Budget Smartphone

andy614 · 20/08/13 - 21:36

Hi, so i recently lost my phone. It was only a cheap t-mobile own brand type phone so not too bothered.

Need to get a new one and i'm thinking i will go down a similar budget route.

I'm looking at something like the Galaxy Ace which are pretty cheap now. I will only use the phone for general calling/texting and some fairly light social media and internet browsing. I don't use many apps or play many games or stream much, so does the Galazy Ace sound like an OK option?

If you can suggest any other phone below about £130 PAYG as an alternative then i'll be glad of it.

Cheers

jabbamk1 · 20/08/13 - 21:42

The Galaxy Ace is the worst option you could go for right now. Especially if your budget is at £130.

Few questions-

Are you still on T-Mobile?
How long have you been on pay as you go for and do you top up regularly?
Any brands or operating systems you want to avoid?

[Deleted User] · 20/08/13 - 22:05

Galaxy Ace is an okay choice, but I would strongly recommend Nokia Lumia 520 or 620. Both of them are budget smartphones running the beautiful Windows Phone 8 and adding several sexy colours to it. They are both fast and easy to use.

The reviews are great too. Trusted Reviews gave the 620 a 9/10 whilst CNET UK gave it 4.5/5 AND received an Editor's Choice award. The Lumia 520 has done well too, grabbing 4.5/5 from TechRadar. Strongly recommended. I am sure you'll be happy with one of them.

ASIFZED · 21/08/13 - 01:46

The Huawei Y300 has got very favourable reviews on Carphone Warehouse. PAYG from about £70. 4" screen, 1ghz dual core, Android Jellybean.

Should be a much more capable phone than the ageing Galaxy Ace.

[Deleted User] · 21/08/13 - 01:57

i would get the galaxy ace 2. it costs 120 130 and it s damn good. has a bigger screen than the ace 1 , has a FARRRRR better resolution , it s thinner and it has android 4.X.

it s a cheap device and because it s an adroid you will AT least have something better than any iphone or windows phone.

also , the ace has good internal memory , also has a DUAL core processor and you can also expand the memory with an micro sd card.

note: i m talking about the ace 2 , not the first one

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_ace_2_i8160-4559.php

alan1302 · 21/08/13 - 02:04

andy614 wrote: »

I will only use the phone for general calling/texting and some fairly light social media and internet browsing. I don't use many apps or play many games or stream much, so does the Galazy Ace sound like an OK option?

What about the Nokia Lumia 520:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-Lumia-Free-Windows-Smartphone/dp/B00BM24PMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377028964&sr=8-1&keywords=NOKIA+LUMIA+520

Decent sized screen, very quick in use.

kidspud · 21/08/13 - 02:06

adi_carnat wrote: »

i would get the galaxy ace 2. it costs 120 130 and it s damn good. has a bigger screen than the ace 1 , has a FARRRRR better resolution , it s thinner and it has android 4.X.

it s a cheap device and because it s an adroid you will AT least have something better than any iphone or windows phone.

also , the ace has good internal memory , also has a DUAL core processor and you can also expand the memory with an micro sd card.

note: i m talking about the ace 2 , not the first one

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_ace_2_i8160-4559.php

I have the ace 2 and it is a reasonable phone for the price. However, it comes with gingerbread, and although upgradable to 4.1 I wouldn't recommend it as it makes the phone run like a pig.

TheBigM · 21/08/13 - 02:07

Also suggest Lumia 520, available for £109 on pay as you go.

alan1302 · 21/08/13 - 02:08

adi_carnat wrote: »

it s a cheap device and because it s an adroid you will AT least have something better than any iphone or windows phone.]

To op - ignore daft comments like this.

Most important thing to do is look at what you want the phone to do and I would recommend getting the biggest screen you can for the money as it does make it a lot easier to use - especially for web surfing.

kidspud · 21/08/13 - 02:14

TheBigM wrote: »

Also suggest Lumia 520, available for £109 on pay as you go.

I very nearly bought one of these for my kid when I was looking recently. I must admit I chickened out because of the lack of apps, but thought the usability of the phone was impressive.

alan1302 · 21/08/13 - 02:18

kidspud wrote: »

I very nearly bought one of these for my kid when I was looking recently. I must admit I chickened out because of the lack of apps, but thought the usability of the phone was impressive.

Unless there are specific apps you need then it's not normally as issue - I've an older Lumia 800 and found it to be a very impressive phone.

kidspud · 21/08/13 - 02:24

alan1302 wrote: »

Unless there are specific apps you need then it's not normally as issue - I've an older Lumia 800 and found it to be a very impressive phone.

It was for my kid, so apps = games

For an adult, I agree.

MissDeeBlue · 21/08/13 - 02:24

I use a Blackberry bold 9700 Its excellent.

On Ebay you can get a decent one for around 80-100, cheaper if you dont mind just a charger and battery only, but not sure if you can do blackberry booster (for email) on PAYG

alan1302 · 21/08/13 - 02:27

kidspud wrote: »

It was for my kid, so apps = games

For an adult, I agree.

I'm an adult, I play games

TheBigM · 21/08/13 - 04:10

kidspud wrote: »

I very nearly bought one of these for my kid when I was looking recently. I must admit I chickened out because of the lack of apps, but thought the usability of the phone was impressive.

You would have appreciated the parental control features on windows phone 8

cnbcwatcher · 21/08/13 - 04:42

adi_carnat wrote: »

i would get the galaxy ace 2. it costs 120 130 and it s damn good. has a bigger screen than the ace 1 , has a FARRRRR better resolution , it s thinner and it has android 4.X.

it s a cheap device and because it s an adroid you will AT least have something better than any iphone or windows phone.

also , the ace has good internal memory , also has a DUAL core processor and you can also expand the memory with an micro sd card.

note: i m talking about the ace 2 , not the first one

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_ace_2_i8160-4559.php

Thought the Ace 2 came with Gingerbread? I know because I have one and I've had it since last December. You get a fair amount of phone for the price. I never had a smartphone until I bought the Ace 2 and now I would never go back to an ordinary phone. It plays games like Angry Birds very well.

alan1302 wrote: »

I'm an adult, I play games

So do I

Even my mum and dad play games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush!

Zee_Bukhari · 21/08/13 - 05:51

Nokia Lumia 520 which is £99 on PAYG

finbaar · 21/08/13 - 13:00

Huawie Y300 if you want Android. The alternative is the Nokia 520, but you will be saddled with Windows Phone 8 and it cost £50 more. Both are decent though.

kidspud · 21/08/13 - 13:10

alan1302 wrote: »

I'm an adult, I play games

Just to clarify my point regarding games. The dilemma I had was if my child's friends had a game available on iOS or android and at the moment it wasn't available on windows (which happens a lot at the moment) then it wasn't worth the hassle.

I'm sure it will get better in the future.

barbeler · 21/08/13 - 13:21

That's taking completely the wrong approach, as you're training your kid to be a follower rather than a leader. Get the Windows 8 phone so that his friends will want to get the games that he (or she) has.

finbaar · 21/08/13 - 13:23

barbeler wrote: »

That's taking completely the wrong approach, as you're training your kid to be a follower rather than a leader. Get the Windows 8 phone so that his friends will want to get the games that he (or she) has.

:rolleyes:

alan1302 · 21/08/13 - 17:47

kidspud wrote: »

Just to clarify my point regarding games. The dilemma I had was if my child's friends had a game available on iOS or android and at the moment it wasn't available on windows (which happens a lot at the moment) then it wasn't worth the hassle.

I'm sure it will get better in the future.

Following that way you would have to go with iOS as there are still a lot of games not available on Android either.

[Deleted User] · 24/08/13 - 04:00

Look into the Huawei Ascend G510. I love mine. It does everything that you have mentioned.

Sally

November_Rain · 24/08/13 - 06:47

You might be better off going with one of the entry level Windows phones available now. If my experience with the Huawei G300 is anything to go by, the budget Androids are not great.* However I have also used the Lumia 800 and found it to be a very decent phone for it's price range. The only thing that put me off was the lack of apps and customisation, but by the looks of it that won't be a problem for you.

*Obviously that's to be taken with a pinch of salt, as I've a very limited experience with other budget Androids.

[Deleted User] · 25/08/13 - 01:10

Nokia Lumia 520 and 620. Cheap to buy yet beautifully designed, little lags compared to Android-powered devices, and the Nokia's proven high-quality material. Highly recommended.

mikey86uk · 25/08/13 - 03:48

in my opinion, the best budget phones, seem to be the Windows Phone 8 ones.

As most of the topic suggests. the Nokia Lumia 520 or 620 would be the best option for your price point.

I cant imagine budget Android phones being that nice to use.

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