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budget smartphone recommendation

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snowmen
snowmen Posts: 663 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
Hi!


Just looking for a bit of advice from people who might know ....


My OH currently has a Samsung galaxy s3 mini which is starting to play up.
She wants a new phone (preferably unlocked) and the key features she would be interested in are -


1. Good camera
2. Lots of storage
3. Great battery life


Budget is £300 max.


Size of handset not an issue - someone we know mentioned a galaxy note as a possibility.


Any suggestions welcome.


Thanks!
«13

Comments

  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 18 June 2015 at 7:52PM
    Well, by my standards a 'budget smartphone' has to cost no more than £150.

    Motorola Moto E, G (£75+, ~£150)
    Vodafone Smart 4 Turbo (£50, but locked to Voda)
    Xperia M2 ((£80+)
    Alcatel One Touch Idol (£90+)
    S4 Mini (£120+)
    Huawei Accend G620 (£70+)
    Various Lumias, Some HTCs

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

    http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5033&idPhone2=6507

    Re Galaxy Note, by my standards it's top of the range, not 'budget'. Do you realise how big it is? ~ 150mm*80mm, 5.7", 170g.
  • snowmen
    snowmen Posts: 663 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks.
    Will get her to look at a note in a mobile phone shop just to see if it is really ok for size or not.
    What would be your pick for the others?
  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,730 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 18 June 2015 at 9:15PM
    snowmen wrote: »
    Thanks.
    Will get her to look at a note in a mobile phone shop just to see if it is really ok for size or not.
    What would be your pick for the others?

    If you are looking for Galaxy Note size (5.5" screen) have a look at the new Asus ZenBook 2 on Amazon, the 2GB/16GB version is around £180 and the 4GB/32GB version is around £225.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B00VP4T538/ref=olp_twister_all?ie=UTF8&mv_color_name=all&mv_size_name=all

    It is built better than the Note and is a bargain at the price.

    It seems to be out of stock direct or fulfilled by Amazon, but use an EU supplier if interested. Also ascertain its the Euro WW version before buying.
    ====
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 18 June 2015 at 11:29PM
    I am no expert, but is Atom processor not incompatible with "Great battery life" requirement?

    That said, at gsmarena they left standby time empty for Zenfone:

    http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5665&idPhone2=6917
  • pepdavies
    pepdavies Posts: 444 Forumite
    I've got a Lumia 640 now. It's fairly basic as smartphones go but it has a good camera, very good battery life and takes SD cards up to 128Gb I think. Cost £120 in Carphone Warehouse
  • d123
    d123 Posts: 8,730 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    grumbler wrote: »
    I am no expert, but is Atom processor not incompatible with "Great battery life" requirement?

    That said, at gsmarena they left standby time empty for Zenfone:

    http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5665&idPhone2=6917

    No, battery life is actually very good, better than either of the previous Notes I was using with the same SIM cards.
    ====
  • What? Now £300 is budget? I've spent £25 for mine!
  • https://oneplus.net/uk/one

    Surprised no one has suggested this yet. This is by far the best cheap smartphone, and the one with flagship specs.
  • jenniewb
    jenniewb Posts: 12,842 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    OP your OH may want a change of handset, but if they don't and it is just the playing up that's the issue it could be worth trying to see if Samsung will look at it.


    I have an S3 and got it in December 2013. It has cover from Samsung for 2 years. It had always played up to be honest but I'd not had such a technical handset or an Android handset before so just assumed it was my expecting more than what the handset could actually do.
    But a few weeks back it got beyond a joke and I decided it was a phone fault rather than my fault and took the phone to a Samsung store who within days replaced the motherboard and now the phone works really well- better than it ever has done.


    I was thinking about new handsets until I'd taken it in but now I can't justify it and actually it does everything I need it to because it works so well. If the handset is within it's 2 years I'd recommend taking it to a store or calling them up to see if they can service it.
  • snowmen
    snowmen Posts: 663 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    ciaccino wrote: »
    What? Now £300 is budget? I've spent £25 for mine!

    Suppose it is just me being realistic about what we want and the price it will potentially cost.
    The unlocked bit will add some cost on too.
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