My Thai friend has great difficulty sticking to her budget when it comes to phone usage.

She's always headed for the 7/11 to re charge her account after marathon gas bagging sessions..

Now that her pre smart phone is on its last legs, I can see her tripling her running costs if she ever got her hands on a smartphone.

Is there anything out there of a non smart nature which is of reasonable quality but won't brake the bank?

I think she is with 12Call on a pay as you go plan.

Many thanks.

Actually non smart phones are often capable of various forms of data usage - as well as SMS and Phone calls so smartphone might actually be cheaper if she just uses to play games or subscribes to an all inclusive payment plan (but admit finding right plan can be a real challenge as there is a lot of garbage to sort through). Access to free wifi can also decrease costs.

Actually it is an absolute must that you buy your Thai friend a smartphone. It is precisely because she has been using a dumbphone that call costs have been racking up. With a smartphone she can call and text her friends on Wi-fi for nothing using LINE. Even if she does not have access to wifi there are inexpensive data packages available from AIS.

I own I Mobile Hitz 16 http://www.siamphone.com/en/i-mobile/hitz_16.htm pretty good and cheap two years ago I paid around 900 baht maybe you can buy a new i mobile Hitz series for less now but it worth

Actually it is an absolute must that you buy your Thai friend a smartphone. It is precisely because she has been using a dumbphone that call costs have been racking up.

If you new her you wouldn't be saying this.

Does a child (mind condition) worry about such silly things as cost?

For an impulsive, non technical narcissist a smartphone is an entree into a bottomless pit of costs.

Well, you could buy a smartphone and activate "Parental Controls", restricting her to only what usage you deem permissible. Of course, the possibility exists that she may be smarter than you think she is and override your efforts.