There have been lots of new brands coming out lately that showcase a line of cheap smartphones, and seeing the specs and their prices I'm now getting tempted to buy one of them. I've seen some go for lower than $150, for example, with great specs like 720p screen, high megapixel camera for both front and back, 2gb of ram octacore, etc. Has anyone here had experience with cheap smartphones with good specs? I'd love to hear of your experiences and suggestions or any tips on what I should look out for when buying. I'd also love to hear about the performance and how they hold up in the long run.
I bought the Motorola Moto G, 2015 Edition for $180. It has 2 GB of ram and a 720p screen, which is pretty good for the price. It runs android, so getting new apps is not an issue. It also has 4G LTE. The camera is also nice - a 13 megapixel camera. Overall, its a sweet deal for the price.
I think one thing you have to remember is that a lot of the time when you buy a phone, you're actually paying for the brand rather than for a phone itself, so you do have to be careful about that. If you take a look at the actual specifications of cheaper phones, you will find that they more or less do the same as the expensive models, but at a lower price.
I've seen some cheap Chinese brands which sell at less than $150 whose specs could rival those of more pricey smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S6. While yes they'll be huge differences between the two smartphones, I think I'd buy the Chinese smartphone [though it might have a shorter life span] since it will do everything the more expensive phone will do.
I'm still using an old Blackberry model because it fits me very well but I've been wanting to buy a decent smartphone because I could use it to become more productive. My only problem is that there are literally hundreds of smartphone brands available in the market, and it's really hard to pick the perfect one for me. I've watched reviews at Youtube and I was smitten by the Asus Zenfone 2, sadly when I was about to buy one, some of my friends who were also users of the said phone mentioned that the short battery life became and issue, as well as the frequent overheating of the unit. This made me back out and now I'm searching for some other brands.
Well, I think cheap smartphones are great, but you don't want to go too cheap. I had a refurbished net 10 phone. I was happy with it since it was app capable, but I found many of the apps didn't work well, and that the camera was basically non existent. I would have turned it in for a refund, but by that time I had already downloaded a number of apps. I can't find it currently though, so I am thinking no great loss.
@Denis Hard The only thing about this is the LTE bands if you're looking to get 4G on these. After assessing it, I'm pretty sure I can live on 3G and HSDPA but not everyone can. So if you want 4G, make sure the phone supports your LTE bands.... @thenextGeek Here's the problem. Many of the really good spec phones have relatively terrible battery life. On top of that, you can't switch battery on most of them. I've come to terms and accepted that as fact of life. I just carry a second low power TracFone phone that gets a forward via Google Voice when my main phone dies. A lot of people balk at the idea but it solves a problem for me. There are a decent amount of "good enough" smart phones that can be used as such too....
There's also a flood of cheap smart phones here starting from a price as low as $20. The vendor in the market fair said that those phones are imitations - at least they admitted - and were made in China. The problem is the warranty because is is not branded so there is no repair shop or service center for that purpose. But looking at the cheap price, you will surely be tempted to buy. And the vendor said the sales is always brisk everyday.
This deal sounds amazing. Over here that much money amounts to about £116, which is a great price. I have been looking around for some good prices and for some good smartphones, because there is no way that I am paying a ridiculous price like £499 for a phone. And I don't want a contract phone either. Where did you get this deal?
People in the US always seem to get much better deals on pretty much everything. I agree, that Motorola Moto G, 2015 edition deal sound great. -especially now that Motorola has worked hard to overhaul the aesthetics of their phones LOL I have all but given up on getting a nice smart phone because I too can't afford to spend this sort of money. I do want one, but for now, i'll just have to settle for my very small Nokia smart phone. To look at it, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a regular phone. That was all I could afford. I too wouldn't like to go too cheap, even as much as I want to save a few bob.
I'm still using the first Motorola Moto G (the 2013 version), and it's amazing how well it works. I guess that the newer versions will be as good as the first one is, and I recommend this brand to anyone, my phone is running like it's its first day.
I bought my smartphone on ebay. I bought it gently used and got it for 80% off. I only buy from sellers that upload a lot of pictures and have listed that it is in working order. I also make sure they include a battery, charger and nothing is broken. You can find some good deals that way.
This is true! I am actually in the process of buying another phone, the Samsung galaxy s4, as the mother board/ circuit board for my s3 just DIED suddenly last week Tuesday,I am going for the Samsung again as I feel like it is better than the iPhone, furthermore, the iPhone is too pricey, and for what? lol, because the Samsung is not so pricey and is far better than the iPhone to me. I am the type of person to wait until phones get "old" and then their prices drop, to buy them. For example, lol, I'm surely going to wait until the s6 drop to $180 US or thereabout
I will be buying a smartphone again one of these days. I plan to get a refurbished one. The prices are quite low, and you can get some good plans. I don't have a couple of hundred dollars to drop on a phone. I would like one that takes a decent picture though. That is important to me. I know there are several phone possiblities.
I currently have a Nokia C7, and have been thinking about making the jump to a more up to date phone for a long while now. The only thing that has kept me from acting upon that desire, is the fact that I am terribly out of the loop when it comes to smartphones these days. I had to Google what Sim Free smartphones were lol. I want to absolutely make the correct choice, and that is keeping me from acting at the moment. It is a big decision to make, as I spend so much time on and with my phone.
