Suggest me a cheap but reliable phone that can use whatsapp messenger

This is for a friend with this specific request.

BUDGET: I was told it has to be cheap. I assumed it to be below 10k but it actually could be much lower

Has to be new.

Should be good and reliable, she's coming from a nokia, If I give her a sub-10k android recommendation I will most likely not survive the following day.

I want to know if there are any Nokia options around 5k or upto 10k. Other brands if any should be reliable and not lag.

Presently uses a Nokia feature phone S40 series, I think was 5k or 6k

CRITERIA: Has to be compatible with whatsapp. There could be better messengers out there but this is the specific request. That is all I was told. Kindly make some suggestions.

Thanks

Any brand is ok, Nokia, ~~Samsung~~ iphone :shock:

, etc. Any OS is fine as long as it's easy to use and does not lag.

A Samsung Galaxy Y?

What is more preferred? Touch screen or QWERTY or numpad?

My sis has Nokia 5233 and she uses whatsapp. But thats pretty old now.Check out the newer symbian phones from nokia. Nokia 500 I guess fits into your budget?

shubh.s said:
Nokia 500 I guess fits into your budget?

Nokia 500 is crap. Its hardware doesn't allow Symbian Anna/Belle still Nokia packed it with the latest OS to offer peoples a budget choice but this ended up as the higher priced version of Nokia C2-03. simply avoid.

Firstly some of the cheaper older nokia's even those on S40 can run watsapp. So an upgrade maybe unnecessary.

If it were an Android phone, I would blindly ask you to suggest her to get the galaxy Y. Amazing little phone for 7k. I have used it closely and its very capable and offers tremendous value

*Nokia 500
Symbian 3 Anna
1GHz ARM 11 proccy
256MB RAM
Capacitive touch with good res of 640x360
The UI lags a little, the phone is attempting to chew more than it can bite. Browser lags considerably. But still may be ok with a non-power user.
Further updates may fix the issue

*Nokia C5-03
Symbian S60
600 MHz ARM 11 CPU
resistive touchscreen
Still good enough, I have a girl in my class who uses this phone and she watsapps like crazy! The resistive touch is not a hindrance acc to her.

*Nokia X5-01
Symbian S60
600MHz ARM 11 processor
256MB RAM
Boxy dabba/cute look

comes in many girly colors
Small low-res screen
Hardware keyboard(so good for watsapp)
No GPS(if that matters)
Again may appeal to a girl. A gal in my class has this phone in its pink(ughh

) avatar. So girls will like this phone for the colors it offers. As a guy I wudnt touch it with a mile long stick

The UI lags a little, the phone is attempting to chew more than it can bite. Browser lags considerably. But still may be ok with a non-power user.

Trust me a non-power user cannot tolerate lag at all. Also a S40 has almost no lag for the basic features whereas my And 2.3 still lags for opening messages etc.

WhatsApp for Nokia Series 40

thetechfreak said:
A Samsung Galaxy Y?
What is more preferred? Touch screen or QWERTY or numpad?

Ans: Anything. But I think a small screen touchscreen would be difficult.

shubh.s said:
Nokia 500 I guess fits into your budget?

Sam said:
Nokia 500 is crap....simply avoid.

guru_urug said:
Firstly some of the cheaper older nokia's even those on S40 can run watsapp. So an upgrade maybe unnecessary.
If it were an Android phone, I would blindly ask you to suggest her to get the galaxy Y. Amazing little phone for 7k. I have used it closely and its very capable and offers tremendous value
*Nokia 500
*Nokia C5-03
*Nokia X5-01

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into them.

Just looking for the usual, good battery backup, durable, no lag phone that runs whatsapp.

A little OT: But is there any other app with whatsapp like functionality especially the picture sending feature

She doesn't like pink. If I give her / suggest her a pink phone she would colour it red

with my blood

Yes but not all S40 support whatsapp. Check ovi store before you buy.

3" is not that small. its wide enough for a onscreen keyboard to fit in nicely. 3.2" adds a bit of extra length. thats it.

if you are ready to cross 10k barrier, there are 2 nice options waiting for you to offer: LG Optimus Hub & HTC Wildfire S. both cost below 12k and are solidly build. Xperia Mini is another choice but cost 13k or more.

Sarath said:
A little OT: But is there any other app with whatsapp like functionality especially the picture sending feature

I use GO SMS inbuilt with GO chat(for online msgs) on my android. I find it better than watsapp..I can find all my msgs in one place under one name/person. Also I like the handwriting msg feature and doodle features. You can handwrite msgs, kinda adds a personal touch(literally). Also the doodles are fun

You can basically share any multimedia on ur phone
Limitation is the receiver must have android+gosms installed

I again feel that she should get the galaxy Y...my close friend(girl) has it and it works very well out of the box. No tweaking/rooting reqd unlike my optimus one. The UI is smooth and apps load fast. Only gripe is the low-res screen, but its very good for the price bracket

I will suggest the Samsung Y then. Just the battery back up is a gripe. Thanks guys.

Sarath said:
I will suggest the Samsung Y then. Just the battery back up is a gripe. Thanks guys.

Your Welcome

The battery lasts a day with moderate use. With some brightness/data(2g) usage management full-day heavy usage is possible.

Sam said:
Nokia 500 is crap. Its hardware doesn't allow Symbian Anna/Belle still Nokia packed it with the latest OS to offer peoples a budget choice but this ended up as the higher priced version of Nokia C2-03. simply avoid.

I agree with sam... 500 have no gpu+256mb ram= lag in game+camera refuse to open+memory error on opening heavy web page..

R

I would recommend you Nokia 5233. You can all those facilities and features that you want to have on your mobile. Asides, you can also go for Noki Symbian phone that are latest and has lots of features and technologies that can be fruitful for you.

Galaxy Y is cheap and good.
Apart from that HTC Explorer is good for around 9-10k