PhoneArena Awards 2011: Best budget-friendly smartphone
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1st – LG Thrill 4G |
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2nd – Motorola ATRIX 2 |
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3rd – Samsung Focus Flash |
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43 Comments
1. hepresearch (unregistered) posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:19 2 8
All of them sold by AT&T... what might that tell us?
3. remixfa posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:33 13 4
actually, on that note, NONE of these phones should qualify.
If your looking for a "budget minded" device, you cant take in not only the up front price of the phone ,but the price of the contract. With that, anything from ATT and VZW is automatically disqualified.
With unlimited everything from Tmobile at only $60 a month compared to 140 from ATT (and you still get overage charges), you could buy the most expencive phone on Tmobile and still be more "budget friendly" than a free smartphone on ATT.
The best deals would be the LG G2X at 100 down payment, and 75 a month with unl service and phone payment included.
For sprint, if you can pick up the SGS2 for one of those 0.1c sales, that would be an awesome deal.
But it doesnt really matter. ANY phone bought on Tmo or Sprint no matter what the upfront cost is more budget friendly than ANY deal you can get on ATT/ VZW.
Sorry, but I think you guys totally missed the "budget consious" consumer mentality.
5. ZEUS.the.thunder.god posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:42 5 2
makes perfect sense.
12. alegarrido posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:30 3 0
sense makes perfect
19. s.mrabet posted on 06 Dec 2011, 10:39 3 0
makes sense perfect
20. hepresearch (unregistered) posted on 06 Dec 2011, 11:14 3 0
perfect makes sense?
22. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:17 4 0
makes perfect cents
23. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:26 0 0
@remixfa, I understand your point, but if you start down that path, then where do you stop?
For instance, it's even cheaper if you join a family plan with 3-4 trustworthy buddies.
And cheaper still if one of those buddies gets a corporate discount.
Case in point, I'm on a family plan through AT&T with a discount. It will be ~$50/mo for voice/data/text for my friend on the plan to get one of the phones mentioned (I'm recommending the Atrix 2 to him) than to join a singles plan on T-Mobile or Sprint for $90 per month.
As far as the $0.01 sales go, those are only if you are adding a line or joining new service, not for transferring service from single to family plan on the same carrier.
29. remixfa posted on 06 Dec 2011, 13:36 0 0
TT,
now your overcomplicating it. Besides, even if you go the family plan route, Tmobile and Sprint are still cheaper on family plans. 2 Unl everything lines on Tmo is only $100. Add 3/4/5 line for 30 a piece for unl everything. Tmobile and sprint both offer corporate discounts.
so it doesnt matter which way you slice it, tmo and sprint will aways be the value leaders of the big 4 carriers.
28. digicon posted on 06 Dec 2011, 13:24 0 0
Yeah . Maybe you didn't read the article . Only the title , before you spewed . They said "budget-friendly smartphone" . Not smartphone , plus plan , plus unlimited whatever , you want to chime in . . . It's obvious because you started making up all these words , budget minded , budget conscious that weren't even in the review . It was you that totally missed . . .
30. remixfa posted on 06 Dec 2011, 13:40 1 0
holy cow,
is this Gallito in another account? no one else could possibly talk like that. trade a few ... for , here and there ,and its gallito speak. lol
BTW, Digi,
if your a "budget minded" person, you look at the total picture, not just the upfront cost of the phone.
unl everything on tmobile = 60 a month x 24 months = 1440 for the contract
unl on ATT = 140 a month x 24 months = 3360
3360-1440 = $1920 PER LINE savings over ATT.
You can buy 2 unlocked iphone4s's and still save money over ATT.
There isnt a single "budget friendly" person that would miss that simple fact.
32. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 15:13 0 0
Someone smarter than me needs to help.
On T-Mobile's site, it looks like "Classic Unlimited-Talk+Text" is $60/mo, and then you need a data plan, which would be an extra $20 to have high speeds up to 2GB. So, it looks like $80 minimum without tax and fees.
That's still a great deal, but it's 25% more than you calculated.
My ~$50/mo price point above was per person, on a family plan, after tax and fees, after discount applied (but only 2GB data) on AT&T.
FYI - agreed you can get discounts on T-Mo and Sprint, but some companies offer more of a discount through AT&T (our case).
38. remixfa posted on 06 Dec 2011, 20:45 0 0
you need to look at the value plans, not the classic plans. they are much cheaper. the difference is the classic is.. well.. the regular 2 year contract where they give you the cheaper phone. The value is much cheaper per month, but its full retail for the phone... but u can pay it off over time. You pay a down payment up front (which is cheaper than the classic plan pricing anyways), and the rest gets on the bill.
the difference between the value plan and classic is 480 per line savings by being on the value plan. you have to look at the total cost of ownership (yes, it seems more complicated than it is, i have to explain this to customers EVERY day.. lol)
unl value plan = $60 a month = 1440 for 2 years.
uln classic plan = 80 a month = 1920 for 2 years
ATT unl plan = $140 a month = 3360 for 2 years.
For arguement's sake, everyone gets an SGS2 hercules/skyrocket!!
**Value plan is full retail for the device (amortized over 20 months same as cash) You pay 230 downpayment, and the rest gets added to the bill at $15 a month until its paid off. Even with the most expensive phone included on the payment, your talking 75 month (60+15) vs 80 a month for the classic plan.. its still cheaper.
1440 + 550 = $1990 true cost of ownership for 2 years
**Classic plan is regular contract price for device
1920 + 280(before rebate) = $2200 true cost of ownership
**ATT unl
3360 + 300 (before rebate) = $3660
so 1990, 2200, or 3660... which one do u think the "value mind" is going to hit? And remember, this is for the same "top of the line" device..
And if you dont get the most expensive phone on Tmobile, the savings are even greater.
If you get the G2X on tmobile is only 400 instead of 550 full cost, so it would be $1840 instead of $1990... but that's still way cheaper than the $3510 you would be paying for the LG Thrill in true cost.
39. TalkingTechy posted on 07 Dec 2011, 07:59 1 0
@remixfa, I now officially can't ever believe anything you say because you are now advocating the SGS2 hercules/skyrocket after you have commented multiple times that these are "not true SGS2's." :-P
Seriously though, that is interesting, I didn't know that about T-mo's pricing structure. It does truly sound like a cheaper alternative.
I think the main reason people don't go to T-mo is because they don't have any of the latest super phones on Android and iOS. Sure you can get an unlocked iPhone 4S to work on T-mo, but who wants to be stuck at EDGE network speeds?
I appreciate all the comments remixfa, you're one of the few Phone Arena commenters I can count on to have a good debate with (without it becoming too flame-warrish)!!
40. remixfa posted on 07 Dec 2011, 14:35 0 0
i knew someone would throw the skyrocket thing at me... lol. i chose a phone both carriers had.. most expensive phone (and one of the only) to chose from.
As far as android phones go, Tmobile has the over all best line up and most choices. Yea, it doesnt have an iphone choice (or a REAL SGS2 :) ), but who cares. Its so common to unlock it and have it on Tmo anyways, we have an iphone support team.. lol.
42. Forsaken77 posted on 09 Dec 2011, 17:35 0 0
FYI... AT&T doesn't charge $300 for ANY phone, EVER! That's Verizon. The highest they charge is $249, and I got my white Skyrocket for $149.
33. networkdood posted on 06 Dec 2011, 15:41 0 0
AT&T costs are 39.99 voice, 20.00 unl msg and free cell to any cell calling and data 15/25 200MB/2GB data- 75/85 max pre-tax. No, 140.00...2 lines would be 59.99 550, 30.00 unl msg and free cell to any cell calling and data 15/25 per line - 120-140 max.
37. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 18:46 0 0
@networkdood
Right, but remixfa was talking about unlimited plans.
AT&T -> unlimited mins ($70) + text ($20) + 4GB data ($45) = $135
I agree that your layout is more practical because who really needs all those minutes for calling land lines, and actually your last calculation is wrong.
To get free cell to any carrier cell, you need at minimum the family plan 700 minutes ($70), plus it's $10 for an additional line. So it comes to $140-$160 (200MB-2GB) for that family plan.
41. Forsaken77 posted on 09 Dec 2011, 17:28 0 0
I think you actually missed the mark with what this award is for. It's for the PHONE, not the contract behind it. It has nothing to do with the service, the carrier, or day of the week. It's not a marketing ploy to show budget-conscious consumers where to shop. We all know TMo has the cheapest plans (along with the worst coverage) and Verizon has the most expensive plans (with best coverage). I think the HTC Vivid should be in that list. It's a 4G LTE, HSPA+ phone with qHD display, 1.2ghz dual-core phone for only $99 in select areas (states that have LTE service).
4. SlimSoulja86 posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:39 4 7
PA, please create a category where iPhone will win, please I beg you, all my iFans just want to see iPhone winning something, I swear I'll not call you bias. LOL #iPhoneRox
7. remixfa posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:52 2 2
slim,
had they done the "budget minded" right, they could have included the i4s from sprint as budget minded as the over all cost is much cheaper than any ATT phone
10. Ray.S posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:20 1 1
Wait for the Best Phone award... HA! :D Jk, I don't have an idea which phone's going to win yet. :)
18. Ray.S posted on 06 Dec 2011, 10:14 0 0
Nope, you're talking about the PA Reader Awards. And this here is the PA Awards series. :P
36. protozeloz posted on 06 Dec 2011, 17:58 0 0
Oh snap!
11. Adianshadows posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:20 1 1
even tho I am a die hard android fan after owning both devices I am surprised that the 3GS isn't on there. and remixfa you do make perfect sense about the budget carriers but i don't think they included that in their process.
6. HTCiscool posted on 06 Dec 2011, 08:42 2 1
I really didn't know what to expect of this article, The Focus Flash should have won and the Thrill is ok but LG, the Atrix 2 was very little known, although basically the Same as the original.
Interesting...
8. snowgator posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:04 2 1
Very happy to see the Flash on there. But this is obviously for those looking at price first, I do not think any "budget" buyer would pay 100$ for a phone. Both the Thrill and Atrix 2 are great values, but not budget phones. Any phone over 50$ should ha e been DQed.
15. protozeloz posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:44 1 0
I think there arent any cheap phones in smartphone category I guess
16. protozeloz posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:48 1 0
and have endless flame wars? HECK NO. now we need the other crowd to settle down a bit(AND yes Im talking to you APPLE HATERS) this is a disccution site not a pig pen to have harmful comments floating around and name calling like if we where all from kinder garden, its tiring when you try talking with someone who's own "evidence" contradicts them.
24. hepresearch (unregistered) posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:29 1 0
... reported
It drives me up a wall when someone thinks that it was not bad enough to post vulgar hate-mail in just one thread, and that it must be copied and re-posted in additional threads... if it was thumbed-down/reported there, then it is not smart to re-broadcast over the whole forum.
17. paul5an posted on 06 Dec 2011, 09:50 1 1
These American phone review sites like Phone Arena are an absolute joke!!! $100 ON A CONTRACT is not a "budget" phone at all!!! Anyone who cares about not getting ripped off knows that you never buy a phone on contract. Perhaps Americans are so used to getting screwed over by their carriers now that they have a bit of "Stockholm syndrome".
Speaking of Stockholm, truly good value phones are the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo, Xperia mini pro, or Xperia Pro as very good value smartphones. The Xperia Pro especially has a very good bang per buck. ... And if you're a gamer, then the Xperia Play is the cheapest of the lot!
21. LewsTherin006 posted on 06 Dec 2011, 11:52 0 0
ATT Is anything but budget. They should have kept in mine the PRICE PLAN that the phone will be used on. You get a FREE/cheaper phone, but your pay for it in the bill.
25. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:38 0 0
I actually like the fact that Phone Arena didn't choose any free phones as budget phones. If they're free, they're probably not really worth getting. Sounds funny I know.
If a smart phone is free, it's probably old. Remember, getting this phone means you are locked into at least 20 months before getting another upgrade discount. Your "free" phone very well may not receive any more software updates, and your experience will not be as good as if you would have spent just $100 to get a more current phone.
26. TalkingTechy posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:42 1 0
Phone Arena, at the risk of being thumbed down 5 times, I am curious why you wouldn't include a $99 iPhone 4 in this list?
Is it because you don't think the 8GB hardly allows you to do anything?
For $99 it's still a pretty good value, and coupled with iTunes Match, it may not necessitate larger storage. What do you think?
27. hepresearch (unregistered) posted on 06 Dec 2011, 12:47 0 0
Everything digital I have ever produced or collected in my entire life fits nicely inside 4GB... I have no problem with an 8GB storage limit, and the iPhone is a smooth-operating phone with very nice features in spite of everything else. It fits in the same price range as the previous selections. My thumbs-up goes to you. +1.
35. networkdood posted on 06 Dec 2011, 15:43 0 0
Iphone 4 is 2010 - 8GB is this year - but same phone, in essence.
31. supaman21 posted on 06 Dec 2011, 15:12 0 0
photon on sprint launched at $100 and was even $50 for a spell..... dual core, 4.3 qhd screen inch screen, 8 gb on board memory, full 1080p recording........
43. Forsaken77 posted on 09 Dec 2011, 17:46 0 0
Why can't people get it through their heads that this has absolutely ZERO to do with the carrier/service behind the phone. It's only the hardware, that's it. It's an awards thing, not a marketing strategy for those who don't want to pay for more coverage. Budget-priced phone means phone-only.... the end. If they have a budget carrier award, TMo is all over it. If they have the absolute worst coverage in America award, TMo takes the gold yet again. But until that category comes around... it's all about the hardware folks.
