Android smartphone (£100) recommendations

[TCBarrett]

Hello!

Well, I’m back looking for phone recommendations again. You’d think they would simplify the market a bit. But, I guess that stops people easily finding a good deal that suits them?

Anyway. Two things have happened: 1) someone’s Moto G battery is getting a bit flaky and they’re running out of space, and 2) SIM deals are starting to match their usage requirements. They’re on 3 and want to stay on 3.

So, I’m going to switch them from PAYG to Three Essential (http://www.three.co.uk/standalone/priceplan-details?planid=1400649373949), and try to source them a phone with more space and a good battery life.

I sourced them their Moto G about 2 or 3 years ago, so that would be hoped-for shelf-life for the phone.

Is £100 enough? Or would £150 lift them into a better sweet spot for battery life?

EDIT: The £100 budget seems to restrict me to 1GB RAM?

Family. Coffee. CrossFit. WordPress. にほんご。

[Ed P]

Batteries are often easy to replace (see YouTube) , and sometimes larger capacity compatible batteries are available. Doesn’t help you with respect to space, but may buy time to wait for Black Friday deals.

[The Duke]

The equivalent moto G, ll be the G5, but if you could find a g4 closer to your budget, it’s a great phone. Actually given what the was happy with, the G4 play, which was last year’s entry level moto g, would be a great option too if they are still sold.

The Moto g4 play was iirc £120 when out new. The g4 £150/60 and the g4 plus 180. Today the g5 is about £180.

Batteries are easy to fix, but I wouldn’t bother on an original moto g. As much as i loved that phone. It’s day has past.

 

[blacklion1725]

A lot of people struggle with 16GB internal – even with an SD card as you are limited to what can be moved. At that price point, I’d be tempted to look at 2nd hand. Picked up an LG G5 for Jnr2 as he needed 32GB – the battery life is not great if you use a lot of screen time, but fine in standby, and ore importantly the battery is replacable – meaning you can buy a new one and if needs be have a charged spare at hand. Also the best camera I’ve seen (not been near the more current premium’s mind). If you want new then fair enough, but you can get a lot for your money 2nd hand.

[TCBarrett]

Hey

Thanks for the replies. I the meantime, my own phone has died 🙁

There are a couple of phones within a £150 budget on Amazon:

 

Family. Coffee. CrossFit. WordPress. にほんご。

[Bob Williams]

I have had a Wileyfox (original) Swift over 18 months now and am happy with it. Since Wf gave up the busted Cyanogen Mod and went straight Android path, it’s been fine. The Swift 2 Plus, which is the one I would take, is £189 direct from Wf:     http://tinyurl.com/y94ln2jp

-but if you wait for Black Friday, Wf always have deals via Amazon: that’s how I got my Swift, at £19.99 less than RRP at the time. Never heard of a Blue Vivo, must be a Chi-phone. The Swift 2+ is better in all departments.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[TCBarrett]

Argh. I’m getting addicted to having a better phone?!!?

G5+ for £200 seems good?

https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/motorola/moto-g5-plus.html#!colour=grey&capacity=32GB&dealType=sf

Family. Coffee. CrossFit. WordPress. にほんご。

[PlaneMan]

The G5+ is a great mid range phone. Camera is really great for the money.

[Dave Rice]

I love my G5 and wouldn’t hesitate to get another.

[The Duke]

Have no need for a g5 (atm) but the g4’s we have here are very good indeed.

Also with moto it’s almost stock, and you get all the monthly security patches for Atleast 2 years.

I’d go moto over anything in or around there price points. Except the higher end Z. The Z is a good phone, but they mix with the big boys, I think there are a few better options once at that price point.

[Richard]

Steve, be careful, if you are with some mobile companies you may not get updates at all. EE appear not to supply any updates for Moto devices. Tesco did, when I tried one of their SIMs a back in March so I might try one of their cheap SIMs again to see if it will update my G4 Play from Android 6.

[The Duke]

Really? I didn’t think the network made any diffence. Especially as they come over wifi.

Tbh I’ve never bought a moto locked to a network. I think the last phone I got locked was the iPhone3g. As that was unavoidable back then. O2 only back then iirc. Also the original Android G1 was also a T-mobile exclusive. Sake year as the iPhone 3g, 2008.

Though our moto phones have Giff Gaff sims in, never had an EE sim in. Although me and the wife are on EE and not had issues with the monthly  security updates. Mine arrive about 3 weeks (pixel) before the wife’s P9. Usually a boring the 6th of each month.

Just checked and the last one I got was the 5th of Oct. I think it was bundled with the 8.1.0 update. But maybe that come a week earlier. I can’t remember.

Edit-Just reread your post, and you should be on 7.0 now, however the security patches are seperate from the actual os updates. Not sure why you have not been updated to 7.0 yet. Looking at an Ars tech report on the Moto G4, from 2016, moto said they are not supporting the monthly security patches released by Google, saying they “get there in the end” , but wouldnt promise them monthly. Reading between the lines, the patches look like they will be bundled with os updates. This is the old way, and would means, as moto devices are always a year behind the os curve now, that even the day you get 7.0 you’ll be over a year behind in the patch front.

I don’t know if they have changed this policy since. I always assumed moto did the monthly patches. I’ll need to check the kids phones. Hopefully someone here will chip in on the subject as there are many moto owners on here.

[Richard]

Steve, my Moto G4 Play is unlocked and has been used on Tesco, when it got the February 2017 security update which was a big one, but it still runs Android 6.0.1 Since putting the EE SIM into the thing it is stuck right where it was. I agree that maybe it should update via WiFi, I thought so as it spends about 23.5 hours a day on WiFi,* mostly doing nothing, but apparently it will not. I may try a Tesco SIM again to see if that does something magic, but will not hold my breath!

I never use even a 10th, come to that 100th of my EE data allowance so it could even do the update over the air if we had good service at home

(Daughter’s almost unused Samsung* got Android 7.x months ago, its understood by EE.)

*Family health issues are still riding through since early spring.

[Ed P]

I’m going to start looking at phone deals from Monday (Black Friday deals start early). I’d really like a phone with Galilao+Glonass but other than a new iPhone (far too expensive) the only one I’ve found is this one.

Unfortunately unless Black Friday helps this too is a <$225 budget buster. Pity that WileyFox only has GPS+Glonass

[Bob Williams]

My Wileyfox Swift and SWMBO’s Spark were both upgraded to 7.1.2 by WF directly, as part of the enforced change from Cyanogen Mod. We are both on EE PAYG. SWMBO’s Spark took another 3 months after mine, but got there after the first upgrade broke it. We RMA’d it, it came back with a bigger battery and thicker case (bonus!). I installed an SD card and set that to Internal Storage.

SWMBO seems happy with it, although it is often difficult to tell, if you know what I mean ….

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[The Duke]

Ed – I think the old galaxy s(s) and note(s)  had some secondary GPS type,  iirc Russian, to fall back on. Don’t know if the later and/or cheaper ones have this.

Bob- oh I know exactly what you mean. ?

[Ed P]

The majority of modern phones now have Glonass working in tandem with GPS as this gives much more reliable coverage. As Galilao is designed for NW Europe the situation with the three systems working together should further improve both response and accuracy in otherwise challenging built up areas. Annoyingly most new phones with Qualcomm chips should already pick up all three, but not all OEMs have updated their firmware to handle this.

[Richard]

Amazingly Google goes a poor job of matching journeys to actual routes, if I walk to a local hospital it gives up halfway there and shows me coming back again. However, it can locate my G4 phone to a room at home.

[PlaneMan]

That could be because of poor 3/4g coverage. It needs to be able to get a fix either through WiFi or mobile coverage.

[The Duke]

My phone (s) have no issue tracking me, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. The only time it has issues is when your on boats/ships, it really screws with the software. Which is down to the lack of connection coverage.

Google tracks app is a good basic app to track your distances covered and elevation changes. But over all I just let Google do it, and randomly it will ask me to verify if I was at such a place.

The biggest pro to Google’s tracking is when Google photos uses it to make automatic photo books of days out. Some think them creepy, I’ve don’t really care, I just know the books are alway good. Bar Andorra last year, where EU data isn’t supported, so Google have me magically jumping from one side of the pyrenees to the other A fair few times  while is was in the ‘black spot of Andorra’  for a few days.

I used ‘here maps’ once i realised I had no data on my phone. I loaded all the maps I’d need on my Hudl ‘just in case’ before we left home. It makes a fantastic sat nav BTW.

 

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