Phone recommendation needed

hellfire

hellfire

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I am looking for a phone for my mom. She's using quite an old Nokia candybar at the moment, and isn't keen in forking out a lot of cash. Unfortunately, that means I can't easily help her choose a phone as I have no knowledge of the lower specs phone market.
She needs a phone that can run WhatsApp. I suppose this means an Android.
Budget is probably not more than R2k.
She prefers buttons, but has an iPad so she is used to using a touch screen.
I'd prefer to get her something from the cheaper Samsung Galaxy range (Galaxy Pocket etc) but am open to other suggestions.

Any advice?
 
A few of the feature phone Nokia models have Whatsapp preinstalled. No need to go with Android.
 
Hi , I would say nokia lumia .
windows phone 8 and touch screen and whats app.
 
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MTN recently sold iPhone 4s stock at R1500 from what I gather. That would have been perfect as she already uses an iPad.

The cheaper Android phones tend to be quite slow and frustrating, so it might be a good idea to go with Windows Phone if you can get a decent specced phone at a good price. Take a week or two and look out for specials, they come by every now and then.
 
I think the Galaxy Ace Plus or the Ace Advance costs less than 2K.
They have larger screens and improved processing power than the Galaxy Pocket.
 
Viva said:
MTN recently sold iPhone 4s stock at R1500 from what I gather. That would have been perfect as she already uses an iPad.

The cheaper Android phones tend to be quite slow and frustrating, so it might be a good idea to go with Windows Phone if you can get a decent specced phone at a good price. Take a week or two and look out for specials, they come by every now and then.
Click to expand...

+1. I'm sure you could pick up an iPhone pretty cheap. It's a very good "parents" phone.
 
LG Optimus L5ii is R99 a month on a straightup 50 contract which translates to R2376, but she is getting 50 anytime minutes a month and some data.

The phone is so much better than a samsung galaxy pocket. Compare

4" display
480x800 resolution
512 mb ram
4 GB internal memory
5mp camera
1700 mAh battery

The bottom of the range phones are terrible- you cant install more than 3 apps, they run out of space all the time. and usually can only support older versions of the operating systems. You should go for something slightly better like ^^^
 
Since she already owns an Ipad(and assuming that she's used to it and its software), it would make sense for you to get her an older Iphone(4 or 4s or even 3gs). You can get those for less than R2000 second-hand. Or just get her one of those Nokia Asha's.
 
I don't know if I can convince her to get a contract.
Which outlets were selling the 4s for R1500?
 
Vodacom has a sony xperia E for R1599.00

320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches
4 GB (2 GB user available), 512 MB RAM
3.15 MP camera
Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon
CPU 1 GHz Cortex-A5
GPU Adreno 200
Li-Ion 1530 mAh battery
On sale from 7 November - 6 December

You can get the LG Optimus L5ii for R2199.00 from Redbull mobile, but considering almost an hours free talk time every month adds up to only 170 bucks more, it seems odd not to take the contract.

The samsung galaxy s3 mini is R2899.00 from Hifi corp
480 x 800 pixels 4.0 inches
8 GB,? 1 GB RAM
5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels camera
Chipset NovaThor U8420
CPU 1 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9
GPU Mali-400
Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery
 
The LG L5 II and Nokia Lumia 520 are good value for money and have very similar specs. You can get them for 2k prepaid from Vodacom, or for just over R100 a month from Cell C. The Samsung offering (Galaxy Fame) in that range is pretty ****ty in comparison.
 
eehellfire said:
I don't know if I can convince her to get a contract.
Which outlets were selling the 4s for R1500?
Click to expand...

MTN online store was doing the 4 16gb for R1249 and the 4s 16gb for R1999. They were all sold out by mid day Tuesday though. Twas the bargain of the year, no doubt. iStore still selling 4s's for around R6k!!
 
sand_man said:
MTN online store was doing the 4 16gb for R1249 and the 4s 16gb for R1999. They were all sold out by mid day Tuesday though. Twas the bargain of the year, no doubt. iStore still selling 4s's for around R6k!!
Click to expand...

That's a damn good price. Even as an android man myself I would have bought one, but that really is a once in a lifetime offer. OP shouldn't expect to find that anywhere soon
 
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I ended up giving her my SO's old blackberry 8520.
she's really happy with it.
 
Lumia 520.

If she uses a GPS she'll be glad that the Lumias all come with true offline maps with navigation at no extra cost. Just download once and you are good to go - for life.
 
McCrazieGoalz said:
Lumia 520.

If she uses a GPS she'll be glad that the Lumias all come with true offline maps with navigation at no extra cost. Just download once and you are good to go - for life.
Click to expand...
That or the iPhone 4s I think it;s going for R2000 at MTN
 
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