Hi all 

I am in need of a bit of help regarding mobile phones 

I am looking to replace my old phone that died this morning and I am a bit stuck

What I am looking for is a basic smart phone on Pay-as-you-go around about the £70-£90 price bracket

I have seen the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Samsung Galaxy Ace up to now

Can anyone help with their experiences of either of these phones
or know of something better around that price bracket 

Also any advice on which company has the best tariffs for all round use

Yours very confused 

dave 

The wife has a Nokia Lumia and she loves it.

I have a Nokia Lumia 620 - cost slightly more than you indicated. but - I'm really impressed. Uses Windows 8 and doesn't have access to as many apps as iphone etc. However it does have built in gps location which is a god send. I'm not sure but I think the 530 is the same without gps.

Good luck

Bob Austin

Quote from: davieb on December 27, 2013, 08:35:39 PM
What I am looking for is a basic smart phone on Pay-as-you-go around about the £70-£90 price bracket

I have seen the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Samsung Galaxy Ace up to now

Both a bit brand name. The Nokia runs Windows phone which can be a real disadvantage if you develop an interest in running apps on it as the selection is very limited compared to Android. Main selling point is generally the camera on them. The 520 however has no camera flash and is also lacking a compass and other 'standard' items by todays standards. Very cheap though - should be about £70 SIM free and unlocked. Currently cheaper unlocked as it seems the carriers haven't caught up with the new pricing. (They only just started dumping them at this price yesterday)

Galaxy Ace it depends which one - Ace, Ace Plus, Ace 2, Ace IIx |("mini-S3")? -fairly old design phone but you can load CyanogenMod on most versions to run current Android 4.4 and all the features. There are a fair number of other similar phones at that kind of price (Galaxy Pocket Neo etc)

Other useful tip on pay-through-the-nose and similar tariffs - on Android you can turn off mobile data, and leave wireless enabled. Means you can use all the useful stuff whenever you can beg borrow or otherwise find wireless connectivity. Of course the phone companies don't shout about this rather handy feature.

Alan

I have been using Android phones for quite a few years now and I am happy at the way they perform.
There are plenty apps for the Android, I have a Kindle app plus other book readers and a good crossword app.
You would be able to get one with a good camera for taking video.

cheers John.

For years I used Android phones, the last one being the Sony Xperia Ray which I doggedly defended as being all I needed - just phone calls and the odd text.

Switched to an iPhone5 when the contract on the Sony was up and have to say the iPhone outclasses it with its eyes shut and it's hands behind it's back. This is a poor signal strength area and the iPhone performs with crystal clarity. Also use WiFi a great deal nowadays.

Which phone network you use will depend where you live. Only Orange have adequate coverage here - look at coverage maps on the net.

Pay as You Go can be astonishingly expensive compared with modern contracts. Suggest you have a second think about this.

I've got a Galaxy Ace which is coming to the end of it's 2 year contract. I've been very happy with it apart from it's tiny onboard memory. Fitting a memory card does not solve this problem so beware.

I've been looking at the Ace 2 and, following a chat with the sales people, the Galaxy Fame and S3 mini. I'm looking for a 2 year deal again.

Beware PAYG data charges. It can work out more expensive than a monthly sim only deal. Have a look at the Talkmobile website.

There is plenty of consumer information around for mobile phones.

My personal advice would be to go for a Android phone with the Samsung Galaxy Ace model being  very popular.  However Sony, I have had a lot fo them,  make very good phone's and it might be worth making sure the phone has decent internal memory and the most recent Android operating system.

I am a dyed in the wool iphone user.

If of interest local shop has unlocked iphone 3G (ie good as any other but not HD) for #50. Saw it today. If you want it let me know.

I have a 5 cos the wife bought it to replace the one I lost. Id happily to back to a 3GS (update from 3G just has HD).

01903368266

Martin

Thanks for that Martin 

But I am now sorted as of this Afternoon 

Mods please feel free to lock this thread if you wish

dave 

Ok good to hear it

Topic locked at the request of the OP, thanks everyone for your suggestions and help, that's what makes this Forum so great, so many people ready and willing to help.