Cheap smart phone for an eleven year old

redline · 18 Aug 2016 at 18:39

My son starts secondary school in a couple of weeks and needs a phone, not only for contact, but as part of school life which now includes some phone use. We want him to have a reasonable device but really don't want to spend more than £80 (pay as you go) or so. I have little interest in phones, so don't keep up with the in's and out's of current tech and OS's etc. so feel a bit clueless...

Any advice and a list of decent, reliable phones to check out would be great...

Would also consider secondhand.

richthomuk · 18 Aug 2016 at 18:55

I would look at something like a Moto G or E which can all be had on your budget from a popular site which is named after a rainforest.

Dumbnub · 18 Aug 2016 at 22:37

Can get a 'like new' moto g 3rd gen for £69.99 from o2 Link

Comes with a 12 month warranty.

redline · 19 Aug 2016 at 09:15

Thank you very much both of you

The 'like new' Moto from o2 look particularly good... we'll take a further look today.

Cheers.

Dumbnub · 19 Aug 2016 at 11:44

No problem

richthomuk · 19 Aug 2016 at 15:17

Nice find Redline.

The Moto G's are pretty durable, took some very heavy knocks over the years as my backup phone while traveling around and very minimal wear, 2nd gen not 3rd but 3rd gen looks much better.

ebilcake · 19 Aug 2016 at 15:33

Moto E/G is just fine.

If it's their first phone it will probably get lost anyway so don't go crazy like some parents do.

Dazstoke · 20 Aug 2016 at 09:43

redline said:
My son starts secondary school in a couple of weeks and needs a phone, not only for contact, but as part of school life which now includes some phone use. We want him to have a reasonable device but really don't want to spend more than £80 (pay as you go) or so. I have little interest in phones, so don't keep up with the in's and out's of current tech and OS's etc. so feel a bit clueless...

Any advice and a list of decent, reliable phones to check out would be great...

Would also consider secondhand.

Just as a matter of interest,what is this exactly ?

redline · 20 Aug 2016 at 22:53

Cheers again.... he was looking at the MS Lumia 550 today, which he really loved and only £49... so that seems like another option. As ebilcake said the chances of it getting lost or broken are quite high (he's a clumsy oik) so the less spent the better.

Dazstoke said:
Just as a matter of interest,what is this exactly ?

I'm not sure to be honest, but during our visit the subject did come up regarding phones, and the school accepts they are now a large and important part of teens lives and general technology that is impossible to ignor. I thinks its stuff like reward points, and other fun aspects, rather that part of the class room or curriculum... we'll find out more when he starts. For us its about contact mostly.

thep02 · 21 Aug 2016 at 10:54

redline said:
For us its about contact mostly.

Too right, don't forget to put paid for cerberus or other following/finding software on it, have in mind he will lose it at some point :cool:

Dazstoke · 21 Aug 2016 at 11:17

thep02 said:
Too right, don't forget to put paid for cerberus or other following/finding software on it, have in mind he will lose it at some point

I'd suggest this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bullguard.mobile.mobilesecurity

Feronix · 22 Aug 2016 at 16:45

Get him the Windows Phone tbh. The platform itself is absolutely fine and (imo, but you're the parent) an 11 year old doesn't need things such as Snapchat, etc.

The software will also be easy for him to navigate through assuming the PC at home is also running Windows 8 or higher and the chance of downloading viruses to the device is much lower. They're also cheap and WP runs better on low-end hardware than Android does.

Has a Find My Phone function by default as well.

Dazstoke · 22 Aug 2016 at 18:35

Feronix said:
Get him the Windows Phone tbh. The platform itself is absolutely fine and (imo, but you're the parent) an 11 year old doesn't need things such as Snapchat, etc.

The software will also be easy for him to navigate through assuming the PC at home is also running Windows 8 or higher and the chance of downloading viruses to the device is much lower. They're also cheap and WP runs better on low-end hardware than Android does.

Has a Find My Phone function by default as well.

What he needs and what he wants will be 2 entirely different things.
Kids follow the crowd,what his mates use he'll want to use too

Big Spender · 22 Aug 2016 at 18:42

They recognise it's part of life but won't be part of the curriculum! Get em a Nokia 3310. My niece has already smashed the screen on her phone several times since starting high school last year!

Feronix · 22 Aug 2016 at 19:51

Dazstoke said:
What he needs and what he wants will be 2 entirely different things.
Kids follow the crowd,what his mates use he'll want to use too

Doesn't mean you need to give a kid everything he wants? Either way, that's for the parent (OP) to decide, not us

Besides, many online services like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. require you to be at least 13 years of age anyway.

Akagi · 22 Aug 2016 at 20:18

Dazstoke said:
Just as a matter of interest,what is this exactly ?

Showing each other pictures of vaginas at break time and giggling probably.

Gavin · 22 Aug 2016 at 20:43

all i would say is what ever phone you get put down vigerous grand rules that are enforced for usage time etc. also i think windows phone is more parentel controllable

Orcvader · 23 Aug 2016 at 08:23

Don't know about school but in 6th form/uni Blackboard/Moodle or whatever IT platform they use had a mobile site and/or app to allow students to access documents relating to the subjects they were learning, such as previous lesson lectures and homework.

Tuvoc · 23 Aug 2016 at 10:35

redline said:
Cheers again.... he was looking at the MS Lumia 550 today, which he really loved and only £49... so that seems like another option. As ebilcake said the chances of it getting lost or broken are quite high (he's a clumsy oik) so the less spent the better.
.

The Lumia 550 is pretty decent, a friend has had one of those for several months and it is very capable, especially for the price.

In terms of WP speed on low-end hardware, that used to be the case with WP 8.1, but WP 10 is slower in my opinion, so I don't think WP has that advantage over Android now. Nevertheless, WP10 runs nicely on that phone.

Dazstoke · 23 Aug 2016 at 16:47

Feronix said:
Doesn't mean you need to give a kid everything he wants? Either way, that's for the parent (OP) to decide, not us

Besides, many online services like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. require you to be at least 13 years of age anyway.

Maybe in theory but not in practice.