A budget of $275 is good enough to
own a smartphone that really works
In this age of mobile phones, everyone from
corporate executive to college student and housewife hankers after a
smartphone. Till now, there weren’t many on offer in the mid-price segment that
came with the best features though. Those available for under $275 usually
sported a resistive touchscreen with a small display, mediocre camera, cramped
keyboards, out dated operating systems and below par processors. But with
phones at the higher end pushing specs and pricing, the mid-segment has started
packing in some power as well as decent specs.
Display
The painful, stylus-requiring 2.8-inch
resistive displays, with their minimal real estate, have been replaced by
capacitive touch displays of 3.5 inches and above. While these displays respond
to finger touch and offer more space, the improved display has enhanced the
overall user experience.
Processors
Until now, most Android smartphones had
processors clocking 600MHz or 800MHz, which found it difficult to handle
multitasking or heavy graphics apps. Now, 1GHz processors are becoming the
norm, with some manufacturers even adding dual-core processors. For instance,
the Micromax A90 has a dual-core processor though it costs just $184. But this
is an Android phenomenon and devices on other operating systems have not been
so magnanimous. The Nokia Lumia devices running Windows Phone 7.5 have 800 MHz
processors, good enough to handle most tasks without lag.
Operating system
Android smartphones in India usually don’t
run the latest version of the software. While the high-end ones do get
upgrades, it is a whole different story with mid-segment phones. When the
high-end devices were running on Android 2.3, these mid-level phones were
operating on the earlier versions. Now with consumers becoming more aware,
manufacturers have started loading these devices with relatively new OS
versions.
Others
Smartphones have also evolved with
manufacturers looking to use better material and improve build quality'. Even a
5MP camera is now becoming a default feature. Others are packing in better
batteries to keep the phones powered up for at least 24 hours.
LG Optimus L7
Price: $275
Specs: 4.3-inch display; Android v4.0; l
GHz processor; 512MB RAM; 4GB internal storage, expandable to 32 GB; 5MP
camera; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, GPS; 122 gm; 1700 mAh battery.
Nokia Lumia 610
Price: $228
Specs: 3.7-inch capacitive display; Windows
Phone 7.5; 800MHz processor; 256B RAM; 8GB internal storage; 5MP camera; Wi-Fi;
3G;GPS; 131.5 gm; 1300 mAh battery.
Sony Xperia U
Price: $275
Specs: 3.5-inch capacitive touch display;
Android v2.3, upgradable to v4.0; 8GB internal memory; no card slot; 1GHz
dual-core processor; 512MB RAM; 5MP camera; 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS; 110 gm;
1320 mAh battery.
Micromax A90S
Price: $234
Specs: 4.3-inch display; Android 4.0; 1GHz
processor; 512MB RAM; 4GB memory, expandable to 32GB; 8MP camera; Dual SIM;
3G,Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS; 1600 mAh battery.
BlackBerry Curve 9320
Price: $275
Specs: 2.44-inch display with QWERTY
keypad; BlackBerry OS 7.1; 5] 2MB RAM; 512MB ROM; expandable up to 32GB; 3.15MP
camera; Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth; GPS; 103 gm; 1450 mAh battery.
Nokia Lumia 710
Price: $275
Specs: 3.7-inch capacitive display; Windows
Phone 7.5; 1.4GHz processor; 512MB RAM; 8GB internal storage; 5MP camera;
Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G; 125.5 gm; 1300 mAh.
