Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
PAYG devices are becoming less appealing
now due to the competitive SIM free prices. However, if you shop about, as we
did via places like Phones 4U or Carphone Warehouse you can find some pretty
impressive deals in some ways better than the SIM providers themselves.
To be honest, the HTC with its larger brand
name could be had on all the major networks, but its specs were still a little
lacklustre in comparison to the Samsung, which was only an extra $60. Even so,
its performance was not bad given its lower 600Mhz CPU, and it did have solid
build quality.
On the flip side, the Sony was not quite as
good in the build quality department, but ICS and a range of supplied apps made
it a useful proposition for those on a budget although its CPU architecture did
cause a few issues on some of the games.
As for the Motorola we felt this was a true
entry level phone, but for all the wrong reasons. The screen and performance
issues, due to older CPU architecture and feeble internal memory, would not
provide long term enjoyment and the money would be better spent elsewhere.
However, while the Samsung was expensive
and the PAYG deals were limited to Orange and 02, it’s still $280 with a really
good price to spec ratio. Its dual-core CPU, RAM combo and screen quality
proved more than effective, but it was the reported Jelly Bean update that
clinched its win - this is normally unheard of on an entry level phone.
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Android
4.0.3
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SonyXperia Miro
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Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
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Motorola MOTOSMART
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Processor
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Qualcomm
MSM7227A Snapdragon, 600 MHz Cortex-A5 CPU, Adreno GPU
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Qualcomm
MSM7225A, 800 MHz Cortex-A5 CPU, Adreno 200 GPU
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NovaThor
U8500, dual-core 800 MHz CPU, Mali-400MP GPU
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MediaTek
MT6573, single-core, 800 MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX531 GPU
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Memory
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512MB
RAM, 4GB storage (upgradeable via micro SD card), 25GB Dropbox
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512MB
RAM, 4GB storage, (expandable via micro SD card)
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768MB
RAM, 4GB storage (micro SD card expansion up to 32GB)
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512MB
RAM, 512MB ROM (micro SD card expansion up to 32GB)
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Camera
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5-MP
rear (no flash), no front camera, VGA video recording
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5-MP
rear (LED flash), VGA front camera, VGA @30fps video recording
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5-MP
rear (LED flash), VGA front camera, 720p @30fps video recording
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3-MP,
video 30fps
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Platform
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Android
4.0.3
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Android
4.0.4
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Android
2.3.6
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Android
2.3.6
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Display
resolution
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3.5-inch
(165 ppi pixel density), 320 x 480 pixels
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3.5-inch
LED-backlit (165 ppi pixel density), 320 x 480 pixels
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3.8-inch
PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels
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3.5-inch
(165 ppi pixel density), 320 x 480 pixels
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Weight
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100g
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110g
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122g
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115g
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Dimensions
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107.2
x 60.6 x 12.3 mm
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113x59.4x9.9
mm
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118.3
x 62.2 x 10.5 mm
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116
x 63.5 x 11.2 mm
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Connectivity
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Wi-Fi
802.11, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, HSDPA, 14.4Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
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Wi-Fi
802.11, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
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Wi-Fi
802.11, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, HSDPA 14.4Mbps, HSUPA
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Wi-Fi
802.11, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS, HSDPA, HSUPA
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Overall
score
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3
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4
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4
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2
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