Android phone for teen

Forums › Android › Android phone for teen - up to $250

Gurezaemon

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Master Geek
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Topic # 239768 3-Aug-2018 09:29

My kid has asked me to find an Android phone for him that can handle the usual sorts of games that a teen plays. He had a Huawei P8 that he was happy with but it got broken... I thought about another one of these secondhand, however the software is still on 5.0 Lollipop, and unlikely to be updated.

We'd like:
Screen 5.0 - 6.0 inches
Reasonable battery life
Reasonable RAM and storage, and SD card.

Not fussed about:
4G support
Fingerprint scanners
NFC

Budget up to around $250. New or as new condition if possible.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

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417 posts

Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 2067272 3-Aug-2018 09:37

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Xiaomi Mi A1 hands down in that price range.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Global-Version-Xiaomi-Mi-A1-4GB-32GB-Mobile-Phone-Snapdragon-625-Octa-Core-12-0MP-12/32828533777.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.19.3f5f628ci3M3Xr&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10152_10065_10151_10344_10068_10342_10547_10343_10340_10059_10341_10548_10696_100031_10084_10083_10103_10618_10307_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=d31954d8-4a39-4f8d-885b-14bf9b6dfbf9-2&algo_pvid=d31954d8-4a39-4f8d-885b-14bf9b6dfbf9&priceBeautifyAB=0

Andib

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Trusted

Reply # 2067273 3-Aug-2018 09:37

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Take a look at the Vodafone Smart N9, $249 from Vodafone (Likely goes on sale at other retailers for less).

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/vodafone-smart/

From experience the Vodafone Smart range provides a lot of phone for your money (my Note 8 doesn't even have Android 8.1).

5.5" HD+ 18:9 display
1.3GHz Quad core processor
2GB RAM/16GB Storage - Expandable with MicroSD
Android 8.1
2900 mAh battery
Fingerprint Scanner

trig42

Banana?
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Reply # 2067277 3-Aug-2018 09:40

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That Xiaomi is a good phone.

If you wanted to buy a phone in NZ with NZ warranty, the Moto e5 is about that price: https://www.jbhifi.co.nz/phones/Outright-Mobile-Handsets/motorola/motorola-moto-e5-flash-grey/345540/

esawers

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Reply # 2067315 3-Aug-2018 10:51

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Recently bought a Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus for $170NZ from JoyBuy, and we were really impressed with it.

Edit: It came with Google play store and apps already loaded.

wratterus

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Reply # 2067328 3-Aug-2018 10:55

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The A1 runs Android One which is a massive beneft. The MiUi is not terrible but does leave a lot to be desired.

amiga500

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Reply # 2067379 3-Aug-2018 11:17

Nokia 5 is still on sale at the Warehouse for $249, had it for 2 months very happy. Gets updates every month. Pretty good camera, struggles to focus in bad light. Plenty fast enough for social media & websites.

Gurezaemon

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Reply # 2067742 3-Aug-2018 20:04

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Thanks for the input - ended up going with the Xiaomi Mi A1.

mattwnz

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Reply # 2067749 3-Aug-2018 20:22

amiga500:

Nokia 5 is still on sale at the Warehouse for $249, had it for 2 months very happy. Gets updates every month. Pretty good camera, struggles to focus in bad light. Plenty fast enough for social media & websites.

Yeah the nokia is pretty good, and it gets android updates too. But using it after coming off an iphone, it definitely has a lag to it. But it is also a lot cheaper.

gzt

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Reply # 2067789 3-Aug-2018 20:48

A1 not available in NZ last time I checked.

compost

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Reply # 2068382 5-Aug-2018 23:21

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Andib:

Take a look at the Vodafone Smart N9, $249 from Vodafone (Likely goes on sale at other retailers for less).

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/vodafone-smart/

From experience the Vodafone Smart range provides a lot of phone for your money (my Note 8 doesn't even have Android 8.1).

I know the OP has already ordered something but for posterity, I have used the N8, it's pretty sluggish and the N9 cpu is only supposed to be 3% faster. So I see it as more of a sub $150 phone and not in the same bracket as the A1 and Nokia 5.

Maybe the next one up (V8) is more in that class.

A time-poor geek is hardly a geek at all

Gurezaemon

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Reply # 2074441 16-Aug-2018 12:12

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Thanks everyone for the input - the Xiaomi arrived and the teen is very happy with it.
I'm amazed at the build quality, speed, and general niceness of the thing, and will have trouble justifying the price of a flagship in the near future if this is what you can get for under $300 delivered.

wratterus

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Reply # 2074442 16-Aug-2018 12:15

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Gurezaemon:

Thanks everyone for the input - the Xiaomi arrived and the teen is very happy with it.
I'm amazed at the build quality, speed, and general niceness of the thing, and will have trouble justifying the price of a flagship in the near future if this is what you can get for under $300 delivered.

Good to hear. Yes - they are pretty damn hard to beat at that price - even if you looked at phones under $450 or $500 those still stack up very well.

landcruiserguy

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Reply # 2075825 19-Aug-2018 15:37

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I got the same for my boy and the A1 has been great. I brought it from one of the random Chinese web sites after much deliberation and it worked out ok. I think if I was doing it again right now I would go for the A2 with the bigger screen. The biggest thing are that the snapdragon 625 has awesome battery life and that it's Android one.

steve2222

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Reply # 2103326 8-Oct-2018 13:44

landcruiserguy:

I got the same for my boy and the A1 has been great. I brought it from one of the random Chinese web sites after much deliberation and it worked out ok. I think if I was doing it again right now I would go for the A2 with the bigger screen. The biggest thing are that the snapdragon 625 has awesome battery life and that it's Android one.

@Gurezaemon

Did either of you have any issues with Customs/GST?

Thanks

Gurezaemon

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Reply # 2103333 8-Oct-2018 14:01

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steve2222:

landcruiserguy:

I got the same for my boy and the A1 has been great. I brought it from one of the random Chinese web sites after much deliberation and it worked out ok. I think if I was doing it again right now I would go for the A2 with the bigger screen. The biggest thing are that the snapdragon 625 has awesome battery life and that it's Android one.

@Gurezaemon

Did either of you have any issues with Customs/GST?

Thanks

I got my one from a parallel importing place, so I didn't have to deal with that issue...

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