GSMArena smartphone shopping guide: March 2014

March 2014

GSMArena team, 21 March 2014.

€100 - €200

This category has historically had the most converts from feature phones - and quite possibly the biggest turnover too. This time around, many devices that used to hover around the€200 mark have had significant price drops, and have shuffled things around.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 still gets things rolling in this category, as the device continues to age well 2 years since launch - a true fossil when it comes to smartphones. Fortunately, competitive pricing and Andriod updates continue to breathe life into it. It has a 3.8" WVGA screen of acceptable sharpness.

The dual-core NovaThor Cortex-A9 CPU with Mali-400 GPU is not quite up to the task of running Android 4.1.2 smoothly but it's good enough. The 5MP camera with HD (720p) video recording matches the Lumia 520.

It's not up to par with the Lumia 520 in terms of processing and navigation options, but it's a good improvement over the Alcatel M'Pop from the previous section for just a bit more cash.


Samsung Galaxy Ace 2
Pros Cons
  • 3.8" WVGA screen, 246ppi
  • Android 4.1
  • Dual-core Cortex-A9
  • 5MP camera with 720p video capture
  • 800MHz chipset caused slow performance after the update to Android 4.1.2
Review

Nokia's first Android experiment in the form of the Nokia X is about as stable as a newborn giraffe, but it's priced very competitively for what it brings to the table. The device runs Android 4.1 with a distinct Windows Phone feel to it, and features Nokia's proprietary HERE maps and navigation suite as an added bonus. Unfortunately, you won't have access to the Google Play store, and will instead have to rely on third-party stores for your app needs.

Otherwise, the combo of 4" WVGA display and dual-core 1GHz processor for not much more than some budget offerings is enticing - especially if you're into fiddling around with settings and you know your way around side-loading hard-to-find apps. The somewhat low RAM wasn't necessarily a problem with Windows Phone Nokia's, but here it's a different story, and may result in some added slowdowns.


Nokia X
Pros Cons
  • 4" WVGA screen, 233ppi
  • Android 4.1
  • Access to Nokia HERE Maps and navigation
  • No access to Google Play
  • Incompatible with some Android apps
  • Only 480p video capture
Hands-on

The Nokia Lumia 525 is a successor of the Nokia Lumia 520, and with the exception of doubling up the RAM to 1GB, it's virtually the same device. It sports the same 4" WVGA screen and dual-core Krait CPU with 5MP 720p shooter. There's also free offline navigation for one country, free Nokia Mix Radio streaming (with offline buffering) and a free MS Office suite.


Nokia Lumia 525
Pros Cons
  • 4" WVGA screen, 233ppi
  • Windows Phone 8
  • Dual-core Krait
  • 5MP camera with 720p video capture
  • Free SatNav for one country
  • Free Office Suite
  • Windows Phone Apps and Games catalog is not as rich as Android's
Hands-on

The Sony Xperia M has been sufficiently discounted to beat out our previous recommendations and qualifies thanks to its 4-inch screen of 480 x 854 pixels resolution, 5MP camera capable of 720p video, and dual-core 1GHz Krait CPU with robust Adreno 305 GPU.

Sony recently announced its successor, the Xperia M2, which means the Xperia M will likely be discontinued by the time our next guide rolls around. If the Xperia M catches your eye, act quickly.


Sony Xperia M
Pros Cons
  • 4" 480 x 854 pixel screen, 245ppi
  • Android 4.1
  • Dual-core Krait CPU
  • Screen not great
Review

When it comes to dual-SIM capabilities in this price range, few can match the 4.5" qHD screen and quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU of the Acer Liquid E2 Duo. Acer has dropped the price to match competition from the likes of the Sony Xperia M dual and Samsung Galaxy Core Duos, so the Liquid E2 Duo makes it into our guide for a second consecutive time.

The E2 Duo runs very decently and has an 8MP camera that records 1080p video (better than the Motorola Moto G's camera). Plus there's a microSD card slot, a relatively big 2,000mAh battery, DTS sound enhancement and rear stereo speakers to sweeten the pot.


Acer Liquid E2 Duo
Pros Cons
  • Dual-SIM
  • 4.5" qHD screen, 245ppi
  • Android 4.2
  • Quad-core Cortex-A7
  • 8MP camera with 1080p video capture
  • Stereo speakers
  • Screen is not very good

The Lumia 625 is hardly anything more than a Lumia 520 with a bigger screen and flashier colors. It has a big 4.7" screen of only WVGA resolution, which means low sharpness. The dual-Krait processor and 512MB of RAM are also less than you would expect of a phone this size. However, this is the cheapest phone with a screen this large, and has the usual free navigation (for one country) and music goodies from Nokia and Office integration from Microsoft. A microSD card slot means cheap storage for videos and music too.


Nokia Lumia 625
Pros Cons
  • 4.7" WVGA screen, 199ppi
  • Windows Phone 8
  • Dual-core Krait
  • 5MP camera with 1080p video capture
  • Free SatNav for one country
  • Free Office Suite
  • Low screen resolution
Review

The Samsung Galaxy S II Plus has also found its way into this price segment. The Plus edition of the former flagship brings a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display of WVGA resolution, 8GB of expandable storage and 1GB of RAM. Its 8MP shooter is capable of 1080p video, and a 2MP front-facer to boot. It has recently been privy to the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update, and we could even see it in KitKat land at some point.


Samsung Galaxy S II Plus
Pros Cons
  • 4.3" WVGA Super AMOLED screen, 217ppi
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
  • Dual-core 1.2GHz processor
  • Uninspiring performance
Review

Last time around, Motorola's Moto G dominated this segment, with its great price and competitive package. Its price outside the US has, however, gone up, perhaps due to low supplies or high demand. Nevertheless, it's still within the €100-€200 price segment, and still offers its incredibly enticing package: a quality 4.5" 720p screen with quad-core processor to boot. Sure, these are Cortex-A7 cores, but our tests show it performs admirably.

It's fairly compact (though a bit thick) and it will be getting fairly quick updates (not quite Nexus or Google Play Edition, but still). The camera is not spectacular, but 5MP/720p is a fairly good combo. Its only real chink in the armor is its non-expandable storage, which means we highly recommend the 16GB version despite the higher cost.

When all's said and done, we still consider this the new baseline Android phone - anything more expensive better have at least one key feature to top it off (e.g. a better camera or more storage) and anything not up to par with the Moto G better be cheaper.


Motorola Moto G (16GB)
Pros Cons
  • 4.5" 720p IPS screen, 326ppi
  • Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, relatively quick updates
  • Quad-core Cortex-A7 processor
  • Limited storage
  • Mo microSD card slot
Review

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 25 Oct 2014
  • fsV

Where on earth do they make Lumia 920 with removable battery?

  • akash
  • 20 Oct 2014
  • t}G

T2 ultra is good, but camera is not good,,and front camera is horrible ...

  • Anu
  • 24 Apr 2014
  • 7tK

What about micromax canvas2.2 a1114