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New Phone - Any Suggestions

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A

AnnS

master brummie
My partner has had their current mobile phone for nearly twenty five years and i think its about time they pensioned it off
and had a new smart phone.

They would want a device capable of taking pictures and i suspect would like to be able to access the internet as well.

Now the difficult part, they would not want a contract and would prefer a pay as you go option which is what they have now.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what options are available since i don't have a mobile myself and wouldn't know where
to begin.

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you...
 
I’m sure there are many options out there but GiffGaff is a good one I’ve never had a problem with. With giffgaff you can get a sim for free and then you pick your plan. Plans range from £6 to £25 a month depending on how much data you want. £6 is 2gb and I’m guessing that would be more than sufficient for what you’d need. The beauty of this company is it’s a no contract rolling so you can cancel anytime you want. Of course with giffgaff being a sim only you’d need a phone. They’re not cheap new but you can get second hand ones for an ok price and as long as you buy it from a reputable company/shop then you shouldn’t have any problems with them. There’s a wide range available and most modern smart phones will do what you need.
 
It depends on your budget really. I buy a phone outright and then get a SIM only deal. I get unlimited calls, and texts and 12 gb data for £7.00 a month.

I like the iPhone SE, it’s a top quality phone with a super camera etc but not too over the top like the latest models. The people in the iPhone store are also very helpful.

Alternatively have a loo at Martin Lewis’s website, the Money Saving Expert guy, he had some super comparisonss and a website that easy to understand.
 
I`ve recently bought a phone from ebay to keep in the car for £20. It`s 2nd hand of course but works perfecly fine. It can take photos, connect to the internet. It was unlocked & i bought a sim from tesco with a £10 top up. It`s mainly for emergencies so £ 10 will last me for ages. Some mobile phones are a ridiculous price but they do come with a guarantee that someone will come to your house & make you a cup of tea & do the housework !!
 
Morturn said:
It depends on your budget really. I buy a phone outright and then get a SIM only deal. I get unlimited calls, and texts and 12 gb data for £7.00 a month.

I like the iPhone SE, it’s a top quality phone with a super camera etc but not too over the top like the latest models. The people in the iPhone store are also very helpful.

Alternatively have a loo at Martin Lewis’s website, the Money Saving Expert guy, he had some super comparisonss and a website that easy to understand.
Click to expand...
Mort, I have the SE my second one. Been around the world a few times works really well as does the camera. I do a lot of international calling and have that service. I did learn something recently from a fellow in Austria , we were talking for about 30 minutes when the audio got very bad. He asked if I had an iphone, I did, face time iPhone to iPhone anywhere is free. I have used many times and always checked my bill, no charge!
 
Smudger said:
I`ve recently bought a phone from ebay to keep in the car for £20. It`s 2nd hand of course but works perfecly fine. It can take photos, connect to the internet. It was unlocked & i bought a sim from tesco with a £10 top up. It`s mainly for emergencies so £ 10 will last me for ages. Some mobile phones are a ridiculous price but they do come with a guarantee that someone will come to your house & make you a cup of tea & do the housework !!
Click to expand...
I have done as above, make sure you use it occasionally, if you don't use it at all say after 6 months, some can take all your credit off you.
 
I have a Lebara SIM and for £5 per month I get 1000 minutes phone calls, 1000 texts, 100 international calls (45 countries) and 5GB 4G/5G data. No contract. I think Smarty do a similar SIM only deal. I only have experience of Apple iPhones the advantage over non-Apple ones being Facetime video calls. The camera in my iPhone 8 is very good and I rarely use my main camera now.
 
As a minimal user that keeps in contact with friends and family via WhatsApp , even a £5 a month contract I would be throwing £50 a year away so use an Asda pay as you go sim.
 
AnnS said:
My partner has had their current mobile phone for nearly twenty five years and i think its about time they pensioned it off
and had a new smart phone.

They would want a device capable of taking pictures and i suspect would like to be able to access the internet as well.

Now the difficult part, they would not want a contract and would prefer a pay as you go option which is what they have now.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what options are available since i don't have a mobile myself and wouldn't know where
to begin.

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you...
Click to expand...
Put the new phone in the box hide it away and use the old phone he knows how it works. Last Christmases my son gave me a new phone and I still have no idea how it works.

Nick Phillips
 
Nick Phillips said:
Put the new phone in the box hide it away and use the old phone he knows how it works. Last Christmases my son gave me a new phone and I still have no idea how it works.

Nick Phillips
Click to expand...
Yes, that’s why the SE as Mort suggests ( and I have) is such a good buy! Simple, functual, great photos and inexpensive! My wife’s new phone from the Apple Store is a nightmare for the reasons you suggest!
 
Richard Dye said:
Yes, that’s why the SE as Mort suggests ( and I have) is such a good buy! Simple, functual, great photos and inexpensive! My wife’s new phone from the Apple Store is a nightmare for the reasons you suggest!
Click to expand...
The other beauty of the iPhone is when you do change, they can transfer all of your data across seamlessly. The new phone acts and feels just like your old one but faster and with more battery life.
 
Richard Dye said:
As long as you stay with a simple phone......
Click to expand...
What I find very strange, I see a child in a push chair these days they can't yet walk or talk properly yet they have a I phone and seem to have no problems at all.

My son gave me a I Phone last Christmas and I still have no idea, his son almost fifteen years old can't understand why I cant use it.

But when I tell him when I was fifteen (1967) we used phoned box, but not many of my mates had a phoned at home so they weren't often used.

Nick Phillips
 
Nick Phillips said:
What I find very strange, I see a child in a push chair these days they can't yet walk or talk properly yet they have a I phone and seem to have no problems at all.

My son gave me a I Phone last Christmas and I still have no idea, his son almost fifteen years old can't understand why I cant use it.

But when I tell him when I was fifteen (1967) we used phoned box, but not many of my mates had a phoned at home so they weren't often used.

Nick Phillips
Click to expand...
And they will never understand, because there is no need too!
 
Having been a photographer all my working life, cameras were important to me. I was never without a camera. Holidays were a nightmare, with all of the equipment I took with me. NOW a convert to digital, the only camera I take is my IPhone. The results are stunning. From portrait to landscapes, daylight to nighttime. The camera copes. Still or video. MY recommendation is buy the best you can afford. Keep the camera lens clean. And take loads of picture. Then edit and delete the surplus.
In order to share your pictures and make free telephone calls anywhere in the world down load “ What’s App,”or “Signal,” Calls are free then over the internet.
 
Nick Phillips said:
What I find very strange, I see a child in a push chair these days they can't yet walk or talk properly yet they have a I phone and seem to have no problems at all.

My son gave me a I Phone last Christmas and I still have no idea, his son almost fifteen years old can't understand why I cant use it.

But when I tell him when I was fifteen (1967) we used phoned box, but not many of my mates had a phoned at home so they weren't often used.

Nick Phillips
Click to expand...
yes its true nick...in the early 60s we had a telephone installed...mom soon got rid of it as it was on a party line lol....so it was back to the good old red phone box at the bottom of the street :D as you say not many even had a house phone in the 60s so much more letter writing was done

lyn
 
Morturn said:
It depends on your budget really. I buy a phone outright and then get a SIM only deal. I get unlimited calls, and texts and 12 gb data for £7.00 a month.

I like the iPhone SE, it’s a top quality phone with a super camera etc but not too over the top like the latest models. The people in the iPhone store are also very helpful.

Alternatively have a loo at Martin Lewis’s website, the Money Saving Expert guy, he had some super comparisonss and a website that easy to understand.
Click to expand...
Apple have lots of accessibility features too which are handy for anyone needing screen magnification. The store will talk you through and set the phone up to suit you. Alternatively buy a used Apple iPhone SE from CEX in the UK that is unlocked and put in a pay as you go simcard. If you want Android, Doro make easy to use phones for the elderly, but the camera won't be up to Apple version. They are cheap though.
 
Astoness said:
yes its true nick...in the early 60s we had a telephone installed...mom soon got rid of it as it was on a party line lol....so it was back to the good old red phone box at the bottom of the street :D as you say not many even had a house phone in the 60s so much more letter writing was done

lyn
Click to expand...
Forgive the ignorance but what was a party line?
 
poker_pete82 said:
Forgive the ignorance but what was a party line?
Click to expand...
hi you are most likely too young to know...it is where 2 house holds shared the same phone line...basically when you made a call and then ended it the other person could then use their phone...the only thing was if you picked up your receiver while the other person was having a conversation you could hear what they were saying and likewise they could listen in on your conversations...it went on trust but if you had a nosey 2nd party privacy was not always given :D :D think ive got that about right...

lyn
 
Astoness said:
hi you are most likely too young to know...it is where 2 house holds shared the same phone line...basically when you made a call and then ended it the other person could then use their phone...the only thing was if you picked up your receiver while the other person was having a conversation you could hear what they were saying and likewise they could listen in on your conversations...it went on trust but if you had a nosey 2nd party privacy was not always given :D :D think ive got that about right...

lyn
Click to expand...
I recall party line phones had a button?
 
Stokkie said:
Apple have lots of accessibility features too which are handy for anyone needing screen magnification. The store will talk you through and set the phone up to suit you. Alternatively buy a used Apple iPhone SE from CEX in the UK that is unlocked and put in a pay as you go simcard. If you want Android, Doro make easy to use phones for the elderly, but the camera won't be up to Apple version. They are cheap though.
Click to expand...
The apple shops have a visiting dedicated team who specialise in accessibility for disabled or people who have suffered life changing injuries. It a free service where they have an adapted accessible room where they will spend time with the person and assess their individual needs.
 
Astoness said:
yes its true nick...in the early 60s we had a telephone installed...mom soon got rid of it as it was on a party line lol....so it was back to the good old red phone box at the bottom of the street :D as you say not many even had a house phone in the 60s so much more letter writing was done

lyn
Click to expand...
What’s a letter :) ? We had a party line, sometimes you would wait for ever, but we got through it. Here it’s difficult to find a letterbox, but you can buy stamps anywhere anytime and now they are forever stamps!
 
Richard Dye said:
What’s a letter :) ? We had a party line, sometimes you would wait for ever, but we got through it. Here it’s difficult to find a letterbox, but you can buy stamps anywhere anytime and now they are forever stamps!
Click to expand...
Forever is until they decide to put barcodes on
 
Richard. That's in the stated. In uk they recently introduced barcodes on stamps. They let you exchange them for new ones up to a certain date. Then they were not valid. Recently received a Christmas card that I had to pay £2.50 on as the stamp was invalid. Of course you don't know what it is until you pay !!
 
mikejee said:
Richard. That's in the stated. In uk they recently introduced barcodes on stamps. They let you exchange them for new ones up to a certain date. Then they were not valid. Recently received a Christmas card that I had to pay £2.50 on as the stamp was invalid. Of course you don't know what it is until you pay !!
Click to expand...
My goodness, that is not consumer friendly or very efficient! Even though with bar code being automatically scanned there is a cost to that, seems somewhat punitive.
BTW, that’s an expensive card to mail.
Thanks for the info/clarification!
 
There is one other thing though. Apparently commemorative stamps are ok to use, though not clear if that applies to one's 50 years old!
 
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