[November_Rain]

Unfortunately my trusty HTC Desire S was stolen last night so I'm in need of a replacement. I'm just going to go with a cheapish model for now, something around the £100 mark, preferably running Android.

I want to use it for a moderate amount of internet browsing and music. What phones of my price range are capable of fulfilling this need to a decent standard?

One with a physical keyboard would be nice as I have missed having one on my last few phones but this is not a necessity.

[alan1302]

Huawei G300 would be a good bet - no physical keyboard though - although you will struggle to get one that does now.

[November_Rain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alan1302

Huawei G300 would be a good bet - no physical keyboard though - although you will struggle to get one that does now.

Thanks, will look into it. A physical keyboard is just a bonus really, I know they're a little hard to come by now though which is why I'm not holding my hopes up.

[jabbamk1]

Another vote for the Ascend G300 (£100) or the Huawei Honor (£189) are very good phones that are excellent replacements for the Desire S.

There a are not many physical keyboard phones anymore. The only one i can think of is the Motorola Milestone 2 or the Motorola Pro + but they're a bit overpriced at the moment i think.

[Youngone]

I agree the Huawei Ascend G300 is probably the best smart phone you can get for under £100. I think it is only on the Vodafone network at the moment though.

[grumpyoldbat]

If you're not fussed about it having the latest OS, you can pick up a SIM free HTC Cha Cha or Motorola Pro + for about £130-£150 on Amazon. You'll get a keyboard with either of those.

[TV King]

If the OP wants a smartphone that has a physical qwerty keyboard then there is also the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro.

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

Also Tesco have it on pay as you go for £99.00.

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-mo...488&pageLevel=

Tesco also has the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro on contract starting from £7.50 a month for 24 months.

http://shop.tescomobile.com/mobile-p...+pro?deal=6305

There is also plenty of videos for the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro on You Tube.

There is also the Samsung Galaxy Y pro Duos which adds a front facing camera and duel sim card slots but But the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro model That Tesco is selling is the single sim card version that does not have the front facing camera.

And Tesco also has a few other Android smartphones for £100 or less on pay as you go. As well as also being available on contract.

Huwei Blaze

Samsung Galaxy Y

LG Optimus L3

Nokia Asha 300 (Runs on Nokias Simbyon S40 operating system not run Android and it does not have Wi-Fi only 3G)

Here is a link to the Tesco mobile home page.

http://phone-shop.tesco.com/tesco-mobile/

I hope that this helps. And please post back and tell us what smartphone you eventually buy.

[jabbamk1]

@Tv king- The OP has come from a HTC Desire S and all the phones you've put in your post are much much much worse phones but with a physical keyboard,

Unfortunatly if the OP wants a keyboard phone he'll have to settle for one of these worse phones. Or fork out a bit for a Motorola Pro + or a Motorola Milestone 2

[Rodney McKay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by November_Rain

Thanks, will look into it. A physical keyboard is just a bonus really, I know they're a little hard to come by now though which is why I'm not holding my hopes up.

As it has a 4" screen I find the keyboard easier to use, I use Swiftkey as well. For once I have a touchscreen phone I can use quite well.

[November_Rain]

Not an Android phone but I see the Nokia Lumia 710 is going for £99.95 on PAYG from Carphone Warehouse. Anyone had any experiences with this handset?

[noise747]

i hate to say it because i said I would never buy a Huawei product for a cheap phone that seems to work well the Huawei G300 seems a good buy, only on vodafone i think,, but it could be unlocked.

My HTC wildfire went belly up a few days back and I am still in contract, so needed a cheap phone for six months.

i diid look at a Samsung Galaxy Y at £80, but screen was a bit small, i also looked at the HTC Desire C, but that was £140. so i bit my tongue and got the Huawei G300.

it is a fast phone, zooms around the GUI and everything is pretty nippy, ok so the OS is not the latest, but it still works well. i suppose i am comparing it with my old wildfire which could be a bit on the slow side.

TBH, i prefer touchscreen keyboards on phones now, i use the touchpal keyboard, which also got a swipe mode, i can send message pretty fast on that..


There are a few things on the Huawei G300 that is missing compared to my HTC, but i can get apps for them, the one minor thing is the ring tone is not that loud, but then again my HTC was no better in that respect.


As a cheap phone it is really good, i not sure if I will keep it after the six months and go for sim only contract or not.

[noise747]

Quote:

Originally Posted by November_Rain

Not an Android phone but I see the Nokia Lumia 710 is going for £99.95 on PAYG from Carphone Warehouse. Anyone had any experiences with this handset?

You need to have a play with it to be honest, a windows phone is different to a android phone, you may or may not like it.


I had a play with one and I think they are too limited and lack of apps could be a problem, not that I am a app mad person, I only have a few on my phone.

Remind me too much of windows 8 and the Metro, ah, sorry, the modern UI.

[MiresiaVerteta]

Orange Barcelona (my mobile):

http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...ed=0CGgQ8gIwAA

[douknowotimean?]

What about an iPhone 3GS? I'm sure I've seen amazon do deals on them at the moment.