Top 5 Budget Smartphones

Samuel J Tan Personal Technology, Smartphones, Technology 0

Here are five SIM free smartphones that you can buy retail for less, actually 4 out of 5 of these phones are super affordable. Yes, no expensive contracts or lock-ins, just put your SIM card into it and off you go.

Back in the days when Android first entered the smartphone market, there were less desirable smartphones in the value segment. Most are seriously under powered and performed very poorly even as a phone. Early versions of the Android OS didn’t help in terms of stability and performance. On top of that, smartphone manufacturers add their own skin and customised apps on their phones, making it even slower.

But, things are very different now. Since Android Jelly Bean, we are seeing a more mature smartphone platform. Deep integration of Google Apps has also been an advantage. Together with a large number of manufacturers choosing to adopting the Android OS for their phones in favour of one developed in-house, the market for Android phones have never been more competitive.

So naturally, manufacturers are churning out all sorts of models to make sure that all segment of the market is covered and this can only mean good things for the value segment. As competition heats up, manufacturers are trying to top each other in terms of specification while keeping the price low. Let’s look at some of the top selling value smartphones.

Table of Contents

Top 5 Budget Smartphones 2014

We look at offerings from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony and Blackberry so there is a good spread of different operating systems from Android to Blackberry to Windows Phone.

Motorola Moto G 8GB (16GB)

Staying true to Google’s Android OS with no customisation or skins, here is Motorola’s cheap phone for the value market. Many would think that for this kind of money, you won’t be getting much in a smartphone but this isn’t the case with Moto G. Here is a smartphone that packs a quad-core professor, the sharpest 4.5″ HD screen in its class, 15 hours of talk time, five megapixel rear facing camera and a choice of 8GB or 16GB storage. When it was first launched, it came with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, it has now been upgraded to 4.4 KitKat, Google’s most advanced Android OS to date. The spec to price ratio is so high off the charts that it is also the best selling phone of 2014 (Amazon UK). Motorola also offers battery door cover (the removable back plate) in various colours.

Key Features

Screen: 4.5” 1280 X 720 HD, 329 ppi
CPU: Qualcomm MSM8x26 quad-core A7 1.3GHz with Adreno 205 450MHz GPU
Memory: 8GB or 16GB
Cameras: 1.3MP (front), 5MP (4:3) / 3.8MP (16:9)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, GlONASS, 3.5mm audio, MicroUSB
Battery Life: 2070 mAh 16 hours talk time.
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Dimension and Weight: 65.9 x 129.9 x 11.6mm (6.0mm at thinnest point) 143g
Colours: black with optional back plate covers in turquoise, lemon lime, violet, royal blue and vivid red.

Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini

Here is the biggest name in smartphone, since the first Galaxy, Samsung hasn’t stopped churning out smartphones using the Galaxy moniker. Now at Galaxy S4, the phone is still one of the best selling unit in the market. But will the Galaxy SIII Mini, the value edition of the S3 be any good. While the specifications might be trumped by Moto G, it has had an early head start giving it control of the market segment. But this will soon face, expect the price to be slashed to compete with other smartphones here.

Key Features

Screen: 4 Super AMOLED screen 480 x 800 (WVGA)
CPU: Dual Core 1GHz with
Memory: 8GB or 16GB with MicroSD Slot (up to 32GB)
Cameras: VGA (front), 5MP (rear) with LED Flash and Auto Focus
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, GlONASS, 3.5mm audio, MicroUSB
Battery Life: 1500 mAh 850 min (2G) 470 min (3G) talk time.
Dimension and Weight: 63 x 121.55 x 9.9mm weighs 120g
OS: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Colors: Marble White, Pebble Blue

Blackberry Z10 (Black or White)

We can’t imagine not adding the Z10 to the list given that it originally retailed for a lot more. Lack of Apps for the platform hasn’t helped Blackberry sell the Z10 but it is still a great smartphone, you can find the list of free and paid apps on BlackBerry World (apps store). It features BlackBerry Flow, a set of features and apps that work together seamlessly to help you complete your daily tasks faster. There is also BlackBerry Hub that lets you keep everything important in one place. BBM Video with Screen Share is BlackBerry’s version of FaceTime with a twist, you can share your screen. But is that really something that one does on the smartphone? Another thing worth mentioning is the Camera, it features a Time Shift mode that captures miliseconds before and after your actual snapshot allowing you to pick an element and go back or forth in time to create the best photo. A very well designed phone with an excellent camera and a great browser.

Key Features

Screen: 4.2″ 1280 x 768 (355ppi) LCD
CPU: 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM
Memory: 16GB with MicroSD Slot (up to 64GB)
Cameras: 2MP (front), 8MP (rear) with LED Flash and Time Shift
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, NFC, 3.5mm audio, MicroUSB, 4G LTE
Battery Life: 1800 mAh 312 hrs standby, 10 hours talk time.
Dimension and Weight: 130 x 65.6 x 9 mm weighs 137.5g
OS: BlackBerry 10
Colors: Black and White

Nokia Lumia 520

Tired of the Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS, here is the smartphone alternative using Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8. The phone features a super-sensitive screen that can be used even with gloves, perfect for the winter season. While this is the entry level smartphone from Nokia with it’s line of Windows Phones, the Nokia Lumia 625, 920, 925, 1020 and the new 1520 have all been very well designed phones.

A few features on the Lumia 520 that are worth mentioning.

The 5 MP rear facing camera with its digital lenses is capable of taking multiple shots to create animations with the Cinemagraph function. The Smart Shoot function captures multiple photos with a single click so you edit afterwards to get the best shot. There is also a Panorama option.

Lumia 520 also comes pre-loaded with Nokia Mix Radio where you can stream and listen to free music. There is one more thing, the free HERE map (UK and Ireland) turns your smartphone into a turn by turn voice guided sat nav. Some 4″ screen sat nav would set you back about the same money.

Great features that you normally find on a high end smartphone is all within your reach for less.

Key Features

Screen: Super sensitive 4.0″ touch screen IPS LCD 480 x 800 pixels (235 ppi)
CPU: 1GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 512MB RAM
Memory: 8GB with MicroSD Slot (up to 32GB)
Cameras: 5MP (rear) auto focus digital lenses with Smart Shoot, Cinemagraph and Panorama
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, 3.5mm audio, MicroUSB,
Battery Life: mAh 360 hrs standby, 9 hours talk time.
Dimension and Weight: 120 x 64 x 10 mm weighs 122g
OS: Windows Phone 8
Colors: Black, Red, White, Yellow and Cyan (changeable colour shells)

Sony Xperia E

Marketed as a no-nonsense Android smartphone, this is the smallest and lightest phone in the line up. It also has the smallest screen at 3.5″. Notable features are the data usage app, the power management function, the HD voice noise cancellation feature that buts out in call background noises so you can listen to yourself and the person at the other end can hear you clearly, the signature Walkman app and access to Sony Entertainment Network for music, games, movies and more.

Key Features