Flagship smartphones on Smart Communications

Postpaid. Smart Communications offers the lowest prices on Apple's iPhone 4S for prepaid subscribers starting at Php33,200 for the 16GB iPhone 4S. As compared to Globe Telecom, Smart prices are 4-7K cheaper for a prepaid kit.

If you are looking for a top end Android though, you are better off buying one unlocked rather than getting one from Smart. Take for instance Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Sensation XE,  HTC EVO 3D and HTC Sensation. All these phones are 4.3-inch Android phones running on dual core processors. They will cost you at least Php6,000 less than an iPhone 4S. 

So despite Smart lowering the bar on iPhone pricing, the iPhone is still not a great bang for the buck proposition prepaid.

@Data Plan 3000. Smart has very interesting offering at Data Plan 3000. Data Plan 3000 gives you the following:

• 300 minutes calls to all networks
• 240 SMS to all networks
• Unlimited data

While Smart All-In Plan 2500 is actually a better plan, getting a Data Plan 3000 is tempting because of the devices Smart bundles in with this plan. You can get a Samsung Galaxy Note or Apple iPhone 4S 32GB free at this plan.

The Samsung Galaxy note is a massive Android phone or small tablet with phone function depending on how you look at it. It has a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED HD 800 x 1280 display. Inside it has 1GHz of RAM, a dual core 1.4GHz A9 processor and Mali 400MP graphics which makes it the biggest and baddest Smartphone in the Philippines. It has an 8MP camera. For storage it comes with 16GB of internal storage  expandable to 48GB via a MicroSD card and even comes with a stylus.

If you are okay with the size, it is one amazing device and is more powerful than even the much publicized Google/Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

But the Galaxy Note is a love-it-or-hate-it device. 5.3-inches is just too big for me as a phone (I use a 4.3-inch HTC Desire HD). On the other hand, if you like making calls with a Bluetooth headset, this could be the best device on the market.

The other option, the iPhone 4S needs no introduction. It is a fast dual core phone with an excellent camera and excellent high resolution display. The only spoiler in our opinion is the small 3.5-inch screen. Still, it is a very handy phone, and if you like this size, it is the best smartphone at 3.5-inch more or less.

@Plan 2500/2499. Smart Communications' best plans are its new All-In Plans. At All-In Plan 2500, you can bundle unlimited calls to other Smart mobiles, 2000 SMS to all networks, and unlimited data. The best Android-powered device offered free (with a two year lock-in) at All-In Plan 2500 is the HTC Sensation. Smart also offers the Windows-powered HTC Mozart at All-In Plan 2500. This is the way we recommend you configure your All-In Plan 2500:

• Unlimited calls within the Smart network
• 2,500 SMS to all networks
• Unlimited data
• Php650 consumable for calls to other networks, NDD and IDD calls and SMS over 2,000 a month.

Smart offers the iPhone 4S 16GB at a similarly priced plan, the Smart iPhone Plan 2499 which gives you the following:

• 300 minutes calls to all networks
• 300 SMS to all networks
• 1 GB of Data

The biggest downer in this plan is the cap on data at 1 GB. For the iPhone 4S to take full advantage of iCloud and Siri, unlimited data is a must.

At around Php2,500 for a monthly plan we would recommend getting the HTC Sensation instead with unlimited data and the ability to fire away 2,500 SMS a month. It is a good phone with a large 540 x 960 display and a dual core processor. It is not the best Android available, but it is good enough.

@Data Plan 2000. At Data Plan 2000, Smart offers the HTC Sensation XE, an upgraded version of the HTC Sensation with a faster 1.5GHz dual core processor, a larger battery and Beats earphones. Another option at this price point is the Nokia N9.

This 3.9-inch touchscreen phone runs on the MeeGo operating system and its novelty is that it has no hardware buttons, which is now also the course taken by the latest version of Android. With a 1GHz processor a single core processor this phone is really more of a mid-level offering, but it is Nokia's flagship phone in the Philippines until the Windows Phone-powered Nokia 800 hits local shores.

You can also get an iPhone 4S 16 GB at Data Plan 2000 for just Php2,500 cash out.

@Lower plans. Smart also offers the iPhone 4S 16GB at lower plans but these plans do not make much sense. If you get the iPhone 4S at Data Plan 1500, you cash out Php12,500 for the phone. At Plan 999 you cash out Php999 a month for 24 months for the iPhone 4S 16GB.

• iPhone 4S 16GB @Data Plan 2000 - (Php2,000 x 24 months) + Php2,500 cash out = Php50,500
• iPhone 4S 16GB @Data Plan 1500 - (Php1,500 x 24 months) + Php12,500 cash out = Php48,500
• iPhone 4S 16GB @ Plan 999 - (Php999 x 24 months) + (Php999 x 24 months) = Php47,952

Might as well pay more for the plan (and get to use the Phone more) than pay more for the phone.