Can someone please recommend me a very very cheap smartphone?

[finy]

Confession: I’ve never actually owned a smartphone.

 

I’m going to buy a new iPhone in about 8 months, but I simply don’t need it right now so will wait.

 

But I would like to test out how to use apps, get usernames before they go away etc.

 

So if someone could recommend a cheap smartphone to practice on that would be great. It just needs to be the most basic that can play apps.

 

I’m guessing swapping phones (android to iPhone) but keeping same phone number won’t do any damage.

 

Cheers

Edited March 14, 2019 by finy

[KarlS]

You should forget the Apple stuff which is over expensive and has built-in obsolescence.  I would suggest looking at the Android market leader Samsung - You should be able to find an early model at a reasonable price. 

[brokenbone]

dont be cheap on internal memory & battery,

both should be big, the former cause otherwise the phone

wont work eventually due to all junk that gets stored and updated, and the latter cause it wont even last over the day

with a small battery

[NCC1701A]

26 minutes ago, finy said:

So if someone could recommend a cheap smartphone

New Samsung about 4500-5500 baht for bottom of the line. great entry level phones. if you lose the phone its not the end of the world. 

27 minutes ago, finy said:

I’m guessing swapping phones (android to iPhone)

wrong direction for "cheap"

27 minutes ago, finy said:

to practice on that would be great.

you don't need to practice. you need to decide which platform to use. Android or Apple. 

[scorecard]

5 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

New Samsung about 4500-5500 baht for bottom of the line. great entry level phones. if you lose the phone its not the end of the world. 

wrong direction for "cheap"

you don't need to practice. you need to decide which platform to use. Android or Apple. 

Agree, plenty of low cost Samsung and other good phones, many functions, practice not needed, just get on with it.

 

 

[lopburi3]

At 2.299 from Lazada something like below can do most things fine and should allow getting used to Android.

[Aforek]

For many years, my GF and I have Asus smartphones, 3000-4000 bahts, enough for what we need, and makes beautiful pictures ( camera ) and videos 

[RoadWarrior371]

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

Agree, plenty of low cost Samsung and other good phones, many functions, practice not needed, just get on with it.

 

 

 

I will buy either a Samsung A7 or J6 next week.  Nothing that it is worth the extra few Ringitt to buy from a reputable shop, like in Central... vs. a knock-off marketplace like MBK or Tukom.  I would not trust the internal components from a 3rd party discount shop.  Good luck.

[KarlS]

10 minutes ago, RoadWarrior371 said:

 

I will buy either a Samsung A7 or J6 next week.  Nothing that it is worth the extra few Ringitt to buy from a reputable shop, like in Central... vs. a knock-off marketplace like MBK or Tukom.  I would not trust the internal components from a 3rd party discount shop.  Good luck.

Ringitt?  In Thailand? 

[FarangDoingHisThing69]

Samsung or OPPO is a good choice.

[RoadWarrior371]

8 minutes ago, KarlS said:

Ringitt?  In Thailand? 

Pesos?

[RoadWarrior371]

5 hours ago, FarangDoingHisThing69 said:

Samsung or OPPO is a good choice.

Sure, a co-worker is happy with his Oppo.  OP, I travel a bit to other countries, and find that a dual-sim phone is useful as well, so keep that in mind when you are shopping. 

[bojo]

I highly recommend the Huawei Y635. I have a 3 year old model and it cost £80 back then and I just picked up another brand new one in the box as a spare on ebay for £50. (I haven't seen them in the shops for at least 2 years now) I swear by it, such good value. With the exception of the camera, which is just average. I don't know if you can get hold of one where you are, but if you want a cheap smartphone, it might be worth a try................

[ignis]

Another thing to look at......... You have a [non smartphone] phone now ?  will the network work on a Smartphone ?  often the network Offices will upgrade your phone cheap...  If you have to have a new number a brand new phone is even cheaper... 

 

eg: went with a friend to AIS last week, he got a upgrade from his Samsung J 1 running Android 4 to a Samsung A 7 running Android 8..  much better CPU, Rom and Ram + much better camera all for 3,500 baht [kept same number and contract]... list price for a A 7 is over 8,000 baht..

 

For me my smartphone still works, it is old but fine for me and my use, went into True to ask they offered upgrade to a Vivo Y95i for 3,800 baht...  much bigger screen, CPU, Rom and Ram..... rather nice + yes tempted....  

 

The New phones for 2019 run Android 9.......  

 

Buying a very cheap smartphone from around 800 baht up  = what will you do about a Sim card to make it work ? 

[BananaBandit]

I got a DTAC phone... model ZTE Blade Q3 at MBK in BKK... 2K baht...about 9 months later, works fine. however, the camera is a bit of a joke, in case that's important to you. 

[lamyai3]

On 3/15/2019 at 5:34 AM, bojo said:

I highly recommend the Huawei Y635. I have a 3 year old model and it cost £80 back then and I just picked up another brand new one in the box as a spare on ebay for £50. (I haven't seen them in the shops for at least 2 years now) I swear by it, such good value. With the exception of the camera, which is just average. I don't know if you can get hold of one where you are, but if you want a cheap smartphone, it might be worth a try................

Although it's very true that Huawei (and the other Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo) are fine phones and great value for money, it's never a good idea to buy a three year old model. The problem lies with the old operating systems. An older phone is going to be stuck on Android 4 or 5 with no further updates possible, and performance will really be affected compared to a newer version. Best value will be to buy either a new or a recently replaced edition, say the previous 2018 version of one of the current lineup - this applies to all brands of phones at every price level.

 

Edit. I just looked up the Huawei Y635 and it's around 300 baht on Lazada, so it may be either an absolute bargain and perfect for the OPs purposes, or else a total dud compared with the newer offerings on the market. 

Edited March 31, 2019 by lamyai3

[Lacessit]

Thousands of secondhand phones for sale at any shopping mall. I bought a secondhand iPhone for 2500 baht, works fine. Although I agree with other posters Android is possibly better.

[BritManToo]

Oppo A3s, 7-11 was selling them for 2,000bht.