MOBILES: To BUY or to ENSLAVE?

Petriix

FM radio is problematic. It generally hasn't featured on recent smartphones so really restricts your choice. It's a whole chunk of substantially different technology which is not ideally suited to being part of a phone. If you can't easily substitute with Internet radio then I suggest getting a separate portable DAB/FM radio. Most stations are freely available using data rather than radio waves. However, there are times when you may want to listen to the radio when you don't have a WiFi or reliable data connection.

Your best bet is to look a couple of generations of flagship smartphone ago. People will be getting to the end of their contracts from 18 - 24 months ago and be looking to upgrade so the second hand market (ebay, gumtree, Facebook marketplace etc) will be flooded with them. Something like a Samsung galaxy s9 might be a good option.

JJ_Egan

Or here for refurb

https://www.4gadgets.co.uk/

No idea about FM radio as not had any on my phones for years .

NiNeu

JJ_Egan said:

How much are you going to spend on the actual network is the key .

Calls  texts data etc . For instance i tend to run top of the range phones on PAYG . Average PAYG spend £5- £10 per year.

Lately gone down the refurb route.

Battery's  google has prices .

Cheap sub £20 phone still available .

I have seen Nokia and STK for £17-£19 but besides the battery issue I "would must" (I know :contradictory terms) need a smartmobile to facilitate my job. The coronavirus pandemia has even increased the need to telecommunicate orally and VISUALLY. 
Refurbs? - would the battery issue reappear so my money visits the shop twice? The top notch refurbished save not more than 20% in models with old Androids.Again it is not a matter of CHEAP vs FAIR  but OWNING vs CONTRACT for a light user who is NOT into games, nor TV, neither aficionado photography but satnav, emails, aps linked to my job and decent pictures.
Is owning plus sim only (real PAYG) better value than contract?

Cisco001

Redmi Note 8T tick the boxes.
£130 from eglobalcentral
£153 on ebay from Ireland 

JJ_Egan

Simple to see any total contract price .

Then price phone and what you will spend on PAYG and how much data you will use .

Sat Nav not much if you pre download route over wifi .

Apps for your job  not a clue as to what .

The answer to your question is really how much data will you use on a monthly basis .

kuepper

JJ_Egan said:

Or here for refurb

https://www.4gadgets.co.uk/

No idea about FM radio as not had any on my phones for years .

Have you used them? I'm also a £10-20 pa user but wouldn't mind a decent phone like a samsung galaxy 9 or 10 for camera and internet  and playing music

macman

In most cases, SIM only and buy outright is the cheaper option vs contract. If you only want a cheap feature phone, you can get one for a tenner. Then a Lebara SIM for a fiver, giving you unltd mins and texts, and 2GB data. Total first month spend, £15. 
Or just get a new battery, maybe £8. 

KxMx

I use payg and am also a light user, I top up £5 twice a year (Three). 

I buy a sim free handset outright which gives me freedom in terms of network. Also, no pre loaded network crap on it! 

Samsungs "budget" phones are packed in terms of features, high quality, 2 year warranty and I've been extremely happy with mine. I've had two android upgrades since I got the J3 2 years ago. 

Mum got this one more recently :
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8877321

fredbaugh123

Thanks for the advice guys!