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Buying a new phone

Rascal
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Having been with another provider who routinely upgrades my phone every two years, and now having switched to PM, I am wondering the best way to obtain a new phone once I need one. I am not interested in a fancy phone. i hardly use data. I really mostly use text and voice, but I do like to use data somewhat. I don't play games or watch movies on my phone, so I don't need the newest, greatest phone, but eventually I will need a new model. How do the rest of you do it?

10 REPLIES 10

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@Prath wrote:

As someone said earlier I would look at the one plus, if you want to buy a phone outright. It is the best buget phone for the money. It has most of the features of a flagship but a little worse at basically half the price.


@Prath I don't think most people consider OnePlus a true "budget phone" any more after the price creep over the last several models.  At $699 Canadian for the cheapest model (the 6GB/64GB model) of OP6, it's pretty firmly in "mid-range" territory now rather than budget.  I say this not in any negative way toward OnePlus--I'm a huge fan on my second model (OP3, now OP5T) and will be picking up a 6T or 7 for my next phone--but just to point out $700 isn't really budget territory anymore.

 

One shouldn't overlook athe Moto G6 / G6 Plus / G6 Play series as well for good budget-to-midrange phones.


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dna2016
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Rascal no problem, I'm glad I was able to provide some meaningful information for you.  To be honest I think I was you about 4 years ago, not looking for the most expensive and latest and greatest, but something that was still very good and had everything I needed without damaging my bank account, lol.  Hopefully you'll be able to find something that suits your needs.

Rascal
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

Thank you @dna2016. All of the answers coming my way have been helpful, but yours was thorough and covered a lot of the points that I need to consider. 

Prath
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

As someone said earlier I would look at the one plus, if you want to buy a phone outright. It is the best buget phone for the money. It has most of the features of a flagship but a little worse at basically half the price. I currently have the Pixel 2XL but that was from my previous contract. Currently it is $200 off on the google store (new gen coming soon), although still very expensive. You can check RedFlagDeals forumn for deals. They usually post phone deals when they come up.

dna2016
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Rascal, well the good thing is you really know what you want in a phone, I think for you I'd ask what is your budget?  Depending on that then you can start to survey your phone options.  You don't sound like an intense or "heavy" user, mostly the essentials and occasional data.  To be honest for those who don't use their phone like a computer they'll usually be fine with whatever they get.  There are multiple places you can go to, such as Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Cragi's List, and you can negotiate a little bit on the price.  But if you want to have something most likely unused/new and with a warranty and not too expensive (i.e. between $200 - $400), then consider BestBuy Marketplace and Amazon.  I'm very similar to yourself, I don't need the latest and greatest, I look to not pay more than $500, but you'll need to keep in mind with a lower budget you''ll be buying phones that are about 2 generations below what is current (generally 1-2 years older).  Lastly I suggest considering the operating system (OS) and it's ability to update, some older phones can't update to the newest OS and that can be annoying, so suggest you go to sites like GSMarena.com and do a little research regarding the specs of the phone and their limitations.  I'd say look at the marketplaces, jot down the phones you like that fit your budget, then compare them on gsmarena to see if the specs meet your needs and have the ability to update it's OS.   

 

My current phone is the LG G5, i bought it almost 2 years ago, was not the latest model, and many say to avoid LG, but I'm not a heavy user and I don't treat my phone like crap.  I needed a phone that had a good camera, good video capability, and can update it's OS to the newer versions.  Paid around $330, and about 2 years later, never had a problem, works exactly how I want it to, and I'll be holding on to it until the battery craps out. Bought it at BestBuy Marketplace.  Also consider waiting until Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the holidays for better prices.

drmartin
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@Rascal wrote:

Having been with another provider who routinely upgrades my phone every two years, and now having switched to PM, I am wondering the best way to obtain a new phone once I need one. I am not interested in a fancy phone. i hardly use data. I really mostly use text and voice, but I do like to use data somewhat. I don't play games or watch movies on my phone, so I don't need the newest, greatest phone, but eventually I will need a new model. How do the rest of you do it?


I like all the bells and whistles, so it's OnePlus for my part - at half the price of an iPhone or top end Android. 😄 But Xiaomi makes a pretty good low-cost phone, too, if you're more price-sensitive.

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

I got a Koodo $0 iPhone 6 on small tab with $350 GC last Sunday.

It is much cheaper than buying from Kijiji and no worry of the phone beign blacklisted.


@JL9 wrote:

Kijiji works well for me. You can usually find fairly good deals. I will get a model 2 generations behind or so for a very good phone that will do the job. 

 

I'm an android guy so I am currently on an Samsung S7 and it has everything I need by far. If you do some digging you can usually find a good deal.

 

Obv just test it out and run it through an imei checker before you complete the purchase.

 

Friends don't let friends shop Kijiji, at least that is the mantra in the GTA.  There are just too many phones sold on kijiji that end up on the blacklist.  Personally, I keep an eye on RFD hot deals thread when I want a phone and just go with the flow.  The lastest hot buy is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI.  At ~$250 all in through Aliexpress, you get a 5.99 inch phone, with 4000 mAH battery that easily last 2 days, 64 gigs of storage, 4 gigs ram,   dual rear camera.  On Amazon, it is little more expensive.  This phone is discussed on this forum and RFD.

 

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-5-E7S-M1803E7SH/td-...

 

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/aliexpress-xiaomi-note-5-pro-32-3-gb-ram-5-99-snapdragon-636-4000mah...

 


ShawnC13
Oracle
Oracle

@Rascal wrote:

Having been with another provider who routinely upgrades my phone every two years, and now having switched to PM, I am wondering the best way to obtain a new phone once I need one. I am not interested in a fancy phone. i hardly use data. I really mostly use text and voice, but I do like to use data somewhat. I don't play games or watch movies on my phone, so I don't need the newest, greatest phone, but eventually I will need a new model. How do the rest of you do it?


In past I have purchased right from manufacturer, I also have a koodo account in the family that I can Tab a phone if needed.  I also look at Best Buy, London Drugs, Staples and Costco to see what phones are for sale outright.  I have also bought second hand phones from people who have upgraded to a newer phone.  Lots of options just make sure you do your research so your phone is what you need.  

 


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JL9
Mayor / Maire

Kijiji works well for me. You can usually find fairly good deals. I will get a model 2 generations behind or so for a very good phone that will do the job. 

 

I'm an android guy so I am currently on an Samsung S7 and it has everything I need by far. If you do some digging you can usually find a good deal.

 

Obv just test it out and run it through an imei checker before you complete the purchase.

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