When buying a smartphone, the primary task of any person who manages their money wisely is to choose a device specifically for their needs. Because any phone, even the most budget one, will bring you positive emotions if it meets your requirements and expectations.
We have prepared detailed instructions about how to choose a smartphone according to the parameters specifically for your tasks. Having studied it, you will be able to distinguish marketing nonsense, under the sauce of which they are trying to sell us the most expensive and, often, not necessary smartphones, and also learn to be guided by things that are really important when choosing. Let's begin.
Design is a subjective thing, and there are not and cannot be any recommendations for choosing the appearance of a smartphone. However, you still need to know some information regarding the exterior of the device. Almost all smartphones currently produced have the following body types:
A hit of yesteryear that is still popular today, a metal case can be considered the best option. This case looks nice (allows the manufacturer to experiment with finishing options), it is durable, resists drops well, and thanks to its high thermal conductivity, it removes heat well from the internal filling of the smartphone, preventing it from overheating under load. Disadvantage - the body becomes covered with abrasions during use.
The latest trend is a ceramic case, which is often positioned as an image solution. Indeed, such phones look unusual, but you have to pay for beauty - the glass body is slippery and fragile, it is not particularly pleasant to hold in your hands, and the surface itself quickly becomes covered with scratches and loses its original appearance. This is definitely not a choice for lovers of practicality.
Smartphones in a plastic case are now presented mainly in the initial price category, these are often ultra-budget cars with poor characteristics and mediocre assembly, so there is not much choice here. A pleasant exception was the recently released ( full review see the link), you can also consider the LG K10. Plastic has no particular operational advantages or disadvantages, except that in the cold the phone is not so cold and it is more pleasant to put it to your ear when talking.
The vast majority of smartphones are produced in a monolithic case, which makes the assembly better (no backlash or gaps between individual parts) and allows the devices to be protected from dust and moisture. However, this imposes certain restrictions, for example, you will not be able to replace the smartphone battery yourself as it wears out; to do this, you will have to carry the gadget to the service center. Smartphones with detachable back cover and the battery is produced by LG, you can also look for them among ultra-budget devices from Chinese manufacturers (for example,)
When choosing a display, you should pay attention to the following parameters:
Everyone has their own smartphone screen diagonal that is comfortable for use, so it makes sense to come to the nearest salon mobile communications and test different models to determine what fits more comfortably in your hands. It is obvious that smartphones with large display are better suited for watching videos and consuming a variety of media content, while compact devices are simply more convenient to use. They can be controlled with one hand, which is not applicable to phablets.
The standard screen diagonal today is considered to be 5-5.5 inches, while for particularly large phablets, such as , it reaches 6.44 inches. There are frankly few high-quality compact devices on the market; let’s highlight the iPhone SE (4’’), (4.7’’) and Sony Xperia X Compact (4.6’’).
Next, you should look at the display resolution. There are two options: HD (1280*720) or FHD (1920*720). HD resolution is optimal for displays up to 5 inches diagonal, while for larger diagonals it is desirable to have FHD. Anything less than HD gives a grainy, crumbly picture, more than FHD - 2K, 4K, is simple marketing for which you will have to overpay. The difference between FHD and 2K resolution on a small smartphone screen will be noticed by 1 out of 10 people; it is extremely insignificant.
Parameters such as color rendering, viewing angles and screen contrast depend on the type of matrix, of which there are currently three (main):
The pitfalls of AMOLED matrices are PenTile (a technology for constructing a pixel network, due to which, even at high ppi, the picture can be loose), as well as uneven wear and burnout of individual pixels. However, now these problems are considered “childhood diseases” of AMOLED matrices; in modern smartphones they are minimized.
Which smartphones to choose is up to you. If possible, hold two smartphones with IPS and AMOLED screens in your hands and decide which picture you like best. In general, IPS can be considered the best choice - take it with confidence, you won’t go wrong, but TN screens should be avoided in 2017, even with a limited budget.
We will not delve into the jungle of characteristics and types of memory. It’s enough to know that any smartphone has 2 types of memory:
Minimum Required random access memory for a smartphone today – 2, optimal – 3 or 4 GB of RAM. The rule here is that the more the better: when large quantities A smartphone can hold a huge number of applications in the background, while if there is not enough RAM, the applications will be unloaded and launched again the next time they are opened, and the interface and browser itself will work slowly, with noticeable glitches. There are already smartphones on the market with 6 and 8 GB of RAM; this amount is excessive, but it provides a certain foundation for the future, since the appetite for applications and the Android OS itself is constantly growing.
Regarding the main memory, it is worth looking first of all at the possibility of expanding it using memory cards. If the smartphone supports flash drives, then the volume of the built-in storage is not critical, since even if you buy a 16 GB version of the smartphone, you can use a flash drive of the required size.
However, if there is no MicroSD support, which many Chinese manufacturers like to “please” in an attempt to sell a more expensive version of the smartphone, you will have to overpay for the required amount of memory, which everyone must determine based on their needs. There's no escape here.
16 GB is frankly not enough, even taking into account the fact that music and films can be received online without storing them on the device. The same photos and videos taken with the built-in camera will fill up 16 GB extremely quickly. Therefore, we recommend looking at 32, preferably 64 GB versions of smartphones without flash drives.
70% of all smartphones on the market come with Snapdragon and MediaTek processors. These are eternal competitors, in the rivalry between which Snapdragon has a noticeable advantage. Roughly speaking, these chipsets are used in all expensive smartphones, while budget devices are equipped with chips from MediaTek.
On paper, MediaTek may have an advantage in operating frequency, number of cores and other characteristics, but due to weak video accelerators, they lose to Dragons in 3D graphics processing. That is, in games, for which this most “powerful” processor is needed, since the average chipset from MediaTek can cope with any everyday tasks (net surfing, applications, video playback).
The top Dragon for today is the flagships of previous generations - 825, 821 and 820. In the middle price segment a good choice– Snapdragon 625, 650, 652. And budget chips 430 and 425, which do not claim to be “gaming”, will allow you to play even the heaviest games at medium-low graphics settings.
The first thing to remember is that the number of megapixels (resolution) of a camera has absolutely no bearing on how high-quality the pictures will be. The final result depends on a combination of the following factors:
And the last, but one of the most important factors influencing the quality of a photo is software, or software processing algorithms. A clear example of this is the many Chinese flagships that take frankly lousy pictures despite the fact that they have top-end sensors, high-aperture optics and cool avofocus. On the other side of the scale is some Nexus 5x, released almost 3 years ago, but in terms of image quality it gives a 90% head start. modern smartphones.
In general, a smartphone for high-quality photography should be chosen not by characteristics on paper, but by tests and example images. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with ours, where we present optimal options for purchase, both among flagships and among budget devices.
The size of a smartphone's battery has a significant, but not final, impact on its autonomy. No less important is energy consumption, which in turn depends on 3 factors: screen type ( AMOLED displays much more energy efficient than IPS analogues), processor (the smaller the technical process by which the chipset is manufactured, the better) and software optimization of energy consumption.
The record holder for battery capacity today is the Oukitel K10000 with a 10 thousand mAh battery, but this is far from the longest-lived one on the market, since the Chinese, as often happens, did not support the hardware with properly optimized software, which is why the K10000 active use does not hold a charge much more than
Extremely useful is the fast charging function, which allows you to charge your smartphone in an hour instead of the standard 2-3 hours. Almost all top-end devices are equipped with it, but recently this technology has also appeared in inexpensive smartphones, for example, which costs less than 9 thousand rubles.
Ours will help anyone looking for a long-lasting smartphone. We recommend you read it.
And finally, let’s briefly talk about the manufacturers. All companies can be divided into the following categories:
That's all. Now you know how to choose an inexpensive, but good smartphone in 2017. Good luck!
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Are you looking for a rating of smartphones 2017 with the best price-quality ratio that will help you make the right choice when purchasing? I want to do short review on quality smartphones different price categories that received good grades from the owners.
If you want to find a smartphone under 20,000 rubles, then it’s easy to do, looking at the crowded market mobile devices. For such a price, you can freely choose between global and Chinese brands - both offer interesting new products. Here is my TOP 3, which will appeal to buyers with different needs.
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Huawei Honor 6X
Up to 15,000 rublesSmartphones under 15,000 rubles are a very popular price category for devices. It is for this amount that you can choose a smartphone without overpaying extra money for unnecessary functions, for example, for high performance in hardware-demanding games. Buyers can choose either a Chinese device or a device from a well-known Western brand without being disappointed in the purchase. My personal top 3 rating of phones by quality in 2017 looks like this:
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The flagships of leading manufacturers are equipped with the latest technology - here you have fingerprint and iris scanners, and an intelligent voice assistant, and RAM like gaming laptop. These gadgets are good for everyone, except for one thing – the price. In order to buy the upcoming new product from Apple, the average Russian will definitely have to sell his car.
Of course, not everyone is ready for such impressive expenses. More often than not, people want to buy an inexpensive but good smartphone – one that doesn’t require dust to be blown away and is equipped with all the necessary functionality. And this is not a utopia. You can purchase a high-quality gadget at a reasonable price - you just need to know what criteria to choose by.
The first thing a buyer who is looking for an inexpensive but good smartphone needs to do is abandon prejudices towards Chinese products. The idea that goods from the Middle Kingdom are assembled by stupid self-taught craftsmen on their knees in stuffy basements has long been outdated. In terms of quality, products from Xiaomi, Oppo, Lenovo and even the lesser-known Bluboo and Doogee are in no way inferior to products from Samsung and. iPhones, by the way, are also assembled in China - and they work like clockwork.
Chinese smartphones are cheaper not because they are worse, but because their manufacturers do not charge extra “for the brand”!
Next, you need to decide on a budget. Counting on the fact that for 2,500 - 3,000 rubles you can buy a high-quality gadget is too arrogant and optimistic. But having about 10,000 rubles on hand, you can start making a choice - in 2019, a huge number of interesting devices are presented in the middle price segment.
The buyer needs to choose a smartphone based primarily on individual needs: for example, a gamer should look for a device with a powerful processor and video accelerator, and a music lover should look for a smartphone with a dedicated amplifier and digital-to-analog converter. However, there are also criteria that you need to pay attention to in any case - regardless of personal preferences.
RAM as a selection criterion is more important than the built-in one - because the built-in memory can be expanded using a flash card. However, there are some nuances here too. RAM is necessary for temporary storage of data - together with the processor, it ensures performance. If there is not enough RAM, then even with the most powerful chipset the smartphone will slow down.
The optimal amount of RAM for an average smartphone is: 3 GB. If you want to save a lot, you can get a device with 2 GB, but this device is not suitable for games. As for the built-in memory, the minimum is 16 GB. Obviously, if the buyer is looking for inexpensive smartphone, he intends to use it mainly for calls and Internet surfing. These purposes do not require a large amount of ROM memory, but it is worth understanding that even 16 GB of steam installed applications They will fill out quickly as they update. Within six months, the device will begin to report that the drive needs to be cleaned.
Regarding the possibility of expanding ROM, it is worth considering the fact that modern gadgets The MicroSD slot is often combined with a SIM. That is, you have to choose, and sometimes it’s not easy to give up a second SIM card, because the first one can be used for personal use, and the second one is for work.
Android - and nothing butAndroid!
In fact, today the vast majority of smartphones are produced on two operating systems - iOS from Apple and Android from Google. When choosing an inexpensive device, we are not talking about software from the Apple company; their devices clearly do not fall into the budget category. Only Android remains. It is extremely important to choose a model with the most current version BY. If the operating system is initially quite old, then there is a high probability that after a few years a number of functions will no longer work on it, and popular applications quickly cease to be supported on such firmware.
Google recently released the so-called “pure Android”. IN in this case the system is not overloaded with unnecessary software, which significantly improves the performance of weak gadgets. In addition, the stock firmware will receive prompt updates for several years.
Users often seek to purchase inexpensive smartphones, because they expect that such devices will be able to work longer without recharging - after all, there is no “on board” multi-core processor, and the screen is not so bright and juicy as to waste precious milliamps “in front of our eyes”. This point of view is not entirely correct: the battery is not the same as the battery - in terms of power, the gadget’s battery corresponds to its functionality.
Therefore, the buyer of an inexpensive device should definitely pay attention to the battery capacity. If the smartphone belongs to the middle price category and is provided with moderate functionality, 3,000 mAh will be enough.
The processor, together with RAM, is responsible for the speed of the gadget. Of course, you can’t count on the fact that an inexpensive smartphone will have a top-end processor - it’s not needed there, because it won’t be able to fully express itself.
A few years ago, chipsets from MediaTek budget segment were better than products from Qualcomm (Snapdragon). Firstly, they were cheaper in themselves and did not contribute to an increase in the cost of the device, Secondly, they used less energy. Snapdragon processors are considered more productive and lead in the highest price category. However, today Qualcomm offers a number of solutions that are quite comfortable in price and show good performance. Thus, you should not focus solely on MediaTek in 2019.
Not worth taking budget smartphone with the Spreadtrum chipset! The performance of such devices, to put it mildly, leaves much to be desired.
In addition to the manufacturer of the chipset, its clock speed and number of cores are also important. The optimal number of cores for an inexpensive smartphone – 4 . If there are more of them, it doesn’t matter - it’s will not have a negative impact on the battery life of the gadget. Modern devices can disable some cores when they are not needed.
As for the clock frequency, it is responsible for the number of operations that the device can perform in a minute. Reasonable minimum for budget gadget – 1.5 GHz.
4G support is a mandatory criterion. Without 4G, the user will not even be able to access the network normally. However, the buyer will probably have the least problems with this criterion - almost all modern smartphones support 4G.
Thus, a good but inexpensive gadget must meet the following requirements:
Regarding other parameters, it is worth noting that in the segment under 10 thousand rubles, devices with FView displays, dual cameras, and fast charging began to appear. All these functions are useful, but are of secondary importance when choosing. Not very nice to have good camera in a phone that slows down all the time due to a weak chipset and a small amount of RAM.
And most importantly, the buyer should not limit himself to the assortment offered by domestic communication stores and equipment stores. Chinese trading platforms and AliExpress provide an excellent opportunity to purchase almost any device at a low price.
A buyer who is looking for a smartphone with a low price and all the necessary functions should pay attention to the models from the following list.
Price: from 5000 rubles.
Front camera - 2 MP with FaceID function. The main module received two sensors - 8 and 2 megapixels, they don’t capture the stars from the sky, but they take good pictures for their level. The smartphone received support for 4G and Wi-Fi 5 GHz. Data protection is ensured not only by a face scanner, but also by a fingerprint sensor. Among other things, the model has a good battery capacity; taking into account the small display and energy-efficient chipset, 1.5 days of use at medium loads is quite realistic. For your money, this is one of the most best phones according to the filling.
Advantages:
Flaws:
Price: from 6500 rubles.
A budget device for those who are not chasing performance, but are more focused on autonomy. For this purpose, the phone has capacious battery at 5500 mAh. The model has a modern appearance with a large 6.19-inch IPS matrix with an 18:9 aspect ratio and HD+ resolution. Of course, with such a screen size, I would like to see a higher dots per inch ratio, but on the other hand, this allows you to save battery.
The device received a fingerprint sensor, a dual rear camera – 13+8 MP, a front module – 5 MP. For your money - this is beautiful smartphone with a good camera and battery. Of course, there is not enough memory, but you can add microSD up to 64 GB, in which case you will have to sacrifice a second SIM.
Advantages:
Flaws:
Price: from 9200 rubles.
At first of the year Xiaomi announced that the Redmi line is being differentiated into an independent product. The first creation was Redmi Note 7 - the best smartphone in the mid-range segment. The company recently announced a budget phone. Of course, the price tag barely fits into 10 thousand, but for those who are considering this amount and want to buy the best, the model will be the most logical choice. Important point– the device is cheaper to buy on Aliexpress, since the minimum price tag of 9 thousand rubles does not offer the weakest build. In Russia, as of March 2019, the model is presented at several points of sale, and the price tag is inflated by 3-4 thousand.
The company offers in the new product a decent chipset that can cope with any tasks, several memory options - from 2/16 GB to 4/64 GB. The gadget received a separate slot for Sim, a special water-repellent coating of the body, dual camera 12+2 megapixels with Ai support and the front module is 8 megapixels. Diagonal – 6.26 inches 19:9, HD+ resolution, drop-shaped cutout for the camera.
Advantages:
Flaws:
The basic rule of economics is that competition is good for the consumer because it leads to a general reduction in prices. Market mobile technologies Now it is more competitive than ever - over the past 2-3 years a gigantic number of new players have appeared on it. And since these players need to somehow cling to their “place in the sun,” they act in the most obvious way - offering their devices at minimal prices, almost at cost.
It is thanks to this that buyers now have the opportunity to buy an inexpensive but good smartphone - just look at these Chinese companies, like Bluboo, Doogee, Blackview and others. Chinese manufacturers They monitor the quality of products even more closely than Korean and European ones - after all, just one mistake is enough for them to tarnish their reputation and end up in the rear.
Testing Doogee X30 essential " pitfalls"was not found.
Price on Banggood: about 8,990 rubles
It would be wrong to call the Bluboo S8 a copy of the Samsung device of the same name. Bluboo S8 is an independent device, which borrowed from the Korean manufacturer only a screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9.
The gadget is equipped with a unique security software 360 Safety, as well as an ultra-fast fingerprint sensor (operates in 0.1 seconds), a capacious battery that supports Fast technology Charge and connector. In addition, the smartphone boasts an unusual iridescent design – there are few “budget” phones on the market that look as great as the S8.
Price on GearBest: about 6,406 rubles
Refusing to produce copies of well-known gadgets, Blackview began producing inexpensive, but at the same time smart and extremely unusual devices. Any BV series smartphone is clear proof that a protected device does not have to look ugly - it can also have a very attractive design.
The BV7000 is not only cute, but its performance is top notch! What other smartphone for 6.5 thousand rubles can offer 4G, NFC, a screen with FullHD resolution and a 64-bit processor? Don't forget about durability: Blackview complies with the IP68 standard, can operate at a depth of 5 meters and can withstand pressure up to 0.5 tons.
Modern manufacturers offer so many phones that you can easily get confused in their diversity. We offer a convenient catalog where you can find out full specifications smartphone, its price, see photos and main features. You can do it yourselfselect a smartphone based on characteristics and parameters using the filters on our website or read the models, which can be found in the corresponding section of the MobileGadjet portal.
About to buy new smartphone from China and not only, you need to answer a number of questions for yourself:
There is only one answer - the catalog of our website, where there is everything related to smartphones and electronics in general.
To select a smartphone based on its characteristics, use filters that allow you to specify a wide variety of parameters - limit the cost, specify the processor manufacturer, type of screen matrix, diagonal and much more. As a result, the catalog will display those models that really interest you. A convenient catalog with prices will help you choose a smartphone based on its characteristics and parameters online, where there are models from various brands - Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei, Meizu, OPPO. OnePlus and many others, both famous and not so famous. Also here you will find accessories for every taste and price.
Having studied catalog of smartphones 2018-2019 with prices, photos and full technical specifications you are guaranteed to find for yourself suitable model, which will meet all requirements. There are especially many phones in the budget category, where a real war has now broken out between manufacturers. They account for the bulk of purchases, because when affordable price they are practically not inferior to the flagships. Gone are the days when budget devices attracted attention solely by price; now they also offer excellent specifications. By looking through the catalog of phones with prices and photos, you will only be convinced of this. You will also find here
Today, the mobile device market is developing so rapidly that instructions on choosing smartphones become outdated in just a month. We hope that this article will help you with choosing a smartphone at least until the end of this year.
When choosing a smartphone, this is the main point. But here you should separate the main thing: what the phone’s operation directly depends on and the secondary thing, which is more suitable for bragging. For example, all these smart things from Samsung, a la scrolling with your eyes, can be classified as not the most important characteristics.
Today you almost never meet a person with a phone screen smaller than four inches. If you plan to use the device primarily as a dialer and sometimes install some applications, more compact models are suitable, which, as a rule, are cheaper. If you need to watch videos and play, we recommend so-called phablets, where the most famous representative is .
But even here you should be careful, because some smartphones offer a huge display, but a weak processor and low resolution, which makes the work very uncomfortable.
Today, phone resolutions can range from 800x480 to Quad HD. You can talk about the usefulness of the latter, but the most balanced and correct solution is Full HD.
The matrix plays a huge role. It is better to give preference to IPS or Super AMOLED from Samsung, as they provide excellent performance both in bright sun and in the dark. Conventional LCD screens, as a rule, do not shine with quality.
Manufacturers are actively involved in the race for the number of cores, which is not really an indicator of processor power. For example, the 2-core iPhone 6 is only slightly inferior to the 8-core one. Approach this question wisely and ask yourself: “Do I even need most powerful processor?. Yes, power is good, but it is only needed for resource-intensive games.
If your budget allows, it is better to buy some flagship with a top-end chipset from Samsung or Qualcomm. And if not, then you can take a closer look at devices running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 415 or 615. Their power will be quite enough for everyday tasks and games at medium graphics settings.
There is also Chinese MediaTek company, which produces MTK processors. In principle, modern models can compete with leading players on the market, but still eight MediaTek cores cannot be compared with eight cores from the same Qualcomm.
As for memory, today smartphones can have 2-4 GB of RAM, which is enough for normal operation OS Android and user tasks. IN budget models usually 1 GB of RAM, but this is not enough.
Built-in memory can be from 2 to 128 GB. It’s better to look at 32 GB devices, as this is the golden mean: there will be enough memory for everything you need. Many Android devices support memory cards, but you still won’t fit all the applications there, so if you like to play games, then 16 GB may not be enough, let alone 2 or 4 GB.
A pressing issue these days is gadgets. Most smartphones have a battery from 1800 to 4000 mAh. Flagships last one and a half to two days, while devices from the cheap line can barely last one working day without recharging. This fact should be taken into account when choosing.
Smartpads type Galaxy Note They can work without an outlet for quite a long time, but they cost accordingly. On this moment record holder for battery life is the Motorola Droid Turbo, which does not need to be charged for 3-4 days.
If you are an active user and use GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile data and often play, then the device should have capacious battery. The best smartphones in this plan .
The camera resolution of modern devices reaches 23 megapixels. Here the situation is the same as with the number of cores: many megapixels does not mean good quality. It’s always better to hold the camera in your hands before buying and see how it shoots.
Normal manufacturers always do great with this parameter (with rare exceptions); even budget phones have 8-megapixel modules with a pretty good matrix that takes high-quality pictures. If you don’t need a camera that can shoot in all possible modes, then you shouldn’t overpay for it.
Permission front camera already reaches 13 MP, which will clearly be appreciated by selfie lovers. But, if you only need to talk on Skype, then two megapixels will be enough. For those who like to take high-quality pictures of themselves, we advise you to pay attention to smartphones with front-facing modules starting from 5 MP. You will find the best models in ours.
Now smartphones are equipped with everything possible: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 3G, 4G. Devices offering 4G LTE are a little more expensive. If not supported in your country this standard or you don’t care about Internet speed via mobile network, then focusing on the presence of this module is pointless. But if you often use the Internet, for example, on public transport or traveling, then 4G support will be very necessary.
Recently, it has become fashionable to protect smartphones from dust or moisture. They also try to protect gadgets from impacts. In fact, for the average user, this is just pampering; protection according to the same IP67 standard does not bring any real benefit. This is more suitable for people who like to travel, climbers, and so on. Therefore, do not refuse to buy a good device just because it cannot be wet.
The user is presented with a huge selection of different smartphones. You can buy a phone from a famous manufacturer, Chinese fake, . Of course, it is recommended to always take only original products, because fakes are made carelessly and may not work at all - depending on your luck.
Having bought the original one, you will definitely be satisfied, but it is unlikely that it will be pleasant to use even the most expensive and accurate Chinese copy. If you don’t want to overpay money just for a brand, then it’s better to look at the “Chinese”. But, again, it is better to buy only models from more or less famous brands(Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Fly, Meizu, Xiaomi).
It's up to you to decide which smartphone to buy. Analyze why you are buying it and what you need. If your budget allows, then it’s definitely worth taking a closer look at flagships like the Galaxy S6, LG G4, Xperia Z3+,
