i've just got a ipad and can't remember the last time i used the 'smart' capabilities of my current phone. therefore i've decided to get rid of my 'smart' phone and go back to basics with a phone that does calls / txts / pictures well.

what should i go for?

Now that you have your smartphone you likely won't save any money by trying to sell it and buy a cheaper phone, depreciation on these things is fairly high. What reason could there be for downgrading from your current phone (you don't mention what it is either) to a "normal" phone unless you feel your current phone doesn't do the basics well like calls, texts, music and pictures.

If his current smart phone is an iPhone, they tend to hold value better than most phones

Says over there on the left, nexus s. It does the basics perfectly well but I don't want a £400 phone for just the basics. Being only a month old it'll sell for £350. Proceeds can go towards a basic phone and the rest can go in my bank until I need a new laptop for work

Ok, fair enough in your case. Though things like NFC are just around the corner which would make your Nexus S useful again.

In the "normal" phone market, I'd say go for either a Nokia or a Samsung.

Any particular network? Apparently the San Francisco on Orange is a decent cheap Android phone that is under 100 quid. You can also get the HTC wildfire for 150. Either that or go for the cheapest Nokia that Tesco sell. I got a ZTE F107 for £20 from three as a short term stop gap and its been great.

I have a sonyerricson w890 as a second/back up phone, it is a great little phone, feels strong and well built, everything works fast and well. Also I have stopes my in a river and after a week drying it still worked. Not to sure if you can still get my simfree but if you can find one I would recommend this phone. In some ways I love it more then my iPhone and previous HTC.

dont think you can go wrong with Nokia for a "normal phone2 my mate got this the other month when he downgraded from a "smart phone" and he loves it!!! battery lasts a week, no silly aps just rings and texts and basic internet !!

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mob...learance=false

this looks good too

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mob...learance=false

cheap phones are the future

I can highly recommend the mobile phone that I currently use the Nokia 6303 Classic in silver on Tesco Mobile pay as yo go and.

The Nokia 6303 Classic looks great and has a great spec and is very easy to use and does everything that you are asking for from a basic phone.

The Nokia 6303 Classic has a 3.2 mega pixel digital camera with 8x digital zoom and duel LED flash which I think take exellent photos for a mobile phone.

And I know that digital zoom is not as good a optical zoom as digital zoom just zooms in on the pixels but it is still handy to have a zoom and one as big as 8x.

Most pay as you go phones that I have seen that are under £100 only have a digital zoom of either 2x or 4x.

I also love the monky wallpaper and screen saver the Nokia 6303 Classic has.

I will not be changing my Nokia 6303 Classic any time soon.

My godfather also has a black Nokia 6303 Classic but his is on contact with O2. He also loves the monky wallpaper and screen saver which was one of the resons that he brought the phone as well as it being very easy to use.

He too will not be changing his Nokia 6303 Classic any time soon.

Here is a link to a Google serach for the Nokia 6303 Classic.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Nok...&client=safari

I do have a protective case for my Nokia 6303 Classic but I am not happy with it so yesterday on Play.com I brought a new protective case for my Nokia 6303 Classic which is the G5 Online Nokia 6303 Black Hybrid Hard Case / Screen Protector for £4.99 with free delivery.

Link to Play.com below.

http://www.play.com/

And I can highly recommend Tesco Mobile which I have found to be exellent.

I have always has exellent And very reliable. I have always had a signal and they have exellent covarage and I find that Tesco mobile alway have great pay as you go deals and they run of the O2 network.

So I am very happy with my silver Nokia 6303 classic on Tesco Mobile.

Good luck and I hope that you find the mobile phone that you are looking for and is right for you.

thanks all so far. i'm not looking for a payg phone. simfree only. nokia 6303 is my first choice but is hard to find now. i would go for the 6303i but it is not as godd from what i read. the nokia 6700 is another choice but seems just over budget.

i previously had a nokia 6300 a couple of years ago (£100) which i thought was excellent so if the c2-01 (£80) is similar that may be the one to go for. although slightly cheaper i guess it is in line with how prices have fallen and specs have increased

I would go for a new orange san fran. £99 and unlock it.

The kudos of a nice phone i personally would just keep the nexus for the sake of £200/hassle. You only live once

The Nokia 6303 Classic can be brought brand new in silver and sim free from Play.com for just over £100.

There are 2 sellers seller is selling the Nokia 6303 Classic brand new. One is for £102.99 and the other is £109.99 both include free delivery.

Just type in the search box on the Play.com web site Nokia 6303 Classic and it will appear on the right hand side. Click on it and then click on new and the 2 sellers appear.

Here is a link to the play.com web site.

http://www.play.com/

I hope that this helps.

whilst i'd love to be able to spend £200 on kudos sometimes reality kicks in

He does not want a smart phone and so should avoid the OSF (I have just passed on my much loved OSF to my wife after 6 months of happy use so I am not aginst it per se) and look around for a Nokia 6303 as it would be ideal (if he is unhappy with the 6303i that is).

One here for £99 sim free;
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-N6303-...2263953&sr=8-5

I

All you want is this
http://www.pricedropper.co.uk/2/Soun...802s2003.r16.1

I bought one from the British Heart foundation...for £10

Simple as pie...PLUS
My thumbs fit the keys, none of that tippy tappyness of fingers on small buttons or 1 finger prodding on touch screens......
no internet no mms. Just text and calls plus a torch....
Also you wont be a mugging victim or look like one of those hipsters
But after a chat with tmobile at the loyalty department i got 600 mins unlimited texts for £6 a month on a 30 day contract.....
Save the money by basic blag a decent amount of mins, now you can buy Bollinger....instead of wasting your money on a posh phone and contract...

or this one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hello-Kitty-C9...t_16856wt_1139

gone for this Nokia 6700

thanks all for your replies

all pay as you go from carphone warehouse are sim free/unlocked and they give you a sim card for the network yo choose, works out a lot cheaper than a sim free from other shops