Yet another phone thread

[fd3]

I don't want a smart phone.
But I do want a good camera on my phone, with ease of removing photos from the phone.  Also, being able to use it as an MP3 player and being able to use an SD or micro SD card.  Also, the contract I'm on gives me 1gb of data a month that is going to waste.
So, since the solution to what I want IS a smart phone, what is a simple, robust, cheap and long lasting smartphone that someone who has persisted with a Nokia up til now will  cope with?

[Kim]

Is the camera on that reincarnated Nokia 3310 any good?

[SteveC]

Our Canadian niece picked up a phone for use when she's in the UK by going into a shop^* and seeing what they had on offer.

(* Virgin in her case as that's where her dumb phone came from and she wanted to keep the SIM and number as was going to leave the country in a couple of days so couldn't wait).

[rusky]

Is the camera on that reincarnated Nokia 3310 any good?

It's 2MP so no!

Unfortunately smart phone & robust aren't found together.
What's your budget? My dad just got a Moto G5 for £150 SIM free from Argos. 

[fd3]

Ideally my budget would be £0 as that is what I paid for my last two phones and what I can afford.  I accept that I will need to pay more, £50 would be more likely than £100.  By robust I am less interested in bullet proof than in something that won't die within a couple of years (the environmental and ethical costs are too high for that).

[fuaran]

I don't think you'll get anything with a good camera for less than £100.

For a basic smartphone, the Lenovo B is quite nice. You can get it on PAYG for about £40. My dad has one, it seems simple and reliable so far anyway. Would work fine as an MP3 player, you can add a MicroSD card. It is mostly stock Android, no added bloat.
The camera is not too bad...

[chrisbainbridge]

You might be better off keeping your present phone and buying a small high quality camera.  Some come with wifi and gps

[Quisling]

Ideally my budget would be £0 as that is what I paid for my last two phones and what I can afford.  I accept that I will need to pay more, £50 would be more likely than £100.  By robust I am less interested in bullet proof than in something that won't die within a couple of years (the environmental and ethical costs are too high for that).

The solution to the latter point is to buy a Fairphone 2, which we readily self-repairable and ethically produced.  However, this is well outside your budget, but should at least be good value in the long term.
https://shop.fairphone.com/en/

[LEE]

Motorola MOTO G 3rd Gen, about £100 give or take (Currys)
It used to be the "best bang for the buck" phone when I got mine a few years back, can't comment now. Nice camera. Some images from my 2ng Gen one here ...https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10476.225

However, as a cyclist, I'd carry a Nokia brick (for battery life) and throw £100 at a compact camera like a Canon IXUS.

Smart phone cameras only really compete with "real" cameras if you are posting to Social media a lot (where most cameras are a faff).

To get amazing images from a Phone, that compete with a £100 camera, you need to pay a lot more than £100.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Ideally my budget would be £0 as that is what I paid for my last two phones and what I can afford.  I accept that I will need to pay more, £50 would be more likely than £100.  By robust I am less interested in bullet proof than in something that won't die within a couple of years (the environmental and ethical costs are too high for that).

The solution to the latter point is to buy a Fairphone 2, which we readily self-repairable and ethically produced.  However, this is well outside your budget, but should at least be good value in the long term.
https://shop.fairphone.com/en/

It might be ethically manufactured but it's slightly unethically marketed in that you have to "preorder now" to find the price. I accept that this is outweighed by the manufacture, but if you're going to be ethical, you might as well be ethical all the way.

[Quisling]

Ideally my budget would be £0 as that is what I paid for my last two phones and what I can afford.  I accept that I will need to pay more, £50 would be more likely than £100.  By robust I am less interested in bullet proof than in something that won't die within a couple of years (the environmental and ethical costs are too high for that).

The solution to the latter point is to buy a Fairphone 2, which we readily self-repairable and ethically produced.  However, this is well outside your budget, but should at least be good value in the long term.
https://shop.fairphone.com/en/

It might be ethically manufactured but it's slightly unethically marketed in that you have to "preorder now" to find the price. I accept that this is outweighed by the manufacture, but if you're going to be ethical, you might as well be ethical all the way.

UK distribution is mainly via The Phone Coop who publish prices and tariffs here:
https://www.thephone.coop/personal/fairphone/