[johnx2]

...you can also get it for £65 with a 12 month sim only contract, (£11/month lots of txt, enough talk, not much data so stay wifi) , from phones 4 u, or you could yesterday. I know zilch about phones but this seems an okay deal. I've bought three in the last month.

[slackline]

Fairphone looks promising, reasonable price too.

[slackline]

For the privacy enthusiast...

[psychomansam]

I currently have a dual core, waterproof android smartphone. It's not the greatest phone ever made, but it did cost me £53, because I bought direct from China. You can get ridiculous deals this way, the most popular of which are probably the lenovo's. You can buy a decent quad core phone for £80+.

I wanted the Lenovo S750 but couldn't afford/justify the spend.

 

[slackline]

[tomtom]

Heads up - Google Nexus 5 (16gb) is down to £240 sim free at the Crap Phone Whorehouse.

http://m.carphonewarehouse.com/mt/www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/GOOGLE_NEXUS_5/HANDSET?intcmp=SIMFREE_hero_Nexus5_UKlow_140114

[miso soup]

Best cheap smartphone?  I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy ones in the 50-100 pound range.

[slackline]

If your budget stretches a little further the Moto-G's get rave reviews and are ~£130/160 for 8/16Gb models respectively.

[miso soup]

I'm not sure it does, but thanks.  Something super-basic should be fine.  I still refuse to get a contract and would be happy with my old budget Nokia but life has finally got to the point where I need to be able to check e-mails whilst at work.  I don't imagine I'll be doing much more than that and maybe occasionally looking at Instagram.

[slackline]

I'm not sure it does, but thanks.  Something super-basic should be fine.  I still refuse to get a contract and would be happy with my old budget Nokia but life has finally got to the point where I need to be able to check e-mails whilst at work.  I don't imagine I'll be doing much more than that and maybe occasionally looking at Instagram.

<statingtheobvious>Don't know where you work, but if you're in an office can you not use the computer in front of you?</statingtheobvious>

[Paul B]

If your budget stretches a little further the Moto-G's get rave reviews and are ~£130/160 for 8/16Gb models respectively.

I'd echo this.

Otherwise go down to your local CEX type store and simply pick something acceptably cheap.

You can buy the Nokia Win phones new for £99 I think (sim free). My mother-in-law has one and it's perfectly fine at doing the basics. I was quite impressed actually.

[dontfollowme]

Moto G for £100. You may need to get it unlock for a few pounds if the network doesn't suit:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/moto-g-8gb-asda-only-100-instore-1840723

[miso soup]

Damn.  Just drove back from the wall past Asda and bought a Samsung Galaxy something or other (GTI-9000?  Sounds like a car.) before getting home and seeing that post about the Moto G.

Yeah I don't work in an office.  One of the moments that made me realise I have to get one was standing in a field in Essex talking to my boss on a radio with him referring to an updated site map that he assumed I'd seen because he e-mailed it to me five minutes before.  I actually saw it four days later when I get home after the job was over.

[slackline]

Yeah I don't work in an office.  One of the moments that made me realise I have to get one was standing in a field in Essex talking to my boss on a radio with him referring to an updated site map that he assumed I'd seen because he e-mailed it to me five minutes before.  I actually saw it four days later when I get home after the job was over.

Will your employers not provide you with such hardware then if they expect you to be using it?

[miso soup]

Pffft.... I'm self-employed, I get nothing for free.  When I say 'my boss' strictly speaking I mean 'one of my clients.'

Galaxy seems to be doing the job but I'm finding that trying to pretend a touch screen is a tiny qwerty keyboard is a lot more annoying than the old typing with one thumb on twelve keys.  But I suppose everyone else dealt with this years ago and I just need get with the program.

[Bubba]

I'm finding that trying to pretend a touch screen is a tiny qwerty keyboard is a lot more annoying than the old typing with one thumb on twelve keys.

Try Swype - you draw (well swipe) out words instead of tapping them out. Once you get used to it it's very fast and so much easier.

There's a 30 day trial version here.

[slackline]

  was going to post the same last night but got distracted.

You don't necessarily need to install Swype though, if the OS is up-to-date then you should be able to...

Settings > Language & Input > Android Keyboard Settings > Enable gesture typing

I've found it to be no worse than Swype which I used to use before it was available natively.

[Paul B]

I'm finding that trying to pretend a touch screen is a tiny qwerty keyboard is a lot more annoying than the old typing with one thumb on twelve keys.

Try Swype - you draw (well swipe) out words instead of tapping them out. Once you get used to it it's very fast and so much easier.

There's a 30 day trial version here.

or don't pay and use Google keyboard (which is essentially the same). You might want to go into the settings and allow swearing though or there'll be lots of ducking spelling mistakes when you get angry.

[Bubba]

I've been using Swype for so long now I was unaware that Android offered a similar freebie.

Looking at some reviews opinion seems mixed as to which one is better but the differences appear to be minimal unless you're a power user.

[Paul B]

I think it was standard on my Nexus 7 II.

[slackline]

I'm equally proficient at writing incomprehensible messages using both Swype and Googles "Gesture Typing" (due to my lack of attention at what I think I've written).

[Jaspersharpe]

I've been using Swype for so long now I was unaware that Android offered a similar freebie.

Likewise although I realised it existed but have been using Swype forever so have stuck with it. My favourite thing is how it learns common sentences you use and predicts the next word. When writing to new / forgetful clients "My address is....." I only have to swype "My" and the rest of the words / numbers follow.

Little things that make life easier for the lazy.

[miso soup]

Yeah this is already on it, I'm giving it a go.  In principle I am in favour of things that move us past the deliberately inefficient qwerty system.

[Johnny Brown]

Anyone found a decent version for ip hones?

[Jaspersharpe]

The most useful, most basic smartphone function there is, still not available on iPhone. Amazing.