10 year old DD - what mobile phone handset?

[jinglebellsarecoming]

Hi all. My DD is starting to walk to school and back on her own and slowly we will increase this independance. For saftey and my peace of mind I want her to carry a mobile at these times. Now she wants a blackberry/iphone like 'all her mates'. I was thinking very boring simple cheap pay as you go with no bells on. What models do your preteens have or what would you buy in the circs?

Anyone?

Oh, its funny I was reading this because I have just recently allowed my DD (Aged 12) to get a blackberry. At age 9 we got her a cheap 10 pound phone to use while she was playing out. At 11 I agreed to buy her a blackberry as she was getting older, I did not get her a new model however, I got her a quite old model but DD1 seemed happy enough. No to an Iphone, my DD has told me that alot of her friends have them and drop them regularly. They smash so easily, the old blackberry my daughter has is rubber and plastic made and it will hold together alot longer. So I would suggest an older blackberry model. :)
Hope this helped.

DS has my old contract phone downgraded to pay as you go. He won't get another until my next contract expires in 2015. Is doing something like this an option for you? DS has an HTC Desire C, not the most up to date phone, but not naff enough to be laughed at. To tell the truth, most of his friends don't have iPhones or Blackberrys, if they do it isn't the latest model,but a hand me down from a family member.

We got our 10yr old DS a phone at Christmas. It's a Nokia Asha which is allegedly a smartphone but which is so pants it isn't in reality! It allows him to call or text us (or vice versa) when out and about, play his music (a big factor for him) and contact his mates. The deal is that if he consistently pays up his half of the £10 monthly cost and doesn't lose or break it, then next Christmas, when he'll be coming up to 12yrs old, he can have a newer, sexier smartphone!
So far, so good.
And very few kids at that age have a top of the range smartphone. Don't be pressured into it!

My DD had a cheap one first that she lost. She now has my old smartphone on a £5 a month contract than means she can only use data on WiFi. She loves it and does take much better care of our as a result. I think Samsung do a budget smartphone for about £60. Did loves skyping and messaging her friends which they all do far more than texting now.

My just 11 year old dd has a phone as she sometimes gets the bus home from school. It's a Samsung chat, looks a bit like a Blackberry but quite basic. Contract from Tesco £7.50 per month.

Thanks all. Really helpful,
I like the ideas of cheapo to start and then if she proves responsible enough my hand me downs. Phew I was already to take out a second mortgage for the latest iPhone - she must of seen me coming!

We've just got our dd (aged 12 yrs) a Samsung galaxy young. Quite old but that's what we got because it was quite cheap.

DD got her first phone in Y6 for her 11th birthday - in readiness for going to primary school. DD has an iPhone though - we just went for the easy option tbh. Her old iPod Touch needed replacing (was one of the frst ones and very out dated, couldnt be updated, etc) and everything we had already was geared for iTunes (music, apps, films) - so for us it was the easiest option.

She's had it a year and it still looks as new. They are not any more fragile than other smartphones ime. She uses data more than calls and texts so her contract refects that.

However, they are not a cheap option and if you aren't already geared up for iTunes, etc I can see why an alternative would be desirable. FWIW DD's friends all have a variety of phones, though most do have smartphones of some form.

DD had my old Samsung smartphone (very basic model with internet disabled) when she was 10 and starting to walk to school by herself. After a year, when she hadn't lost or broken it, she got a shiny new Samsung smartphone, a much better model, for her 11th birthday. I still have mobile internet disabled for her, but she can phone, text & play games, plus use the wifi at home.

DS got his first phone at age 10, and got through at least three in the first year (dropped, soaked by leaking water bottle in backpack etc), which is why I proceeded with caution for DD. I certainly wouldn't leap straight into an expensive model.