It's no secret that the choice of flagship smartphones is rather a matter of taste. But a budget phone, or rather, its choice, is a fairly common, but no less responsible task, which should be approached with all seriousness. Why, then, when choosing a device from this class, it is necessary to analyze the smallest details? What should you pay attention to when choosing a device? Here, perhaps, about how to choose a budget phone, we'll talk today.
Principle of budget class
Probably, today this niche of the mobile phone market can be called the most developed. She is constantly on the move. There are people who tend to believe that the trend of rising prices for budget-class devices is only getting stronger in the market day by day. In fact, everything is not so. You don't need a PhD in economics to understand how the mechanism works.
A little about competition
Look, there are a huge number of companies on the market today, each of which supplies a considerable number of budget smartphones. Naturally, everyone wants to make a profit. But will there be any sense in sales if a competitive company puts up an absolutely similar product at a lower price? So we come to the simple conclusion that the budget niche is a layer of the market where competition is very strong. And this means that a noticeable rise in price, which will hit the pocket of an ordinary buyer, is not expected in the near future.
What is typical for such devices?
Budget mobile phones have some unique features that are unique to them. Each user who wants to purchase a device from this particular niche must understand that the choice will not be easy, no matter what marketers and sellers say. From their point of view, any smartphone (including the budget class) is an illustrative example of the quality with which it is necessary to manufacture mobile devices. But this is all business, and, of course, a cheap device is unlikely to please with good performance and a high-quality camera. If we talk about characteristic shortcomings, then, as an example, we can probably cite the imperfection of the software, which entails periodic freezes. If you are not ready to endure them and you need a device that will not only work quickly, but do it regularly, stably, then it is better to look at more expensive models.
Should I buy old models or not?
Not everyone likes to buy a device that has already remained in the past of the technical industry. Of course, its characteristics may not be so bad, a smartphone can easily cope with trivial tasks. But what will be its drawback in this case compared to a slightly more expensive device, but also more “fresh”? First, it's about the software and its ever-growing requirements for hardware and operating system.
On the inapplicability of old operating systems
You cannot use an old device based on “Android”, say, 2.3, to work on new programs and games. Secondly, although the devices of the old plan can solve the simplest tasks, they cannot fully satisfy the needs of the average user of our time. We are used to demanding more from smartphones. Now it is rare to find people whose answer “I need a phone for calls” is really honest. And by the way, if you still decide to buy a device that was previously used by a person, think about the fact that the battery can be partially disabled in it. Do you need a device that works 2-3 hours on the strength? Hardly.
Brand is not a measure of performance
Not so long ago, everyone believed that the best budget phone was made by the South Korean company Samsung. However, as time went on, the marketmore and more new models were supplied, and other brands gained popularity. And now it finally became clear that the brand is not a 100% guarantor of the high performance of the device. Take, for example, “the best budget phone as of 2015” (a kind of title is specially quoted, because in fact it turned out that it does not fit this model) - “Samsung Galaxy Advance”. It costs about five thousand Russian rubles. But this is not a budget phone with a good camera, but a real squalor that is not worth the money. In general, the Koreans have recently been pursuing a policy that is not entirely clear. Of course, the devices of the “A” line are made quite soundly. However, the price at which they are sold is clearly overpriced. And the only reason for this is the brand and the fame that Samsung has earned in the smartphone market. Serious competition for this device (in about the same price category) is made by devices from companies such as LG and Sony.
Is there a link between hardware level and usability?
A budget phone with a good camera can be found for ten thousand Russian rubles. But you will not find a gaming monster for the same price anywhere else. Yes, devices such as, for example, Asus Zenfone 2 or Microsoft Lumia 640 are capable of interacting with toys that are at the “above average” level without strong brakes. But they are unlikely to be able to fully ensure stable operation at this time or give the user the opportunity to play applications with five stars. So it turns out that a budget phone looks like a kind of computerfor study (which is bought specifically for this purpose, and not with a cover). Consequently, developers count every penny in order to save as much as possible on the hardware of their devices. And in order to somehow compensate for the shortcomings, they conduct additional tests and improve the software. So it turns out that the hardware is in fact weaker, and the system performance remains at a good, one might say, more than acceptable level. Budget phones with prices ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 Russian rubles that can deliver real pleasure from working with standard software focused specifically on everyday tasks.
Is the display important and how good can it be for a state employee?
Flipping through the characteristics of your potential purchases, say, on some website of an online store, you may stumble upon a column with a description of the device's display. Its main characteristic will, of course, be the matrix. No need to be an expert, just remember the following memo. If the matrix is IPS, then this is already good. Even better if there is Super AMOLED. But if nothing is said about the matrix, then most likely there is a component of the TN type inside. In it, the picture will immediately become distorted as soon as you remove the screen from the line of sight. IPS can also be different. Nevertheless, the very fact of its presence suggests that our matrix is not hopeless.
Is it possible to find normal hardware in state employees?
Such a question, of course, is of interest to a considerable number of users, especiallyyoung people. They obviously need a phone not only for exchanging calls and messages. This also includes “gatherings” on the international Web, games, the use of third-party software and system utilities, a camera and other components. And all this can be done only with the hardware of the appropriate level, since we will obviously not achieve impressive results in this direction with software alone. If you want to have a powerful state employee with you (compared to the closest competitors, of course, and not flagship devices), then pay attention to the products of the British company Fly. In recent years, when supplying devices to Russia, it focuses specifically on the budget niche, so first of all, you should inspect the devices of this particular company.
Rating of budget phones
It is impossible to say for sure which of the companies occupies which position in a kind of hit parade. The situation is much simpler if certain criteria are taken into account. For example, if you want a device with a high-quality display and a good battery (devices with such parameters are most often bought by e-book readers), then this is Fly. If you need a powerful smartphone for limited money, then most likely you should contact Asus. Well, fans of business phones will, of course, prefer Microsoft products that work on the Windows Phone platform.
