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Cheap Android Phone Display, Camera
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- Cheap Smartphones
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- Cheap Android Phone Display, Camera
- Android Phone Reviews, Smartphone Speed
- Best Cheap Smartphones
- Discount Smartphones Features Comparison Table
Smartphones Features (continued)
Smartphones Display.
Cheap Android phones, iPhones, and BlackBerries are designed to be media- and web-friendly devices, so you want a cheap smartphone with a good display and high resolution, which together make videos pop and text easier to read, even in bright daylight. Many of the new cheap smartphones have followed the Apple iPhone lead and feature a touchscreen that nearly covers the entire face of the device.The best cheap smartphones for web browsing have large displays that show full-HTML web pages, so what appears on the screen looks just as it does on a laptop. All the cheap smartphones we researched, but for the BlackBerry Curve 3G, display full web pages; the Curve can do so if you upgrade to OS 6.0, but the small display may be hard to digest.
Smartphone Camera.
If you're looking for a cheap smartphone with a built-in camera that can replace your point-and-shoot, don't smile just yet. Most of the better smartphones include a camera with resolution between 5 mp (megapixels) and 8 mp, but the quality of the photos probably won't win any contests. Cheap smartphone cameras often lack features found in digital cameras although they're easy to use and can snap Facebook-worthy pics more often than not. A good low-price smartphone camera includes basic controls, such as autofocus, flash, and digital zoom.Among our picks for best cheap Android phones, both the HTC Droid Incredible 2 and Evo 4G snap 8 mp photos and feature autofocus and dual LED flash. The BlackBerry Torch and Samsung Epic 4G both include a 5 mp camera with an LED flash; the Epic 4G camera also sports autofocus and a 3X digital zoom. Although we consider the BlackBerry Curve a good cheap smartphone, its bare-bones camera with a resolution of 2 mp and no flash or autofocus just can't compete. The same can be said for the Apple iPhone 3GS camera, which nudges ahead of the Curve only because of its 3 mp resolution.
Smartphones Multimedia.
iPhones, BlackBerries, and cheap Android phones are becoming so good at handling multimedia that you may be tempted to ditch your portable MP3 player altogether. iPhone users have enjoyed first-rate multimedia quality on their phones for some time, and cheap Android phones and BlackBerry phones are starting to catch up. A good low-cost multimedia smartphone should support a variety of popular audio and video formats, including MP3, ACC, and WMA files; all the cheap smartphones we mention in this buying guide do.
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Best Budget Smartphones
HTC Evo 4G
Expert reviewers rave about the HTC Evo 4G (LetsTalk.com, Sprint), and it's not hard to understand why. Its performance and multimedia prowess are impressive, and it features a very large, colorful 4.3-inch display. At least one expert reviewer considers it the best Android-based phone on the market. Given that consumers can get it for free with a new contract, this phone is a steal. Read more »Smartphones Deals
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Samsung Epic 4G
The Epic 4G (LetsTalk.com, Sprint) has the best display in the lineup and appealing good looks. Its 4G technology makes it plenty fast and experts say it excels at just about everything it does. For those users who are hesitant about touch-screen keyboards, the Epic 4G sports a nice slide-out version. Read more »Smartphones Deals
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Good Budget Smartphones
HTC Droid Incredible 2
The Droid Incredible 2 (LetsTalk.com, Verizon) is another very good phone from HTC. It performs well all around and call quality is sharp and clear. It also earns praise for its excellent display and battery life is better than good. This is a 3G phone and some reviewers complain it's a little heavy with preloaded apps that users can't remove. Read more »Smartphones Deals
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BlackBerry Curve 3G
The BlackBerry Curve 3G (multiple carriers) is similar to a lot of previous BlackBerries in that it does what its designed to do extremely well but falls short in its multimedia capabilities. If you want an affordable smartphone with excellent call quality, a physical keyboard, and top-notch messaging/email capabilities, the Curve is for you. You'll lose out though, with the display, web surfing, and other media performance. Read more »Smartphones Deals
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Don't Bother Cheap Smartphones
Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB
We know, we know ... Apple's iPhones are the most coveted phones out there, so how could we suggest you pass this one by? This iPhone (AT&T) is certainly better than earlier models, but it's considerably lacking compared to the best smartphones we found. The relatively small and low-resolution screen, a 3 mp camera without flash or zoom, and sometimes lackluster call quality hurt its standing. Multimedia performance is strong but the iPhone 3GS is simply outdated. Read more »
BlackBerry Torch
Research In Motion (the maker of BlackBerry) clearly wants to offer a good multimedia phone, but the Torch (AT&T) just isn't it. The screen doesn't compare to the other top smartphones and it's simply too slow, although the Web browser at least surpasses previous BlackBerry models. Read more »
Products Mentioned in This Review
BlackBerry Bold 9780T-Mobile myTouch 4G
Motorola Droid 2 Global
Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB
BlackBerry Torch
HTC Droid Incredible 2
BlackBerry Curve 3G
HTC Evo 4G
Samsung Epic 4G
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