# recommendation on cheap phone



## novadrivergal (Oct 8, 2015)

I have been using a Blackberry Passport for Uber/Lyft for nearly a year. I am tired of patching the apps to make them work on Blackberry and the current version requires major surgery to get the map integration, if I can do it at all. I freaking give up.

But I need a real keyboard, I love everything else about the Passport, and can't afford $650 for the Blackberry Priv.

So, I am planning to buy a second phone to use only when I am ubering. It needs to have enough power and memory to run Uber, Lyft and Google Maps simultaneously. It also must have Bluetooth so phone calls sync with my car.

I can either swap my regular SIM between phones (TMobile) or I can run the second phone from a wifi hotspot I carry for another gig where I need reliable internet access.

Recommendations for something cheap?


----------



## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

Tablet with a square reader attachment.


----------



## Squirming Like A Toad (Apr 7, 2016)

Blu (Android) phones from Best Buy and other discount retailers. Tons of power, 8 core processor for under $150.


----------



## UberZF (Apr 11, 2016)

novadrivergal said:


> I have been using a Blackberry Passport for Uber/Lyft for nearly a year. I am tired of patching the apps to make them work on Blackberry and the current version requires major surgery to get the map integration, if I can do it at all. I freaking give up.
> 
> But I need a real keyboard, I love everything else about the Passport, and can't afford $650 for the Blackberry Priv.
> 
> ...


What I did, was get myself a $100 Acer Iconia One, (7") WiFi
Use Blackberry as hotspot, and use the Tablet for Uber/Waze

The only thing I had to do is once in a while, change the number for Uber PAX, on my phone, but this way, my calls wont affect my drive


----------



## satxsatx (Feb 10, 2016)

google store has a deal of only $199 for nexus 5x, and that can be paid at $8/month for 2 years.

the catch is that within 30 days of the purchase, you have to sign up for Google Fi (t-mobile and sprint)


----------



## LadyDi (Nov 29, 2015)

Check out Swappa.com where if you're looking for a gently used phone and some are inexpensive. They check the IMEI too. I picked up on Samsung S4 for a great low price but do not use it for Uber.


----------



## Jim A (May 7, 2016)

I"m using a ZTE Speed via Boost Mobile ($20 at Walmart, then $35/mo unlimited text/talk plan/2gig data that increases 500mb per month to 5gig). Decent phone for the price, especially if you're just using it for Uber.

With Boost, there are "better" phones from Apple, Samsung, and a couple other brands. Depends on how much you want to spend. There's limited accessories with ZTE branded phones, but they are out there. I did find a belt carrying case at Best Buy, and a screen protector at a "hole in the wall" cell phone accessory store.


----------



## SLAV4UBER (Apr 30, 2016)

HTC Desire 626s. good reception, enough ram, strong GPS. Also the LG K7. 

Strongly recommend staying away from Sprint/boost/virgin. Phones have low/no resale, slow data, no data during a phone call, and bad coverage.


----------



## Jim A (May 7, 2016)

As a Boost user, yeah I'll agree that the data can be on the slow side depending on where you are. Same goes for coverage. Spotty/bad coverage can be seen with any carrier (uncle has T Mobile and gets crappy service in the same areas as I do).

Slav mentioned the HTC Desire 626s. Boost does sell this phone for their plans. Had to see for myself cause I do plan on getting a better phone at some point. I figure when I do upgrade, the phone I have now can be used as a spare or sold on Craigslist lol.


----------



## Bill Collector (Dec 17, 2015)

As a Huawei user, can't say enough good things about Ascend Mate 2 .. Unlocked and solid battery life... Can be had for $200 brand new.


----------



## Dallas007 (May 18, 2016)

novadrivergal said:


> I have been using a Blackberry Passport for Uber/Lyft for nearly a year. I am tired of patching the apps to make them work on Blackberry and the current version requires major surgery to get the map integration, if I can do it at all. I freaking give up.
> 
> But I need a real keyboard, I love everything else about the Passport, and can't afford $650 for the Blackberry Priv.
> 
> ...


I have a Passport as well, but have not been successful at patching / loading Uber / Lyft apps except for Uber rider; Lyft seems to work but will not pull in the mapping function. Any advice...or did you move on to another phone?


----------



## William1964 (Jul 28, 2015)

Check out the phones at Net10. The phones are cheap and the plans are inexpensive 30 40 bucks a month.

Do not get a Samsung Galaxy phone. The big issue is the battery life. I barely get four hours from a fully charged phone using the Uber app

It is so so annoying. It's a clumsy phone it sounds bad But I think that's a T-Mobile service fault. Worst worst worst.

The LG phone that I got from Net10 for like 25 bucks 25 bucks a month a 3G phone until it died out on me it was awesome. However the big issue is the charging port overused breaks it


----------



## Tae Kim (May 19, 2016)

I have been using LG Tribute 2 from Virgin mobile. I use it on Ringplus's free plan that give me 1000 mins, 1000 txts, and 1gb of data a month. i have 3 phones and i just change the phone number on the apps when i get close to the limits. Ringplus uses the Sprint network and service around my area is good. i paid $20 for the phones when bestbuy had them on sale. Battery is only good for about 5 hours so i keep one phone charging and switch out the battery when needed.

If you are going to get a cheap phone just make sure it had at least 8gb of internal storage space.


----------



## dolllarchaser (Oct 12, 2015)

ZTE ZMax 2 on ATT or TMo (if unlocked). $60 at Best Buy w/no contract.


----------



## Jim A (May 7, 2016)

People might want to also invest in a car charger too. I have a "cheap" one from Best Buy that's been working fairly well. Even Uber recommends this. There's a lot of USB compatible car chargers for under $10 (Best Buy has several for under $5).


----------

