Who has a cheap mobile phone?

axisus

I can never understand the vast amounts of money people splash out on the latest iPhone etc. It just seems like a crazy waste of money to me (not that I'd have that much spare anyway). I have a Moto-e phone, costs me £7.50 a month to run it and I got the phone for free. It's fine for phone calls and the few apps I use, just let down a bit by the rubbish camera - not that I'm into snapping for fun anyway, it's only used for very functional things.


so, cheap or expensive?

jellyroll

Yeah, me neither

Sent from my iphone Xr2i

octatonic

I get a new iPhone every year, usually 2-3 months after they are released, although probably not this year as I prefer the headphone jack.

Cost is a non-issue- they are about £700 which is around £2 a day.
I spend more on coffee.

In terms of functionality, these devices are becoming primary computing devices.
For instance, when I go away on a motorcycle tour I take my iPhone and a charger.
If I didn't take it I'd have to take a dumb phone, a camera, an MP3 player, a GPS unit or a map, a laptop for booking hotels, or a list of hotels in each city, which is hard because I often don't know when I will end up.
Also some reading materials- books and magazines.

If I'm going to have a smart phone (and I am) then I want to have a good one it doesn't have to be an iPhone but for myself I see it as a worthwhile expense.
£2 a day is a reasonably small amount to pay to own one.
If I was on a budget I'd rather compromise on some other area of my life in order to be able to afford one.

But, it doesn't rule my life- I don't spend a lot of time using when I've got nothing else to do- it isn't my default 'go to' when I'm at home or out and about.

Edit: one more thing about cost. I sell my year old phone for £300-400 or so, I reckon it still ends up costing £2 a day once I factor in data plan, phone costs, although some of this is a deduction.

fields5069

I get my phones from work, with a £300 discount. I generally don't spend more than £50 every couple of years, but that usually gets me something decent. I have a Samsung S6 at the moment.

lloyd

Until you've had one (expensive/more capable) I guess you won't know I suppose? 

It could be a generational thing? I know at 35 the level of technology that I've got now is probably enough, I'm not very techy, don't need gadgets and have allowed twitter and instagram (although I have accounts to pass me by).

I've got an iphone 5s and pay £10 a month sim only deal-the new technology the 6 introduced and now the 7 doesn't make me want them over what I have now, so I'll use this until it dies and then probably go for the newest model.

The cost isn't massively restrictive either, I imagine you could pick one up for £35 a month? £27 more (less than a 3 a day) for what you've got but it will be able to do a shit load more than yours.

ESBlonde

I buy my own android phones and make them last longer than 2 years. I never have the latest but usually the current model. Insured for free (through bank charges) so little danger of being out of pocket and I can resell it or hang onto it as I feel fit. Does far more than I would do, I won't for example put any kind of banking/payment system on it on principle, I sit at a secure (?) desktop plenty in a day to do those things.

BigMonka

I'd say that mine was "cheap" as I bought a second hand iPhone 4s (from a friend so I bought it for the price that cash4phones would have given him) that I've had for 18months and intend to keep for at least another 6months. 
At the moment I can't imagine buying a new iphone as I can't justify it costing twice as much as my iPad (which I use loads).

IME a second hand top-end phone is a better buy that a new bottom-end phone.

Fatfingers

I get a new contract every two years for an iPhone. I work with Macs so having the capability to easily sycn calendars is important to me. I look after the phones and got £240 back for my iPhone 5S when I upgraded to a 6S Plus this spring. I use it for pictures and the camera is surprisingly good. It's also handy for emails, eBay, this forum etc. I think for what it costs me it represents pretty good value for money.

Philly_Q

I've got a Nokia 105, cost me just under £15 new.  Until last year I had a Nokia 3310 but it finally died on me.

I've also got a Motorola Moto G - which I think is quite cheap as smartphones go - but I've only taken it out of the box a couple of times, I don't understand how to use it.

Winny_Pooh

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/elderly-man-on-train-silently-judging-everyone-for-being-on-smart-phones-
-20160918113979

capo4th

Phone via work iphone6s not paid a mobile bill for 13 years now that's cheap !

Maynehead

Still using my iPhone 3Gs, so while it wasn't cheap to start with, averaged over the 7 years I've had it for it does work out pretty cheap!

DrJazzTap

I have a Samsung galaxy core prime. I think it was £120 or maybe £80...and I have a rolling 30 day contract which is £15 a month. Unlimited minutes, texts and five gig of data a month. 
Can't see the point in paying for the latest phone. Well for me anyway 

Sesh

cheap and cheerful for me. £11/month for a Samsung Galaxy something or other. I have a tablet or a PC if I need to do anything proper so the phone is only for calls and texts, and Kindle if I'm bored somewhere. Only a 4" screen as I don't want a phone that doesn't fit in a pocket easily.

grungebob

As a personal phone I have an iPhone. Work provided me a Samsung galaxy something or other that cponstantly crashes, drops calls and doesn't  always notify me for meetings etc. The keyboard was awful too.
Ive just bought my own phone to use instead, a cheap iPhone 5C cost me £90 and it's already improved my work / life balance. So whilst I'm sure you can get cheap android phones that do work all the time I've never come across them. 

And it it isn't just my phone playing up its company wide, the rest of the uk managers are constantly complaining about dropped calls and missed notifications 

 the 5C I just bought wasn't an expensive phone on release either but it does work all the time as does my personal iphone

bloodandtears

moto g and giff gaff  ... works for me..

paul_c2

Getting a contract including the phone, instead of a SIM-only contract and (possibly unlocked) phone is always going to cost a bit more. Look on eBay at the cost of an unlocked phone, and the difference in price of the equivalent contract (and its length) and do the sums.

Personally, I have a relatively cheap (I think it was £60 off eBay?) phone and a £4.95/month SIM-only contract.

boogieman

Second hand iPhone 6 and a cheap sim only deal here. I prefer the bigger screen on the 6 and the camera is very good... I've had some really nice photos with it. 

Like Octatonic says, if you regularly have to lug all the extra stuff around with you then a thing-that-does-it-all makes perfect sense. The iPhone works best for me so I'm happy to pay out for one, albeit it's a s/h one so I save a few quid. 

Danny1969

My iPhone on contract is £20 a month, a sim only deal is cheaper but not massively. I tend to stay one behind, I got a 4s when the 5 came out .... once the 7's been out a couple of months I'll get a 6
  
Some people spend £50 a month on a phone, fuck that that's about 5% of my earnings 

thomasross20

I'm Tesco mobile £12.50 a month (always seems to be a bit more) which includes 2GB data. 
Not keen on contracts. I buy the phone. Nexus phones are good value for money. 
GOing to get the 5x. £180 for 16GB (remember no memory card so that's it!) or £280 for 32GB... hmmm....

xSkarloey

Two yoghurt pots and a ball of twine. 

Never gets tangled even when I'm going up the M1. 

Job's a goodun.