Decent Low Budget Smart Phone?

[Toms306]

So, looks like the Wildfire S is suddenly dying this week, typical!

I was intending to spend some xmas money on a replacement though, so not like it's unexpected, it's done exactly 4 years. Thing is, I know nothing about phones...and am amazed to find half of them cost more than my laptop! Budget is around £100, absolute max of £150 but preferably less. So iTelephones are out lol.

Needs -

New (with warranty) and unlocked/sim free
Decent camera as I don't have a separate camera (better than the wildfire hopefully!)
Easy internet surfing
Some sort of GPS/maps
Decent battery life
Forward facing camera
Small enough to fit in a pocket (it seems this has been lost in some 'mobile' phones!)
Robust - gets dropped/laid on/bashed around etc (no, I don't want a shitty cover on it lol)

Doesn't need to be 'customizable' as the current one is still as it came out of the box. And I don't play games on the phone.

Any recommendations??

[Magenta Sunset]

for that price I wouldn't really know. could get you an iPhone or Samsung. Try one of the 'multi brand' sellers like carphone.
(sorry I cant be more help, all mine are s/h)

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try this; (Google)
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-...red-961975

[306carter]

Samsung Galaxy S4?

[1616six]

Used iPhone? Probably got a 5 or 5s knocking around you could have cheap?

[andyyy]

Motorola moto G 3rd gen ticks all those boxes for less than £150, that's the phone iv got seems pretty bullet proof so far but I do keep it in a case. It's also submergable for half an hour

[Toms306]

I wasn't after anything used with my habit of breaking stuff, would rather get something with a guarantee when spending a lot lol!!

[Niall]

Motorola moto G 3rd gen ticks all those boxes for less than £150, that's the phone iv got seems pretty bullet proof so far but I do keep it in a case. It's also submergable for half an hour

This we used them at work for a little while and they were very solid. Only issue is they have a habit of not working with car bluetooth properly hence why we moved to Samsungs.

[Toms306]

Motorola moto G 3rd gen ticks all those boxes for less than £150, that's the phone iv got seems pretty bullet proof so far but I do keep it in a case. It's also submergable for half an hour

That looks good tbf, also on offer in Carphone warehouse atm. My current phone has been in the car cleaning bucket twice so far so waterproof isn't a bad idea.

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Motorola moto G 3rd gen ticks all those boxes for less than £150, that's the phone iv got seems pretty bullet proof so far but I do keep it in a case. It's also submergable for half an hour

This we used them at work for a little while and they were very solid. Only issue is they have a habit of not working with car bluetooth properly hence why we moved to Samsungs.

I don't use car Bluetooth so wouldn't be an issue for me currently lol. But will I want to within it's ~4 year lifespan...hmm...

[Niall]

tbh im not convinced any phones are made to last 4 years Tom. Even the most expensive of them out there. Pretty sure they make them to wear out at 2 years just so you renew a contract lol

[Toms306]

See my Mum says that as well, she's lucky to keep a phone 2 years! Though women do like 'talking' on phones, and she spends a lot of time gaming on hers... However I've only had 4 phones since 2003!

Nokia 3210 (2003 - 2006)
Motorola V557 (2006 - 2008) (Door loom to flip screen/camera failed)
Samsung D900i (2008 - 2011) (Door loom to slider camera failed)
HTC Wildfire (2011 - 2015) (USB port failing, can't connect to pc at all, only charges occasionally and won't hold charge long even after new battery)

[Dum-Dum]

Nokia Lumia 435 or 635 currently £55 and £75 respectively in Tesco sim free. Both are 4g smart phones but the 435 has a smaller screen and a potato camera.

I've had my 635 for a year and its been nearly indestructible. It gets dropped from the top of my locker at least weekly and from lower heights almost daily. Its been soaked a few times and its still going strong bar the case being cracked and a small crack on the screen but still perfectly functional. Battery life is very good for a modern phone.

[1616six]

635 is a great shout. FIL has a 635XL and I'm half tempted.. even though I've got an iPhone 6!

My work phone is a galaxy s3 something or other and I hate it. Android is shit.

[Toms306]

Lumia is Windows right? Any pros/cons of that compared to Android?

[Eeyore]

okay tom. Have a look at the one plus X. That should be top end of your budget and the best thing you can get!

[daveylennon93]

Samsung galaxy core prime are a great fone.

[Iaitoo]

Lumia is Windows right?  Any pros/cons of that compared to Android?

I'll list my thoughts on the brands(I sell phones, so got some experience with em)

Sony: Bloody good. Previous models(z3 family) broke their rear covers easily, but alot better now. 
Samsung: Good, have to pay a bit more because of the brand name
Apple: Phones are ok. Lots of issues with em. And they cost the same as top samsung/Sony, but has shit hardware in comparison.
HTC: Almost no one in Norway sells them anymore, because they haven't heard of customer service.
Huawei: Good value for money
LG: Pretty good.
Microsoft: Often good cameras for their price, but the OS is very locked and many devs don't make apps for it. You can't even get snapchat.

Windows doesnt have support for alot of apps yet. You cant even get snapchat if that is something you use. And I find windows to be crappy on a phone. 
Not sure how your prices are, compared to here in Norway. 

Huawei P8 lite is a very good cheap phone. Check those out. Or Sony M4 aqua. Not sure what they cost where you are. They are 200£ phones in Norway. Stuff is usually cheaper in the UK. 

[thododd]

In that budget i like the sony xperia m4 aqua

[Dum-Dum]

The lumia/windows is surprisingly good once you get over the fact alot of app makers don't make apps for it ie no snap chat. The customisable home page is f*cking brilliant, everything where you need it and in an order that makes sense.

Let put it like this, I'm buying another 635 as a spare if they are sufficiently cheap in the january sales.

[MrsMidnight]

I have the Sony experia z1 compact. Seems great for me tbh. Decent battery life, been dropped god knows how many times and is fine (I'm renowned for breaking screens!) love the camera on it and as it's the compact it actually fits in my pocket!

Not sure on purchas price but my contract is only 18 pound a month.. Can't justify spending any more for a phone.

[Ruan]

Sony Xperia Z series - I've got an Xperia Z1, can safely say it's the only phone ever to last me through a 2 year contract... Only things to go wrong are when I've accidentally ragged off the port covers and needed to buy a new set, which are a few quid on ebay for genuine ones. Stuck a glass screen protector on, which has undoubtedly saved the screen, it's fallen down through multiple engine bays whilst being used as a phone, it's waterproof and has ended up in puddles of oil, coolant, water and is absolutely fine... It's done the 2 year contract, and I'm not getting another because I'm perfectly happy with the phone, don't need to change it, which is incredibly rare. Has a cracking camera, taken some pretty good shots for a phone camera, I mean, David Bailey isn't going to shit his knickers, but for taking the odd snap, it's fine - not to mention you can take a snap whilst in the shower - win!? Battery life is usually 2 days, but by the end of the second day, you're low - but this is probably par for the course with any smartphone these days.

A little more expensive than you might want to spend, they're about £190 brand new, as above they do a Compact version which is basically same phone, smaller, lower res screen, but that's only difference. Since I've got large hands, can get away with the full sized phone.

Best phone I've ever had hands down.

[darrenjlobb]

Been using Nexus phones for the last few years myself, the trusty nexus 4 has been a hero phone, and I go through phones like no tomorrow...However have just bought a nexus 5 after smashing screen for the 4th time this year in the nexus 4...Picked up a brand new / never used nexus 5 for 90 quid on ebay with free shipping...cant go far wrong really...raw android.. Cant stand the crap other people (samsung) etc load up on the phones as stock...

I dont see the point in spending ££ on phones, not for me I guess anyway as would just be gutting when you smash it etc

[Eeyore]

Tom what Darren has said is also my view. I had a nexus 4 when it came out and I had a nexus 5 when it came out. The 4 is slow today and very delicate. The 5 with a decent case is amazing. If you can get a nexus 5 within budget definitely do it. Google have moved on a geberation jow and thry are expensive now.

They are made by lg so check out the lg g3 I believe is exactly the same as the nexus 5 but in a different case and of course still available.

[Toms306]

Ahhh, so many different opinions!

Now I know how noobs feel asking if HDi or XUD is better. I'll have to physically have a look at some I think, made a note of all discussed in here so far.

[darrenjlobb]

To be fair the Nexus 4 is still a perfectly useable phone, I have been with no issues, I admit it is now starting to struggle a little bit with some of the newer google apps / stuff in general, but day to day perfectly useable...But for what the 5 costs, its MUCH faster and a better phone all round...Also worth noting I have changed many screens in 4's and a few 5's and both are very easy to strip down / replace parts (which are cheap)...which is another major factor for me!

[Eeyore]

To be fair the Nexus 4 is still a perfectly useable phone, I have been with no issues, I admit it is now starting to struggle a little bit with some of the newer google apps / stuff in general, but day to day perfectly useable...But for what the 5 costs, its MUCH faster and a better phone all round...Also worth noting I have changed many screens in 4's and a few 5's and both are very easy to strip down / replace parts (which are cheap)...which is another major factor for me!

really? i should have sent you mine. I dropped my nexus 4 2 weeks after buying it and i broke it for parts on ebay to get back half its value. I bought a replacement touch screen etc but couldnt fit it as it was bonded to the display which also broken. At the time you could only buy the touch screen on its own... or the touch screen, display and body all in one... for about the cost of a new phone... so just cut my loses and bought the 5.

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this isnt the lg g3 i was talking about its some kind of S version but its within budget and is probably pretty decent.

http://www.ebuyer.com/702471-lg-g3-s-8gb...722-agbrtn

comparison
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare.../8595,8148

[Toms306]

How do people manage to break screens so often?

I've never broken one yet! My phone spends half of it's time falling from precarious places around cars being used as a torch...I should probably buy a torch tbf lol, and the other half with me laying it in my pocket under cars. Also , just under a year old I managed to get squashed between a 306 and a wall (Norfolk lot may remember that ) with my phone between me and the car...didn't do any damage at all lol. Are screens thinner now or have I just been lucky?

[Eeyore]

and my bad its the lg g4 that is the same as the nexus 5... which blows your budget unless you get it second hand...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LG-G4c-Space-G...Sw3KFWctXL

[ginge191]

As much as i hate the place - CEX could get you an iPhone 5s or similar for your budget

[Mattcheese31]

I have a Nokia Lumia 630 I think, might want to get next model up if you want 4g, I don't, very well specced phone for very little money, had mine over a year, I've got it in a chunky case, dropped it a million times and it's fine, even dropped it down the toilet early this year, pulled battery out, dried it in rice on the radiator for 48 hours and its perfect, had to reinstall a couple of things though

[7057sam]

My s5 pretty good,getting cheap now.

It can process my gopro footage better than my laptop lol