With Christmas coming up I am deciding to buy my mum a new phone.
She is still on an old school flip phone so I think it's time for an upgrade!
I am mainly after something with a decent camera and good battery life however still quite simple to navigate. She has an iPad so she isn't really that lacking skills on newer technology.
Happy to spend up to $300 on it.
Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you :)
I thought this but would take away the surprise on Christmas haha.
Perhaps, but phones are a personal, expensive, thing. She will appreciate your thoughtfulness in getting what she wants. Also, it might be a tad early to be looking for Christmas, you don't know what deals might occur between now and then.
try pretend its for someone else and ask her 'which one would you use yourself, mum?'
The battery life on the iPhone is what's keeping me away from getting one for her. Plus the screens are so flimsy.
The battery life on an iphone is pretty much the same as every other phone. The iphone 6 and 6 plus screens are rubbish, but the 6S is better and the 5S was better before that (I think thats the only one approaching your budget).
I disagree on the screens on the iphone 6 plus being rubbish, I have one and they are very clear and vibrant.
@try2bhelpful: I have one too, and its not the function, its just how fragile they are. A small drop results in a cracked screen. Apparently the 6S is much improved (and waterproof).
@thorton82: Knock on wood, I've never had a cracked screen on any of my devices. Then again, I tend to swaddle them. They always have a screen protector and a solid case.
@thorton82: The sites I've read say water resistant, rather than waterproof; they won't last long if you drop them into a swimming pool, but they will probably survive if you spill some water on them. Personally I went for the iphone 6+ cause I was still using the iPhone 4 at the time and the screen sang to me. I will wait now until the iPhone 7 comes out and see whether it is worth upgrading. I do also keep one eye on the Android phones to see if they come up with a "come to Jesus" one.
I buy the latest iphone for my mother and father every year and i wouldnt do that for my self. what they did for me until i grow up was worthless Its the minimum i can do for them
Priceless?
hahaha rofl
Savage shamid.
Not so sure - they buy two iphones every year. Gotta be something wrong with the upbringing…
=)) just joking guys, but for real yes it was priceless
That's a really odd joke :S
IPHONE 6S PLUS 128GB ROSE GOLD
where is one for under $300?
buy it from the youtube guy who produces "will it blend?"
IPhone 5c is a good choice. Iphones ar easy to use.
lol Australians (the computer illiterate ones). What is with you people and the iphone? There is a whole world of phones out there you silly sheep. They pay ~$193 million in TAX (as of early 2014) since 2002 and you still think they're god's gift to the world. Disappointing..
Keep giving them billions, though. iPhones are easy to use.
Buy her the new Microsoft Lumia 950, 950XL or 540XL and she can use it like a PC if she wants. From my experience, mothers don't like small phones. It should be available in December.
The Google Nexus line are excellent phones too.
The Samsung Note 5 is a masterpiece for those not wanting a crap heap of storage to store their rubbish.
If you don't want to buy a flagship then go for the $250-$500 line of phones. HTC Desire, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and the OnePLus One offer great value for money. Samsung also have a heap of budget smartphones.
If you need an easy to use phone, just use the easy mode feature available on most smartphones these days.
That was a logical argument.. so people who buy iphones are sheep, and how exactly does that relate to the tax Apple pays?
It's the tax apple doesn't pay
And relevant because?
$27-$30 billion from Australian revenue - $192 million in Tax paid in Australia = Apple's pocket money they get to take back to their wealth inequality loving shareholders in the US, UK and Europe.
It's alright. Supporting American corporate pigs is what Australia does best.
@tendollar: It appears your issue is around the tax that Apple avoids rather than the phone. I suggest you petition the government on legislation to fix up the tax avoidance. You do not "know best" on what people are looking for in a phone. The iPhone is not about the hardware, although it is terrific, it is about the ecosystem and the breadth of apps in the Apple Store. I would also be interested in your "extensive" experience with mothers.
BTW - I do agree we need to crucify all the multinationals who avoid our tax. Absolute scum the lot of them and world governments lack the courage to take them on. The free trade agreement should be doing this.
What? It's getting old, bro. The old Tropic Thunder video is used by people who have nothing of worth to say and can't construct an argument.
My issue is with the company and their phones. I don't understand why you think it's important to draw a distinction between the company avoiding tax and their products.
If people are discouraged to buy their products, we will see their profits reduce and get them to listen to us. Perhaps Apple may even learn to innovate again. The government are useless and are probably funded by lobby groups who have some connection to companies such as Apple. You only have to turn up to a Liberal party function to see what kind of people have the government in their pocket.
It appears your issue is around the tax that Apple avoids rather than the phone. I suggest you petition the government on legislation to fix up the tax avoidance.
Well I would like to petition the government and to ask for an audience with politicians and lawmakers so they can listen to my issues but unlike Apple, I was unable to avoid millions of dollars of taxes, these same millions of dollars of taxes that Apple has avoided that they can use to petition the government and to ask for an audience with politicians and lawmakers so they can implement business-friendly laws and policies…
It's the tax apple doesn't pay
just like the fish john west rejects
the OP said under $300.
Lets not lie, if all of us could get away with little tax and charging premium prices we would.
You suggest Nexus, but Google doesn't pay tax neither.
It's one of those lesser of two evils cases. I'd scratch the nexus from my list if I could but the reviews for the Nexus 6 are widely positive.
Vodafone Alcatel 2052 is half price at Woolworths for around $12.50 this week. Battery life 5-7 days, no Carrier IQ, no NSA backdoors, limited tracking. Standard 9 grid menu and d-pad. If you want a good camera buy a good camera.
OP - I think you should look through the review sites like CNET, Whistleout, etc.
not sure what carrier she is on but what about this http://www.boost.com.au/sony-xperia-e4-pre-paid-mobile.aspx
I'd recommend the Moto G 2015 (3rd Gen). Can be found sub-$300 here and for the price your getting some pretty decent specs, especially in terms of battery & camera. Add to that water resistance, and you have probably the best price to performance android device available. Bought this for my partners mum and she loved it.
Did exactly that, arrived the other day - looking good so far.
Buy her Xiaomi Note 2 Prime for roughly $300 AUD and be done with it.
or the Xiaomi Redmi, best value phone you can find.
Lumia 640 would be a suitable option and is available for under $200.
Look around for the carrier locked lumias. Telstra and optus have great deals popping up regularly on here. $19 Telstra lumia 530 and $29 Telstra Lumia 532.
Cannot beat them for value (i got a 532 as a backup phone, surprisingly good).
The vodafone locked phones usually dont go on sale for some reason….
Edit: whoops, saw you wanted a good camera. These phones will not fit the bill sadly.
Hey OP,
I was in the pretty much the same predicament as you and I ended up getting my mum the Lumia 640. She's been really happy with it so far.
Here are the reasons why:
So far only down side is there aren't that many games available from the store. My mum (bless her heart) likes playing games to kill time.
I'd definitely recommend the Lumia 640
Windows phones are great for oldies. Easiest to use and big tiles and cheap if you are after a smart phone. However clam shell features phones are even better from my experience - fast and easy unlock and good standby
Bought my wife the nexus 6. She's not the tech savvy type but has an iPad. She loves the nexus. Best phone ever she says.
Lumia 735…
I realize it's out of your price range but you could go the LG G4 on a plan perhaps? It's suppose to have a pretty awesome camera. I'm looking at it for my upgrade from a Galaxy S4. Was going to go S5 but camera is rubbish. S6 has a nice camera but removal of user replacable battery and SD card slot is just a major turn off. G4 is one of a few phones that still has those features.
I would suggest the new OnePlus X, but the ridiculous invite system that OnePlus uses will make it nigh impossible to purchase one, as people abuse the invitation system and jump to the top of the queue.
Otherwise, I think a lot of recommendations in this thread are a bit expensive (S6.. iPhones, Nexus 6). I'm not really sure about current sub-$300 phones so I can't make an informed recommendation. There are a lot more around the $400-500 mark, such as LG G4, Z3 compact, etc.
There's a deal for the OnePlus X on the front page right now, it's not that hard to buy. Granted it's a $25 USD premium.
Windows Phone. Easy for the oldies to use.
Try and find a Lumia 735, or a Lumia 640.
Even a youngsters should be able to get the hang of a Windows phone. I got one a few month ago, the phone itself is great. The desktop software stinks, used to be able to write SMS from my desktop and back up SMS to desktop on other phones. Big name apps are there for Windows, but on a recent trip we found the local apps aren't there. Lots of smallish sightseeing tours, markets, sightseeing maps etc. don't have pamphlets any more, they have an app for iphone and Android, hardly ever any for Windows.
just as much as hate to say this as an android fanboi, if your mum has a ipad and is used to it it would make sense to get an iphone if that is within budget.
In terms of simplicity, i think it depends what you are used to.
FYI think twice about low end/cheaper phones like Xiaomi as there have been comments about them playing up, which is what I think you certainly want to avoid. I would definitely get it for myself as I can troubleshoot easily but not for my parents.
Exactly, why would anyone possibly want to deal with 2 operating systems that look similar but are very different to use. Even the most tech savvy person feels slightly clumsy switching between different OS. Most people, especially those above a certain age, just want technology to be intuitive even if that means that it's not the latest. Get her an iPhone 5s or 5/5c.
Second hand phone for Mum… forget that!
Samsung Galaxy S4 would be a good option if ur looking at spending $300. My brothers got this model and has been very happy with it. My Mum and I both have the S5 version and are really happy with that too. Galaxies are a great phone definitely recommend them and you can pick one up for as cheap as $305 according to ShopBot - http://m.shopbot.com.au/pp-samsung-i9500-galaxy-s4-16gb-pric…
Cheap: Nexus phone as it will keep being updated for ages
Expensive: iPhone as it will keep being updated for ages.
Android OS rocks.. but come on 90% of devices either have to wait ages for updates or never get them.
I'd go iPhone, purely so you don't get calls every hour asking how to do something.
Honestly you guys focus too much on the phone and the mum, not about what happens years after owning the phone.
What phone does majority of your mum's household use? is it iPhone (or HTC or Samsung)? Great! Buy that one for her.
Chances are your mum will only use the phone for calling, texting, facebook-ing and taking photos of cute dogs. Your mum WILL not know this software update means, how to connect to the Wifi or download new apps — this is where your family members can jump in and help.
Plus you guys can all share the same charger.
Suggest you take her to one of the phone centres and get her to tryout a bunch of them and see what she likes.