GSMArena smartphone buyer's guide: July 2015

€100-€200

Ah, the most popular category comes next. The sweet spot for millions of smartphone buyers is between €100 and €200 and the competition is fierce. There is a good chance you may find your perfect match right here.

The HTC Desire 320 has seen a price drop since we last met and the current tag of about €110 keeps it for another round in our guide. The 4.5" phone uses a FWVGA display, a quad-core 1.3GHz processor and a 5MP camera with 1080p video recording. Note that the North American version has only 512MB of RAM and omits an LED flash, compared to the European version.

The Sony Xperia E4g is one of the best value-for-money options. Sony has equipped the phone with a 4.7" qHD screen, there is a 64-bit 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, a 5MP camera with 1080p recording and, of course, LTE connectivity. The phone runs Android KitKat but there is a good chance it will eventually receive Lollipop, given Sony's excellent track record this year.

We can say the same about the second generation Moto E. Its specs are slightly different, yet still relevant. The Moto E 2nd Gen has a 4.5" IPS qHD display, a quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A53 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 gigs of expandable storage, a 5MP camera, LTE connectivity and Android 5.1 Lollipop. Motorola's on-time firmware updates are the reason Moto E series has grown so popular.

Note that there is an underpowered 3G model, which has the same specs as the original Moto E from 2014. It's cheaper and in some markets is sold as an updated version of the first-gen Moto E.

The Xiaomi Redmi 2 is an excellent smartphone, if available where you are. The smartphone is built around a 4.7" 720p IPS display and runs on the 64-bit Snapdragon 410 with a quad-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. Its 8MP still camera is doing great and it's capable of recording 1080p videos. The handset has 8GB internal storage and supports LTE connectivity. For merely €20 more you can get its enhanced version which doubles the RAM and storage, but its availability is rather spotty.

The Microsoft Lumia 640 was released in quite a few flavors: 3G, 3G with Dual SIM, LTE and LTE with Dual SIM. At about €140 you can get the regular 3G Dual SIM flavor. The Lumia 640 series come with a 5" 720p display, run on Snapdragon 400 with a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, there is 8 gigs of storage, a capable 8MP still camera and Windows Phone 8.1 soon to be updated to Windows 10.

Microsoft and its Lumia smartphones have been targeting the lower midrange and they have become a popular choice for lots of people.

By the way, the Microsoft Lumia 640 is available in an XL version with a 5.7" display and a 13MP camera. It adds about €50 to the regular Lumia 640's price tag, but you can still opt for a 3G Dual SIM, LTE and LTE Dual SIM models.

Just like Xiaomi, the ZTE phones aren't available on sale everywhere, but if you can get one you won't be disappointed. The €140 ZTE Blade Vec 4G is a good example. The 5" phone has an HD display and a quad-core processor, packs 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM and there is either a 13MP or an 8MP camera, depending on the market. Android KitKat is in charge and the chance for it to get Lollipop is slim.

The BlackBerry Q5 is both for the fans of hardware QWERTY and native BlackBerry services. The company might be struggling with the hardware sales lately, but it is still one of the recognizable brands on the market and isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Switching to Android or not, that's yet to be decided.

The BlackBerry OS has finally come to terms with touchscreen and even supports Android apps, so you can get the best of both worlds if you want.

The Q5 's key specs are hardly impressive: a 3.1" square 720p IPS display, a dated Snapdragon S4 Plus chip with a dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM, a 5MP camera with 1080p videos and LTE support. Those are enough to give you a hassle-free BlackBerry experience though. This is the cheapest Berry you can get, but it surely looks classy.

The LG G2 mini wouldn't have made this edition of the guide, had LG not announced a few days ago its Lollipop update. Released more than a year ago, its specs are still quite relevant: a 4.7" qHD display, Snapdragon 400 chipset with a quad-core CPU and 1GB RAM, an 8MP camera and LTE connectivity.

The LG G2 mini is among the first generation LG smartphones to use the trademark design with rear controls. Now with Android Lollipop, the LG G2 mini is quite tempting at about €130.

If you like the idea of getting the latest Android updates as soon as they arrive, the Moto G series should be the right place to look for your next phone. The Motorola Moto G 4G offers LTE connectivity and a microSD slot in addition to the original specs - a 4.5" 720p display, a quad-core processor, a 5MP still camera and 8GB of expandable storage.

An extra €30 will allow you to opt for the second generation of the Moto G. It promotes the display to 5", keeping the resolution, processor, RAM and storage. The other upgrade is the 8MP camera, but it still doesn't offer 1080p video recording. Oh, and the second-gen Moto G isn't LTE-enabled.

Finally, if you really need LTE and like Motorola, there is the €195 Motorola Moto G 2nd Gen 4G, which adds LTE support to the Moto G 2nd Gen. Everything else is the same.

Sony's keen to give its old phones the Lollipop treatment, which is why we can now suggest the Sony Xperia M2 Aqua. It has a 4.8" qHD display, runs on the old but decent Snapdragon 400 chip and has a rather unimpressive 8MP camera as we discovered in our review. But the phone looks good and is water and dust proof, which should be enough to get you interested. It's probably the cheapest water-proof handset out there.

How does a triple-SIM phone sound? Those are extremely rare, but if you are tempted by the idea you should give the Acer Liquid E700 Trio a try. The E700 is a 5" smartphone with a 720p display, a quad-core Cortex-A7 processor, an 8MP camera and 3G connectivity. You can get it in 4GB flavor with 1GB RAM or 16GB model with 2GB of RAM. Both versions have a microSD slot.

The Nokia Lumia 730 and Lumia 735 are smaller than the Lumia 640 lineup but offer enhanced main and selfie cameras. The Lumia 73x series feature a 4.7" OLED 720p display with ClearBlack tech, run on Snapdragon 400 chips with 1GB of RAM and there is 8 gigs of expandable storage. The main camera has a 6.7MP sensor and ZEISS optics and produces great stills, while 5MP selfie cam is optimized for Skype video.

The 3G Lumia 730, Lumia 730 Dual SIM and Lumia 735 with LTE are among the first on the waiting list to get Windows 10 this fall and their prices all revolve around €160-€170.

The Asus Zenfone 2 ZE500CL is finally on sale across Europe. It offers a 5" IPS HD display, runs on Intel Atom Z2560 with a dual-core processor and capable GPU, there is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage. The camera is 8MP with 1080p video recording, there is LTE connectivity and Android Lollipop makes it all sound even better. You can get it for about €180, but its availability is still limited.

The last recommendation in this category is the €199 Huawei Honor 4X. Its availability is expanding, it comes with a 5.5" HD display, runs on an octa-core or a quad-core processor depending on the market, there is a 13MP camera, LTE connectivity and Android Lollipop with Emotion 3.0 UI. Other features worth mentioning are the dual SIM option and a 5MP selfie shooter.