Smartphone market seen a significant grow in recent years. EMarketer assesment states that number of users will grow even more in the next few years, and that the overall number of worldwide users will hit 2 billion in 2016. Smartphones drastically changed the way we communicate, and advanced technology that comes with these phones, made lot of people who live in hard accessible areas instantly available and it also brought internet access to some of the most remote parts of the world.
When it comes to smartphone users in developed countries, these stats never received the importance they deserve. Constant price drops of wide array of models also didn’t create to much interest among Westerners. That’s mostly because in developed countries people tend to buy the flag-ship models and sometimes they are even ready to wait in long ques for several days just to get their hands on the new expensive models.
Today each manufacturer has wide range of models on the offer, and some of those are a real bargain, when looking at the value for the money they provide. In this article we’re going to review some of the less expensive models that are being neglected in the media, just because they provide little bit less features than the most popular smartphone flag-ships.
OnePlus One
This phone can be bought for only $300, without signing a two year contract. This is a real bargain comparing to all the features that this smartphone is offering. It comes with 5,5 inch 1080p display and looks very elegant from the outside. Inside it has a very powerful processor, we’re talking about 2,5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801. It has 3 GB of RAM, which is more than some less expensive notebooks and 16 GB of internal storage. There is also a version that comes with 64 GB, but it is little bit out of our targeted price range. Back camera comes with 13 pixels, while the front one comes with 5. One of the best things about this model is that it comes with CyanogenMod 11S OS that’s been based on Android 4.4 which makes it very customizable. Only bad thing we can remember is that for buying this phone consumers need an invite from someone who already has it.
Nokia Lumia 635
Unlike the previous model, Lumia 635 can be bought at several mobile providers and in lots of online mobile stores. It is also much less expensive than OnePlus One and it is a real budget smartphone option. It comes with the newest Windows 8.1 platform, which can be loved or hated by the consumers. It comes with 4,5 inch screen and 854×480 pixel resolution. Under the mask it hides 1,2 GHz quad-core processor that has 512 MB of RAM, that is bad comparing to OnePlus One’s 3 GB, but it is good enough for its class. This phone is great for business people, since it features Cortana, which is the new Microsoft’s personal assistant application. One of the best things about Lumia is its low price, since it can be bought for only $145 without signing any contracts.
Motorola Moto G
This is definitely the bargain of the year when it comes to smartphones. This model can be bought for only $180 without a contract or as low as $50 with the contract at certain mobile providers. The smartphone comes with 4,5 inch screen with 720p resolution and it is backed by 1,2 GHz Snapdragon 400 that comes with 1 GB of RAM. Internal storage of 8 GB is also added to the package, and one of the best things about this model is its long battery life. Its Android OS will be updated to the 4.4.2 version very soon and deals with some of the mobile operators from United States provide users with the newest version of the phone that comes with 4G LTE.