General Chat

Some smartphones have an option for tactile feedback when pressing virtual buttons giving them much of the feel of a trad phone. Sony takes this as far as sound and feel effects for music and games!

But maybe not the best ones David.

Sharron I still have buttons too and much prefer them to swiping!

We were working (OH was, anyway) in a British Legion last night and all the people on our table were older than us, at least seventy so not much.

During the course of the evening, every one of them, and OH, had recourse to look at their smart phones.

I felt like their granny with mine, the one with buttons.

Your telephone provider is probably doing deals Annx

Well thank you all so much for your help! :-) You've all made some great suggestions for me to look into and it looks as if the swap doesn't have to be as expensive as I first expected. Thank you again for taking the trouble to help me. :-)

One of the best budget smartphones is the Sony L1 which can be found for around £ 80-90. It is free / v cheap from various suppliers. It has a great screen and decent camera, loud sound and dual band wifi. My OH, a technophobe, has one and is v happy with it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-Xperia-L1-SIM-Free-Smartphone-Black/dp/B06Y64TBHP

Samsung have a terrible record in not releasing Android updates on time (months late if at all) which leaves security holes wide open. Apple security is no great shakes either.

Giffgaff is who I and most of my family use. It runs on the O2 network. It is a variation of Pay as you go, there is no contract, They have a range of data packages which they call goody bags. You choose the one you want depending on how much data you think you will be using. It then recurs automatically on the same day every month. You get an email a couple of days before to tell you it will be recurring and to confirm you are on the correct package. If you haven’t been using all your data, it suggests that you pay less. One click is all it takes to change it. You can alter which goody bag you use every month. Sometimes if I am away from home for a long time, so am using more data rather than my phone being connected to WiFi as it normally is at home, I will be using up my data faster than normal. In that case, I get a text warning me that my remaining data is low and offering to start my next goody bag early. Again, it is only one click to the link to do it.

I can’t recommend them highly enough. If someone already on Giffgaff recommends you and you sign up through the email link, you both get £5 credit.
Their cheapest package is £6 for 500MB and 300 minutes of calls, then £8 for 2GB and 500 minutes and so on.

If you already have a phone, you can order just a sim card and easily swap your number. I just did that for OH as I bought a new iPhone 11 and gave him my old iPhone, so I had to swap him from the network he was on. They also sell phones as well, which you can buy outright or pay monthly. They also sell refurbished ones.

As for what phone, there is so much choice. I have an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch so am obviously an Apple fan, but other people prefer Android and hate Apple.

tesco might be a good place to start......I pay 8:50 p month for mine..

I have recently bought a new phone. Its a Vodaphone smartphone. Costs £75.oo. Has 32 BG of storage, good camera etc. I didn't want a contract so I buy a bundle monthly that costs me £10. Through Vodaphone. I get 250 minutes 4GB of data and unlimited texts.
Anything I don't use is rolled over with next bundle.

if you just want a phone for general use, ie calls ,able to access emails, etc then I wouldn't be spending loads of money or committing to a contract. It really depends on what you need the phone for.
If it was for business then you may want a more expensive phone with a contract.

Hope this has been of some help.
Go online to the Vodaphone shop and see what deals they have.

Florence in the hebrides

I'm planning to change my ancient PAYG mobile phone to one with internet and emails. I'd also like one that takes decent photos. I know nothing about contracts either so am a real dinosaur!

I'd be grateful for any advice as to what phones to look at that are easy to use or any contract providers that you would recommend..........or any pitfalls to avoid!