Hi Everyone,
My daughter is turning 11 in August. Given that she has outgrown toys we have talked about a phone. I have no idea what sort of phone would be appropriate for her age? I feel that an iPhone is excessive and too expensive. Has anyone come across any bargains for a phone? The phone will be pay as you go.
Hope you can help.
Thanks heaps!
Hmm could you include some details as to budget, use (ie: only for emergency calls) and whether you need something durable or branded?
Good question…I hadn't even though about a budget! The phone would be for everyday use. I know most would like branded phones but is there something durable that is also a good brand? She already has an Ipod touch if that helps. Thanks.
Durable and budget smartphones are hard to come by. The screen is made of a sheet of glass and the touch panel is just behind it. Most smartphones nowadays would have a shattered touchscreen you were to drop the phone face on, they are not like Nokia phones in the early 2000's which could be run over by a car and still survive.
In a nutshell:
Regardless of what you pick all smartphones generally have the same level of durability. E.g a iPhone 5 is just about as durable as budget Moto G. It all comes down to price, features, performance and what the user generally needs.
Screen protection: tempered glass screen protectors can save you hundreds depending on the phone (ie: LG Nexus 5 replacement is around $140)
Stay away from glass backs ie: iPhone 4, although they are somewhat cheap to replace.
Would it be good to assume your daughter would keep using her iPod touch as her music player? This would save the need for an SD card slot (potentially).
This is her first phone, and you say that she has an ipod already.
So moving her to an android phone, would be ok, if you are trying to wean her off Apple like others suggest. You never know she might even grow up to be a geek who can rootkit her google glasses.
But apart from the various phone religion being expoused here, maybe you might just want to take things slowly.
Buy a simple prepaid phone, like the ones currently on offer at Coles, for $19 (from Wed 9th July), Telstra locked but works with an Aldi prepaid sim. Tell her that this is the first step in her move to mobile phones. So she gets used to it, looks after it and then next year she can move to whatever phone she likes within a budget you predefine. You now set expectations she can work within.
Her ipod would be a year older, the new iphones would be out, meaning the current models would be cheaper, and she has learnt to handle the phone and if she makes a mistake, like dropping it, losing it etc, then she will be wiser and more careful with the higher value unit she gets next.
A side benefit is she gets Ozbargain training - the value of things
Then she will may or may not decide whether an iphone/android suits her better.
However I have three sons, so male logic/strategy may not work with girls. Good luck
Nokia 520 / 525 / 630 (Windows) - 5 series is 4", 6 series is 4.5". The 520 is limited in the number of apps it can run as it has 512MB of RAM, rather than 1GB.
With Android your choices are almost unlimited. Motorola Moto G for around the $200 mark or less depending on where you get it is very well regarded.
For Apple, in that $150-$250 price range you would be looking at a second hand iPhone 4, or 4S if you are lucky. If well taken care of, they are still a great phone, especially the 4 at only 3.5", which will be a consideration given her age. iPhone 4 support will be discontinued with iOS 8 which will be released later in the year, but almost all applications will run on iOS6 or iOS7 (the iPhone 4 runs best on iOS6 and looks better too I think).
Most applications she will use will be available across all platforms, though there is still an edge with iPhone with educational style apps, but most of those are better experienced on an iPad anyway. If your computer at home is a Mac, the iPhone will integrate nicely with it. It really depends whether your daughter has any particular preference.
Kogan will not necessarily be the cheapest place to buy, but it is a good website to research your options.
IME, you'll save yourself a lot of grief & time with a girl her age by asking her what she wants.
If it's really an iPhone she wants, perhaps a nice compromise might be meeting her half way with a good refurb/superseded/used model…just my $0.02! :)
I totally agree. There's a good chance an iPhone is what she wants. As good as Android is these days and I have made the move in the last few months from an iPhone 4, most girls her age dream of having an iPhone (and a Pony).
Sadly every kid wants an iPhone because its the "In" thing.
I thought it was now out, because it was old hat and the screen was small?
Kiddie fashions don't last long.
I'd say that the moto G 3G phones should be around for some cheap prices (with the 4G version being out) and that would be appropriate to a kid that would drop/break/lose them.
She hasn't said anything about an iPhone. Although she has looked after iPod touch very well… maybe she doesn't need the iPhone… hmmm this is so hard!
Daughter: Mummy I want a $1,000 iPhone!
Mum: Well my instincts say no, but some random on Ozbargain said yes sooo, here you go.
Daughter: Mummy I dropped the $1,000 iPhone in the toilet and it doesn't work anymore!
Mum: No worries, here's another $1k phone. What you say is best little one.
No need for sarcasm AlanHB
an ozbargainer wouldn't tell her/him to buy it for $1000
Just like when I wanted a nintendo 64 and parents got me a dreamcast instead saying its the same thing and its better blah blah blah…
Really its not the same thing!!!
At least your parents bought you a console.
Are you kidding me? The Dreamcast was the GOAT console.
Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, Powerstone, Jet Set Radio, Marvel Vs Capcom 2.
Agree with the sentiment re: what she really wants. My iPhone 4 is still going strong after 4 years. Parts are also cheap if she happens to drop it. $99 for screen replacement, you can pick up cases super cheap. There's really no need for her to have an iPhone 5/5s at her age.
Its not about what she needs, it comes down to what she wants. lol.
You aren't the cool kid in school if you don't have the newest and latest!
An iPhone is probably a bit expensive, but gosh, the times are changing fast aren't they? I never had a phone when I was 11 and it wasn't until I was almost 20 that I actually bought myself a phone, but I guess that's a sign of the changing times hey?
Anyway, an iPhone and an iPod touch are basically the same device, I like to think of the iPhone as an iPod touch with phone capabilities. You should probably think about it though, does she really need a phone at 11? There's not a lot she can do with a phone that she can't with her iPod touch apart from make calls, so maybe if she needs a phone for safety and stuff, a cheapie will do?
How about something that would be more useful than a phone such as a tablet (iPad or others) or a new computer which she can use for her studies? That would probably get more use than a phone at her age.
Thanks for your input. I should have mentioned that she already has a laptop. I didn't think about an iPad. Or as you say a cheap mobile will be just fine. Although she is in YR 5 there are heaps of kids at her school with iPhones I can't believe it! Like you I didn't get my first mobile until I was 19. Definitely changing times.
I see a lot of kids in my school (I work in one, not study) with Nokia Lumia series phones as well. You don't have to follow the iPhone route. The reason why kids want smartphones or tablets is generally for communication apps, which generally are multi-platform.
E.g Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Gmail and Whatsapp, these exist on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.
I should also mention that on a Pay-as-you-go plan, data usage easily eats up credit like there's no tomorrow, so make sure you properly administrate the device and perhaps disable the mobile internet access on your carrier (or deleting the Access Point Name in the settings panel to disable net access). Do this if you want your kid to be thrifty with credit usage.
or just go prepaid.
Yeah, I agree with what Scrimshaw's comment. Most smartphones will be fine if you're looking to just do all the social networking apps. I guess it depends on your daughter and how she intends to use the phone.
Also, it's probably better to give her some choices, so if you can think of some other ideas, such as a tablet, then it's good to give her that choice as well, so she can choose something that she will be happy to have.
Personally though, I don't think a phone would be the best gift. I know that everyone probably has a phone at her age…etc. but unless she travels a lot (e.g. catches the train to school), then most of her time will be spent either at home or at school. If she's at home, then she'll already have her iPod touch to play with and it'll be able to do everything a phone can do with Wi-Fi except make calls.
I would steer clear of all those social media apps for a long a possible. It causes so much headaches for the kids and the schools.
Get a dumb phone.
I suggest a midrange android like a Samsung HTC or Sony. Great phones that will let you daughter do whatever she needs to do on a phone. My sons school has a lot of android, more than iPhone and it seems that more iPhones have cracked screens than others. His Sony has been dropped a lot times on footpaths etc and is still fine plus it is waterproof so no worries about drops in water of if it gets rained on.
And just go with prepaid, then no nasty bill shocks plus it teaches her the value of calls etc and shows its not unlimited and to be responsible ( my experience with my son)
I will add that my son didn't get a phone until secondary school, no need at primary no matter what they think..but it is hard to figure a present out for them.
You know your child best, but be aware that phones which can be used for internet and tethering can be an issue with teenagers later. It makes it difficult to monitor how much internet use and what kind. Sometimes, even good kids can make mistakes - I've seen otherwise sensible teens make poor decisions or have internet use that goes to unhealthy levels. If they have to connect through a home WIFI system, it is easier to spot problems earlier and to help manage them. Your child will change as she reaches adolescence, naturally, so things which aren't a problem now can become issues. I'm writing this as someone who deals with these issues all the time - basically, just waving a flag saying make sure you consider and discuss these things early.
I would suggest a Fischer price phone for your daughter. They arent very expensive incredible durable (almost impossible to break)
iphone 6 :)
Samsung Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5S 64GB
every girl wants an iphone. find a second hand one through a buy/swap/sell on facebook or on e-bay.
She's 11 no iPhone or any smart phone. Good luck trying to monitor her.
Prepaid only good if she will keep some credit available to "Phone Home" in an "emergency". (usual format is Give $30 credit per month (say on the 3rd of each) as allowance: On 7th ask why she is late home , blah blah… response "I'm out of credit"
We gave our daughter the option of a mobile where she paid for the calls, or a phone line to her room. She chose the landline (figured correctly she didn't have to pay for the calls). When asked what would happen if she was out and neede to call us, replied "Oh that's easy, I just use one of my friends". I call her Scrooge
If it is for contact, a <$30 prepaid phone - call features only.
If it is for fun, a tablet (to share) and a cheap phone.
A smartphone can be expensive but with a fixed price tag.
The price to pay for its by-product is priceless - time to handle the social/emotional issue with a child, usage, safety….etc.etc.etc.
There will be one day a smartphone becomes essential, only pray it is a time when my child is ready…
My son recently smashed his iphone 3G and now has a motorola atrix which was just lying around the house unwanted (was a freebie years ago). He is happier with it than he was with the iphone 3G as it takes video.
You might have an old spare phone around your house that you can give her that wont cost you anything.
I think an ipad is more fun for kids (and educationally helpful), but ask her what she really wants.
My friend is buying her soon to be 3 year old an ipad for her birthday as her older sister (5) is an an ipad grade 1 class and this older girl has learnt so much, that my friend realises her 3 year old has to have one too. The 3 year old wants an ipad and nothing else.
The 3 year old wants an ipad and nothing else.
And an oompa-loompa…
No comment on if a child should have such a thing, lets assume the answer is yes, then i would go…
outright, no plan prepaid like the http://www.kogan.com/au/shop/phones/
$239 http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/nokia-lumia-1320-RM944-4g-lte-bl…
its both a mobile and tablet
the either aldimobile prepaid $35 a month or boost mobile $40 a month
and make sure you don't let them buy apps from the store with your login info; its a good means to teach the value of movey and besides most are free with a little advertising…
Give her an iPhone whilst I'm not sure why an 11 year old needs a phone an iPhone will let her contact friends, iMessage and FaceTime are free if they have an iPhone which they probably do
But she already has an iTouch, which also runs those apps. And generally any smartphone nowadays will handle a slew of messaging apps, so it doesn't have to be an iPhone either.
what 11 yr old needs a smartphone? Let her play with dolls and push a pram like 11 yr olds do and should be doing, next you'll bow to pressure to supply frilly bras and g-strings
Give her any phone without camera, (no chance of sexting), no internet access , ( no chance of facebook addiction or stupid time wasting gaming sites)) get carrier to turn off texting function so she is forced to voice call, so no bill surprises and that's what a phone for a young kid is all about being about; to contact her parents when she's ready to be picked up, not waste her life texting friends who probably live within 500 mteres LOL
There's so many things wrong with this post. There's a big difference between phones and frilly bras and g-strings.
Also, "banning" is hardly a good strategy, it's always better to educate. "Sexting" isn't bad. Facebook isn't bad. Texting isn't bad. Contacting people who live within 500m is not bad. None of the things you've outlined are bad.
What's bad is irresponsible use. It is "sexting" people who are not to be trusted, it is spending too much time on Facebook to the detriment of other facets of life such as her studies. It is important that she has access to the facilities and uses them properly.
Like all people, she needs to learn about moderation and how to ensure that what she's doing is right and proper. Sooner or later, she will need to learn about all of these things, like all of us. That's what responsibility is all about, not being locked up in an ivory tower.
That's one of the things that's wrong with people of today. So many of them are locked up in ivory towers by their parents for so long that when they're in the real world, they don't have the skills to cope. It's like the problems we have with our driver education system. We don't raise kids to be good drivers, suddenly one day, we give them a car, it won't turn out well. These things need to be taught and encouraged.
Sexting by anyone under 18 is VERY bad..
Producing and distributing Child Pornography bad in the eyes of the law!
Sadly, I have heard of this, only two years ago, a elder girl,two years older than her boyfriend, under 16 was caught by one parent, police called and she was charged with child p.
Not sure of outcome But as scubacoles says…..be careful and what boundaries should be in place. And how Many Miss America types photos turn up when they are famous. Ps as Reese Weatherspoon said at oscars/logies DONT SHOW YOUR HEAD?
EXACTLY. Also, this week's trusted boyfriend could be next week's dumpee with a grunge. Once something has gone viral, it can be impossible to stop and cause immense pain.
You say "What's bad … is "sexting" people who are not to be trusted"
So how does an 11 year old "learn about moderation and how to ensure that what she's doing is right and proper" when it comes to sexting?
How does she learn at the age of 11 who can be trusted? Should she learn by mistake?
I suppose if an 11 year old girl had a naked image of herself shared with all her classmates she would have learnt a valuable lesson, but at what cost?
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/sexting-shame-and-s…
Sexting" isn't bad.
Rolf, I didn't think you'd have access to a computer these days…
I would reconsider that decision
I agree with srhardy, the Nokia 1320 is a great cheap phone that's near-enough in size to a tablet.
My daughter has a Nokia 520, picked it up for $128 from Harvey Norman. Does everything she needs! Only downside is it doesn't have a front-facing camera for skyping her grandma. The 625 or 630 do and they're regularly on special for under $200.
Nice thing about the Nokias is that you can set up a 'kids account' that allows you to supervise what gets installed and remotely allow installation of apps (ie. spending money).
+1 for a Windows Phone. The kids corner is a great feature
We gave our daughter a basic Samsung flip phone. Nothing smart about it. Reminds me of high school
Nokia 3310?? Can't possibly break it. Snake FTW
An entire religion will now have to admit their god is false.
I'd choose a second hand phone. They would have dropped in value, plus would be fairly usable.
If you want new..cheap and decent phones include nexus 4, nexus 5 and Moto G.
A good lower end phone is the Motorola Moto G (around $200)
I would advise setting a pin number for purchases/in app purchases.
Also a good idea to keep it prepaid.
lol $200. Almost exactly what I've paid for the 3 Android phones I've owned…
I guess you like buying good lower end phones then
I do, but let me clarify: Almost exactly what I've paid in total for the 3 Android phones I've owned.
Aside from emergency calling, and considering she has an iPod Touch already, why on earth would you get your 11 year old a souped up phone?
Why does this have to turn into a thread about parenting?
OP asked a pretty simple question:
Has anyone come across any bargains for a phone?
I don't think OP needs to have parenting advice. Sure, if you don't think a phone is appropriate that's fine, but OP can make his own decisions regarding that.
Either way, maybe they have specific circumstances you don't know about.
If it's not a thread about parenting, then the age of his daughter is absolutely irrelevant
But that's a personal issue though. I'm sure OP is more than capable of deciding what's good for their daughter and their family.
I'm not saying that getting a phone for an 11 year old is the right thing to do, but all you've done is walk in, criticise OP's decision and not left any meaningful advice on what a good alternative would be.
A good thing to do would be to get her a very simple, inexpensive phone.
we got a htc explorer for my daughter when she started yr5 last yr
(she got into a gifted class and school was further away )
it has worked well for a little cheap phone ….she wants one with a bigger screen for games though
FWIW, ive gave my (late years) primary school kids my hand-me-down android phones, whilst i upgaded my wife and I to Galaxy Note 2's.
since then, we're upgrading ourselves again this year (sept), so my kids will be both be getting Note 2's. as the first gen androids were very poor (v. small internal memory).
MAJOR reason for doing this is GPS and LARGE BATTERY (double-sized) ….
You just love to spoil her silly, don't you :) ?
Good to know she takes care of her stuff!
I'd suggest the Lumia 520 as well - Cheap and powerful enough to keep her entertained.
Or you could go with one of the Chinese brands like Xiaomi. Redmi or Redmi Note are cheap and have massive screens!
Does she need to use mobile data (i.e. 3G or 4G) for apps and websites? If she doesn't need mobile data, then she doesn't necessarily need a smartphone. Then you could just get her a feature phone for phone calls only. It really depends on what she needs to use the phone for.
Why not use this as an opportunity to build up technical literacy, responsibility and financial management? Rather than blindly buying something or restricting access/data etc.
Lumia 520 seems like a nice buy and a good start. That's WP8. Otherwise a cheap chinese android phone for $100-$200 is very capable. As others have said Moto G for a local phone - new version with microsd may be preferable so she can use it for music storage.
Ask what she wants, why she wants it, what she'll use it for and explore the options and costs and apps with her and help her come to a good decision. You could even get her to do some chores that are worth $x to build up the money!
I'm just thinking back to my feelings as a teenager!
Maybe get her to read through the site (and you too)
There's a kids section.
I will second the Windows phone, particularly since Oz Post has the Nokia 520 on prepaid for $99 at present.
I have recommended Nokia Windows phones to quite a few people who are less than smartphone savvy. Two of my wife's GFs have them and the big thing about Windows is you can learn it fast, with the tiles and so on. Plenty of apps available now, and Nokias are well-built. They come in some funky colours too, which is something 11yos think about a bit.
No phone is a better phone for a 11yo. Just install a tracking device in her back pack.
how about a Nokia 3310?
hey dude, if you want a cheapish smartphone, i've seen Huwaei phones go for around $100 which does the job, and its android, so a lot of the apps and games are free.
Chalk up another vote for the Nokia 520, and the MotoG
2nd hand nexus 4 about $200.
Crazy to get something new and expensive for 11yo.
Pick up a iPhone 4S from kogan or eBay. It is what her friends will have and honnestly it is what she will really want. What my family tends to do is my parents upgrade(every 1-2 years) then their phones get handed down to my younger brother and sister. It works well.
If not iphone or galaxy's nor windows, the only appropriate option would be with your nokias, don't be fooled by all the gimics that ios and android provide, for a 11 year old, a nokia from $100-200 will just do as most of them have internet if that's a feature kids want now days.
The other option would be going slightly cheaper with a nokia phone. It has uses, It's has simple navigation and uses basic functions, SMS,MMs, and pure calling. Talk about snake for a game!
China phone.
Bullet Points/
Some phones for elders have good features, emergency button, and location finding. Plus regular features and still are $100. Gave grand mother one and now use as she moved into full care home.
My family bar one have a $20pm plan with social set at a fixed $ limit, good $ value on same group calls, and good call plans non group. Data was equal to Telstra $50pm plan. Whilst not now available the$30 plan still beats the replacement Telstra plan. We get notified whith in 50% of some part of plan has been reached.
No one has talked about a phone tablet combined.
Definitely an android phone with camera and a big data plan. Make sure you preinstall snap chat, omeagle, tinder, and all other social media apps. Children are sensible these days and will not do anything stupid with a mobile phone.
Children are sensible these days and will not do anything stupid with a mobile phone.
I laughed at this. Even full grown adults with their adult 'common sense' nowadays seem not to understand that using a mobile phone while driving causes accidents, yet people still do it. And people see to think it's cool to post drunk photos of themselves on Facebook, where your future boss can see your embarrasing mugshots.
I will beg to differ, I know kids will use their mobile phone with their dedicated 3G connection to access sites that are normally blocked by our school proxy. Like accessing Facebook during school hours, texting on anonymous chatting services or visiting potentially NSFW sites like Reddit / 4Chan and other shady forums.
I know this because I once had to trouble shoot a schoolgirls laptop. She had tethered her phone to the laptop to bypass our proxy and to play Runescape (I know because I checked Chrome browser history and saw the date and time accessed), and then wondered why her mobile phone credit was all gone. She couldn't work out how to switch the Wifi back on her Dell E4310 laptop (because it has a mechanical switch, and kids of this age didn't know that older laptops have wifi toggle switches).
These kids grew up with technology yet still don't quite understand how they work or how to use it properly. Please do not buy them a 'big data plan' and preinstall social media apps without telling them what it does and what the repurcussions of revealing too much of yourself on the internet are. They need to know how to protect their own privacy on Facebook. This is something that even grownups fail at.
Kids need to be taught what is acceptable and what's not, do not assume they will automatically from trial and error. Likewise, don’t maintain the delusion that having your kid download games and play them on an iPhone makes them “computer savvy.” Being a user of a post-PC device teaches you exactly nothing about computers or technology.
You totally missed the sarcasm scrimshaw…
HOLY MOLY! That's probably the biggest failure of a sarcasm detector I've seen.
I beg to differ with you on this Scrimshaw, though I think you raise some good points.
It's always the minority who screw it up for everyone else. That applies to children, adults and everyone else too. You hear about people who post drunk selfies on FB and next minute, they're fired, just like you hear people playing the latest FPS games and next minute, they're a mass murderer. These things are popular news items, but they happen to a very small portion of the population.
You say that even full grown adults don't have common sense when using mobile phones, but most people I know don't use their phone whilst driving. I don't, I'm sure you don't either. Same goes for posting drunk selfies on FB, I'm sure most adults don't do that either.
It's not fair to say that just because a small number of people do something, that the rest of the population will do the same.
You said you work in a school and that you've had to diagnose laptops and you've seen kids playing Runescape, going on FB during school hours, but exactly how many kids do this? Of course there are going to be kids who do, but I'm sure that it's still a minority, wouldn't you say?
Either way, you make it sound as if playing Runescape, going on Facebook and texting during school hours is a very bad thing. Sure, it might be against the school rules, but doing so hardly makes you a "bad" kid. There are so many kids out there doing way worse things than playing Runescape, going on FB and texting in school.
You're right in saying that kids need to be taught what is acceptable and what is not. But I don't agree with you saying that children aren't sensible. There are always going to be idiots in society, that's a fact, there will always be people who do silly things out of ignorance or carelessness and make everyone else look dumb.
But to take that and generalise to all people is wrong. And when you think about it, it's all that people tend to do sometimes. Like think about the things people have said about "banning" violent shows on TVs, then it was banning violent video games and banning instant messaging and banning Facebook…etc.
TLDR; I think most people are responsible and want to do the right thing. It'd be silly to assume that most people are dimwits, but it's important to make sure that we all teach each other about responsibility and how to use technology for its intended use, i.e. to make the world a better place.
If you're going to get your kid a phone that only does calls you don't have to get them one that is going to make them a laughing stock.
There's also the Moto E (step down from the Moto G). You could pick it up for $150 when the inevitable special comes around (retails around $178 at TGG's). IMO the first gen. Moto G is the best value, especially if you do not need microSD expansion.
Note these phones should run well for quite a while as Motorola are likely to provide prompt software updates in the long run.
The main advantages of the G over the E are a faster processor, a front facing camera, LED flash, better rear camera and better quality screen (I recall the issues being poor viewing angles and a slight tint).
But yeah I think it is best to ask your daughter first to see if there is anything in particular she has in mind. Windows 8 phones are pretty level now with features compared to Android and iOS. iPhones are great too but they're relatively expensive in comparison to the former.
reminds me of a picture I saw recently
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HhEMWBQeni0/UoFKXuvXB4I/AAAAAAAAd6…
3blessings, what have you decided?
Optus $45 unlimited + 2g and for a one off extra $5 a sim for an iPad/laptop… See the Nokia 520 is $99 a lot of places now, check out OZB and either telechoice, boost, aldimobile sim
Just wondering
Thanks srhardy. I haven't made a decision yet. I was leaning towards the Lumia 520 for $99.00??? I'm sure I will know by next week.
Plenty of bargain Android or Windows Phone models around.
Do a search here to see what's been available recently at your pricepoint.