If you want a new smartphone and only have a limited budget, check our PC World Australia's best buys. These smartphones are a rank of the top 10 handsets based on perceived value for money in the year leading up to October 2011.
Although the smartphone market is dominated by Apple's iPhone, its Google's Android platform that dominates the lower end of the market.
Notable best buys for October include the Huawei Sonic, which sells for just $188 in supermarket chain Woolworths, Big W and electronics retailer Dick Smith. Other models include the HTC trio of the Desire S, the Salsa and the newly-launched Rhyme - a phone that includes a charm accessory that's designed to dangle out of a handbag.
Sony Ericsson's XPERIA Ray also makes our list: it's a smaller, cheaper version of the flagship XPERIA Arc that doesn't sacrifice on many features.
The Huawei Sonic provides a reasonable features list for quite a low price. As long as you can live with its limitations, such as the lack of Flash and a poor camera, it's very hard to beat for value.
The HTC Rhyme Android phone might have intended to target females, but this sleek and stylish Android phone is good enough to appeal to a broader gender base. Excellent build quality, slick software and a generous amount of included accessories ...
The Huawei IDEOS X1 is a pretty impressive smartphone considering its low price. The capacitive touchscreen is reasonably responsive, and although its performance, screen size and the plastic build quality aren’t anything to crow about, the IDEOS X1 remains great ...
The HTC Salsa provides easy integration with the world's most popular social networking service, but its ultimate appeal will depend on how much you use Facebook on a daily basis. The Facebook key is not a deal breaker, but putting ...
HTC's Wildfire S offers decent value for money, but doesn't come without compromises. However, those looking for a relatively compact and affordable smartphone are likely to be pleased with its combination of excellent build quality and intuitive software.
The HTC Desire S is an evolutionary rather than revolutionary upgrade over the original Desire. It remains an excellent smartphone, but it hits the market at a time when competition is fiercer than ever. We think it's a good all-rounder ...
Huawei's IDEOS smartphone has a small, low-res display and lacks multitouch, but it still represents excellent value. It runs the latest version of Android and it is reasonably well built; it's an absolute bargain at this price.
If you want to buy a fully fledged Android smartphone without breaking the bank, the Huawei IDEOS X5 should be seriously considered. It offers all the features and functions of a top end Android smartphone for an excellent price.
The LG Optimus Me has a low-res display, and its price tag isn't as low as some of its competitors, but it still offers most features and functions of higher priced alternatives.
The LG Optimus One may well be the best budget Android smartphone on the Australian market. A responsive capacitive touchscreen and the latest version of the Android OS combined with decent physical hardware make it great value for money.
