Is there a single GSM cellphone under $200 that meets the bare minimum specs?

In another thread, we established bare-minimum specs for a starter Android phone (for a kid) to be the following:

BARE MINIMUM SPECS:

  1. Carrier = (your personal choice)
  2. OS = Android 4.0 or better (for app compatibility)
  3. CPU = 1GHz single core
  4. Internal memory = 1 GB (is this the same thing as ROM?)
  5. RAM = 512 MB
  6. Screen = 800x480 pixels
  7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB
  8. Price < 0 (your personal choice)

My personal choices on #0 and #8 above are that I'm on a T-Mobile family "Value Plan"; and, I don't want data for my kid (so WiFi is important since she will only be using the Internet at home).

I had bought a T-Mobile Android phone for my grade-school kid, but it turned out to be woefully inadequate for some of the first things we tried to do with it: a. We couldn't install Talkatone (Google Play refused to upload it) b. We couldn't install Temple Run 2 (Google Play wouldn't do it) c. We couldn't upgrade the Android OS (no upgrades are available)

So, we definitely *know* these specs are inadequate:

formatting link

  1. Carrier = T-Mobile (this is, of course, your personal choice)
  2. OS = Android 2.3
  3. CPU = 823 MHz Broadcom BCM21553
  4. Internal memory = 512 MB (why don't people just call this ROM?)
  5. RAM = 512 MB
  6. Screen = 480x320 pixels
  7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB
  8. Price = (this is, of course, your personal choice)

I created a T-Mobile account, and looked at EVERY phone they sell for those on the family "Value Plan", and NONE (so far) seem to meet these minimum specs above!

I originally had a price point of $100, but, I've had to double that, just to have 3 phones to consider.

Here are the dozen Android phones T-Mobile will sell me as of today: (priced low-to-high, with only "Android" checked as a filter): a. Samsung Dart id $72 + ~$7 CA tax & fees ~= $80 b. T-Mobile Prism II is $116 + ~$12 CA tax & fees = ~$130 c. Samsung Gravity Q is $154 + ~$15 CA tax & fees ~= ~$170 d. LG Optimus L9 is $240.00 + ~$24 CA tax & fees ~= $265 e. Samsung Galaxy Exhibit is $236 + ~$23 CA tax & fees ~= $260 f. T-Mobile myTouch Q is $260 +~$26 CA tax & fees ~= $285 g. Samsung Galaxy SII is $336.00 + ~$33 CA tax & fees ~= $370 h. Nexus 4 is $428 + ~$42 CA tax ~= $470 i. Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE is $530 +~$53 CA tax & fees ~= $580 j. Samsung Galaxy S4 is $580 +~$58 CA tax & fees ~= $630 k. HTC One is $580 +~$58 CA tax & fees ~= $630 l. Samsung Galaxy Note II is $650 +~$65 CA tax & fees ~= $715

Unfortunately, NONE of them meet the bare minimum specs until you get way past the $200 price point!

Samsung Dart

formatting link

  1. Carrier = T-Mobile
  2. OS = Android 2.2
Reply to
Eddie Powalski
Loading thread data ...

Here's how the next three of the dozen phones from T-Mobile stack up against the bare-minimum specs we've established in a prior thread:

Samsung Galaxy Exhibit

formatting link

  1. Carrier = T-Mobile (my choice)
  2. OS = Android 4.1.2
Reply to
Eddie Powalski

I like the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit better than the LG Optimus L9 mainly because it has a much better screen and better Wi-Fi and usability is better with the later Android phone os.

Reply to
Cary

The L9 screen is larger and has higher resolution. How is the Wi-Fi better?

And the L9 is available with a hefty discount. I don't see the Exhibit at anything but list price. The reviews I find rate the L9 higher than the Exhibit.

Reply to
nobody

The Exhibit is newer. So it must be better since the L9 is old by now.

Reply to
Cary

Now, that's interesting.

--
bert@iphouse.com	St. Paul, MN
Reply to
Bert

Great logic. Is a new Is a new Kia better than a year old Mercedes? Must be. It's newer.

Or maybe you ought o consider what you are getting interms of function.

And again, how is the Wi-Fi better?

Reply to
nobody

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.