Most of us get excited about the sexy, sleek, premium end mobile phones on the market these days. New phones are released like superstars entering Hollywood show business. The HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 have recently exploded onto the market with new adverts, launch events, and a lot of media attention. Its no doubt these two phones are superb devices.
However, many of us dont want to spend a small fortune on our phone. We want good performance, extensive features, but dont need our phone to be a television or a replacement for our laptop. Android has made it possible for consumers to get some really terrific functionality on even fairly low-end phones. Specifications at the lower end of the market are getting better and better with the technology from the upper end of the market working its way down as the years go by.
This piece will look at some of the best budget Android phones that you could use as your Pay As You Go phone.
The Huawei Ascend G300
Huawei is the Chinese manufacturer that has really hit the market hard over recent months and years. The Huawei Ascend G300 has a really big screen that is protected by gorilla glass. The 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM are sufficient for most applications and activities, and the 5 megapixel camera has auto-focus and can take decent pictures to get on to your social networking platforms. Its metal rather than plastic and feels more premium than its price tag, which starts from around £70. The operating system is Android Gingerbread, so some will be disappointed that it doesnt have the possibility for a newer Android system. The camera could produce better pictures and its not the lightest at 140g, but its a very reasonable phone for the price. In some quarters, you may be paying up to £180 for this phone, so look out for bargains.
The Sony Xperia Tipo
Sony has done a good job of making their phones really sexy over the last year. James Bond was holding a Sony in the film “Skyfall†and sleek sexiness is an image that they try and portray throughout their range. This phone comes in at under £100, which is really good value. It has a 3.2 inch screen, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a 800MHz processor. It comes with a newer version of Android, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
On the negative side, the screen could be more sensitive and the design is perhaps a little bit basic. The camera is decent, the look is quite nice, and for £70, you get a good phone for your money.
The HTC Desire C
Many people getting a Pay As You Go phone will look for an HTC. HTC have produced some really good phones but dont always get recognition in the marketplace. Despite releasing some of the best phones at the premium end of the market last year, they made a loss. This phone is a good phone with a 3.5 inch touch screen, which is the same as the old iPhone 4. The processor is 600MHz, which wont impress especially if you have used a higher-end phone in the past. The user interface is the Sense system, which makes the Android operating system work fairly smoothly and makes up in the most part for the lack of processing power. The build quality is high and it even comes with NFC the non-field communication wireless payment system. It has a 5 megapixel camera, which is decent, and a very recent Android operating system.
On the negative side, weve seen that the processor is fairly slow and the screen is not as responsive as it could be. Nonetheless, its a decent Pay As You Go phone running Android.
The Acer Liquid Glow
This phone comes with Ice Cream Sandwich and has 1GHz processing power and 512MB of RAM. Everything is pretty smooth and sharp on the screen and in performance, and in fact, its above many at this price point of around £130. Its weightier than the Desire C and the Sony Xperia Tipo, but it feels fairly balanced. Unfortunately, there is no front-facing camera, which is a shame if this is a function you use for your video chat.
Which Should You Buy?
If youre looking for a Pay As You Go phone, then these four certainly are good options. You can often find deals on these phones and should be able to get all of them for under £130. The Acer Liquid Glow is at the top end of that price bracket, the HTC Desire C is around £100, and the Sony Xperia Tipo, you should be able to get for around £70.
If I was choosing one, then I would go for the Huawei Ascend G300. For me, it is the best all-around phone in terms of performance. The Chinese manufacturer really has done a good job on this phone and youll get a lot of bang for your buck. Dont expect premium end performance, but if you want a decent Pay As You Go Phone on Android for £100, youll get a lot for your money with the Huawei Ascend G300.
Top Tip
Make sure you check coverage of different network operators and dont just jump in for the first deal on Pay As You Go. You wont be able to change your SIM card in your Pay As You Go phone. In most cases, youll have to go for a SIM-free phone if you want that to be possible. Ask people in your neighborhood what their reception is like on their phones and even buy a SIM and try out in your home. It can be very frustrating buying a Pay As You Go phone and then not being able to use it when you want to use it the most. Dont rely purely on coverage checkers if you can do a trial.
Sam Jones friend was asking him about a good pay as you go phone. He pointed him in the direction of comparison sites such as uSwitch and he was able to find exactly what he needed.
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