Eight Great Budget Smartphones

As we all know t’is the joyous time of years and for those of us who chose to embrace the holiday spirit will understand gifts are in order.

As we all know times are hard and all year we’ve all been feeling the squeeze, but that’s not a good enough excuse for stealing the smile from our loved ones faces. So to aid you we’ve compiled a list of 8 budget smarphones to aid you spread holiday cheer – Santa would be proud!

HTC Desire V - NGN 28,200 (Twenty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Naira)
 

HTC Desire V

Highlights

Android v4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1 GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

Sony Xperia E Dual – NGN 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand Naira)

Sony Xperia E

Highlights

Android, v4.0.4(Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.5 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

3.15MP Camera

Dual SIM

1 GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage (2.2GB User Accessible) 

HTC One V – NGN 28,200 (Twenty Eight Thousand Two Hundred Naira)

Highlights

Android, v4.0.3(Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.7 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

720p HD Video Recording

1GHz Processor

1GB Internal Storage  

Sony Xperia Miro - NGN 23,000 (Twenty Three Thousand Naira)

Sony Xperia Micro

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.5 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

HTC Desire U - NGN 26,300 (Twenty Six Thousand Three Hundred Naira)

HTC Desire U

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchsceen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

1GHz Processor

4GB Internal Storage

Sony Xperia Tipo Dual – NGN 19,600 (Nineteen Thousand Six Hundred Naira)

Sony Xperia Tipo

Highlights

Android, v4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

3.2 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

3.15MP Camera

Dual SIM

800 MHz Processor

2.9GB Internal Storage (2.5GB User Accessible)

HTC Desire X – NGN 26,600 (Twenty Six Thousand Six Hundred Naira)

HTC Desire X

Highlights

Android,v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera, w/ LED Flash

 1GHz Dual-Core Processor

4GB Internal Memory 

Nokia Lumia 520 – NGN 19,900 (Nineteen Thousand Nine Hundred Naira)

Nokia Lumia 520

Highlights

Window 8 Mobile  

4.0 inch, Capacitive Touchscreen

5MP Camera

720p HD Video Recording

1GHz Dual-Core Processor

8GB Internal Memory 

Will you be getting any of these devices for Christmas? Do you have any devices in mind that you feel should be on this list?

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Nokia Asha 311 Overview - Hit? Or Miss?

I’m sure we all remember the days when Nokia was dominating the Tech Headlines with their extensive range of stylish and ground breaking mobile phones. That was till 2003 when the mobile phone industry took a detour in its approach to device design and functionality with Apples release of the iPhone. The era saw the rise of the Smartphone and consumers began to demand for mobile phones with more functionality and capabilities. This demand has also ushered in Android Powered phones and Blackberry devices. Nokia soon saw its market share in the mobile phone Industry steadily decline. Today Nokia is seen as the underdog of the mobile phone Industry. Oh! How the mighty have fallen. Most experts categorise Nokia among the likes of RIM - the Canadian phone manufacturer who has also seen its market share on a constant decline, and according to speculations maybe on the verge of bankruptcy. RIM has bet all its chips on the Blackberry 10 OS and the phones and tablets that will run it, but I digress.   

Nokia may be down but it’s far from out, and that’s what the Finnish mobile legend is intent on proving to the world. Nokia has been trying to compete in the smartphone market with its vast range of feature and high-end smartphones.

Nokia’s Asha range of mobile phones are feature phones that just about match up to basic entry level android smartphones, these devices usually have a significantly low price point but run on Nokia’s Series 40 Asha platform, while the Lumia range of smartphones are high-end Windows powered devices, in the same ranks and the Samsung Galaxy model phones and Apple’s iPhone. 

So here’s the scoop, the Asha 311 is a touchscreen device with a 3 inch screen and 56K colour pallet. It has 140MB of user accessible memory upgradeable up to 32GB via microSD card. It’s got a 3.2MP camera and it runs on the Series 40 Asha OS which supports Java and Series 40 web apps. You get the standard mid-range connectivity options such as 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It does have multitouch and a Corning Gorilla Glass screen, features usually reserved for high-end smartphones. Let’s not forget its rather flaunted data compression feature that shrinks transmitted data size resulting is faster loading Apps. With the Asha 311 you’ll get a pick of 40 EA games titles ranging from ‘ports’ of FIFA 12 to Need For Speed: The Run to The Sims. You’ll also get the regulars like Angry Birds, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

But however you look at it the Series 40 App offerings are light-years away from that of Androids Google PLAY and Apples App store. Another downside is it doesn’t have Adobe flash support which leaves you with a limited browsing experience and with only a 3.2MP camera without a flash these pitfalls tilts the Asha 311 into the low performance market, that said I’m not sure where to place the Asha 311.

 As a feature phone it could easily be said to be the best in the world, bit its NGN 19,000 (Nineteen Thousand Naira) price tag bumps it out of the feature phone spectrum and into the low-end Smartphone realm. Today you could get an Android Smartphone within that price range, and the Android platform has a world of Apps enriching your mobile experience in comparison to the series 40 platform. In my opinion the Asha 311 looks like a Smartphone, acts like a Smartphone but sadly it’s not. I don’t see the younger crowd that its marketing has been targeting in Nigeria readily adopting it because of these pitfalls. The free games offered are a quaint novelty but hardly an incentive. I feel this novelty will quickly wear off as the Asha 311’s short comings become apparent.

I would only recommend this device to individuals who refused to get on the Smartphone bandwagon, but need a device that can keep up with the times. Come to think about it, I think I have an aunt this would be perfect for, thank goodness it comes in pink!

So what do you think? Is the Asha 311 a Hit? Or is it a Miss? Don’t be bashful let you voice be heard in the comment section below, and remember every time you leave comment a household brand is saved from bankruptcy!

Sony Xperia Tipo Duo Overview

I heard you like the latest tech. I also heard you like to be up-to-date with the latest software upgrades and Apps. I heard you like Android. If I’ve grabbed your attention you’ll love what you’re going to read next!

In Nigeria, everybody has one or two stories to tell about how their mobile providers have let them down. These days most people use multiple phones which in the hustle and bustle of the major cities is very impractical. Others have tried several mobile providers but soon realised that where one mobile provider fails their competitors succeed and vice versa.

Eventually people turned to Dual SIM phones which seemed to solve the problem temporarily, but brought about a new set of issues all together. One problem which plagued early adopters of the Dual SIM phones was that these phones were low quality and were mostly Chinese brands with little or no customer support when problems arose. The battery life of these devices was poor and locating compatible accessories like chargers and earpieces was difficult. Familiar brands like Nokia and LG also tried to enter the Dual SIM market but with little avail.

Without further a due I would like to introduce the Sony Xperia Tipo Duo, a Dual SIM phone unlike any other. At this point you might be asking, what makes the phone so special?

The first thing worth noting about this device is its brand. Sony is a premium brand which delivers quality products with first class customer support. Another thing worth noting is unlike the Nokia Asha 200 Series, Nokia C2 Series, LG P525 and LGGX300 which are low-end mobile phones which only 2G (EDGE) support the Tipo Duo is a fully fledged Android Smartphone with full 3G support. It falls into the Xperia class of Sony Mobile devices as the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and the Sony Xperia S.

Some may argue that the Samsung Galaxy Duo Series are also Android phones with Dual SIM capabilities but there are two key differences between these phones and the Tipo Duo. The first of which is those phones run an outdated version of the Android OS, version 2.3 (Gingerbread) to be exact, while the Tipo Duo runs a more recent version of Android OS, version 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Secondly the Samsung Duo Series are Standby Dual SIM phones, while the Tipo Duo is an Active Dual SIM phone.

Allow me to elaborate, a Standby Dual SIM phone is a phone that has two SIM cards but only one can be active at any point in time, while an Active Dual SIM phone allows both SIM to be active simultaneously.

Imagine you’re downloading a file using SIM1 and a call comes in on SIM2. On a Standby Dual SIM phone either the download on SIM1 will be stopped for the call on SIM2 to be received or the incoming call on SIM2 will be rejected. But on an Active Dual SIM phone the call on SIM2 will received with your download on SIM1 being uninterrupted.  

Since Android phones require an internet connection to get the most out of the devices, an active Dual SIM Android phone will allow both lines to always be accessible, further enriching your Dual SIM and Android experience. 

To round up let’s take a quick look at the devices specifications, the Sony Xperia Tipo Duo has a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen  capable of displaying 256K colours. It has an 800MHz Cortex-A5 CPU, 512MB of RAM and 2.9 GB of internal storage with 2.5GB user accessible. A dedicated hardware key to switch which SIM is being used and supports 3G simultaneously on both SIMS - and to top it off a 3.15MP camera.

The Sony Xperia Tipo Duo will cost you about NGN 30,000 ( Thirty Thousand Naira ) give or take a thousand naira or two, and is available at all good mobile phone retailers. 

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