1st Smartphone for my mother.

S

Phone for my mom. She has been a nokia symbian user till now. This will be her 1st touchscreen smart phone.

1. Budget? - 15K
2. Display type and size? - biggest screen in the budget
4. Preferred choice of brand? - Sony, Samsung, Htc, Motorola, Nokia
5. Preferred input method (QWERTY, touchscreen, numpad, touch-n-type). - Touchscreen
7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc). - Asha, Android, Windows
9. Preferred applications (Flash, Swype, GPS, etc)? - whatsapp
10. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, mails, internet, gaming etc)? - Regular calling, texting only
11. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? - MotoG, Xperia L, Samsung Core/ Quattro, Lumia 525/625
12. Any other info that you want to share -
Requirements:-

Simple UI - easy to understand
Lag free performance
whatsapp
Good after sales support

My Doubts:-
1) Moto G - I doubt if the pure android UI would be easy for her to understand. Is the Samsung UI easier?

2) Lumia 525/625 - heard whatsapp is buggy on lumias

Hope this transition is a good experience for her. My uncle who recently shifted to android after symbian, curses it every day.

Good battery :Nokia Lumia 720 @ 14k
Android Experience: Xperia M @ 12k

Dont even bother to go for Sh11ty Xperia M, get either Moto G or Lumia 720. Both are the best choices for your mother on their respective platform.

Get Moto G

S

Thanks Guys. Even I am biased towards Moto G.

sushovan said:
Dont even bother to go for Sh11ty Xperia M, get either Moto G or Lumia 720. Both are the best choices for your mother on their respective platform.

Thanks! How about Xperia L? Will the Sony UI be easier to grasp than Moto G's stock android UI?
Lumia 720 is surely vfm!

i think the lumia series will be ideal for your mother

Present a Blackberry or some other smartphone with a physical keyboard.

H

Get Lumia. A no nonsense easy to use phone for the elderly.
If android get Motor G.

I always thought of getting a Nokia Asha 501 for mom...its small simple...minimum button...no crazzy options..bit fat and grippy

S

Now I know that we, as tech enthusiasts, will recommend Moto G but it might not be the most intuitive phone for everyone to use because of the stock Android experience.

I personally was looking to buy my mom a new phone for her birthday this week and was considering the Moto G at first. But Samsung's TouchWiz UI is much more easier to understand and use. So I got my mom a S Duos 2 a couple of days back and she's been loving it. She finds it very easy to use.

So please take that into consideration before buying.

S duos 2 is a very good choice too as The primary choice is Calling and texting. It has got a capable CPU (better than laggy core, quattro etc ) and fairly usable RAM. heck, even Dead Trigger 2 runs on it

lenin.arya said:
1) Moto G - I doubt if the pure android UI would be easy for her to understand. Is the Samsung UI easier?

android is mostly about customization. once you set it up right, its easy. vanilla is boring and slightly messed up at places. Touchwiz is mostly reskin and arrangement with enhanced colour UI which makes it really easy to pick up. most of the things are same.

irrespective of whatever UI you pick, you'll have to spend sometime learning how to make best use of it. or customize it according to your needs to remove unnecessary apps/links/shortcuts/etc.

sushovan said:
S duos 2 is a very good choice too as The primary choice is Calling and texting. It has got a capable CPU (better than laggy core, quattro etc ) and fairly usable RAM. heck, even Dead Trigger 2 runs on it

sushovan said:
Dont even bother to go for Sh11ty Xperia M, get either Moto G or Lumia 720. Both are the best choices for your mother on their respective platform.

You are recommending S Duos 2 & saying Xperia M (M dual) is shitty ??

I think M dual would be much more lag free than S Duos 2

But i personally think buying her a cheap android first would be better. I recently got my mother a Micromax phone for 6k (Fun A63).

Anyways if u can spend, then Moto G & Xperia L are good choices. Sony can be considered to have better A.S.S than Motorola now

anupam_pb said:
You are recommending S Duos 2 & saying Xperia M (M dual) is shitty ??

I think M dual would be much more lag free than S Duos 2

But i personally think buying her a cheap android first would be better. I recently got my mother a Micromax phone for 6k (Fun A63).

Anyways if u can spend, then Moto G & Xperia L are good choices. Sony can be considered to have better A.S.S than Motorola now

get micromax a58 insted... 4k...
I have Xperia M and i know how speedy it is. the sceen can be used with WET hands.(kitchen use?)
(I have seen no lags till now, my dad uses it.)
to make phone calls, to stream videos(Hikvision iVMS 4500) for 10min and send messages. read news. 50% batt left at end of the day. 3g always on. stamina mode on

just get one of the lumias :\

Windows phone is easy to use in comparison to Android for obvious reasons. I got Lumia 920 for my dad and he found it very convenient to use. But still I want to ask one question, Is buying Nokia now is a good option coz I have seen shutting down of Nokia service center in my city after the announcement of Nokia sell out. So what will happen after Microsoft bought it who will provide service in that case.

S

Thanks a lot everyone! so there is a general consensus that Lumia UI would be easier. Will definitely consider this.
Lumia:- 525/625/720 shortlisted.

Android - I read somewhere that Xperia M has heating issues.
So - xperia M/L, S duos 2, Moto G shortlisted.

A phone having a nice vibrant screen would be at an advantage (whether it is Lumia or android).

. Will visit Reliance/ chroma to take a look at these phones. Will update again.

Asha series loses out because of screen size. Not very keen on mmx coz of service issues.

sam said:
android is mostly about customization. once you set it up right, its easy. Touchwiz is mostly reskin and arrangement with enhanced colour UI which makes it really easy to pick up. most of the things are same..

thanks Sam.

Sony Xperia M's price is now just Rs 11456 now on Flipkart.Link : *www.flipkart.com/sony-xperia-m/p/itmdn9rhp8wptpyn?pid=MOBDN9RGAUDJQECF

Xperia M has crap screen, crap camera, crippled storage like chinese phones and no option to install apps/games on sd and not to mention the heating issues. Lumia 620/525 will be much better for your mother at 12K.

Tarun Singh said:
Sony Xperia M's price is now just Rs 11456 now on Flipkart.Link : *www.flipkart.com/sony-xperia-m/p/itmdn9rhp8wptpyn?pid=MOBDN9RGAUDJQECF

*i.imgur.com/MqVB4X9.jpg

S

Update:- Big screen is important.

So finalists are- Lumia 625 or Moto G > xperia L > samsung.

S

Guys, We checked out some phones.

Shortlisted HTC Desire 501 (approx 16K), Sony Xperia L, Xolo q800.

HTC 501 is the latest, so I am biased towards this. Xolo q800 has recieved good reviews here but it is a gamble. If works fine till it works fine, but great VFM.

There is no news on Moto G, so we'll go ahead with one of these.

OT: Bad customer service at Reliance Digital - 3 different outlets equally bad. Spice outlet and Chroma gave a better experience.

Desire 501 isn't worth 16k. Get xperia l if you don't want to wait for moto g.

Desire 501 is worth 16k and is a better option than Xperia L considering the OP requirements here(which does not include hardcore multitasking or hardcore gaming). Desire 501 is probably the second best phone from a top tier brand at 15-16k range after Moto G. It has got a fairly capable SoC that manages to provide lag free experience despite the sense ui, has premium build and got a much better camera than both Moto G and Xperia L.

J

sushovan said:
Desire 501 is worth 16k and is a better option than Xperia L considering the OP requirements here(which does not include hardcore multitasking or hardcore gaming). Desire 501 is probably the second best phone from a top tier brand at 15-16k range after Moto G. It has got a fairly capable SoC that manages to provide lag free experience despite the sense ui, has premium build and got a much better camera than both Moto G and Xperia L.

The 501 dual looks good on paper. I am also interested in this. But strangely it is not getting attention anywhere? How good is SoC as I heard that is first gen Novathor? Sceptical about the battery life!

Lumia 625

You can try Nokia Lumia 820,
a good pc in single sim at Grab It Price now !
Rs.15,500 at Shopclues !
Try now !
Nothing better can happen than this now !

Check specifications.
This is better than all the listed products here above !

Xperia L or Moto G.
IMO stock android is much easier to use.

sushovan said:
*i.imgur.com/MqVB4X9.jpg

Lol true

Mods???

S

Thanks a lot everyone!! Got a Lumia 625 for Mom and got Desire 501 for myself.

Pics:-

J

lenin.arya said:
Thanks a lot everyone!! Got a Lumia 625 for Mom and got Desire 501 for myself.

Pics:-

Need a review for deisre 501!

lenin.arya said:
Thanks a lot everyone!! Got a Lumia 625 for Mom and got Desire 501 for myself.

Pics:-

Congrats for Lumia 625 !
How it looks & how easy Mom is feeling ?

S

Thanks Satinder.

It looks good. Doesn't feel like a budget device. People were complaining about its screen resolution, but it is good enough for the purpose. Ease of use - I have setup the only basic tasks/ apps tiles on the home screen - which means there are only 4 tiles there, also told her about Voice Dialing. So not much confusion there. Yes, Windows Os requires more "button presses" for even basic tasks, but she got used to it easily.

jhingalala said:
Need a review for deisre 501!

I'm new to android. was a Symbian user till now. Still figuring it out using help files and internet

and setting it up to my liking. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to know. Regarding benchmark tests etc - I'm not sure how to go about doing those.

I don't play games on the phone or use too many apps. The phone is lag free for regular use. Whats app is smooth. Camera is good - with instant clicks, no annoying lags while focusing etc. Rear portion gets warm with internet usage. Will try out some more apps and post later. Battery backup is good only if battery saver is on.

J

lenin.arya said:
Thanks Satinder.

It looks good. Doesn't feel like a budget device. People were complaining about its screen resolution, but it is good enough for the purpose. Ease of use - I have setup the only basic tasks/ apps tiles on the home screen - which means there are only 4 tiles there, also told her about Voice Dialing. So not much confusion there. Yes, Windows Os requires more "button presses" for even basic tasks, but she got used to it easily.

I'm new to android. was a Symbian user till now. Still figuring it out using help files and internet and setting it up to my liking. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to know. Regarding benchmark tests etc - I'm not sure how to go about doing those.

I don't play games on the phone or use too many apps. The phone is lag free for regular use. Whats app is smooth. Camera is good - with instant clicks, no annoying lags while focusing etc. Rear portion gets warm with internet usage. Will try out some more apps and post later. Battery backup is good only if battery saver is on.

1.Battery back up in hours and usage.
2. Camera at low light
3. Useable RAM
4. HD video playback.
5. Sound quality
6. Internet speed with 2g and 3g

@ lenin.arya
It will take time to understand it properly.
Basic needs are being fulfilled, is good.

@ jhingalala
2. Camera at low light
Good.
Even 520 in low light can show your face properly that Micromax type phones cannot show properly.