GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide: November 2014

€200-€300

There are two types of people - those who pay extra to get a flagship the moment it comes out (knowing it will be great for a couple of years ahead) or those who wait until it falls in price (knowing it's still good enough). The second type will enjoy this price segment more as it covers several former flagships and the better part of the current mid-range offers.

Note that we're not listing LTE as a pro anymore (it's a requirement) and we're switching to chipset names as frequency and core count don't tell the whole story. For example, the difference between a Snapdragon 400 and an 800 is as big as the numbers suggest, even if both have four cores.

Microsoft took a while to fill in the mid-range gap in the Lumia line, but the two new phones are great. The Nokia Lumia 735 is close to mini territory with a 4.7" AMOLED screen with 720p resolution. It has a 6.7MP main camera with Carl Zeiss lens, but the phone is selfie-oriented with a 5MP/1080p front-facing camera.

The Lumia 735 is fairly thin, but has built-in wireless charging and exchangeable back covers for easy customization. The Lumia 735 is an LTE-enabled device, but there's also the Lumia 730 Dual SIM variant (3G-only though).

In the previous guide we offered the Sony Xperia Z Ultra phablet as a great deal and while it hasn't moved in price much, it's just over €200 for a large 1080p screen (6.4") in a super-thin 6.5mm aluminum and glass chassis, all powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset. Like the other Xperia Z devices, this one is IP-certified too, surviving immersion in up to 1 meter of water for half an hour.

It's big though, really big. It easily dwarfs Galaxy Notes and iPhone 6 Pluses, so portability can be an issue. For the more tech-savvy, there's a Google Play Edition and the pure Android software can be installed on the Sony-customized version too.

While Microsoft has solid business credentials and the Lumia 735 is a fine device, but BlackBerry is the original business darling and governments still use its services and devices. The BlackBerry Z10 was the first of the new generation and still offers good specs for its price. Again, this is more about security than specs.

If the Xperia Z Ultra is too big for you, the Sony Xperia T3 is much more manageable though it offers less bang for the buck. It has a 5.3" 720p screen and is powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset with Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box. There's no water-proofing though.

The LG G2 turned heads last year, it showed just how compact a phone can be even with a 5.2" screen. The price premium over the Xperia T3 is balanced with late-2013 flagship specs. The screen has 1080p resolution, the phone has a Snapdragon 800 heart, a 13MP camera with 1080p video and a beefy battery.

There's no microSD card slot though, so we'd really advice you to get the 32GB version as 16GB of storage can be very restrictive.

The Sony Xperia Z1 Compact enjoyed a long reign as the king of the minis and if you didn't get it when it carried a flagship price tag, maybe now's your chance. It's fairly small with a 4.3" 720p screen, but it's the 20.7MP camera that is the main attraction.

It records 1080p video and is powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset, same as the LG G2 above, but in a much more compact package. This one has IP58 rating to boot (submersion in 1m of water for 30 minutes).