Who this phone is for
A first-ever phone for a child aged eight to ten. Or any adult who wants a backup phone in a drawer.
The honest verdict
The 235 is the right phone if the brief is calls, texts and almost nothing else. We recommend it most often as the first phone for an eight year old who is now walking to school. If you want a phone with a bit more personality, jump to the 3210.
What it does well
- Forty pounds. Lose it on a school trip and the world does not end.
- Three weeks of standby battery. We are not exaggerating.
- No browser, no apps, no music store.
- Built-in torch is unreasonably useful.
Where it falls down
- Looks like a phone from 2010 because in spirit it is one
- Camera is so basic you may as well not have it
The specs that matter
- Battery
- Three weeks on standby. Honestly.
- Weight
- 85 g
- Network
- Unlocked 4G
- Camera
- Basic VGA
- Storage
- microSD up to 32 GB
- What stands out
- Genuinely cheap. Replace without tears if lost.
Where to buy
Buying through these buttons earns us a small commission at no cost to you. The order is not influenced by which programme pays better, but you can read the full disclosure.