Cheap smartphone for my mum

Sbiriguda

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My mum is jealous of her sister who uses whatsapp and now she wants to upgrade to a smartphone LOL :)

Until now she used only ultra-cheap mobiles with no functions that look like the Nokias from the late 1990's...

She needs a cheap smartphone, very readable and simple to use, and she would use it almost only as a phone and for whatsapp and similar. She doesn't need a good camera or good audio

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks
 
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Javier P

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I agree with Mustang, Moto phones are great value for money. You can check the price for the Moto G7, excellent mid-ranger.
 

Morty2264

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I see you are a newer user here - welcome to Android Central! Moto is a great idea!

Another idea is to look at a Pixel 2. They will be at a lower price point now and I'm sure you'll be able to find used ones at a great bargain. It's also a very simple and uncluttered operating system so your mom wouldn't have to get used to any bloat or weird configuration.

Let us know what you decide!
 

B. Diddy

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Nokia phones are worth looking at as well. They're all Android One, so they get reliable monthly security and feature updates, and they run "stock" Android (meaning that there's no manufacturer skin on it).
 

Sbiriguda

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Thank you very much for your suggestions, I will check them
I noticed that there are several models of Moto G7

Motorola Moto G7 Play 32GB at 157 Eur
Motorola Moto G7 Plus 64GB at 185 Eur
Lenovo MOTO G7 POWER CERAMIC BLACK (PAE90014IS) at 212 Eur

Google Pixel 2 G011A 64GB 4G LTE GSM at 186 on the Ebay

The last one is the Nokia at a very low price 84 Eur

NOKIA 2.1 14 CM 5.5 1 GB 8 GB Double SIM SIM 4000 MAH

I believe all of them might be good for my mother's needs... Perhaps apart from the price it would be good if the screen is "not to small" because dialing would be easier and "not too big" so that she would not find it clumsy

Which one would you suggest among the ones above?
Thanks
 

mustang7757

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Moto g7 plus 64gb
Thank you very much for your suggestions, I will check them
I noticed that there are several models of Moto G7

Motorola Moto G7 Play 32GB at 157 Eur
Motorola Moto G7 Plus 64GB at 185 Eur
Lenovo MOTO G7 POWER CERAMIC BLACK (PAE90014IS) at 212 Eur

Google Pixel 2 G011A 64GB 4G LTE GSM at 186 on the Ebay

The last one is the Nokia at a very low price 84 Eur

NOKIA 2.1 14 CM 5.5 1 GB 8 GB Double SIM SIM 4000 MAH

I believe all of them might be good for my mother's needs... Perhaps apart from the price it would be good if the screen is "not to small" because dialing would be easier and "not too big" so that she would not find it clumsy

Which one would you suggest among the ones above?
Thanks
 

B. Diddy

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Even for basic use, I'd stay away from the Nokia with the 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. 8 GB is way too low these days, and 1 GB of RAM will make performance pretty bad.
 

Javier P

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Okay...
I will get her a Moto g7 plus 64gb like you said
Thanks
I am sure both of you will like it. I used the G7+ for a while, until my son broke his phone and inherited it, and I really liked it :)

Let us know if you have any question setting it up.
 

BrianLightManBruce

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Hello,
You/Your Mom might try the LG Stylo mobile device lineup.
They're easy to use right out of the box with a gradual learning curve. Too, the Stylo comes with a stylus...
It's a real bargain through MetroPCS.
 

Sbiriguda

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Before pulling the trigger and getting the Moto g7 plus 64gb I am reviewing some alternatives. There seem to be many in this price range
For example I am quoting from the article at the link below
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/mobile-phone/best-budget-phone-3473395/

1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T
2. Oppo A9 2020
3. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
4. Oppo A5 2020
5. Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite
6. Honor 10 Lite
7. Motorola One Macro
8. Moto G7 Power
9. Nokia 7.2
10. Xiaomi Mi 9T

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T seems to be very impressive and I even found it at 160 Eur in the version 4 Gb + 64 Gb
May I ask why do you suggest the Moto g7 plus 64gb instead?
Thanks
 

Javier P

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Before pulling the trigger and getting the Moto g7 plus 64gb I am reviewing some alternatives. There seem to be many in this price range
For example I am quoting from the article at the link below
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/mobile-phone/best-budget-phone-3473395/

1. Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T
2. Oppo A9 2020
3. Xiaomi Redmi Note 7
4. Oppo A5 2020
5. Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite
6. Honor 10 Lite
7. Motorola One Macro
8. Moto G7 Power
9. Nokia 7.2
10. Xiaomi Mi 9T

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8T seems to be very impressive and I even found it at 160 Eur in the version 4 Gb + 64 Gb
May I ask why do you suggest the Moto g7 plus 64gb instead?
Thanks
Xiaomi/Oppo/Honor phones come with a very heavy skin on top of Android with lots of bloatware and unnecessary "features". This complicates navigating through the settings and are a cause of conflicts many times.

Moto phones only add a couple of proprietary features on their phones making them faster, simpler and more fluid. Moto Actions and, specially, Moto Display are great additions to stock Android.

All my family have been using Moto devices for many years and they age very well. Right now my wife is still using her G5+ after three years of use and it's running quite well.

But you know, it's all personal :)
 

Morty2264

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Xiaomi/Oppo/Honor phones come with a very heavy skin on top of Android with lots of bloatware and unnecessary "features". This complicates navigating through the settings and are a cause of conflicts many times.

Moto phones only add a couple of proprietary features on their phones making them faster, simpler and more fluid. Moto Actions and, specially, Moto Display are great additions to stock Android.

All my family have been using Moto devices for many years and they age very well. Right now my wife is still using her G5+ after three years of use and it's running quite well.

But you know, it's all personal :)

I'm a huge fan of Moto and I love their Moto Display.
 

Javier P

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I'm a huge fan of Moto and I love their Moto Display.
Yes, me too. I'm using a OnePlus 7 and gave my G7+ to my son. The OP7 is a better, and more expensive, phone but I still miss Moto Display. For me it's the best way to handle lock screen notifications, by far.
 

Coach David B

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Sadly I can't recommended any Android phone as a first. But only because of the app store loose app policy. A newby, even an experienced user can easily become infected with malware.

Also Google needs to review app permissions. I use humidtrack on my Pixel, but it asks for permissions to the camera, camera location(precise and background access), read and write shared storage, full network, and 11 other permissions.

I also have a iPhone for work. The same app has no permissions other than to use Bluetooth.

Come on Google?
 

Mike Dee

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Sadly I can't recommended any Android phone as a first. But only because of the app store loose app policy. A newby, even an experienced user can easily become infected with malware.

Also Google needs to review app permissions. I use humidtrack on my Pixel, but it asks for permissions to the camera, camera location(precise and background access), read and write shared storage, full network, and 11 other permissions.

I also have a iPhone for work. The same app has no permissions other than to use Bluetooth.

Come on Google?
I cut my teeth on Android and never had an issue.
 

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