# Spec me a low-spec smartphone



## retribution (Feb 15, 2012)

After many years cradling my rugged, indestructable Nokia (complete with colour screen!) I've decided that smartphones are being to appeal to me. I'm looking for a non-contract phone that'll allow me to browse the web easily, has decent mp3 functionality, and decent battery life if possible. Games aren't appealing, but the ability to run a worthwhile app would be appreciated.

Any recommendations, please?

Thanks


----------



## dessiato (Feb 15, 2012)

How much do you want to spend? The Samsungs look good.


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Feb 15, 2012)

Low spec smartphones aren't worth it IMO, they're just frustrating and/or shit to use.

As for decent battery life, forget it. If you use them in a way that's actually useful you'll get a day at best.


----------



## marty21 (Feb 15, 2012)

carry spare batteries , they cost fuck all


----------



## dessiato (Feb 15, 2012)

marty21 said:


> carry spare batteries , they cost fuck all


Doesn't that rather defeat the point of having a phone if you need to carry a spare battery? It reminds me of the first phone I had which would only give about 4 hours so it was essential to always have a charger and a spare battery.


----------



## gentlegreen (Feb 15, 2012)

My Orange Monte Carlo (ZTE Skate) needs charging every day and lacks oomph, but for £90 I'm very happy with it - it has a screen big enough for me to use.



Yes I have to charge it every day, but it stays on for hours every night acting as a web radio via my wifi - it's helping my French learning immensely  of course, when I'm organised, I'll be able to keep the power cable in - and I have plans to fit external charging contacts because I don't trust the teeny USB socket.

I've almost decided to get a separate GPS unit shortly, but I will still be using it for navigation - I will be buying spare batteries, a 5 amp hour battery pack, and will source an efficient regulator so I can also charge it from my 12 volt bike light batteries.


----------



## retribution (Feb 15, 2012)

Re: how much I want to spend, I don't know, really! If there's a critical point at which better smartphones become significantly better than their cheaper rivals, I'd be willing to pay for it.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to them so perhaps 'low spec' is misleading. Basically I don't want to pay over the odds for something designed to play games on


----------



## marty21 (Feb 15, 2012)

dessiato said:


> Doesn't that rather defeat the point of having a phone if you need to carry a spare battery? It reminds me of the first phone I had which would only give about 4 hours so it was essential to always have a charger and a spare battery.


 
The batteries have got slightly smaller since then


----------



## dessiato (Feb 15, 2012)

marty21 said:


> The batteries have got slightly smaller since then


Thank god!!! Imagine the issues if they hadn't!


----------



## marty21 (Feb 15, 2012)

dessiato said:


> Thank god!!! Imagine the issues if they hadn't!


 is that a battery in your pocket or are you pleased to see me ?


----------



## editor (Feb 15, 2012)

Samsung Galaxy Ace is a very good phone for around £170.
http://www.samsung.com/uk/galaxyace/


----------



## marty21 (Feb 15, 2012)

I wouldn't recommend my HTC Wildfire S - phone memory issues - stuck on a contract now - but might be tempted by a decent second hand smart phone


----------



## gentlegreen (Feb 15, 2012)

As I said, I'm very happy so far with my first smartphone - though I won't actually be using it as a phone as it's failed to replace my MP3 player and compact camera. I bought it mainly for *cycle navigation*, and already it's making me wonder why people pay a fortune for *web radios* - even with just the tinny built-in speaker.
Once I have a couple of amplified speakers set up in different parts of the house, it'll be spot-on. (I'm not sure I even thought about the radio side of things).

The voice web search is very neat too.


----------



## rhod (Feb 15, 2012)

This is a decent little android phone for *£40* !!

http://direct.asda.com/T-Mobile-Rapport-Android-Smart-Phone/008717374,default,pd.html#BVRRWidgetID

Nice and compact, screen perfectly usable. Compares very well with £100+ phones. Why pay extra?


----------



## dessiato (Feb 15, 2012)

rhod said:


> This is a decent little android phone for *£40* !!
> 
> http://direct.asda.com/T-Mobile-Rapport-Android-Smart-Phone/008717374,default,pd.html#BVRRWidgetID
> 
> Nice and compact, screen perfectly usable. Compares very well with £100+ phones. Why pay extra?


Would it be unlockable do you think? I fancy that but would want to use it around EU. Mind you by the time I get back to the UK they'll have sold out anyway.


----------



## gentlegreen (Feb 15, 2012)

It's got GPS, but apparently no WIFI.

http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/pay-as-you-go/t-mobile-rapport-payg/


----------



## ohmyliver (Feb 15, 2012)

The key issue is how much to you want to spend, really.

If you can go up to £229 then the HTC Evo 3D (very similar spec to the Sensation, i.e. dual core processor, 1.1 gb app space, big screen and high resolution) sim free from Asda is the way to go as that's very cheap for a decent phone (so long as you remember that switching on 3d eats battery) 
If you can go up to £179 then the Motorola Milestone 2 from Amazon is good if you want a hardware keyboard
If you can go up to 115, then the Samsung Galaxy Ace (albeit it's 3 pay as you go, but I suspect it's easy to root and debrand it)
etc
etc


----------



## rhod (Feb 15, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> It's got GPS, but apparently no WIFI.
> 
> http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/pay-as-you-go/t-mobile-rapport-payg/


 
Yes - it does have WiFi.


----------



## rhod (Feb 15, 2012)

dessiato said:


> Would it be unlockable do you think? I fancy that but would want to use it around EU. Mind you by the time I get back to the UK they'll have sold out anyway.


 
Don't know whether this works, but the seller has pretty decent feedback:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UNLOCK-CO...127262?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item1c2237335e


----------



## retribution (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll pop into the shop and see which I like the look of from them


----------



## Chz (Feb 17, 2012)

The Orange San Francisco 2 is out now. I'm not sure what improvements they made, but the original SF was the budget Android phone of choice for ages.

Edit: it's a ZTE Crescent. 30% faster processor, 5MP camera, not much else changed. Though that says more about how awesome the original was than anything.


----------

