Looking for a cheap, sturdy phone for a child, mainly for phone calls and SMS to arrange lifts home etc. Long battery life would be good. Some apps(e.g. transport) would be good, but not necessary.
I'd like it to be unlocked so I can use it on Vodafone, Optus or Telstra networks.
Supermarkets seem to have a few sub-$40 phones, but they are all locked.
Any ideas?
Please, just comments on phones, not on whether children need them.
get a hand me down from relos/friends. it's going to get dropped.
Surely you have a old phone that you can hand down to your child, that is the purpose of children - to take your old phones, so you don't feel bad about ugrading LOL!!
Sony Xperia XA is quite good - study, modern OS, and has NFC to talk to Opal/transport cards, load an emergency Google Pay card etc.
$99 on sale, can be free or cheap to unlock.
i bought a smashed iphone 5s from ebay for $30 unlocked. new screen from china $15. took 30 minutes to swap it over.
it has a great camera (my kid uses it on holidays). it's straight forward phone to use. the battery is quite decent.
You could give your child your current phone? But that means you won't have one, which is a good excuse for a new phone for you :D.
Xiaomi phones start from as little as $115 AUD and they are quite a lot more capable than the "supermarket" phones.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/xiaomi-redmi-5a
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/xiaomi-redmi-4x
Thanks for your comments.
Hand me down isn't an option except for a 2G phone with a dodgy battery, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a phone, or a museum piece with a newly smashed screen!
Re the xiaomi and Sony phones, how robust are they? Are tough cases available?
Altomic's idea is interesting. How hard was it to change the screen? Would it be feasible for someone who has never taken apart an iPhone before?
I've found the Xperia XA to be quite robust, and there are good tempered glass screen protectors and cases available on ebay.
Ebay have some cheap unlock codes starting from $1.50, but beware that's only for some phone models and some other phones cost up to $30 to unlock.
I suggest look at Ebay and find a few reputable unlock code sellers and see what phones the cheap codes are for and maybe stick with one of those phones.
I unlocked a vfd300(Vodafone locked), xspirit(optus) and acatel U5(optus) all for around $2 each. Let me know if you want the particular Ebay seller I used.