Getting a bare-bones Android Phone
July 11, 2020 10:46 AM Subscribe
What is a good but inexpensive Android phone I can buy to use just for apps & stuff? Phone line capabilities not needed, as it'll be used on wi-fi. It can be a refurbished phone as long as it's able to be purchased from someplace reputable.
Response by poster: Shopping in the USA & budget is $150ish or less.
posted by cashman at 11:46 AM on July 11, 2020
posted by cashman at 11:46 AM on July 11, 2020
Best answer: The Motorola Moto E is in your price bracket - it's had very favourable reviews.
posted by pipeski at 1:19 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 1:19 PM on July 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The budget Motorolas are what I go for in that price range.
posted by Candleman at 1:31 PM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Candleman at 1:31 PM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
The new galaxy A series is amazing... It's their new mid-range line. I picked up the A71 for $360 on Amazon and it is amazeballs. I think the A11 and A21 are in the 100-200 range.
posted by sexyrobot at 3:26 PM on July 11, 2020
posted by sexyrobot at 3:26 PM on July 11, 2020
I use a refurb Moto G Power that I got on Swappa. I recommend mint condition; a phone that was supposed to be Very Good wasn't, but it was hard to tell at first.
Also, check Craigslist; it varies, but sometimes there are gems.
posted by theora55 at 3:52 PM on July 11, 2020
Also, check Craigslist; it varies, but sometimes there are gems.
posted by theora55 at 3:52 PM on July 11, 2020
B and H photo is good for this. They sell a lot of previous gen unlocked phones. Here is the $100 to $200 listing https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?mxp=200&ci=24039&N=3955685938&mnp=100. I have gone this route in the past for my middle school tech class, for times when tablets would be too big.
posted by dstopps at 5:53 PM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by dstopps at 5:53 PM on July 11, 2020 [1 favorite]
To do app testing, I got a Samsung S8+ for $300. The S8 phones I looked at were about $200. I'd say the performance on the S8+ is okay, but the web app I am testing does a fair bit of GPU-heavy WebGL work, so that might not be representative of your use case.
You don't mention what version of Android you want to run. Don't expect to run the latest Android (v10), unless you're lucky and someone has made a patch available in LineageOS or similar open source projects for the specific model of phone you buy. Most phones seem to get two major updates and they are done. If that's not an issue for you, then anything you get should be fine.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 7:17 PM on July 11, 2020
You don't mention what version of Android you want to run. Don't expect to run the latest Android (v10), unless you're lucky and someone has made a patch available in LineageOS or similar open source projects for the specific model of phone you buy. Most phones seem to get two major updates and they are done. If that's not an issue for you, then anything you get should be fine.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 7:17 PM on July 11, 2020
If you don't need the latest and greatest Android OS and you're mainly looking to just play around with apps, "kick the tires" so to speak, why not grab a $30-$40 burner phone from the drug store?
posted by xedrik at 8:06 AM on July 12, 2020
posted by xedrik at 8:06 AM on July 12, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 10:53 AM on July 11, 2020