First Smartphone - advice?

My wife has used a basic brick phone for years but it has died and she wants more functionality now - particularly a GPS/SatNav for occasional use

I understand that even cheap Smartphones can do this but the choice is overwhelming if you are new to all this as I am. Different brands, different OSs etc . . .

Even reading various reviews etc doesn't help much as there seems to be so much hype and fandom

I have just bought a motorola moto g, really pleased with it. Reasonable price and has lots of features.

+1 to the Moto G. Cheap but powerful. Had mine a couple of months and really happy with it.

Moto G is by far the best phone in it's price range. Many members of my Family have this phone and give it nothing but praise.

Moto G is the top buy for Android at the momemt.

However you do get some people that just cannot get on with Android, they just gel better with Apple stuff.

The new iphone is out in under a month, when it's released it will push the prices down on all the current range.

Nokia Lumia 630

For something cheap.. around the £80 quid mark deffo go with everyone's suggestions for the Moto G. Not going to get better for its price at all!

Unless cheap is a priority, I'd get a Galaxy S5, that way it will still be pretty decent when you're still in contract for it in 22 months time.

Unless cheap is a priority, I'd get a Galaxy S5, that way it will still be pretty decent when you're still in contract for it in 22 months time.

If it's only for occasional use then a (relatively) cheap phone on payg or sim only contract is the way to go, especially if it's as good as the Moto G. Could buy a new one every 6 months for two years & it'll still be cheaper than an S5.

Moto G has a quad core cpu, gb of ram, 720p screen. I'm still running a PC laptop worse than that & my Nexus 4 is hardly any better, it's not going to go off in 2 years. I wont be upgrading my Nexus in the next 2 years unless I break it & I've had it for 18 months so far.

The difference between a cheaper phone like a Moto G & a top end phone isn't very dramatic now, except in terms of price. It's not like it was a few years ago when all the cheap smartphones were appalling.

This review compares it to a Nexus 5 http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/moto-g-vs-nexus-5

The Moto G 2 should be out very soon too, so maybe wait a couple of weeks & see what that's like (or if the original gets even cheaper).

Just don't forget to get a data allowance, Google Maps will want to use some data if you're using it for sat nav.

The OP said the GPS was for occasional use, that's all most people do with the GPS. I use mine to track runs and very occasionally in the car.

The rest of the functions I use far more often, email, data messaging, browsing, kindle, facebook, I've used all these multiple times just today.

It's difficult to judge before you have access to them, how often you'll use them though.

I can tell you how many times my Dad has done the same things on his Galaxy Mini I or whatever he has, today. Zero times. He's probably checked if he has missed any calls, and then put the phone in his pocket.

The Lumia 530 is out in a week and a half, comes with a very good GPS/Satnav which doesn't require a data connection, or even a SIM. Pricing expected to be around £80 SIM free.

Just so you know with the S5

I had it 2 weeks, it stopped charging with any charger.

Apparently it is a common fault.

I returned it under warranty to EE - who told me it was water damaged. Not good since its meant to be water resistant and can apparently be submerged in water for 30 minutes and still work, but hadn't been near water.

I complained and sent it back off. They've had it 3 weeks now and I've heard nothing as yet so hopefully it is being repaired this time!