Stuck for a Christmas gift idea? Why not give the gift of a new smartphone, without breaking the bank! These smartphones are a rank of the top 10 handsets based on perceived value for money in the year leading up to November 2011.
Although the smartphone market is dominated by Apple's iPhone, its Google's Android platform that dominates the lower end of the market.
New best buys for November include the $129 Telstra Qwerty-Touch and Huawei's Vision, which retails for just $279.
Other notable best buys include the Huawei Sonic, which sells for just $188 in supermarket chain Woolworths, Big W and electronics retailer Dick Smith, 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 Huawei Vision's curved touchscreen and unibody aluminium design are certainly great features at this low price. However, its a shame the touchscreen isn't always responsive as it often results in a frustrating user experience.
Telstra says the Qwerty-Touch was a direct result of consumer market research indicating a desire for a device that combined a physical keyboard and touchscreen at a low price point. The end result is a decent effort but its odd ...
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.
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 Samsung Galaxy Ace offers a slick user experience and a comfortable design. However, it is comparatively overpriced compared to some of its rivals. We definitely recommend shopping around before choosing the Galaxy Ace as your next phone.
Review Date: 16th June, 2011
RRP: $ 528.00
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