cheap phone again - moto g5s, honor 9 lite, or else...

Lemaildetom

Lemaildetom

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thomas
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I have never had a smartphone.
I'm thinking 200£ max.
What's my best bet!

All review are for performance, blablabla.
The only thing that matter for me is camera (maybe a bit screen for viewing photos and battery life to not run out).
Gaming, watching video, and stuff like this i have no interrest!
 
At that budget maybe Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 or Xiaomi Mi A1 unless you want to look at used.

Good cameras really only come with much more expensive phones.
 
Xiaomi 5 better that the newer 6 then?
So many option to go for and brand it's incredible. Wouldn't mind 2nd hand either...
 
Currys Outlet on eBay are offering the Honor 9 Lite at £169 but using code " PREPHOME10 " puts it down to £152.10.

A couple of friends have it and they've been happy with the phone.
 
Lemaildetom said:
Xiaomi 5 better that the newer 6 then?
So many option to go for and brand it's incredible. Wouldn't mind 2nd hand either...
Click to expand...

You're thinking of the Mi6, which is out of your budget.

Go for a used Galaxy S7, they are superb for camera and as a phone. You'll get one for £200 or less.

.... Honor 9 lite camera is a bit crap.
 
TBH I'd steer clear of Motorola. I've had 3, the first one was really good and lasted a couple of years so I replaced it with another which lasted 6 months before something broke in the usb connector on the phone. Motorola said the the USB connector wasn't covered by the warranty and wouldn't fix or replace it without me paying for it. Thank god for Amazon who did refunded my money because the phone was only 6 months old. So I put that down to bad luck and bought another Motorola, I still liked the phones. Another 6 months and the bluetooth stopped working and the WiFi was really intermittent, so I gave up on Moto.
 
twist said:
Look at musicmagpie can get a used s7 as very good grade with 12 month warranty for about 200 on various networks. Maybe cheaper elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Good shot, i didn't know this site. Thanks for the link
 
Musicmagpie have a reputation *on HUKD.co.uk* for selling used phones in worse condition than the description would lead you to believe. Note - I have no experience of this personally. If you're looking for a good phone deal then it's worth scanning HUKD.

I like the Xiaomi 4X that I picked up a few weeks ago for £116 from a European Gearbest warehouise (no duty to pay that way) especially the 3 day battery life from the 4000mAh battery. The Redmi 5 Note and 5 plus seem good. For a little more there's the 5X - about £230 from a European warehouse: https://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_704565.html?wid=1090517 or £130 in gold from China: https://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_704566.html?wid=1433363

A Huawei from currys/CPW/Argos may be easier.
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread but I've been following this thread with interest as I am considering another phone but don't have a lot to spend. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus 4G 32GB Dual-SIM looks very enticing as it is in my price range. Like Thomas I'm not interested in the games side of it. My reason for another phone is I currently have a Iphone 5s and getting something with a bigger screen might be a bit easier on the old eyes and for me to read, also half decent camera (not that there's much wrong with the Iphone camera).

Would the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus 4G 32GB be a decent improvement over the Iphone 5s and hearing from anyone who has made the jump from Iphone 5s to Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus would be a bonus.

Thanks
 
I've had the use of a Huawei Honor 9 Lite for the last few days, my usual android handset is a Samsung Galaxy S8, the Honor 9 Lite is probably 97% of the Galaxy.

Screen quality is very good, it's the a 5.65" 18:9 aspect screen with good colour quality, battery is very good as is build quality. The advantage over a Xiaomi is that it's a U.K. sold handset with a U.K. warranty. It can be bought for £169 from Argos and was £152 from Curry's on eBay but I think the 10% discount code expired last night.

It also has the benefit of having WiFiCalling and is Supervoice (4G Calling) capable on Three (which makes a big difference for coverage on Three).
 
Thanks Dave, The Honor 9 Lite looks a good choice too, had a good read up on it and was nearly convinced. Only downside for me is it doesn't get 5ghz on wifi, 2.4ghz band sometimes gets quite busy around me and it sometimes struggles, I've found neighbours hardly use 5 ghz so I'm over there quite a lot. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus has 5ghz, all I need to find out now if it will work ok on the Virgin Mobile Network.
 
frank said:
Thanks Dave, The Honor 9 Lite looks a good choice too, had a good read up on it and was nearly convinced. Only downside for me is it doesn't get 5ghz on wifi, 2.4ghz band sometimes gets quite busy around me and it sometimes struggles, I've found neighbours hardly use 5 ghz so I'm over there quite a lot. The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus has 5ghz, all I need to find out now if it will work ok on the Virgin Mobile Network.
Click to expand...

Are you aware the Redmi 5 Plus is a variant designed for the Chinese market? the international version of that would be Redmi Note 5.

https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_5_(redmi_5_plus)-8959.php#redmi-5-plus

You lose a lot by buying a phone designed for the Chinese market, starting with no Google apps including the Play Store (you have to get a version via a Chinese site, it also won't have NFC (no contactless payment, as an example) and it doesn't have Band 20 LTE so won't work for Vodafone, o2 or any of the piggyback virtual networks. Of course, that doesn't even touch on the fact you're buying a phone with no usable UK warranty.

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/xiaom...i-5-plus-review-2018s-budget-android-champion

If you've made up your mind to get a Xiaomi, it should be the global version Note 5, not the China version 5 Plus (or confusingly there also now seems to be a China version badged as Note 5.

https://www.chinahandys.net/en/xiaomi-redmi-note-5-review/
 
Thanks for the links Dave, interesting read on the know your mobile link, I hadn't seen this one, back at the drawing board after teatime:). Glad I seen your links before ordering. I don't want to be buying into a problem.
 
Seems that this thread as sprung back to life. I have just bought a nokia 130! I know I know... but at 12£ i can't go really wrong.

Yesterday i was reading about the ASUS ZenFone 4 which seems to be praised for is camera for a 200£ device. The bad news is that i had to buy a dishwasher yesterday after i got feed up of my 10 years old one which i already fixed three times. So just now finances are low but in a couple of month i might be able to get something.
 
Dave1 said:
I've had the use of a Huawei Honor 9 Lite for the last few days, my usual android handset is a Samsung Galaxy S8, the Honor 9 Lite is probably 97% of the Galaxy.

Screen quality is very good, it's the a 5.65" 18:9 aspect screen with good colour quality, battery is very good as is build quality. The advantage over a Xiaomi is that it's a U.K. sold handset with a U.K. warranty. It can be bought for £169 from Argos and was £152 from Curry's on eBay but I think the 10% discount code expired last night.

It also has the benefit of having WiFiCalling and is Supervoice (4G Calling) capable on Three (which makes a big difference for coverage on Three).
Click to expand...

Good to hear your feedback on this model!
 
I've decided to up my budget a little and seriously consider the Honor 9 (not the lite version), one reason so I can take advantage of the 5ghz which is on my VM superhub 3, WiFi as the 2.4 ghz from neighbours can be quite busy but 5ghz is quieter and signal just as good. Camera looks OK too.
 
frank said:
I've decided to up my budget a little and seriously consider the Honor 9 (not the lite version), one reason so I can take advantage of the 5ghz which is on my VM superhub 3, WiFi as the 2.4 ghz from neighbours can be quite busy but 5ghz is quieter and signal just as good. Camera looks OK too.
Click to expand...

£249 on Amazon looks like a good price, have you had a look at the P20 Lite? It's £279 last time I looked and is a generation newer iirc (don't know about it's WiFi though).
 
I had a Motorola G5 and it was a great phone for the price, unfortunately I lost it.:(
 
Dave1 said:
Are you aware the Redmi 5 Plus is a variant designed for the Chinese market? the international version of that would be Redmi Note 5.

https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_5_(redmi_5_plus)-8959.php#redmi-5-plus

You lose a lot by buying a phone designed for the Chinese market, starting with no Google apps including the Play Store (you have to get a version via a Chinese site, it also won't have NFC (no contactless payment, as an example) and it doesn't have Band 20 LTE so won't work for Vodafone, o2 or any of the piggyback virtual networks. Of course, that doesn't even touch on the fact you're buying a phone with no usable UK warranty.

http://www.knowyourmobile.com/xiaom...i-5-plus-review-2018s-budget-android-champion

If you've made up your mind to get a Xiaomi, it should be the global version Note 5, not the China version 5 Plus (or confusingly there also now seems to be a China version badged as Note 5.

https://www.chinahandys.net/en/xiaomi-redmi-note-5-review/
Click to expand...

Your information is not entirely correct. Naming idiosyncracies aside, Xiaomi phones come with different software and hardware variants to suit different regions. Thus my Redmi 4X has a global ROM and band 20, meaning that I get full 4G in the UK on O2 trhrough giffgaff and access to google play store like any other legitimate EU android device. True that there is no google pay app or NFC - personally I never used either previously, so don't miss them now.

The Redmi Note 5/5+ has been available with the full global ROM (including access to the google play store and band 20) but as a buyer you need to make sure you check what you are buying before ordering it, because there are other variants that do not have those things.

If someone is the kind of person who prefers to walk into a store, pick something up, check it works in your hand before handing over your money then buying a phone through the China channel is not for you!
 
ancient_mariner said:
Your information is not entirely correct. Naming idiosyncracies aside, Xiaomi phones come with different software and hardware variants to suit different regions. Thus my Redmi 4X has a global ROM and band 20, meaning that I get full 4G in the UK on O2 trhrough giffgaff and access to google play store like any other legitimate EU android device. True that there is no google pay app or NFC - personally I never used either previously, so don't miss them now.

The Redmi Note 5/5+ has been available with the full global ROM (including access to the google play store and band 20) but as a buyer you need to make sure you check what you are buying before ordering it, because there are other variants that do not have those things.

If someone is the kind of person who prefers to walk into a store, pick something up, check it works in your hand before handing over your money then buying a phone through the China channel is not for you!
Click to expand...

You say the info isn't entirely correct (even though it's backed up by multiple links that corroborate it), but then go on to say virtually the same thing that I did...

Out of interest, what were you thinking differs between my post and yours?

;)
 
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Dave1 said:
You say the info isn't entirely correct (even though it's backed up by multiple links that corroborate it), but then go on to say virtually the same thing that I did...

Out of interest, what were you thinking differs between my post and yours?

;)
Click to expand...

Dave1 said:
Are you aware the Redmi 5 Plus is a variant designed for the Chinese market? the international version of that would be Redmi Note 5.
Click to expand...

Dave1 said:
You lose a lot by buying a phone designed for the Chinese market, starting with no Google apps including the Play Store (you have to get a version via a Chinese site, it also won't have NFC (no contactless payment, as an example) and it doesn't have Band 20 LTE so won't work for Vodafone, o2 or any of the piggyback virtual networks.
Click to expand...

Your comment appeared to be saying that phones from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, and the Redmi 5plus specifically, did not have band 20, access to the app store etc. Careful reading of the articles you linked would have shown that not to be true, but not everyone will read carefully and in detail.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Your comment appeared to be saying that phones from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, and the Redmi 5plus specifically, did not have band 20, access to the app store etc. Careful reading of the articles you linked would have shown that not to be true, but not everyone will read carefully and in detail.
Click to expand...

I make the point THREE times about the differences between buying a China version and buying a Global version, i made the points about Band 20 etc specifically referencing the China version, in fact my final paragraph is simply a reiteration of the differences between buying a China version and buying a Global version and remarks on being careful due to the naming similarities.

I could suggest it is you who failed to complete the "careful reading" you're suggesting others won't do...
 
Obviously I'm late to the party, but figured I'd chuck my opinion in there anyway....

I've got a Xiaomi Mi5, fantastic phone, 4G is no great loss as the 3G/HSDPA speeds are absolutely fine for everything I do, including 1080p streaming. The build-quality, software, ergonomics and screen are second to none, and the camera is mind-blowingly good. 64Gb version brand-new cost me £230 a year or 2 ago and still going strong.

I'm only now looking at getting a Mi6
 
Neilc28 said:
Obviously I'm late to the party, but figured I'd chuck my opinion in there anyway....

I've got a Xiaomi Mi5, fantastic phone, 4G is no great loss as the 3G/HSDPA speeds are absolutely fine for everything I do, including 1080p streaming. The build-quality, software, ergonomics and screen are second to none, and the camera is mind-blowingly good. 64Gb version brand-new cost me £230 a year or 2 ago and still going strong.

I'm only now looking at getting a Mi6
Click to expand...

Spending £200+ on a 3G only phone is just foolish these days. All the networks are actively shrinking their 3G networks spectrum allocation this year and refarming the spectrum to 4G. 3G is just going to get more and more congested as more spectrum gets moved over to 4G, and as all 4 networks are doing so there isn't even a case of saying "go to network X and you'll still had decent 3G service".
 
These days... But this was around 2 years ago, and 4G isn't exactly widespread down here in Cornwall, despite the fact the first trial of 4G took place here!

It wasn't a foolish decision for me evidently as I feel I've got my money's worth . My iPhone hardly ever sees 4G...
 
FWIW

My Moto G5 dual SIM has to date been good. The two services I use are 3 and Giffgaff and iI ge as needed/available a 4G connection. NB mostly use 3 for voice & data with the GiffGaff as my backup.
 
Neilc28 said:
These days... But this was around 2 years ago, and 4G isn't exactly widespread down here in Cornwall, despite the fact the first trial of 4G took place here!

It wasn't a foolish decision for me evidently as I feel I've got my money's worth . My iPhone hardly ever sees 4G...
Click to expand...

I was making the point as you discuss how the phone does everything you need including 1080 streaming (in the present tense), that might change as the networks reform.

I would probably caution buying the Mi6 (especially as it's £400+) as a quick look shows it doesn't appear to support Band 20 for LTE (4G), this rules out its use almost completely for Vodafone and o2 (and all their virtual networks like Tesco, Giffgaff etc) as Band 20 is their primary carrier.

It's also used by 3 and EE, but only as a secondary carrier at present.
 
Neilc28 said:
These days... But this was around 2 years ago, and 4G isn't exactly widespread down here in Cornwall, despite the fact the first trial of 4G took place here!

It wasn't a foolish decision for me evidently as I feel I've got my money's worth . My iPhone hardly ever sees 4G...
Click to expand...

I'm in the north of scotland and 4G came in last summer.
 
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