.99 a month and I get 500 minutes, unlimited texts, 500MB (which is more than enough for me) and it's 4G.

Ouch, sorry to say that's a really awful deal. That amount of data will be eaten in a few minutes on a good 4G signal, I do not understand why the networks offer such a lousy deal and why anyone would pay for it. There is no point in having 4G when there is only 500 MB per month of data. Since the start of the month, I've used 800 MB of data (on 3G as there isn't 4G where I live at the moment) and that's without doing anything much more than updating a few Apps, a bit of web browsing and watching the odd news clip. One of my Apps is more than a 500 MB download itself (the iPhone Garage Band App)! And I do know that an iPhone tends to restrict App downloads over 100 MB to WiFi, but that could change with the increasing use of 4G.

By comparison, I have a legacy deal with 3 (their old One Plan, sadly no longer offered) which is a 30 day SIM only contract and offers 2000 mins to any network, 5000 mins to other 3 users, 5000 texts and unlimited 4G data with unlimited tethering. The cost is £18/month, some others who originally opted for a 12 month SIM only deal get it for £15/month on a rolling 30 day basis now their 12 months has expired. 3 haven't increased the price of these deals or placed restrictions on them since announcing their new price structure. I guess they will eventually change these older deals, but so far so good.