On Thursday, 30 July 2020 18:57:37 UTC+1, Tim Lamb wrote:
Probably done before but can the knowledgeable suggest something
suitable for the following spec:-

Modest price
Navigation
Robust
good battery life
mail

I have just side-graded to a 2 year monthly contract with 4Gb data but
have no interest in video chats etc. Preferably something that can
withstand being dropped.

I'll suggest Here We Go (free) for navigation. Not perfect (not that any are) but pretty good. I use a 7 inch Samsung tablet with a very low data allowance which costs next to nothing. Not ideal as a phone but you can use it for calls and SMS, if you wish.

(I think it might be Samsung Galaxy TAB 4 7.0 SM-T235N WI-FI+4G 8GB but not certain.)

I can leave it on for days without having to charge it - mostly connected to wifi and checking mail from time to time, updates, etc. I don't need to charge it at all on the sort of journeys I make - that is, a few hours.