what budget android phone?

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I need to buy an android handset on a budget for the older generation

The requirements are fairly simple.
* I think it has to be new
* decent enough screen to see things clearly enough with not the sharpest eyesight, whatever that means
* has to run skype well enough (clear voice, stable connection)
* good enough battery to last well over 1 day (not something that mine does at the moment)
* system memory over 1GB. Anything less won't cut, as it does fill up quickly, phone stops working properly and they simply will stop using it for good. This irritates me badly enough almost to the point of smashing my Desire to the wall
* android 4 compatability via cynogenmod or otherwise would be bonus (to make sure it doesn't become unsupported too soon)
* around £100 or less - which means there is more cash to spend on other more important things
* possible to unlock/root if locked - I guess all of them are

I am personally to disconnected from the newer lower end device market and don't really have too much time to plough through the inexhaustible list

Many thanks in advance for the super bargain list :thumbs::D
 
I think the list of phones likely to include all your requirements or at least get pretty close to them, runs to about.....1

Orange San Francisco 2

can't see any further than that unless you go S/H, you can pull a Galaxy S1 off Ebay with cynogen 10 JellyBean already installed for £100 or so.

To get a similar performance you'd have to debrand and install a custom rom to that San Francisco, but then bang goes your "new" phone warranty..
 
Couldn't find either of those. Huawei G300 at £100 seemed like a half decent alternative, so bought that from a reputable online mega store. They only trouble it is not unlocked as advertised, so that sucks. I'm probably going to send it back.
The phone looks OK for those that are on Vodafone, just the screen goes very dark as soon as it's tilted (it's the same old TN screen found in laptops).
 
1GB RAM is about the most you'll get, 756MB is nearer the case for budget, which can be a bit touch and go depending on what services you've got running.
I'd have thought a Windows 7 phone would've been more suitable, due to the tiles for a larger area to touch to select.
Something like say the Nokia 610?
 
PJ S said:
1GB RAM is about the most you'll get, 756MB is nearer the case for budget, which can be a bit touch and go depending on what services you've got running.
I'd have thought a Windows 7 phone would've been more suitable, due to the tiles for a larger area to touch to select.
Something like say the Nokia 610?
Click to expand...

610 is not looking bad, but it won't run skype so it's out

The 1GB system memory I referred to is the internal storage capacity for OS and apps. It is crazy to even think about it until you realise that many still come with 512mb or less and quickly run out of space completely with significant consequences. You can only install so much to SD even with some advanced tricks. I am not too sure about RAM, but there must be some reasonable amount too.


Off-topic, my personal HTC desire is getting replaced with google nexus 4 8GB. My general advise for those looking for cheaper smartfones is to up the budget to £250 and get one of those. This is less than half compared to £600 for iphone5
 
The G300 can be network unlocked for free but it would void the warranty.
Why not buy a new battery for the HTC desire and give that?
 
daugirdas said:
610 is not looking bad, but it won't run skype so it's out

The 1GB system memory I referred to is the internal storage capacity for OS and apps. It is crazy to even think about it until you realise that many still come with 512mb or less and quickly run out of space completely with significant consequences. You can only install so much to SD even with some advanced tricks. I am not too sure about RAM, but there must be some reasonable amount too.


Off-topic, my personal HTC desire is getting replaced with google nexus 4 8GB. My general advise for those looking for cheaper smartfones is to up the budget to £250 and get one of those. This is less than half compared to £600 for iphone5
Click to expand...

Where did you find the nexus 4 in stock? Have been checking the play store on off for a month and it has been out of stock...

EDIT

b****r,

just checked the store and they do indeed have them in stock. Just bought a second hand iphone to tide me over and not sure how much i like ios...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rapscallion said:
Where did you find the nexus 4 in stock? Have been checking the play store on off for a month and it has been out of stock...

EDIT

b****r,

just checked the store and they do indeed have them in stock. Just bought a second hand iphone to tide me over and not sure how much i like ios...
Click to expand...

It re-appeared on Wednesday afternoon with no warning, well unless you had spotted on the web it was available in America again and Germany for the first time. That and the hint on Play Store when it shifted from 'No Inventory' to 'Temporarily Out Of Stock' that some stock was coming very soon. It did that in December when they got some stock the 2nd time.

They even had some Bumper cases available as well and despite saying '1-2 weeks delivery estimate' my case was dispatched yesterday
 
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stupar said:
The G300 can be network unlocked for free but it would void the warranty.
Why not buy a new battery for the HTC desire and give that?
Click to expand...

Is it not now illegal to have your phone unlocked by anyone other than the network company?
 
antihero said:
Is it not now illegal to have your phone unlocked by anyone other than the network company?
Click to expand...

Not idea.
Hard to police though what with all the wee local shops that offer the service for a fee etc etc
 
antihero said:
Is it not now illegal to have your phone unlocked by anyone other than the network company?
Click to expand...

Not in this country it isn't.

It changed to that yesterday in the USA, the land of the free ;). Well at least the land of big business getting laws written to make sure they keep raking in the profits.

Wait a minute just like this country really :eek:
 
scorpius said:
They even had some Bumper cases available as well and despite saying '1-2 weeks delivery estimate' my case was dispatched yesterday
Click to expand...



For the Nexus 4 it says, 1-2 weeks shipping.....when available

Been watching for weeks, I want one but not with an open ended delivery estimate like that, its been 2 months since they had any stock at all..:shrug:
 
joxby said:
For the Nexus 4 it says, 1-2 weeks shipping.....when available

Been watching for weeks, I want one but not with an open ended delivery estimate like that, its been 2 months since they had any stock at all..:shrug:
Click to expand...

Sorry I thought my post was clear that I was saying that both the Nexus 4 and the Bumper case had become available again on Wednesday afternoon.

I managed to order one of the Bumpers, it said 'Delivery estimate 1-2 weeks' but it was dispatched yesterday barely 24 hours later.

The Nexus 4 is showing 'Ships Soon' with an estimated delivery of 1-2 weeks' .That's what it had when I ordered mine in December and it was dispatched within the 2 weeks.
 
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joxby said:
For the Nexus 4 it says, 1-2 weeks shipping.....when available

Been watching for weeks, I want one but not with an open ended delivery estimate like that, its been 2 months since they had any stock at all..:shrug:
Click to expand...

They will only take the money off the card once they can ship. You can't lose with that. Hopefully it does come within those 2weeks

Now I need some sort of wallet for it and a car holder for GPS use
 
scorpius said:
Sorry I thought my post was clear that I was saying that both the Nexus 4 and the Bumper case had become available again on Wednesday afternoon.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I saw that on my phone at about 2pm, unfortunately I was at work so I couldn't order it, by 3pm there were news reports that Google had sold out again, despite what it says on the website.
So....I dunno, I mean you could take it two ways, its available now news reports are wrong, or you can buy now but its not available so it might be more than 2 weeks...:shrug: cos ships soon is as erroneous as when available.....ridiculous language they print on websites:bang:
 
daugirdas said:
Couldn't find either of those. Huawei G300 at £100 seemed like a half decent alternative, so bought that from a reputable online mega store. They only trouble it is not unlocked as advertised, so that sucks. I'm probably going to send it back.
The phone looks OK for those that are on Vodafone, just the screen goes very dark as soon as it's tilted (it's the same old TN screen found in laptops).
Click to expand...

You could always have unlocked it for free.
http://www.modaco.com/topic/358599-how-to-free-sim-unlock-your-g300/page__st__20
 
I flashed a ROM to my Galaxy 1, its pretty slick so I'm leaving the Nexus for the time being.
However, I do think buying a handset outright and throwing a giffgaff card at it, is the way to go..:)
 
joxby said:
.
However, I do think buying a handset outright and throwing a giffgaff card at it, is the way to go..:)
Click to expand...

If I wanted cheap, I would get an Ovivo sim, 100 min, 100 text, 400 MB data is free each month and runs on Vodafone.

If I was looking to spend £10-£12 a month like you need to on GiffGaff, I think a 30 day sim only 3 plan is much better, 200 min, 5000 texts, 500MB data for £9.90 or with totally unlimited data for £12.90.
 
£15 - 400 mins, unlimited texts & unlimited web (GiffGaff - No contract)
 
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Keith W said:
£15 - 400 mins, unlimited texts & unlimited web (GiffGaff - No contract)
Click to expand...

I would rather spend the £15 with 3 PAYG, 300 min, 3000 text, AYCE unlimited data or Virgin pay as you go, 300 min, unlimited text, unlimited data.

Both are offered on networks with much better 3G reliability than O2.
 
Strange that because from what I have heard they have the worst 3g reliability/coverage in the country

And that is certainly true where I am, I get no coverage on 3 and if I am lucky I may just be able to get coverage on virgin if I stand on one leg and lean out my back bedroom window.

Of course it is all very subjective anyway ;)
 
Dave1 said:
I would rather spend the £15 with 3 PAYG, 300 min, 3000 text, AYCE unlimited data or Virgin pay as you go, 300 min, unlimited text, unlimited data.

Both are offered on networks with much better 3G reliability than O2.
Click to expand...

It all depends on the network reception, etc. I'm on 3 sim only contract which is pretty decent value as similar as above, but to be fair as a landscape guy I have to conclude that their reception is a bit patchy in the countryside. I can't comment about any other network
 
Not sure what you guys think but it seems to me all the networks are charging a lot more for a lot less these days
 
daugirdas said:
Couldn't find either of those. Huawei G300 at £100 seemed like a half decent alternative, so bought that from a reputable online mega store. They only trouble it is not unlocked as advertised, so that sucks. I'm probably going to send it back.
The phone looks OK for those that are on Vodafone, just the screen goes very dark as soon as it's tilted (it's the same old TN screen found in laptops).
Click to expand...

Try using the online chat on the Vodafone website. I did that and just asked to have it unlocked and they gave me the code there and then no cost
 
TheCrewDesigns said:
Try using the online chat on the Vodafone website. I did that and just asked to have it unlocked and they gave me the code there and then no cost
Click to expand...

I phoned vodafone and they just wanted money no matter what. So it is already on the way back...

The nexus is turning out to be quite a big challenge to get to. these *******s TNT are forcing me to do a 40 mile round trip at 11pm just because I can't stay home all day, and they wouldn't deliver to work nor on saturday. I'd much rather deal with RM, for £10 delivery as well :thumbsdown:. I thought this would be interesting to those ordering the nexus.
 
daugirdas said:
I phoned vodafone and they just wanted money no matter what. So it is already on the way back...

The nexus is turning out to be quite a big challenge to get to. these *******s TNT are forcing me to do a 40 mile round trip at 11pm just because I can't stay home all day, and they wouldn't deliver to work nor on saturday. I'd much rather deal with RM, for £10 delivery as well :thumbsdown:. I thought this would be interesting to those ordering the nexus.
Click to expand...

Indeed they do have a very odd idea about customer service. To get mine I had to either stay in all day or go to their depot and the only time offered was 9pm Monday to Friday. Weird given it's a 24 hour operation at Edinburgh Airport as far as I can tell and most couriers prefer you to go in during office hours :cuckoo: At least for me it was only about an 8 mile round trip. Also presumably they couldn't get into the block of flats I live in so I got no card saying they'd tried to deliver it and no email either, I had to check their tracker site.

Mind you even if the can get access to the block, as they did to deliver my bumper case on Friday, they don't bother telling leaving anything to say they tried to deliver or even which flat they'd left it at. The tracker just said the surname of the person who'd signed for it, not much use when you don't know the names of the folk in the other 5 flats in your block. Took me much rummaging and several attempts to discover a very small note on the image from their POD system saying where it had been left. That only because I'd sussed POD meant Proof Of Delivery
 
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Hmm - this thread seems to have drifted slightly off topic - I too am interested in a cheap android phone as I want to get my daughter off a PAYG sim - we missed out on the 02 sale which would have given her an HTC Desire X or Blackberry curve (her choices) with (I think) 100 mins, unlimited texts and 100mg of data for £10.50 over 2 years - now the same thing is going to be £13.50 which is too much, so I want to buy a phone and go with Ovivo or giffgaff.
An online chat with an 02 rep and they were not interested in matching the sale prices in any way which surprised me as I assumed that getting a new contract taken out was always their goal !
 
For god sake don't use Vodafone, I did a similar deal for my daughter, and some one phoned up, changed the billing address of my account and ordered 5 new contracts, first I new about it was the £700 they took out my bank account. They then took 3 months to refund the money although it only took them 5 days to admit it was fraud, when I refused to pay by direct debit anymore they charged me £5 a month extra, while they weren't refunding the money I told them to take bills out of that, which they didn't although they said they would and then sent a debt of £30 to a debit collection agency, who couldn't believe what Vodafone did to me.
 
I would recommended the Sony experia "u" very good phone for your money, and also a very good and stable custom JB rom will be out very soon for it, I know it will void your warrenty but worse case scenario you can always re-flash to the original stock rom if something did you Pete tong
 
Davec223 said:
For god sake don't use Vodafone, I did a similar deal for my daughter, and some one phoned up, changed the billing address of my account and ordered 5 new contracts, first I new about it was the £700 they took out my bank account. They then took 3 months to refund the money although it only took them 5 days to admit it was fraud, when I refused to pay by direct debit anymore they charged me £5 a month extra, while they weren't refunding the money I told them to take bills out of that, which they didn't although they said they would and then sent a debt of £30 to a debit collection agency, who couldn't believe what Vodafone did to me.
Click to expand...

Never extend patience with the monkeys, always deal directly with the organ grinder!
They have no idea how to deal with off-script issues, so best leave them to sticking with the script whilst you deal with someone who doesn't have a script to adhere to.

http://campaigns.vodafone.co.uk/guylaurence/
http://www.ceoemail.com/
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1724511/How-to-complain-to-the-chief-executive.html
 
Thedodo said:
I would recommended the Sony experia "u" very good phone for your money, and also a very good and stable custom JB rom will be out very soon for it, I know it will void your warrenty but worse case scenario you can always re-flash to the original stock rom if something did you Pete tong
Click to expand...

O2 have a cheapish refurb for PAYG (£80?). This would suit gifgaff. If understand correctly sony's are probably the hardest to sim-unlock so I will leave this well alone.

That or some fairly recent NEXUS series phone, used or new, is much better package overall. S2/S1 Samsung are probably still way better than almost anything under £150 new.

These are my conclusions after having to look through this market segment.
 
daugirdas said:
I need to buy an android handset on a budget for the older generation

The requirements are fairly simple.
* I think it has to be new
* decent enough screen to see things clearly enough with not the sharpest eyesight, whatever that means
* has to run skype well enough (clear voice, stable connection)
* good enough battery to last well over 1 day (not something that mine does at the moment)
* system memory over 1GB. Anything less won't cut, as it does fill up quickly, phone stops working properly and they simply will stop using it for good. This irritates me badly enough almost to the point of smashing my Desire to the wall
* android 4 compatability via cynogenmod or otherwise would be bonus (to make sure it doesn't become unsupported too soon)
* around £100 or less - which means there is more cash to spend on other more important things
* possible to unlock/root if locked - I guess all of them are

I am personally to disconnected from the newer lower end device market and don't really have too much time to plough through the inexhaustible list

Many thanks in advance for the super bargain list :thumbs::D
Click to expand...

I know it is more than you want to pay, but look at a second hand galaxy s2, it is a great phone.

Edit just saw you want new so scrap the above, unless you change your mind and go the second hand route.
 
daugirdas said:
I phoned vodafone and they just wanted money no matter what. So it is already on the way back...

The nexus is turning out to be quite a big challenge to get to. these *******s TNT are forcing me to do a 40 mile round trip at 11pm just because I can't stay home all day, and they wouldn't deliver to work nor on saturday. I'd much rather deal with RM, for £10 delivery as well :thumbsdown:. I thought this would be interesting to those ordering the nexus.
Click to expand...

No I did not say phone I said use the online chat that pops up when you are on their website to ask if you need help. It does not always work it depends on who you chat to but twice I did it (with my wife's phone and mine) and I got the unlock code there and then and it did not cost me a penny
 
TheCrewDesigns said:
No I did not say phone I said use the online chat that pops up when you are on their website to ask if you need help. It does not always work it depends on who you chat to but twice I did it (with my wife's phone and mine) and I got the unlock code there and then and it did not cost me a penny
Click to expand...

I am surprised there is a difference (!) but now I have a chance to try that as well after Yodel failed to collect the parcel from my work :gag:

:lol:
 
daugirdas said:
I am surprised there is a difference (!) but now I have a chance to try that as well after Yodel failed to collect the parcel from my work :gag:

:lol:
Click to expand...

Yeah give it a go like I said sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't ...worked twice for me. Its hard to find the chat I never saw a link for it, it just popped up when I was on the help section after a while.
 
daugirdas said:
O2 have a cheapish refurb for PAYG (£80?). This would suit gifgaff. If understand correctly sony's are probably the hardest to sim-unlock so I will leave this well alone.

That or some fairly recent NEXUS series phone, used or new, is much better package overall. S2/S1 Samsung are probably still way better than almost anything under £150 new.

These are my conclusions after having to look through this market segment.
Click to expand...

See my original post, the Sony Xperia U is unlocked if you buy brand new from Phones 4 U, my wife bought one, she was asked which network she wanted and it was purely for a discounted offer when she bought it. The salesman told me that they are all unlocked as its easier from a selling point for them. Being Locked or Unlocked was the first question I asked him! :bonk:
 
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