hi guys, i'm 17 and my old samsung screwed up for me and i reckon its time to get a new phone. I'd prefer not to lose my previous phone number but i can if needed. I dont have an income after i got fired from maccas (another story :P) but i have a $500 budget for a phone to buy in store (would MUCH rather get it instore, however if online proves a MUCH better deal i can be persuaded) or get a $40 maximum per month plan. I was thinking of buying a nexus 5X or an Oppo Find 7 instore outright (mobileciti), or getting a moto X style for $40 a month at vodafone. i also listen to music quite a lot so $45 per month on Optus for an LG G4 is tempted, especially with their data free suggestions. I have around $500 now and i am capable of paying $40 each motnh. Thank you
Need a New Phone. Outright or Plan?
Comments
Lol, how long did you work at maccas after you got rehired?
Macca are pretty tightass about being down on registers. more than $2 is a official warning on the books. Ridiculous how you're expected to do your job fast when customers give you their whole ashtray full of coins
The Kogan 4G prepaid looks good value. Get an android on sale here and that plan.
Just bought a Xiaomi Mi Note Pro from eglobal for $443 after my LG G Flex2 go for a swim and got drowned. Maybe better for you to conserve cash if you currently don't have income, so better buy on plan.
Don't forget when you sign up for a mobile phone plan, you need to get a credit check.
If you have no credit cards and have no credit history, it can be a little tricky. Trickier still if you are under 18 with no income — they won't let you sign for a contract and they'll push you to use prepaid instead.
This is something you need to discuss with your parents, it's possibly you need to get them to signup on behalf because you are not of full-time working age yet and the Telco will prefer to have their customer be able to pay on time.
You really should explore other options, try getting a lower end device like a Xiaomi Mi series for around $300 AUD from eGlobal and then signing up to a BYO sim postpaid plan.
To be fair I got my first phone contract in my early 20s. I had zero credit history too.
I said i had a job - they never checked.
I had a credit card IN MY NAME but it was not my account.I don't think the credit check means anything really.
Just say you have a job in your family's company.
I was never asked for a payslip. If they ask, just say you are paid cash or it's a small business and they don't print them. I doubt they will care for $40 a month.I knew lots of girls in high school had phone plans on their own without jobs. We didn't have licences obviously either so had school IDs. It's no issue.
hmm ok i think i'm decided on an outright phone now. is it much better to get it online? i've heard dodgy stuff about their shipping policies and that. how does the xiaomi compare to say a nexus 5x or moto X for example.
Xiaomi can be a mixed bag when it comes to software, but no denying their hardware specifications are very good for the dollar and the build quality is generally excellent.
If you know how to root / flash a ROM yourself, the software problem is trivial.
A Xiaomi Note 3 will absolutely murder the Moto X in terms of specs. As for the Nexus 5x, that is the phone you should get if you don't like tinkering and just want it to work out of the box.
The TLDR is
Xiaomi - low price, good hardware for how low it's priced, but software updates may be iffy and the MIUI Android skin may not be everyone's cup of tea. There is a wide range of phones from 5" to 5.5" using Snapdragon or MediaTek chipsets (Snapdragon is better, but slightly more premium pricing). All Xiaomi phones have dual sim support. Their Note series and 5" Redmi series also accept an sd card.
Moto X 2nd Gen — 'OK' middle-end phone, the price could be lower I find and with the Nexus 5X around, it doesn't make sense to buy this.
Moto X Style — good phone but this can't be sold outright, so your hopes of getting it are dashed….Nexus 5x — great phone for the price. If you know where to look you can get the 32GB version (highly recommended because it does NOT have SD card slot). Battery life can be mediocre, but it takes amazing photos, weights little, is a nice compact device with a fast fingerprint reader. The biggest selling point I guess is that it's an official Google device so expect fast / frequent updates.
I have a xiaomi Redmi Note 2 that cost $185 delivered. It's been pretty good, the only issue I have had with it was tethering (had to root and install an app to enable it).
Have a look around for decent plans when they come on sale. Telechoice and Aldi are both ok if you need to be on Telstra.
Get a chinadroid and tell us how you got sacked from maccas.
lol its nothing too exciting just the usual. store manager was a (profanity), every shift of mine was 4:30hrs long (need 5hrs for a small break). manager got pissed when i asked for a longer shift (even tho i asked once). got bored of working alone with her late night (she was heaps fat too so no dreaming about fantasies there :P). called me useless once when i dropped the box of chicken nuggets, i shrugged it off but i still felt a bit pissed. idk then i just stopeed going to my shifts, then after 2 or 3 shifts my manager called and asked me why i told her "i cant be (profanity) working for you anymore recently", hanged up and felt like a bad-ass for 10-20 minutes
Next morning i went on my meTime (online employee maccas thing) and turns out i was "terminated" from my maccas place.
P.S. sorry for the punctuation
Fat chick's need lovin too.
We'll China Droid are getting to become great cheap contenders for the mainstream stuff these days and realistically the price is hard to go past.
Outright. Get a Korean phone the next time Kogan has a sale, and then sign up to Kogan’s mobile annual prepaid plans. Or even Aldi. good value!
mobileciti are great, good prices and australian stock. we bought an lg g3 a year back, service was great.
no income, I would buy outright and go prepaid, don't hook up to a contract.
boost is OK for prepaid.
Ty for the help guys, outright it is!! also told the story of how i got fired (only coz I was asked)
thanks again
Recommend Nexus 5x. great phone and get regular security updates.
In today's times having up to date security is a must.
Have a look at the ZTE "blade" range well priced and do the job - I run my two - one on Boost, and the "spare" phone with Aldi.
Eglobal and dwi!!
i got dragged kincking and scremin' to a ZTE815 for 29 bucks & it's as fast as my kids iphones… i just don't get why people are paying 400+++++++
I got fired from Maccas when I was 19, apparently the register was down on overnight shift and I got the blame for it. Got a call the next day from the manager saying come in we need you lmaoo.
Man you are 17, buy an S4 for under $500 and get your ass back to doing homework.