3 Commando Brigade

Mobile Telephonic Appliance

Currently I have this:



Apparently it's not state-of-the-art any more.

Can you recommend me a new Android phone please, < £200?

- must fit in jeans pockets, battery last all day, be used for phoning/texting/emails/3CB forums/taking photos when I don't have my Box Brownie to hand.
- likely to be lowish bandwidth usage, so thinking purchase phone unlocked and get PAYG sim?
- not too keen on buying 2nd hand off ebay, but would look if you know of quality bargains.
- budget for handset: £200 tops, happier around £150.

Are phones these days able to record HD 1080p video? That would be handy. I'd probably be recording no more than 10 minutes in between visits to the PC, so storage somewhere around 1.5GB would be suitable?

I really have no experience with Smart phones - haven't even used someone elses, so I need recommendations please!
Help bring Apollo into the 20th 21st Century...

I wouldn't get an iPhone. It is pretty restrictive and doesn't support things like flash. I have a 3GS and I like it and have had it for a long time now. But the iPhones are just not worth the fuss when lower budget phones beat it.

Thanks Mikk. I've seen these recommended elsewhere too.

Only downside is 720p video recording.

TheGuy's recommendation looks interesting though. What reason would you give for still choosing a Moto G over the Cubot? Just based on unknown name or something else?

Does it record 1080p video?
What's the quality of photo's that it takes like?
Which sim/payg do you use with it?

If you're willing to go slightly above your budget, for around £250, you can get the Google Nexus 5.
It's an insanely good price/performance phone, great 1080p phone that can easily compete with many of the £499+ phones. With a 5" diagonal, it's also a phone made to be operated by humans - some of the recent releases (iPhone, Galaxy Note, Nexus 6, etc) have become ridiculously huge and uncomfortable.

I know it's a bit beyond your budget, but the Google Nexus 5 is definitely one of the best experiences with android that you can have.
It has insanely good ergonomics, comes with a 'clean', up-to-date version of Android, etc. I'd call it a phone for people that need a high-quality tool, not a toy.

It's so good, especially with the new "Lollipop" version of Android (yes, they name the versions after candy), that it convinced both my parents to switch from their iPhones (4/4s) to the Nexus 5 after getting hands-onn

Could you provide a link please?

What downsides should I expect from a refurbished phone?

What's the camera like on the Nexus 4? I've read some bad reviews.

Comparison video seems to show Moto G a fair bit faster than Nexus? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5HVhguNyQI

Thanks Ronin, that's very helpful and thanks for taking those pics.

Get this, it's good. Plus you get free shipping.

http://goo.gl/mRuHAi

Lol, you nitwit.

A pig with lipstick is still a pig.  ;-)