Are there any cheap phones on which web browsing is decent?

Soldato
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Stoke on Trent
Hi all,

I am thinking about getting my Dad a mobile for Christmas as he has a data plan but doesn't use it, and think if he can get to grips with some bookmarked websites, he'd find it useful to have a browser on his phone.

Trouble is, I don't have much to spend (£50), and I'm completely out of the game of the non-Android phone market. The last non smartphone I had was many years ago, so don't know what browsers are like on these kinds of phones.

(He's on T-mobile if that makes a difference) so I looked on their site and they have the Samsung Monte Slider (E2550) and the Sony Spiro which look nice from the pictures?! Are these any good?!

Any advice appreciated!
 
Hm, the Orange San Francisco as always springs to mind, but that is £99 (and you would need to unlock it probably)

I honestly cant see you getting anything that isn't a complete pain and will put him off it forever anyway for £50 :p
 
Hm, the Orange San Francisco as always springs to mind, but that is £99 (and you would need to unlock it probably)

I honestly cant see you getting anything that isn't a complete pain and will put him off it forever anyway for £50 :p

fair enough, thanks for responding. I did think about the San Fran, but can't stretch that far, and even if I could I'm not 100% about how he'd find the usability. I know Android like the back of my hand, but I work in I.T and can't put myself in the mindset of a non-techie to imagine how Android would be for such a person.
 
On that sort of note (average people and Android) my sister got an X10 mini recently and didn't realise there was a marketplace on it until I showed her and signed her up, she still hasn't used it. Hasn't used the browser either (she just uses the facebook app) and she semi struggles to use the phone because it's not as basic as a dumbphone.

Android is good for the geek but average/below average person (tech wise), probably touch and go.
 
assuming your sister is <40, I think my dad would defo struggle then, he's very much below average at tech, maybe I should just ditch the idea totally:confused::(
 
assuming your sister is <40, I think my dad would defo struggle then, he's very much below average at tech, maybe I should just ditch the idea totally:confused::(

Possibly, the iPhone/WP7 is a clear and good bet for someone used to 'dumbphones' but they will be way out of your price range :(
 
fair enough, like the term dumbphones btw, very true.

How/why on earth have you amassed so many phones btw?!

I like phones :(

Some of them might be moving on soon though, the Desire HD is by far and away the best of these phones for me at the moment.

I've palmed the Omnia 7 off on the girlfriend at the moment while things develop for WP7, she loves it though which is good!

A relative is buying my old HTC Desire and HTC Hero tomorrow so that gets them out of the way :p
 
hmm I got my mum a little samsung galexy europa since its now only £90 :P

the screen size did worry me but its seems just fine...at least its got two inch up on a x10 mini and is cheaper
 
I like phones :(

Some of them might be moving on soon though, the Desire HD is by far and away the best of these phones for me at the moment.

I've palmed the Omnia 7 off on the girlfriend at the moment while things develop for WP7, she loves it though which is good!

A relative is buying my old HTC Desire and HTC Hero tomorrow so that gets them out of the way :p

better than spending it on drugs I suppose!??

I have a HTC Desire unrooted on 2.1, what's the HD like compared to it?

Tempted to order a WP7 at work just to try it :p I like phones too since I got into Android. I didn't like phones between my Sony K700i and my N95 8GB though.

thanks for the advice mate, I'm going to ask my Mum to chip in to get him a more expensive phone I think :P probably San Fran and I'll think about customising him a scene to get to stuff quickly.....
 
I got the HD a few days ago, in all honesty I was expecting it to be a bit better than the Desire with a disappointing screen and a bad battery.

That is not the case at all! Its absolutely excellent, the larger screen makes such a big difference and the quality of the screen is pretty much spot on, its certainly not quite as nice colour-wise as LED but its pretty negligible to be honest, it looks great.

The new 2.2 Sense UI software is excellent too, quite a lot of nice new additions and functionality, more than I was expecting.

The battery is giving me very similar life to the Desire and its only on its second charge cycle, after a few days it should improve even more.

Camera is pretty decent, a fairly good step up from the normal Desire.

The WP7s are great too in their own right, lacking quite a lot of features compared to Android (just like the iPhone does), but its some very impressive software and the HD7/Omnia7 are both cracking phones to use it with. Apps are coming along nicely for it too!
 
assuming your sister is <40, I think my dad would defo struggle then, he's very much below average at tech, maybe I should just ditch the idea totally:confused::(

Yep, 26. She's an average girl where tech is concerned so take that as it is.

.

The WP7s are great too in their own right, lacking quite a lot of features compared to Android (just like the iPhone does), but its some very impressive software and the HD7/Omnia7 are both cracking phones to use it with. Apps are coming along nicely for it too!

Wow, you changed your tune about WP7 quickly :p
 
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