Cheap mobile phone

[SlippySarah]

I need a new phone for DD's 12th birthday. She has an old one of mine with a cheap sim at the moment but the phone is on its last legs. I'm happy with the £6 a month I'm paying smarty for her sim so was thinking of buying a phone outright.

Has anyone got any experience of xaiomi phones? She reckons all her friends have iphones but I'd rather get her a new cheaper phone than reconditioned due to previous bad experiences of second hand phones. Plus I'm an android user myself.

Budget is important but I'm prepared to pay over £100 for something that will last her a couple of years.

I know you want new, but if she wants an iPhone because that’s what all her friends have, won’t she be disappointed?

Music magpie have a 12 month warranty on the phones they sell, we’ve bought several iPhones from them and I’ve only had one phone with a problem and they refunded with no issues at all. Didn’t even quibble.

I LOVE my Xiaomi - this is the 2nd one I've had (and I only got rid of the other one, which was going strong for several years) because my phone company stopped supporting 3G). Its camera isn't as good as my partner's iPhone but it does everything else brilliantly.

I don't think she's that bothered about having the same as her friends. She likes her current Samsung (except its very glitchy now after many years use) but I suppose I am worried about getting her a lesser known brand I suppose. She's not welded to her phone like some kids, sometimes she doesn't look at it for days.

I love Samsungs because they're so tough! I upgraded from an A71 to an A54 this year. While the A54 is higher spec and better on paper, I actually found the A71 more pleasant to use.

You can get an A71 5G for around the £200 mark, but the software won't be updated after this year.

A54s are about £300-£350, and are good for 5+ years.

There's also the A34, very similar to mine with a slightly lower spec camera & processor. You should be able to find new ones for £200-£250. Also good for at least 5 years.

Have you looked at leaving Smarty for a budget contract? I stopped buying phones when Tesco Mobile raised their game several years ago. I think there are other providers with offers at least as good; it might be worth a look anyway!

Xiaomi phones are very cool to look at and have a good reputation. I was put off by the China connection, and I've also seen as many with broken screens as I have iPhones. Plus, they're not really any cheaper than Samsung's A-line.

Good luck. I hate phone shopping