GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide: February 2015

€200-€300

It happened by accident, but the €200-€300 proved a rich ground for quality mobile cameras on a budget. That means some special sensor or lens and 1080p video. There are also a couple of phablets that offer tangible upgrades over the ones in the previous chapter.

The selfie phenomenon is in full strength and there are several noted shooters in this category. We also venture into the world of optical image stabilization, which have positive impact on the look of videos - they look steady and professional, unlike shaky unstabilized footage. It helps with low-light shots too.

The Nokia Lumia 735 is on the update list for Windows 10 and has an interesting pair of cameras. The main camera has a 6.7MP sensor and Carl Zeiss optics, while the front one is a 5MP/1080p selfie shooter. It also has a 4.7" AMOLED display, which has its advantages over the sea of LCDs.

Note that the Lumia 735 just barely missed the mark to get into the €100-€200 category and we expect it will get there very soon.

BlackBerrys are now in the Touchscreen Era with the BlackBerry Z10 leading the charge. While Microsoft has taken great strides to enrich the app ecosystem and appeal to business users, the BlackBerry name still carries some weight. You can view it as an alternative to the Lumia 735 (they are on a similar price), but mostly if your company isn't very friendly to the "bring your own device" movement.

The Nokia Lumia 830 has a 10MP camera with PureView tech, Carl Zeiss lens and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). It's one of the cheapest devices with OIS and the camera is easily among the best in the mid-range for stills and video.

The rest is pretty much the same as the Lumia 735, except a bigger screen (5" IPS LCD) and no 5MP selfie camera (just 0.9MP/720p). Getting the Lumia 830 over the 735 - or indeed over any other phone in this segment - heavily depends on how much you use your phone for photos (but not selfies).

If that's the case, you might want to consider the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. It has a large 20.7MP image sensor with Sony G Lens and 1080p video capture. It's getting updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop and the Snapdragon 800 chipset wipes the floor with the Snapdragon 400 found in the Lumias.

The Xperia Z1 Compact also has an IP58 rating, meaning it will survive in the pool for half an hour. The phone has a 4.3" screen and is a fairly small device, a rare compact flagship. If you like the 5" screen of the Lumia 830, then look a little further down for an alternative.

The LG Optimus G Pro represents an excellent mid-range phablet. It launched two years ago as a flagship and has since been updated to Android 4.4 KitKat. We're not sure if it will see Lollipop or not, but generally you can't find a 1080p screen in a mid-range phablet.

Sure, it's pricier than the Redmi Note and Desire 816G, but the Snapdragon 600 chipset has the oomph to handle the higher resolution display. Also, both the 13MP back camera and 2.1MP front cameras shoot 1080p video. The Optimus G Pro also has LTE connectivity.

It's a pricy upgrade, but again this has been put together as a flagship and it does feel more premium than the Redmi and the Desire.

You can go even bigger with the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. It's not as cheap as it was a few months ago (there were good promos), but it brings a massive 6.4" screen with 1080p display. It's impressively thin at 6.5mm and is water resistant (IP58).

The Snapdragon 800 chipset is a noticeable upgrade over the Optimus G Pro chipset too. We considered dropping the LG phablet from the recommended list, but each time we do we remember why we keep it - the 6.4" screen makes the Z Ultra simply massive.

The Huawei Ascend P7 is as thin as the Xperia Z Ultra, 6.5mm. It also has a 5" 1080p screen and runs Android 4.4 KitKat to boot. The chipset is a Huawei homebrew and uses an older generation CPU and GPU, so performance is not stellar but still good.

The camera department is well-stocked though, the main camera is a 13MP shooter while the selfie camera takes 8MP photos. Both can record 1080p video.

Looks and build quality are what sets the Ascend P7 apart and those don't get much better in this price range.

The LG G2 is another former flagship and brings a 13MP OIS camera at a little extra over the Lumia 830. It also has a bigger, sharper screen (5.2" 1080p) despite being the same size as the Nokia, not to mention packing a sizeable 3,000mAh battery.

One negative is the lack of a microSD card slot so you have to get the 32GB version. The 16GB is a bit cheaper, but not really worth. Unless you want Windows over Android, the Lumia 830 has a tough time competing with the LG G2 and the phone that comes next.

The Sony Xperia Z1 is priced almost the same as its Compact counterpart and for good reason - besides the screen they are practically the same phone. With a 5" 1080p display this one is better-suited to take on the LG G2. The two use the same chipsets but Sony has already announced plans for an Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

You do lose the camera OIS but you gain an IP58 certification (1m of water for 30 minutes) and a microSD card slot . The Xperia Z1 has an equally large 3,000mAh battery though it's not as compact as the G2.

The OnePlus One had its drama with the Cyanogen OS software, but the company has since started work on its own ROM. With that cleared up, the One offers a 5.5" 1080p screen and a Snapdragon 801 chipseton a relatively modest budget and you get a 13MP camera with 2160p video. The camera also has a special DCI mode - a bit wider than standard 2160p and shot at a cinematic 24fps.

The selfie camera isn't bad either, a 5MP/1080p shooter. Make sure you get the 64GB version though - it's a relatively cheap upgrade from the 16GB one and there's no microSD card slot. Getting one isn't easy either, you need an invite (except on a Tuesday).