July 2013: Top Five Mid-Level Smartphones

With a budget of Php10,000 to Php20,000 for a new smartphone, what are the most interesting offerings? To place the choices in perspective, it would be best to take a look at the five best entry level devices.

The available entry level devices have really leveled up this month, with the three powerful Android quad core phones offered in 4.5, 5 and 5.7-inch sizes.

The prices posted are those covered by an official manufacturer's warranty.

1. Starmobile Knight - A 4.7-inch quad core Android

Starmobile's latest offering, the Starmobile Knight, should be hitting the retail shelves in the next few days. Its specifications are nearly identical to the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0, but it does cost a fair bit more, being priced Php2,291 higher. It also has the drawback of a non-user replaceable battery and the 18MP camera is gimmicky. 

Is the Knight worth the higher price? The answer to that, is it depends. 

Starmobile Knight dimensions: 138 x 66.7 x 7.5 mm

Cherry Mobile HD 2.0 dimensions: 143.5 x 70.8 x 8.8 mm

Equipped with with a smaller 4.7-inch HD display, as compared to the 5-inch HD display on the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0, it is a lot trimmer. The Starmobile Knight is also thinner at 7.5 mm. That is not only thinner than Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0, it is also thinner than the current top of the line phones like the Apple iPhone 5, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S 4, and Sony Xperia Z. 

Personally, I would be willing to pay the higher price for the trimmer package. Bang for the buck, the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 is still the phone to beat. If I were buying a new smartphone this month, this is the one I would get.

Quick specs:

• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• 4.7-inch IPS HD display (720 x 1280) protected by Gorilla Glass
• Dual SIM 
• 4 GB internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor
• PowerVR SGX544MP graphics
• 18 MP BSI primary camera, autofocus with flash
• 8 MP BSI  front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2000 mAh battery (not user replaceable)

2. ZTE V987 Grand X Quad (Php11,500) - 5-inch quad core Android

The ZTE V987 Grand X Quad has specifications which are nearly identical to the lower cost Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 (Php8,999). But ZTE 5-inch offering bring enough to the table to justify its price. It has double the internal storage at 8 GB as compared to the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0, which gives you three times more available user storage. The battery of the ZTE V987 Grand X Quad has 400 mAh more juice than the 2100 mAh unit on the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 5-inch HD (720 x 1280) display
• 8 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor
• PowerVR SGX544 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 1.3 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2500 mAh battery

Now the ZTE V987 Grand X Quad, will cost you Php2,501 more than a Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0.  It does offer more in terms of internal storage and battery life. Some people are still leery of buying a Philippine brand. If you are one of those, ZTE is the world's fifth largest smartphone manufacturer.

3. Sony Xperia L (Php13,490) - A good camera makes this a decent choice

The Sony Xperia L has modest specifications, with  a 4.3-inch FWVGA (480 x 854) display and a dual core processor. But is a lot better than it looks at first glance.  The dual core processor is a Qualcomm Krait, which comes close to the performance of a quad core processor. The 8 MP camera is very good, better even than the 8MP camera on its higher priced sibling, the Sony Xperia SP.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 4.3-inch FWVGA (480 x 854) display
• 8 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor
• Adreno 305 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 0.3 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1750 mAh battery

4. Huawei Ascend Mate - 6.1 inch quad core monster Droid (Php16,990)

Huawei's entry for the phablets wars, the Ascend Mate, is now available, and it is one impressive monster of a phone. The price is a surprisingly low at Php16,990.

Quick specs:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• 6.1-inch PIS+ HD display (720 x 1280)
• 8 GB internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM 2 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz quad core Huawei K3V2 processor
• 8 MP primary camera, autofocus with flash
• 2 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 4050 mAh battery

Update: The Mate released in the Philippine only has 1 GB of RAM. 

The in-house designed Huawei K3V2 processor is as fast as the Exynos quad on the Samsung Galaxy S III. The 4050 mAh battery also promises amazing battery life.

Priced lower than the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8, which is priced at Php18,900, the Huawei Ascend Mate looks like it will take the mid-priced phablet crown in the Philippines. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 specifications are just too far behind the Huawei Ascend Mate. The Huawei Ascend Mate can actually slug it out, toe-to-toe, with the more expensive Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 and Note II. 

5. Sony Xperia SP LTE (Php18,200) - A really nice new mid-level offering from Sony

The Sony Xperia SP is an excellent mid-level Android. It has an HD display, powerful processor, LTE connectivity and long battery life. The biggest weakness in the package is the camera which produces pictures which are a bit lower in quality than the 5 MP shooter on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus or its lower cost sibling, the Sony Xperia L.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
• 4.6-inch HD (720 x 1280) display
• 8 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.7 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor
• Adreno 320 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• VGA front camera
• LTE/HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2370 mAh battery

Wildcard: HTC 8X (Php13,990) - Picking up where the Nokia Lumia 520 left off

Not everyone wants an Android, and a large price drop on HTC's 8X gives you a good reason to get something else. The mid-level non-Android choice is pretty good. If you want a Windows Phone 8 device, and want something more than the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Huawei Ascend W1, the HTC 8X  fits the bill nicely with a sharp 4.3-inch (720 x 1280) display, more RAM and a more powerful processor.

Quick specifications:

• Windows Phone 8
• 4.3-inch HD (720 x 1280) display
• 16 GB internal storage, non-expandable
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait Snapdragon processor
• Adreno 225 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with a  Carl Zeiss lens and a LED Flash
• 1.3 MP front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1800 mAh battery

The battery is not user replaceable. If you want a user replaceable battery and can live with a lower resolution display, take a look at the Nokia Lumia 720.

Check out my other top five lists:

Top Five Smartphones for July 2013

Top Five Entry-Level Smartphones for July 2013
Five interesting phones that did not make it to the top five list

July 2013: Top Five Entry Level Smartphones

Starting this month, I will start limiting each category of the buyer's guide to a top five list, adding a wildcard when appropriate. A wildcard is a phone that should not make the top five, but might be worthy of consideration for very specific reasons.

I classify entry level phones as those priced at not more than Php10,000. To make it on the list, the smartphone should run a current operating system. This means you will only have phones running Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, or higher and  Windows Phone 8 devices. There are no BlackBerry 10 and iOS options available at this price range.

The prices posted are those covered by an official manufacturers warranty.

1. Cherry Mobile Flare (Php3,999) - Good enough for serious smartphone work

When the Cherry Mobile Flare entered the market in the last quarter of 2012, with its 4-inch WVGA display and dual core processor, no other smartphone came close to matching its specifications at its Php3,999 price.

The Cherry Mobile Flare now has competition. Phones like Arc Mobiles Nitro 400D can now match the Flare in terms of specifications and price. But the Cherry Mobile Flare is a known quantity. Plenty of these phones have been sold, and the small bugs the phone suffered during release have been fixed. It is the tried and tested choice.

This 4-inch Android phone is good enough for "smartphone work". The display is big enough to do serious work like editing documents and the WVGA (480 x 800) resolution is sharp enough for photo editing. More likely, buyers of these devices will use it for casual web browsing or looking at updates on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ timelines. A 4-inch display is big enough to make for a pleasing experience.

Inside you have a fairly powerful 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm-built processor with an Adreno 203 graphics chip. This package is powerful enough for you to do a decent round of 3D gaming.  The Flare is equipped with 5 MP primary camera with a LED flash, and a VGA front camera. The 5 MP shooter won't replace your point and shoot camera, but is good enough for taking pictures to be uploaded on the internet. The 1500 mAh battery supplied with the phone, is large enough to get you past a day. 

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display
• Dual SIM support
• 4 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 512 MB RAM
• 1.2 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• Adreno 203 graphics
• 5 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• VGA front camera
• HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1500 mAh battery

The are better phones. But if your budget is a bit tight, this is what you should consider as a starting point. While more expensive phones have larger displays and are faster, you won't really miss all that much by just spending Php3,999.

You can read more about the Cherry Mobile Flare here.

2. Cloudfone Thrill 430x (Php6,299) - Endurance king

Surpisingly, another old 2012 model makes the list. The Cloudfone Thrill 430x  does it by being unique. A large 4160 mAh battery gives the Cloudfone Thrill 430x, two to three times the battery life of other smartphones. Going beyond the battery, the Cloudfone Thrill 430x  has a couple of other things going for it. It has a sharp 4.3-inch qHD (540 x 960) display and the 768 MB of RAM is pretty good for the asking price.

In the end, it probably is the battery alone that is the deciding factor in whether you decide to select this phone or not. The large battery does make for a thick 14 mm device and the device is pretty heavy at 182 grams. But if your daily use is heavy, this one will do the best job of getting you home with juice to spare.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• 4.3-inch qHD (540 x 960) display
• Dual sim support
• 4 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz duak core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Processor
• Adreno 203 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• 0.3 MP front camera
• HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 4160 mAh battery

3. Cherry Mobile Razor (Php6,499) - Best entry level phone for gamers

The Cherry Mobile Razor should be available this month, and this one is a pretty amazing offering. While a new offering in the Philippines, Cherry Mobile has already been selling this phone in Thailand for some time now, so I do not expect to any issues when it is released in the Philippines.

Compared to the Cherry Mobile Flare, the Razor has a larger 4.5-inch qHD display.  Behind the display is a much more powerful chipset, a quad core MediaTek MT6589 unit. This chipset comes equipped with a faster PowerVR SGX544 graphics chip. The Cherry Mobile Razor also has double the RAM of the Flare. In terms of power, the Cherry Mobile Razor is twice as powerful as the Flare. This phone is fast, almost as fast as  a Tegra 3 powered HTC One X.

If you want a smartphone which also makes for an excellent handheld gaming device, this is probably where you should start.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.x (Jelly Bean)
• 4.5-inch qHD (540 x 960) display
• Dual SIM capability
• 4 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor
• PowerVR SGX544 graphics
• 8 MP autofocus primary camera with LED Flash
• VGA front camera
• HSPA
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1750 mAh battery (not user replaceable)

The Razor is also pretty impressive in other respects. The phone is just 7.7 mm thin. That is thinner than an Apple iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S 4. The Razor is "small" in another way. The MediaTek 6589 chipset is built on the new 28 nanometer process that we first saw in the Qualcomm Krait processor. This is more power efficient than the 45 nanometer process used for other low cost processors.

4. Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 (Php8,999) - HD quad core smartphone at a nice price

The Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 has the same speed parts as the Razor, but comes with a larger 5-inch HD display and better cameras. If you are looking at the Samsung Galaxy S 4 or HTC One, but the budget does not permit that purchase right now, you won't feel too bad settling for this one.

Compare this with the latest and best Android phones, and you will realize it is not all that far behind, for less than a third of the price.

Quick specifications:

• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
• 5-inch IPS HD display (720 x 1280)
• Dual SIM 
• 4 GB internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1 GHz quad core processor
• PowerVR SGX544MP graphics
• 12 MP BSI primary camera, autofocus with flash
• 2 MP BSI  front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2100 mAh battery

Ironically, the cheaper Cherry Mobile Razor would have faster 3D performance because the graphics card will be harder pressed having to power a sharper 720p display, so gamers have some tough decisions to make.

You can read more about the Cherry Mobile Omega HD 2.0 at this link.

5. Cherry Mobile Blaze 2.0 (Php9,499) - A low cost HD quad core phablet.

If 5-inches is not big enough for you, there is the 5.7-inch Cherry Mobile Blaze 2.0. The Cherry Mobile Blaze 2.0 is pretty much a larger version of the Omega HD 2.0. Its large display puts it in the category of a phablet.

Quick specs:

• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• 5.7-inch IPS HD display (720 x 1280)
• Dual SIM 
• 4 GB internal storage, expandable via a microSD card slot
• 1 GB RAM
• 1.2 GHz quad core processor
• PowerVR SGX544MP graphics
• 12 MP BSI primary camera, autofocus with flash
• 3 MP BSI  front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 2500 mAh battery

This phone does get to the point of being ungainly, in terms of size. On the other hand, it is precisely its size which makes it a more useful device. Browsing web pages and viewing pictures is more rewarding on a larger screen.  The screen is probably big enough so that you won't feel like you have to buy a tablet, even if this is your primary computing device.

Wildcard: Lumia 520 (Php7,450) - Cheapest Windows Phone 8

Not everyone likes Android. Windows Phone 8 is a good alternative. There are several reasons to consider a Windows Phone 8 device. It has a nice clean user interface. Overall, it is probably easier to learn to use for first time smartphone users. Heavy Facebook and Skype users appreciate Windows Phone 8. Facebook and Skype are integrated in the  People Hub (i.e. Contacts) of Windows Phone. 

The Nokia Lumia 520 is the cheapest Windows Phone 8 device, and it is a decent choice. The phone comes 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display, a modern dual core Qualcomm Krait processor and 8 GB of internal storage, expandable via a MicroSD card. The main drawback with this phone is the absence of a front camera. Given Skype integration in Windows Phone 8, all Windows Phone devices should come with a front camera.

The Windows Phone ecosystem has about 150,000 apps, which is a fair bit less than the 800,000 apps you will find for Android. Still, the Windows Phone market has a good selection of productivity, communications and social apps. Windows Phone also comes with Microsoft Office installed, so you won't have to buy an office suit. It also comes with Nokia Here, so you get voice-guided turn by turn navigation. Gamers probably won't be happy with a Windows Phone 8 device, but other users are not likely to be bothered by the smaller selection of apps. 

Quick specifications:

• Windows Phone 8
• 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display
• 8 GB internal storage expandable via a MicroSD card slot
• 512 MB RAM
• 1 GHz dual core Qualcomm Krait processor
• Adreno 305 graphics
• 5 MP autofocus primary camera
• No front camera
• HSPA+
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• A-GPS
• 1430 mAh battery

Not a bad set of phones.

Check out my other top five lists:

Top Five Smartphones for July 2013

Top Five Mid-Level Smartphones for July 2013
Five interesting phones that did not make it to the top five list