Budget smartphone for under £150?

Hi!

I'm looking for a budget smartphone for someone who isn't that tech savvy. Looking to spend under £150.

I read Gofre's smartphone thread and did a little research and I'm looking at the:

- Motorola Moto G 4G 5-Inch 2nd Generation - £112
- Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 - £115

The Vodafone we'll need to get unlocked as we have a Virgin sim already, I'm guessing that's an extra £10-20 or so? I'm not sure of the current rate.

I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks!

Hi!I'm looking for a budget smartphone for someone who isn't that tech savvy. Looking to spend under £150.I read Gofre's smartphone thread and did a little research and I'm looking at the:- Motorola Moto G 4G 5-Inch 2nd Generation - £112- Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 - £115The Vodafone we'll need to get unlocked as we have a Virgin sim already, I'm guessing that's an extra £10-20 or so? I'm not sure of the current rate.I'm open to all suggestions!Thanks!

Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
Meizu m2 Note
Vodafone Ultra 6
EE Harrier

The Moto G is not a good budget phone anymore lol, it's not even cheap for its specs. An LG G3 is only £30 more than it and it's vastly superior, heck it was a flagship a year ago and is better in every aspect than any Moto G a year later.

But the Moto G seems to be at/near the top of a few reviews I've read :s It seems quite decent. I'm also looking for a new phone within OPs budget and I was thinking of getting the Moto G. I have to admit the fact I've never heard of three of those phone is something making me question how good they are but I should move past that really as I don't know much about phones!

But can you tell me why you think your suggestions are better than the Moto G?

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

The specs of those phones are much better than the Moto G and they're quite a bit cheaper, some even £60 cheaper. Main difference between the Moto and the ones I listed is the screen on them is full HD whereas the screen on the Moto is 720p and it's very average now. Why pay more for something with an inferior screen, the most important or joint most important part of a phone. The processors are better in the ones I listed too; my Mum has a Moto G and it lags crazy under anything slightly heavy, those phones won't lag. Not saying you'll be editing movies or whatever on the go, but it's nice to have something faster for cheaper. Also, Motorola were taken over by Lenovo who have a history of dropping support for devices, loading them with spyware etc. Basically, updates to the newest version of Android are less certain. Which isn't a good thing if you've bought something you want to last for at least 2 years.

Moto G isn't a bad phone, but it's totally outclassed by the above and for £149 it's ridiculously expensive for what it is.

Here are the phones I'm talking about and a few more that are better

Vodafone: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013F8UJRM/?tag=hotukdealsev-21
Xiaomi: http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_269048.html?wid=3
Meizu: http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_211997.html?wid=3
Asus Zenfone 2: https://www.alza.co.uk/asus-zenfone-2-ze500cl-charcoal-black-d2685318.htm?kampan=adeupla-uk_produkty_android&country=GB&gclid=CIzTtIO4v8oCFWsJwwod548Ldw

Basically, if you're gonna spend that much may as well get the best thing you can lol

Hey, thanks for the reply! I actually had a look at your list and got a more techy friend's help to compare the specs and I've decided to get the Redmi! It looks pretty good for the money - found one for £102 on ebay! I'm so excited I'd buy it straight away lol but I've contacted two of the sellers to ask if the phones are the international/english versions and if they've already got google apps on them or not and then I'm just going to ahead with it I can't wait! The only downside for me is that I prefer smaller screens and I feel like my privacy can easily be invaded with big screens. There's probably bigger ones, but at 5'5 the screen does feel pretty big so once I get it I'll have to see how I feel about that, might have to return it. I'll probably just end up loving it and keep it lol. I saw the Asus is a bit smaller but I think the Redmi sounds better and cheaper and all the others seem to be the same size so if a cheap but decent phone is going to be that size I'll have to deal with it.

Thanks again! (I'm very excited about the phone YOU introduced me to haha)

Nice, my dad also bought that phone and it's amazing, just as good as mine which was twice the price Just a word of warning; make sure the seller you buy it from on eBay is NOT based in China; otherwise import taxes will be added to your cost, and it's gonna be hard to return it or get hold of someone if you want support. I deliberately linked Gearbest because it's the EU warehouse based in London so you can easily get hold of someone and return it or send it in for service should the phone break Don't worry about the screen size, mine is 5.5" and it's really not that big

No problem, glad to help

Here's the two I'm looking at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121801505659?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - they're based in Salford so it should be fine

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221989043225?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT - this does seem like the seller is based in China. I was considering not buying from them because the other seller has a better positive feedback anyway, and a 30 day refund policy. But I couldn't tell if the first phone is in English or not. I'm waiting for them to reply and getting a bit restless due to the excitement
Plus I was considering getting the grey one as my last two phones have been white. By the way did you dad have to add google apps himself? And is protection like screen protectors/phone covers easy/cheap to buy for the phone?

Hi!

I'm looking for a budget smartphone for someone who isn't that tech savvy. Looking to spend under £150.

I read Gofre's smartphone thread and did a little research and I'm looking at the:

- Motorola Moto G 4G 5-Inch 2nd Generation - £112
- Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 - £115

The Vodafone we'll need to get unlocked as we have a Virgin sim already, I'm guessing that's an extra £10-20 or so? I'm not sure of the current rate.

I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks!

Hey,you're looking at the wrong phone! That's the Note 2, the one I linked was the Note 3 Both are excellent, I personally would go for the newer one as it's only a 10er more Both of the sellers you linked above are based in the UK, so should be no problems there. I think they all come in English with Play pre-installed My dad's phone did, all he had to do was put a Sim in it and he was good to go

No, he didn't have to add Google apps himself But, if you do have to, it's not hard, you just download Google Play Apps and install them via your computer. Screen protectors etc. are very easy to buy, standard 5.5" ones will be fine. I would buy tempered glass ones, because they protect from shattering and scratching, so if you do drop it on the screen only the protector will break, not the actual screen.

Is the one you linked to the same place your dad got it from? I did see that there was a newer one but I thought since this is cheaper I might as well buy this. But then again, you're right, it's not that much more and it is newer so better. Plus, if it's the same place your dad got it from then I'm just going to go ahead and buy it cuz it's obviously fine and I can't wait!! haha

Yep, that's where he got it from It arrived fairly quickly too, within 3 days Pay with PayPal for dat extra security and you'll be fine
I would also buy a screen protector with it http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/9H-0-26mm-Anti-Burst-Tempered-Glass-Screen-Protector-For-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-/381500379739?hash=item58d331d25b:g:RwcAAOSw~otWe8LJ - It'll help protect from shattering AND scratches