Hi,
I was just wondering what would be the best place to get an outright basic phone, standard keypad, nothing fancy, no qwerty, no touch screen. Just your plain old brick/slide phone. Preferably from a wellknown company.
Crazy Johns? Any Post Office deals going around? Any sales? I don't want to spend more than ~50. Also from Sydney if that helps..
Thanks!
EDIT: Locked with Optus or unlocked, but if it is locked should be able to unlock it cheaply on ebay anyway.
have a look here- http://www.crazyjohns.com.au/mobile-phones/
these are locked to the vodafone network
Here are a couple you may find:
Chickenfeed, part of the Retail Adventures chain (www.retailadventures.com.au) has been selling Samsung E3210 3G phones, on Boost ie locked to Optus, for $20.
Australia Post has Nokia X3-02 phones, locked to Vodafone, for $39 on clearance. The Nokia X3-02 is quite a nice phone, it covers 850, 900 and 2100MHz 3G bands, and you can often unlock them free of charge via the Vodafone website.
Oh, and it's worth checking Target and K Mart for clearance phones: Target had brand-new Optus prepaids for $5.88 a couple of weeks ago.
if all else fails. this may be suitable.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/80s-Retro-Brick-Mobile-Phone-Hand…
I think I'd be looking at the Coles/Woolies specials - they generally have cheapo EoL phones at <$50.
Current catalogue of Coles has a 'orrible pink Telstra phone for $34, but in the past I picked up a basic brick Nokia phone for $1 (+ $19 credit, which I used elsewhere). They'll have a new set of deals soon.
Australia Post in Moonah (TAS) is selling the Huawei X3 android and the Nokia X3-02 for $39 each, both locked to Vodafone, but both with free unlock via Vodafone's website. My daughter's Huawei X3 had a few problems such as locking up occasionally, and poor battery capacity. Apart from that…
Chickenfeed HQ told me there are 20 Boost/Samsung E3210 3G mobiles in stock, across four of its Tasmanian stores. I can pass on details if anyone's interested.
but both with free unlock via Vodafone's website.
That's very hit and miss. Vodafone policy (and the experience of most people) is that there is a charge. Some people have gotten lucky and gotten free unlocking. They're cheap enough to unlock via ebay and the like though if that doesn't work.
I will readily admit to not being that knowledgeable about smart phones, but I found the X3 absolutely horrible to navigate. Have used others and found them to be quite fine. It's a smart phone though, so not what the op is after.
Coles or BiLo has two cheap Samsung phones. One is $19 and the other $29. They are locked to Virgin until you recharge (I think it is) $80 worth. (Check this yourself.) Then you ring Virgin and they'll unlock the phone so it can be used on other networks. Virgin has two "Simple" plans. One is $19 and the other $29. I know the $19 one lasts 90 days - can't remember how long the $29 one lasts (check again). Normal calls and SMS is free between other Virgin users.
Thanks guys I shall have a look around!
What phone company are you with?