What are some mid-range Android phones?

[wyndslash]

I'm a dumbphone user, but lately am getting tempted to perhaps buy a smartphone for myself. I was excited for the S3, but the price is way out of my range plus I don't really need all that power anyway.

Any suggestions?

(still hoping I'd win that contest one of our local telco companies is holding for a free galaxy s3, but I'm not holding my breath )

[Dopedangel]

Well that hard to say with android phones what is midrange. I bought a galaxy s 2 years ago and I guess that would be considered a mid range phone now. This is a good article detailing mid range phones but it is 2 months old which is an enternity for android phones.
Whatever you decide I would recommend getting a phone with at least 1ghz processor 1gb ram and something that comes pre installed with Icecream sandwich version of android. Samsung and Sony have also just announced few new midrange phones so they might not be available yet but in a month or so.



http://www.androidauthority.com/best...ne-2012-76435/

[Timoleon]

TigerDirect has an incredible deal going for three days on the Galaxy Nexus:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/WEM...-email_WEM3137

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

I'm a dumbphone user, but lately am getting tempted to perhaps buy a smartphone for myself. I was excited for the S3, but the price is way out of my range plus I don't really need all that power anyway.

What's your price limit? Have you considered something like a Galaxy Player? It's basically a Galaxy phone without the 3G/4G radio and the specs are not as good. Still, it has better specs than the latest gen iPod touch.

I use a flip phone and a Samsung Galaxy Player (SGP). I'd get a smartphone if it didn't require a data plan. I save a considerable amount of money going this route ($30/mo x 24mo = $720).

There are currently four models of the Galaxy Player available: $140~$193.

[Cdesja5]

I would say your choices would also depend on the phone plans available to you. I used to do the same thing as tubemonkey except with an iPod Touch instead of a Galaxy Player but I just got an Android phone with a provider that offers a "data saver" plan where I pay $5 a month for the base amount of data and depending on how much I use, goes up in $5 increments to a maximum of $30 for 3 GB, no contract so if I want to cancel the data at any time, I can. With this company you can bring your own unlocked phone so you could basically pick and choose amongst any Android model that has the features you want.
I'm sure if you shop around in your own location you can easily find something similar or better. After all Canada isn't well known for its reasonable mobile phone and data rates...

My provider offered the Samsung Galaxy Ace for $150 (no contract) and although I know it's not the best-fastest-newest out there, it's a vast improvement over even my (lost) BlackBerry Curve which was useless for browsing the web...

[wyndslash]

i don't really need 3G because i just use prepaid on my phones. wifi capable would be nice.

i guess my price limit would be too low...

oh well, it's almost december anyway time to start dropping hints :P

[Cdesja5]

I don't know of a smartphone that isn't wifi capable... I usually leave the 3G off unless there's no wifi in range and it's something urgent. Wifi works great on a smartphone (3G not so much sometimes) and if your model has GPS, you can usually use it as a navigation device as well (without the 3g) as unless you want traffic updates, no data plan is required. It'll be a nice Christmas gift!

[David Marseilles]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i don't really need 3G because i just use prepaid on my phones. wifi capable would be nice.

i guess my price limit would be too low...

Don't be too sure, there's a whole range of smaller androids coming out now that are technically low end (but are a far better experience than low end used to be), and aren't that pricey. Also, the galaxy players do give you the smartphone experience without the pesky phone part (we used to call them PDAs), and save you dough in the process ($150 for the Galaxy 4, <$200 for the Galaxy 5). If you don't need a smartphone, tablets can be cheaper -- nice tegra 3 tablets will be $200ish this summer. The Samsung Galaxy tab 7 2 isn't t3, but it's plenty of bang for your buck and is already out.

Also, there are lower end smallish devices like the Samsung Galaxy Pocket that retail low. Sony has a smaller xperia device, and htc has the wildfire. Processor wise, although these sound slow (single core, 800mhz to 1ghz), they're much speedier than the last generation of 800mhz to 1ghz devices and their batteries last longer. The screen size limits your gaming ability a little, and you sure don't want to read entire books on screens that low res. But even for folks who can afford better, there are some perks -- not everyone wants to carry a 4.x inch device everywhere. I'm actually considering the galaxy pocket as my next mobile and having a tegra 3 tablet for more intensive applications.

For a more balanced approach, on the android authority link above, the galaxy ace 2 is a pretty decent get at $300. 3.8", good resolution. And wow, the zte mimosa at $200 off contract is pretty stunning if you can really get that. Back in my day, prepaid users did not have that kind of selection at that kind of price.

The other alternative (since you can't get a subsidized device on prepaid, else you could sure get ) is to grab last year's best phones off ebay. If you can find a unit in good condition, there's nothing wrong with used, and last year's best are still pretty good. Heck I'm still getting by with something that was already obsolete in 2009, and while I can't swing angry birds, I play tons of tower defense just fine.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i guess my price limit would be too low...

You shouldn't be embarrassed on what your limit is, the more info you provide us the better the help will be. Everyone's limit tolerance is different.

Right now the cheapest I've seen an Android phone sans contract is for $99 new. It's the Galaxy Dart (Aka Galaxy Mini) at T-Mobile. The sale is over now and it's back to $149 but you can get a refurbished Dart for $99.

It's a good phone with WiFi and 4G. The only complaint is that the device has a small screen and is still running Froyo (Android 2.2). As a result you cannot run the latest and greatest apps(that will be expected for any low end phone).

Another alternative is to look at eBay or Craigslist and see if you can buy a decent used Android phone.

=X=

[wyndslash]

hmmm...my limit would be around $100-$150. i really do need the phone part since i already have a tablet (kindle fire). one of my main wants is to have a decent phone camera and wifi and a nice display to view it all in.

i'm new to the smartphone thing. i never tend to look at new phones until i actually need one, so i'm not really updated on it. but everyone has been pretty helpful

[covfam]

in my opinion get a year old or two super phone they tend to be cheaper than new mid ranged phones or same price and usually more powerfull. for example the samsung mesmermize/fascinate is severeal generations back superphone yet its more powerfull than 2/3rds of the "midranged" phones sold.

[tubemonkey]

Some quick comparisons between the Galaxy Player and two Android phones (Galaxy Ace/ Galaxy Dart). The Player does not require a data plan; and depending on your carrier, you may be forced to pay for a data plan for a smartphone. The Galaxy Player is currently selling for $150 on Amazon.

Display/ Android

• Play= 800x480 -- 4.0" -- 2.3 Gingerbread
• Ace= 480x320 -- 3.5" -- 2.2 Froyo
• Dart= 320x240 -- 3.1" -- 2.2 Froyo

Processor/ RAM/ Battery

• Play= 1.0 GHz -- 384MB -- 1,200mAh
• Ace= 0.8 GHz -- ----MB -- 1,350mAh
• Dart= 0.6 GHz -- ----MB -- 1,200mAh

Cameras: Rear -- Front

• Play= 3.2MP AF no Flash -- 0.3MP
• Ace= 5.0MP AF w/ Flash -- none
• Dart= 3.0MP FF no Flash -- none

I have the Galaxy Player because it has better specs than low-mid range Android phones; plus, I don't have to pay for a data plan. I don't have a smartphone because I absolutely refuse to pay for a data plan, and my carrier (Verizon) requires it for all smartphones (both subsidized and non-subsidized).

[Cdesja5]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Some quick comparisons between the Galaxy Player and two Android phones (Galaxy Ace/ Galaxy Dart). The Player does not require a data plan; and depending on your carrier, you may be forced to pay for a data plan for a smartphone. The Galaxy Player is currently selling for $150 on Amazon.

Display/ Android

• Play= 800x480 -- 4.0" -- 2.3 Gingerbread
• Ace= 480x320 -- 3.5" -- 2.2 Froyo
• Dart= 320x240 -- 3.1" -- 2.2 Froyo

Processor/ RAM/ Battery

• Play= 1.0 GHz -- 384MB -- 1,200mAh
• Ace= 0.8 GHz -- ----MB -- 1,350mAh
• Dart= 0.6 GHz -- ----MB -- 1,200mAh

Cameras: Rear -- Front

• Play= 3.2MP AF no Flash -- 0.3MP
• Ace= 5.0MP AF w/ Flash -- none
• Dart= 3.0MP FF no Flash -- none

I have the Galaxy Player because it has better specs than low-mid range Android phones; plus, I don't have to pay for a data plan. I don't have a smartphone because I absolutely refuse to pay for a data plan, and my carrier (Verizon) requires it for all smartphones (both subsidized and non-subsidized).

Minor correction: Galaxy Ace runs Gingerbread 2.3.4; at least mine does.
Here, in Canada, for several smaller telcos, (Koodo, Wind, Public Mobile, Virgin, Mobilicity) you don't need to get a data plan at all unless you wish to, whether the phone is subsidized or not, prepaid or not (except for iPhone).
OP did mention having a Kindle Fire so not needing another small device other than the phone.
Also, OP hasn't said where they live, but I am assuming US because of the Kindle Fire. Doesn't the US have plans/pre-paid offerings that don't require contracts or data plans? I always thought that there was more choice and flexibility outside of Canada. Did I assume incorrectly?
It is also possible here to buy an unlocked GSM smartphone (from wherever, not the telco) and just pop a SIM card into it, keeping your current plan without getting data even with our larger telcos (Bell, Rogers, Telus).
Surely such choices exist in the US?
Just curious! I've spent a lot of time looking into that stuff here for myself and my daughters and I'm wondering how it all works in the States...

[covfam]

cdesja you are partially incorrect about flexability in the us. 2/3rds of the cell phone market uses CDMA here without swappable sim card (verizon/sprint/uscellular/metropcs,cricket) all use CDMA only At&T and Tmobile have GSM phones with interchangable SIMS. SOME of the carriers with CDMA have LTE phones that can use a european GSM sim but will not work with american GSM chip.

There really isnt much flexability in american cell phone options unless you go pre-paid. There are several things in place that american carriers have that deter moving to different carriers, one is forced incompatability with other phones of the same technology, large ETF's, 2 year Contracts and phone exclusivity deals.

[wyndslash]

oh, i'm from the philippines (SE Asia)

currently looking at the models suggested