The Four Best Options for a Cheap Mobile Phone
We all need a mobile phone these days, but what if you don't have a lot of money to spend? There are some great budget handsets available, and you can get a great mobile for under £150. In this article we are going to tell you about the best cheap mobile phone models.
What You Can Expect in a Cheap Mobile Phone
A cheap mobile phone is not necessarily a bad phone, or a bad quality phone. It will be very capable of doing everyday tasks. You will miss out on some high end features though. A budget handset isn't likely to be 4G capable, for example, and very often will not have a large internal memory. These things will not affect its ability to get online, make calls, send messages and take pictures though.
As a basic guide, you can expect a budget hand set to have around 1 GHz of processing power, around a three and a half inch screen, about a 5 MP camera and roughly 4 GB of internal memory. Whilst there are a few Windows budget models, most budget phones run the Android operating system. You can read about Android here to see if it's right for you.
The Huawei Ascend Y300
Huawei are famous for making great phones for great prices, so it's no surprise that the first entry on our list is the awesome Ascend Y300 model. It's slim line, and beautifully designed with some fantastic specs and features.
The Ascend has a dual core 1 GHz processor, and a four inch screen, which is huge for a budget model. It has a touch screen and has scratch resistant glass too. It has a 5 MP camera, and even has a video calling camera that's front facing as well, so all your photography needs are taken care of. The internal memory is 4 GB, but you can add an SD card for up to 32 GB of extra memory to store all your photos and music.
The Y300 is running the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and will cost you just £99.95. This is by far the best model that you are going to get for under £100, and in fact, it's better than many more expensive handsets, which means the Huawei Ascend Y300 is an absolute bargain.
The Nokia Lumia 520
Great budget Windows models are few and far between, but the Nokia Lumia 520 has got to be the best cheap mobile phone for non-Android lovers. Available in yellow, blue, red, white or black the Lumia is square and sleek and definitely stylish, plus it is solid with exceptional build quality.
The Lumia has a dual core 1 GHz processor on board, and again there is a full four inch screen for all your viewing needs. There is a 5 MP camera, but this time no front facing camera at all. Making up for this fact, the Lumia does have an 8 GB internal memory, plus you can add an SD card for up to 64 GB of extra storage.
With the new Windows 8 operating system on board and voice command as well, the Nokia Lumia 520 will cost you £109.95. For a great Windows phone that's very good looking as a bonus, that's the lowest priced model that you'll find, and the Lumia 520 is more than worth looking at.
The Sony Xperia E
We love the Sony Xperia line. Sharp lines and great quality screens make the Xperias very desirable phones indeed. With top end models costing close to £600 though, we're happy to see a decent budget version is available in the Sony Xperia E.
Running a 1 GHz processor the Xperia is a snappy little thing and its screen is a good three and a half inches; a touch screen, obviously. The camera is a 3 MP affair, and there's no front facing camera. There's 4 GB of internal memory on board, and another handy SD card slot to add up to 32 GB more.
It is an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean device, and available in white, black or pink. The Sony Xperia E will cost you £119.95, which seems a small price to pay for such style. For the fashion conscious, the Xperia has to be the classiest and best looking budget model around.
The Huawei Ascend G510
Huawei makes another appearance on our list, this time with a slightly more expensive model. Close to our budget limit of £150, the Huawei Ascend G510 is going to be the best cheap mobile phone that you can get for your cash. It has got some incredible specs on it for a budget phone.
There is a powerful dual core 1.2 GHz processor, so the G510 is the fastest of today's models, and it has got a four and a half inch screen, making it the biggest display on this list. There's a 5 MP camera on board, as well as the front facing video cam. The G510 has a 4 GB internal memory, with the SD card slot enabling the addition of up to 32 GB of extra space.
Again, the G510 is running the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, and it is available in either black or white. There's voice command, a photo editor and a document viewer, so there is no shortage of great features. As for price, the Huawei Ascend G510 is going to cost you £139.95. This is by far the best deal on this list, and for a budget phone the G510 is a real powerhouse and a steal for under £150.
To Sum Up
There is no shortage of options if you are shopping for a great budget handset. There are, of course, some models that are not going to live up to your expectations (particularly the Samsung Galaxy Young or Fame models), but there are also some fantastic choices out there. Any of the above four models would make an excellent buy.
