Fairphone

[AE-NMidlands]

Don't know where to put this, but we are starting to think about getting a smartphone.

There are times when we are out and about on public transport when being able to log on and access up-to-the-minute info would be valuable. One example was a couple of weeks ago in rural S Wales when a young couple were able to tell us that our (2-hourly) bus was 5 minutes away, and more recently in Edinburgh you can "photograph" the QR code at a bus stop and get a list the next arrivals in real time. If we drove long distances then I guess the live-traffic type satnav might be useful too.

Also they seem to be useful for managing solar pv, Octopus Agile and batteries etc which are also on our horizon, so we are definitely considering one... (although couldn't I do that with my laptop?)
Which phone? Our "emergency only" pay-as-you-go simple mobiles/cellphones are absolutely bottom of the range and do what we want at the moment: make and receive occasional calls and texts, nothing else. In fact they are switched off most of the time.


So, not wanting to have elaborate toys with ever more things to go wrong on them, what do people think about the basic version of this?
https://www.fairphone.com/en/story/
I like the repairability they claim, for a start.
A

[Stinsy]

A whole new world awaits! You can monitor your solar/batteries/smart plugs from anywhere. Read a book/news story/blog or even forums such as this one. You can also navigate and get real-time public transport updates.

I wouldn’t worry about “repairability”, modern tech is reliable. Sure the battery won’t be as good after 5 years as it was when you bought it, but it’ll still be perfectly usable. If you drop it a new screen costs the same as a new (cheap) phone!

The Alba 5.7 at £80 has a decent-sized screen and is as cheap as these things get.

Don’t forget to check your data tariff…

[Stig]

I like the ethos of the Fairphone but I'm not in the market for a £500 phone when the one I've got (Moto something) cost under £100 and does all I want (which isn't that much really).

Also, this:

Don’t forget to check your data tariff…

I'm on a very old PAYG tariff which suits my occasional use of a phone but costs £2 a day to use any data at all plus £xx/MByte.

[Adokforme]

I like the ethos of the Fairphone but I'm not in the market for a £500 phone when the one I've got (Moto something) cost under £100 and does all I want (which isn't that much really).

Also, this:

Don’t forget to check your data tariff…

I'm on a very old PAYG tariff which suits my occasional use of a phone but costs £2 a day to use any data at all plus £xx/MByte.

If it's any help we are with Plusnet £6 month unlimited min's and SMS's 4Gig of data. Didn't have a smart phone till we got an EV and hence the requirement for various charging Apps. Now of course have apps for all sorts including monitoring the energy coming in, going out and going to Eddi and Zappi. Got a second hand one three ago for circa £150 still working fine.

[ecogeorge]

Don't be seduced into Apple iPhone territory (so expensive) I would recommend buying outright an unlocked phone - I have a phone from Doogee -google it -no one has heard of them ! Amazing camera and fab android operating system. Mine is dual sim -have work and personal on same phone. Cost approx £120 but single sims are cheaper.
Buy a tarrif/sim from say Lebarra or smarty -£5/£6 /mth depending on data useage ...........
Welcome to the modern world ...
George

[nowty]

You can buy an second hand iphone 7 (even with warranty) for about £100 which is perfectly fine.

I only upgraded my v7 to a v12 because of jealousy of SWMBO who upgraded hers.

And for the wireless charging which works in the Tesla Model 3.

[Stinsy]

I'm on a very old PAYG tariff which suits my occasional use of a phone but costs £2 a day to use any data at all plus £xx/MByte.

That seems very expensive! £10 a month gets you data/calls/texts on a sim-only tariff.

[Stig]

Yep, very pricey if I wanted to use data but I've only done that once - when I first got the smartphone and it did it itself before I had the chance to turn that off! £6 a month is a good rate but that's still a lot more than the ~£20 a year I pay to top it up, it really is just the occasional text or call. I'm not good business for the network providers which is why genuine PAYG tariffs are being phased out.

[Mr Gus]

I'm like you with the £20 per annum top up.
Modern phones (well modern to me as a second life unit)
Travel is my biggest top up killer now we are out of the European union (phone charges "may" apply) but luckily at home Wi-Fi is prevalent for hot spots, so connectivity isn't ever too far away.

(Its all changed since "rabbit phone" )

[Stinsy]

Ha Ha, those rabbit phones were crap. I knew someone who had one. He carried it everywhere but never did find somewhere outside hie home where it could work...