I’ve decided to upgrade my Nokia C1 as dropping it could result in too much damage to the Earth.
I’m looking for something cheap but would be ready to pay for some of the more worthwhile mid-level features. I just largely don’t know what they are.
What should a newbie/time-traveller know about smartphones before getting one?
I plan to buy the phone then buy the plan separately, is that generally a good idea?
Probably the new iPhone SE? Hard to beat at its $399 price point.
I don’t even own any Apple products, but if I weren’t so tied to Android, I can’t think of a better value.
It’s worth checking Best Buy, Costco, and the carriers for deals. Sometimes they offer cheaper bundles if you buy a phone together with a plan. And they have to unlock you after your contract is up anyway.
I used to get the the motorola X series of phones, but my current phone is Moto G5 and it’s fine. So I can recommend the Moto G series. If I had to buy one today I would probably opt for one of the power phones, it has slightly lower specs but a much bigger battery. Your mileage may vary on battery life vs better processor, etc.
Nice things about the G phones is that they take SD cards so adding more memory is cheap and easy, and they have the headphone jack. And they are unlocked so they can be purchased without a contract, and yes purchasing the phone separately from the plan is good, better selection, no bloatware installed from the carrier, and no contract.
The $200-$300 price range seems ideal for me, you can get a good phone, but not worry so much about damaging a $700 or more flagship phone.
I would avoid getting a deal on a phone if you buy into a network, because in my experience if the network sucks you are stuck there for 6-12 months before you can switch to a different network. But as you mention you don’t want to do that.
I’d recommend an android model around $200 or so. There are various to pick from. Just make sure it has at least 32GB of internal memory. Apps keep getting bigger and a lot can’t be moved to external storage.
Internal memory is what doomed my last 2 phones. Granted it was a while ago, but the first only had 1GB of internal memory, and the 2nd had 8GB. I ended up maxing out both and running into issues. Current phone has 64GB internal memory (32GB seems to be kind of the basement now which is good from what I’ve seen) and a microSD card too, so no more memory issues.
Also phones keep getting bigger to the point where you need both hands to use them. Having a phone that is small enough that you can use it with one hand is nice, but seems like its getting harder to find. The trend seems to be towards bigger screens until some phones are almost as large as small tablets now.
Buying an unlocked phone is generally more expensive than getting the same phone from a carrier.
Another vote for the Moto G5.
I have the Moto X4, and like it, but if you want something “entry level”, the Moto G series is a good value.
Oh, I bought this one mostly because I wanted Google Fi, and at the time it was the cheapest phone you could get Google Fi service on.
When we finally ditched our flip phones, we bought Samsung J7 phones. We’re not heavy users, so these have all the features we need and more. I’m pretty sure the price on these was under $500 for both of them, or at most just over that.
I just bought a Moto G7 Play for my octogenarian parents. It was around $250. All the Moto G series look like nice, basic, quality devices.
I like the idea of buying a phone separately. Yes, you can get a discount from a carrier, but then you are tied to that carrier. And you are limited to their meager selection of devices.
I’m very fond of my Galaxy J7 Crown. It costs $40 bucks right now if you buy it through Tracfone (16 GB internal memory) and $50 through Simple Mobile (which uses the 32 GB model, despite listing it as 16. The 32 GB is what I have.)
When I ditched my flip phone I got a Samsung J3 - same situation, more than I need. Mine was under $200.
FWIW, the J series has been discontinued, with the A series filling it’s niche. Nothing wrong with old stock, though.
I’m known for hanging on to phones for a decade - old stock works just fine. I only replace them when I have to, not for fashion or “upgrade”. So I’m always behind the cutting-edge-cuve-whatever-the-kids-are-calling-it-now. Meh. I’m getting old enough to be called “eccentric” rather than “out of touch”.
There’s no such thing as an “entry level” smartphone - especially from one manufacturer to the next. It’s all about the operating system. And there are pretty much two choices - Android or iOS/OSX (apple).
If you’re already familiar with apple operating systems, perhaps you have a macbook or other mac, ipad, etc. then you will be most comfortable with an iphone.
If you have another ipad type device that is not apple, or you have a chromebook, you’re likely already familiar with the Android operating system.
Aside from the operating system, smartphone now are all largely the same - all are touch screens with only 3-4 physical buttons. They only differ in things that may not matter to you (memory, screen resolution, camera, conventional headphone jack).
I would decide which operating system you are most comfortable with first. If you’re not familiar with either apple or android, the general thought tends to lean toward apple in ease of use. I can’t say whether that’s actually true or not, just what I’ve heard/read anecdotally.
Then pick your carrier - based on whatever is important to you in a carrier/plan. But again, it’s all just a matter of android vs. apple opertaing systems.
Came in to post this^
true
NOT TRUE! I use a Mac running OSX every day, but I really don’t like the iOS interface, and find it hard to use. I have an iPad (which runs iOS, like a phone) and barely use it because it annoys me so much.
I do agree that if you have an iPad and like it, an iPhone will be comfortable for you. And if you are using a Chromebook or an Android tablet and like that, the Android OS will likely be comfortable for you.
I pretty much agree with this advice. I would say that if you want to use a lot of apps (including games, but also other stuff that might live on the phone) you want to make sure you have enough memory. I’d also look at expected battery life if you think you will use the phone a lot.
The feature you’ll only get with a high-end phone is a really good camera. Memory is a mid-range feature.
When I say “entry-level”, I’m talking 100-200$.
I want to use it to send/receive calls, texts, emails, view/scan/send documents, use maps/GPS. It’ll be a tool much more than a toy. If I want to have fun, I’ll use my desktop computer at home.
Good point about battery life.
The Nokia C1 is less than a year old. What is it that you want improvement on? (You implied it is too heavy in the OP?)