Best budget mobile phones
- — 24 August, 2010 14:00
Paying less for a mobile phone doesn't mean you should be forced to skimp on features, and the good news is, many budget phones now have capabilities well beyond what you would expect given their price tags.
Whether it's accessing your social network profiles, downloading apps, or sending and receiving e-mails, many mobile phones with entry-level price points offer great features — even some prepaid handsets. Keep in mind that the main trade offs when it comes to cheaper, entry-level phones come in the form of a smaller screen with a low resolution, or a plastic body rather than metal.
If you're buying your mobile phone outright, we've limited our selection to phones that retail for $500 or under. And if you're purchasing it on a plan, we've opted for phones that are available for $0 upfront on $29 plans and under. Note that some phones in our list may list an RRP higher than $500 — in this case, these are definitely available on $29 plans and under through one or more Australian telcos: Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 or Virgin Mobile.
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HTC Wildfire
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Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini Pro
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RIM BlackBerry Curve 8520
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LG GW620
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Nokia N97 mini
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Garmin-Asus A10
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LG Optimus
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Motorola Quench
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Nokia C5
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Samsung GenoA (C3510)
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Motorola DEXT
Many people will find the XPERIA X10 Mini Pro too small. However, we found it to be a quirky but compelling handset. Sony Ericsson deserves a lot of credit for an excellent UI and a great physical keyboard, not to mention the fact that this is a fully fledged Android smartphone that doesn't skimp on the features found on larger, more expensive devices.
- Review Date:
- Reviewer:
- Manufacturer:
- 12th July, 2010
- Ross Catanzariti
- Sony Ericsson
- Rating:
- Price:
- $ 629.00
- Pros:
- Excellent interface, good build quality, excellent keyboard, doesn't skimp on features, capable performer
- Cons:
- Display lacks clarity and sharpness, Timescape app is limited, not great for mobile browsing
