I am a mobile phone numpty, I never use them, and don't intend to.

BUT, my Mrs uses one when she goes back to UK, hers is old and she wants a new (to her) one.

I don't understand all this: Iphone, Smartphone, android, 3G, 4G, etc. It's all gobbledegook to me!!

She wants one of those phones with no keyboard, can be second hand, doesn't have to be up to date, so what do any phone experts in here recommend?

For a full touch screen Android phone either the Orange San Francisco or San Francisco 2 fit the bill both are great value and fairly easy to unlock so the sim can be swaped for a french one when required.

However for use purely as a phone and for txts I would also recommend a couple of bargain non-android phones the Orange Rio or Orange Rio 2 these phones have a smaller touch screen and a proper QWERTY keyboard which makes much less fiddly for sending txts. They can also be unlocked for use with french sims for free


With PAYG on Orange (and many other providers such as Vodafone) you can buy blocks UK to Euro minutes in advance (£5.00 = 30 minutes)


Link to Orange PAYG Shop

Hi,
If you want a phone which is intuitive to use and yet highly capable then I'd recommend an iPhone. Avoid the original iPhone or the iPhone 3G as they don't run the latest software so you're looking for an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. The 4S is the latest one so you will pay a premium for it but the iPhone 4 and especially the 3GS are very capable and can be picked up quite easily due to people upgrading the the 4S.

As with all things, be careful buying an iPhone on ebay as there are lots of unscrupulous people out there. Ideally try to pick one up from a friend or family member and ideally get one which is unlocked from the original network.

Lastly, if you get a 3GS or 4 running the latest version of the software (IOS 5+) then it can be used without connecting to a PC or Mac which might be useful for you.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Craig.

Thanks guys, will investigate.

HTC Explorer, simple, super cheap android touchscreen that does pretty much everything you might want. I've bought two recently for £60 in mint condition, unlocked.