What cheap mobile phone brand is better, MobiWire vs HMD? Grandma wants one but Im unsure which one to choose.

Forums › Mobile handsets › What cheap mobile phone brand is better, MobiWire vs HMD? Grandma wants one but Im unsure which one to choose.

NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#324582 30-Apr-2026 22:43

Hey guys, my grandma needs a basic feature phone mainly for calls and texts so these feature cheap mobile phones are the ones she prefers.... I’m choosing between MobiWire and HMD Global but not sure which is more reliable. Looking for something easy to use, with good battery life and preferably big buttons and loud.

Interested in these:

HMD: HMD 105 4G Locked with Spark + Skinny SIM Black - https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/hmd-105-4g-locked-with-spark-skinny-sim-black/R3022017.html

MobiWire: https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/mobiwire-nikiti-2-4g-locked-with-one-nz-sim/R3021782.html

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks

farcus

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#3485972 1-May-2026 01:09

no idea which is more reliable but just looking at the two pictures and thinking about my dad . . .
With the HMD phone he would struggle with remembering which buttong is answer and which button is to hang up as there are no colour queues. (green = start, red = stop)

based on the visuals, - and with an SOS button and specific mentioin of being loud - one of these would be better?
https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/tcl-onetouch-4042s-4g-with-warehouse-mobile-sim-grey/R2904641.html

Goosey

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#3485993 1-May-2026 06:56

How old is your grandma?

my mum is now mid 70s and about 6 years ago we got her a basic Samsung smart phone.

i was surprised she soon figured out how to use it…. Only uses the “phone”button and or WhatsApp.

it’s somtimes a tad difficult for her due to being on android and figuring out the imaginary home, back etc buttons on the bottom of the screen and I thought Apple would have been better but just couldn’t get a reasonably priced Apple with a big screen at the time. And here we are.

NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#3486056 1-May-2026 09:47

Goosey:

How old is your grandma?

my mum is now mid 70s and about 6 years ago we got her a basic Samsung smart phone.

i was surprised she soon figured out how to use it…. Only uses the “phone”button and or WhatsApp.

it’s somtimes a tad difficult for her due to being on android and figuring out the imaginary home, back etc buttons on the bottom of the screen and I thought Apple would have been better but just couldn’t get a reasonably priced Apple with a big screen at the time. And here we are.

Shes 79 and isnt the best when it comes to technology sadly. Tried using a smartphone and struggled and that was the iPhone 4

NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#3486057 1-May-2026 09:48

farcus:

no idea which is more reliable but just looking at the two pictures and thinking about my dad . . .
With the HMD phone he would struggle with remembering which buttong is answer and which button is to hang up as there are no colour queues. (green = start, red = stop)

based on the visuals, - and with an SOS button and specific mentioin of being loud - one of these would be better?
https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/p/tcl-onetouch-4042s-4g-with-warehouse-mobile-sim-grey/R2904641.html

Oh nice this looks good. Thanks for sharing

Stu

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#3486070 1-May-2026 10:18

Whatever you get, stick with the provider that it's stated to work with. Otherwise you'll be starting a thread asking why the phone sold for Spark doesn't work on 2degrees. Hooray for VoLTE (not).

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Stu

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#3486175 1-May-2026 11:02

Also, the UI is terrible on the Alcatel (now apparently branded TCL) flip phone we got for mum a few years ago, and looking at the one mentioned above it's just as bad.

HMD is Nokia

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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