One factor that is often overlooked when it comes to such handheld, is the "just toss it in the bag" factor
When you invested 100 bucks or so into such thing, you are very cautious with it, too cautious to have peace of mind when you carry it around at the bottom of your bag
With a 20/30 bucks piece, you don't really care and that's what's great with it
Now ideally you want that sort of low budget handheld, fully customizable (read based on linux type of stuff) with a "just fine" hardware that runs most of your shits
That's how I see it
It also makes a great christmas gift on a budget
I agree. That's how I see the Baofeng handy-talkies. They're $30-40. You can buy three, toss them in the car, the toolbag, or in your pack. Break it, drop it, lose it? Oh well...you're out $40 and you buy another one from eBay.
They work fine, but they're cheap enough to be almost disposable. I still treat mine like a piece of good electronics, but I won't cry if it gets lost, like I would with my Yaesu talkie.
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