TechDomino
You can look for the cheapest Android phone money can buy, and then you can search for phones that still meet a certain standard of performance and specs, and that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about now.
If you’re really, really short on cash, then you’re still better off buying the cheapest Android phone you can get if you’re only alternative is to get one of those old style “feature phones”, even if you mainly intend to use it for calling and texting. You’ll still find plenty of interesting apps or games that work reasonably well on it.
But if you’re looking to get the cheapest Android phone with the minimum amount of specs that can provide and decent experience, while making sure most, if not all apps work on it, then you’ll need to look for phones that have at least these specs: 1 Ghz processor, 512 MB of RAM, 480×320 resolution, 3.5″ screen, and Android 4.1.
These are still low-end specs, but a level above the cheapest phones you can find, that at least won’t prove very frustrating (the ones under this level might). So let’s see a few of these devices.
Sony Xperia E
The Sony Xperia E has exactly the specs I mentioned above:
- CPU: single core 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A5
- Display: 3.5″ TFT LCD, 480×320 resolution
- RAM: 512 MB RAM
- Storage: 4 GB (about 2 GB free), microSD slot (up to 32 GB)
- Camera: 3 MP
- Front-camera: No
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
- OS: Android 4.1
The camera is only 3 MP, but it wouldn’t have helped much if it was 5 MP anyway, since these low-end cameras are not that good, although they should be fine for Facebook pictures. The CPU is 1 Ghz and ARMv7, which means you’ll be able to use the Chrome browser with it (doesn’t work on lower end ARMv6 phones, and neither do many other apps).
If you’re in Latin America, I would recommend the Motorola RAZR D1, which would be a better all-around phone, for not much more in price.
Samsung Galaxy Young
Samsung is at every single price point possible, so of course they have a phone in this range, too, and yes it does come with Android 4.1, and it meets the criteria for the other specs:
- CPU: single core 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A5
- Display: 3.3″ TFT LCD, 480×320 resolution
- RAM: 768 MB RAM
- Storage: 4 GB (at least 1 GB probably used by the OS), microSD slot (up to 32 GB)
- Camera: 3 MP
- Front-camera: No
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
- OS: Android 4.1
This one has a smaller 3.3″ screen, but it has more RAM, and a bit more storage. I’d say choose the one you like most, design wise, between this one and the Sony Xperia E.
LG Optimus L5 E610
LG is of course always following Samsung, so they have one phone to show, too, that more or less meets the criteria for the cheapest Android phone of decent quality.
- CPU: single core 1 Ghz ARM Cortex A5
- Display: 4″ TFT LCD, 480×320 resolution
- RAM: 512 MB RAM
- Storage: 4 GB (2.5 GB available to user), microSD slot (up to 32 GB)
- Camera: 5 MP
- Front-camera: No
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
- OS: Android 4.1
The nice thing about this phone is that it comes with a larger 4″ screen. If you’re okay with an LG phone, and like bigger screens, you should get this one. It also comes with a 5 MP, that should be slightly better than the ones above. It may not come with Android 4.1 out of the box, but you can get LG’s software and update it to Android 4.1.
Any one of these phones is one of the cheapest Android phone you can get that will still perform well and support the vast majority of apps and games, so you can’t go wrong with either of them.
