Looking for cheap phone for parent

[Trixanity]

So my mother is pushing me to find her a new phone and I'm kinda reluctant to buy now with Android N around the corner.

 

She lost her old one a while back because she's clumsy and before we could collect it through GPS tracking someone had picked it up and stolen it (like within 10 minutes of dropping it - I was like damn; that's quick) and have been on a Nokia feature phone since. She's on a budget. A small budget.

We're probably talking $100-120 (adjusted from local currency). I know how bad the phone market gets at that level. So I'm personally willing to consider $150 (maybe a bit above as well if justified) to get her a good phone that she hopefully won't lose this time. For reference, her previous phone was a Sony Xperia E4g that was like $25 off at the time. 

 

I want it to have Marshmallow at least because of future-proofness (ish) and the added features including security. So that would kinda rule out older devices that have dropped in price unless there is a device that is simply too good a value. The device shouldn't move into phablet territory. I'd say 5.2" max but prefer smaller. Resolution mostly irrelevant although 720p would be nice. A decent camera would be nice as she likes to take pictures (that's probably one of the most missed things about her lost phone; current is absolutely crap).

 

No other requirements as such. Although I guess 4G and if <16GB then expandable storage would be nice too.

I've personally been eyeing the Huawei Honor 5C for now but it's not available yet and it would have to be bought internationally (most likely) and up front meaning no contract.

[TheGhzGuy]

6 minutes ago, Trixanity said:

So my mother is pushing me to find her a new phone and I'm kinda reluctant to buy now with Android N around the corner.

 

She lost her old one a while back because she's clumsy and before we could collect it through GPS tracking someone had picked it up and stolen it (like within 10 minutes of dropping it - I was like damn; that's quick) and have been on a Nokia feature phone since. She's on a budget. A small budget.

We're probably talking $100-120 (adjusted from local currency). I know how bad the phone market gets at that level. So I'm personally willing to consider $150 (maybe a bit above as well if justified) to get her a good phone that she hopefully won't lose this time. For reference, her previous phone was a Sony Xperia E4g that was like $25 off at the time. 

 

I want it to have Marshmallow at least because of future-proofness (ish) and the added features including security. So that would kinda rule out older devices that have dropped in price unless there is a device that is simply too good a value. The device shouldn't move into phablet territory. I'd say 5.2" max but prefer smaller. Resolution mostly irrelevant although 720p would be nice. A decent camera would be nice as she likes to take pictures (that's probably one of the most missed things about her lost phone; current is absolutely crap).

 

No other requirements as such. Although I guess 4G and if <16GB then expandable storage would be nice too.

I've personally been eyeing the Huawei Honor 5C for now but it's not available yet and it would have to be bought internationally (most likely) and up front meaning no contract.

Which carrier are you on? 

[Nineshadow]

I remember seeing a review (on a Romanian website) for, what they called the cheapest Android 6.0 device they tested : UMI Touch.

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/-HK-Stock--UMI-TOUCH-5-5inch-2-5D-FHD-4G-LTE-Android-6-0-3GB-16GB-Smartphone-64bit-MTK6753-Octa-Core-1-3GHz-13-0MP-Touch-ID---Gary-362880.html
 
5.5 inch, FHD , 4000 mAh, 3 GB RAM , 16GB storage, metal unibody, fingerprint scanner, some mediatek octacore SoC and a 13 MP camera on the back. Not bad for $140. It is Chinese though so there's that...

[Trixanity]

2 minutes ago, TheGhzGuy said:

Which carrier are you on? 

Live in Europe, so no carrier like the US (thankfully). So unlocked phones is the name of the game.

[TheGhzGuy]

10 minutes ago, Trixanity said:

Live in Europe, so no carrier like the US (thankfully). So unlocked phones is the name of the game.

Well you have a provider that uses certain GSM bands. You don't want to buy a phone that doesn't work with said bands. (Obviously)

[Trixanity]

7 minutes ago, TheGhzGuy said:

Well you have a provider that uses certain GSM bands. You don't want to buy a phone that doesn't work with said bands. (Obviously)

Of course. 

900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz for 2G and 3G mainly.

Add 800 MHz and 2600 MHz for 4G.

That means band 1, 3, 7, 8, 20 for full functionality.

 

From my understanding the 2G (and 3G I guess) bands listed are widely used in Europe and Asia and personally never had problems using my devices abroad.

[Trixanity]

24 minutes ago, Nineshadow said:

I remember seeing a review (on a Romanian website) for, what they called the cheapest Android 6.0 device they tested : UMI Touch.

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/-HK-Stock--UMI-TOUCH-5-5inch-2-5D-FHD-4G-LTE-Android-6-0-3GB-16GB-Smartphone-64bit-MTK6753-Octa-Core-1-3GHz-13-0MP-Touch-ID---Gary-362880.html
 
5.5 inch, FHD , 4000 mAh, 3 GB RAM , 16GB storage, metal unibody, fingerprint scanner, some mediatek octacore SoC and a 13 MP camera on the back. Not bad for $140. It is Chinese though so there's that...

Interesting device but I'm worried about support and quality control/assurance on the cheap Chinese devices (never owned one). From reading the user reviews it seems most are happy about the device due to the price but that it has bad display clouding, fingerprint scanner issues and other software issues which hints at a QA problem. The device needs to just work more than anything else.

 

From what I've read on the Chinese devices that are exported (whether through eBay or other intermediaries), it's very hit or miss on what you get. I can't afford to experiment too much so it needs to be a sure thing.

 

Although interestingly enough, it hits all the right bands considering my other reply.