Do't want o be tied into a contract as I don't make a lot of calls and it's to take the place of a landline, so I got a 3 SIM to stick in an old mobile some time ago. Now these days 3 have shut down their 2g network , so it's one of the others at 8p /min for calls or upgrade to a new ( to me phone). Spott3d a refurb SIM FREE Microsoft Lumia 435 on a reputable site today and wonder if the phone is any good.

Advice please . .

You might be better looking to a phone that has 3G, 4G capability anyway. Like 3 most companies will be looking to move customers onto the 3/4G networks and I guess 2G will fade away to get reused as 5G. It doesn't make a lot of difference as far as you use of the phone is concerned.

 

MS Lumia were pretty good phones. I had a 920 for a few years but needed more of the smart functions. If you just want a 'phone' then a Windows phone could make a good deal. They're easy to use and generally call quality is good too.

 

They are less compatible with blue tooth systems etc.

 

You can pick up a used 920 for not a lot of money (£30) and they have a very good camera built in which can be handy.

435 has 3G capability ,which is what's needed, and I think that when 3G gets switched off, I'll be sitting on a cloud ( or stoking fires)   . Not to bothered about camera, as I have a 14MP one . I'm not up on mobile OS, so if it runs windows, then I should have no problems

Edited 18 October, 20169 yr by VWD

I've run several windows phone and although not as functional as the Apple/ Android ones (that is they don't have so many apps)  they aren't bad phones. My wife, a ludite , uses hers for calls, texts and emails and a liltte googling.  I use mine as a satnav as well (CoPilot).  They seem to last quite well and the cheaper ones have batteries that you can change. I have a 520 that is still going strong as a spare.  No problems linking to the Skoda's BT or to that matter the BMW's either.

 

Even new they are cheap...

Edited 18 October, 20169 yr by io1901

Thanks, folks- I'm not into apps, so if it's got none then I'll be very "appy". Al I'm looking for is a phne that can make calls on the 3/3G NETWORK and the odd text, and doesen't penalise me for not making nil calls in a period.

Look at carphone warehouse PAYG stuff. Just buy the cheapest network path, and bin the sim (or use up the credit if you like) as they're all unlocked you can stick your 3 SIM in it.

Tried them. For once local store was honest and told me they don't touch 3, and can't guarantee an unlocked phone to work on 3. As a result. I've gone for a refurb Sainsbury Nokia Lumia 435. hpefuly, it will upgrade from th dreaded W8'1 to the equally suspicious W10 .

Tried them. For once local store was honest and told me they don't touch 3, and can't guarantee an unlocked phone to work on 3. As a result. I've gone for a refurb Sainsbury Nokia Lumia 435. hpefuly, it will upgrade from th dreaded W8'1 to the equally suspicious W10 .

They don't sell three but it will work.

If mobile internet isnt an issue, you might want to try GiffGaff on the 02 network. Internet speeds are useless, but the calls are VERY cheap; GoodyBags expire monthly, but cash top-ups last indefinitely; unless you are making hour long calls every day, a £5 Goodybag will probably do..

Going for 3 as overalll it's the cheapest call rates and last time I looked credit never expires.( 3p/min call/2p text and 1p/Mb) . But I seldom text. Phone is for calling, PC is for data and my 14MP camera is for photos.

Tried them. For once local store was honest and told me they don't touch 3, and can't guarantee an unlocked phone to work on 3. As a result. I've gone for a refurb Sainsbury Nokia Lumia 435. hpefuly, it will upgrade from th dreaded W8'1 to the equally suspicious W10 .

 

It's the other way round with phones tbh.

 

WinPho 8.1 is pretty slick and works well. The tile interface is better for chunky man fingers as well.

You really don't want to upgrade it to Winpho 10.

 

Make sure you've got enough memory for the DriveMaps. They have a quite decent offline map and satnav which is what attracted me to winpho to start with. Doesn't need a connection to work at all after it's downloaded.

 

It wasn't that hard to change the battery in the Nokia's with non-removable batteries. Quite doable.

Quite impressed with the Nokia, and I;ll be even more impressed when I find some documentation on it. MS user guide was diabolic-I resorted to an Internet site to find out how to insert the SIM and battery. As for 3 blurb on their site- "welcome to 3 ,WHERE credit NEVER expires" - credit does expire  after a period the store staff can't quite agree on . Maps- over the years ,one thing I've managed to do nicely is to teach Swimbo to use a map. TBH- I've got more trust& faith in her ability to get us where we want to go using a paper map than a phone app. I'd think I'd need either a hard hat ( to stop phone hitting me) or a new phone as it flies out window. .

I'm trialing a three sim and TBH am really disappointed in their coverage compared to EE. Especially 4G. Or lack of.

Looks like I won't be moving to three.

TBH- I’m not really bothered about 4G, AS all I want a phone for is cheap day time calls. I'd stick with 2G on Vodafone, but all they want is monthly folks. And at 40p /min- I'd suggest they go take a hike.

It's the other way round with phones tbh.

 

WinPho 8.1 is pretty slick and works well. The tile interface is better for chunky man fingers as well.

You really don't want to upgrade it to Winpho 10.

 

Make sure you've got enough memory for the DriveMaps. They have a quite decent offline map and satnav which is what attracted me to winpho to start with. Doesn't need a connection to work at all after it's downloaded.

 

It wasn't that hard to change the battery in the Nokia's with non-removable batteries. Quite doable.

Update - it's not been upgraded to W10, still on W8.1, which is a lot more like W7 .It'll stay like that on W8.1 for me. The alpha/numeric tiles were a bit of a problem, but like everything else , more you get used to it, less it puts up a fight. And now that I've got the reset facility available, it seems to have decided that I'm boss.

WinPho 8.1 is pretty slick and works well. The tile interface is better for chunky man fingers as well.

You really don't want to upgrade it to Winpho 10.

 

I upgraded my 830 to w10, and that was the final nail in the coffin for it, sadly.  Facebook app took for ever and a month to open, and at least 50% of the time crashed.  If it didn't crash then it might lockup and then I had to reboot the phone (killing the app off didn't help).  Facebook Messenger was another 100+MB download and terribly slow. 6tag stopped working, and the official instagram app was bloaty and slow.

 

As a phone it was great, but a smart device, w10 seemed to it lose its way, coupled with lazy app developers.  Ditched it in favour for an SE where the battery life is great, the only downside is that everyone picks on me in the office (well they used to tease me before - ginger and WinPho, but ginger and iPhone is even worse  )

 

Decent offline maps on WinPho is great though, certainly miss that feature :-(

Edited 12 November, 20169 yr by mbames

 

 

w10 seemed to it lose its way, coupled with lazy app developers. 

 

In fairness I think MS has done pretty much everything it could have to sabotage its own mobile business. They made it very difficult for developers which meant low number of apps, which meant fewer adopter, which meant fewer apps....

 

the only new phone to come out is HPs mobile workstation thingy and it's madly expensive. And even that is hobbled by a lack of universal apps.

 

http://store.hp.com/us/en/mdp/tablets-243002--1/hp-elite-x3

Edited 12 November, 20169 yr by Aspman

ASPMAN- downloaded maps via WiFi, and as you say- the maps are great- good enough, especially if you know the area, but need a nudge. I'd like to see a magnify solution though.