nkedel

This was a crosspost; he already got it answered on Are we All Suckers for Using Expensive Phones When a Cheap $40 Will Work Fine?

As you noted there are a few Chinese junkphones at around that price point even unsubsidized -- eg this one from Blu and this one from Doogee on Amazon (there's also a $49 antique Huawei with Android 2.2), but the quality difference between those and the cheapest decent phones like the Moto E4 will be pretty big.

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On an unrelated note, can anyone recommend alternatives to the Honor 7X for my next travel phone?

I've been pretty happy with my Honor 5X although the camera could be better, and the international UMTS support on the US version I've got could be better -- specifically, it would be good to have the 900mhz band used in Thailand. My daughter's pretty much taken over the 5X from me, and I'd rather buy something newer than a second used 5X.

My only must haves are no downgrades -- must have a fingerprint reader, be no smaller than the 5.5" screen of the Honor 5X, and at least as good of a camera, and at least roughly the same band support.

Ideally, it would be faster, have a bigger sceen, better camera, and broader band support. The Honor 7X has 3 of the 4, but it's got the exact same bands.

I could go marginally pricier, but definitely not over $250. The Moto G5S has a just-equal screen size, roughly similar processor to the 7X, much better band support, and a camera that's supposed to be a bit behind the 7X but still well ahead of what I had with the 5X. It's selling for $249, and I'm not sure I want to trade the better camera and bigger screen just for more bands and a $50 higher price tag.