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What are the best smartphones around $50?
6
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8
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Mar 23, 2018
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6
Options
Considered
6 Options Considered
Price
Memory
Bluetooth version
Nokia Lumia 530
$49
–
–
Nokia 215
$39
8 GB
3.0
LG Phoenix 2
$74.49
–
–
Tracfone Alcatel Onetouch Pizi Glitz
$20
–
–
ZTE Zinger
$29.55
–
–
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Nokia Lumia 530
•••
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Pro
Smooth performance in the UI
•••
Windows phone doesn't require high-end hardware to run well, it will work smoothly on just about any hardware.
Top
Pro
Long battery life
•••
The battery may only be 1430mAh, but with components that require less power that battery goes a long way. You can get up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G, or up to 51 hours of music playback.
Top
Con
Lack of apps
•••
Being a Windows Phone, the Lukia 530 doesn't have access to the Android or Apple app stores. The Windows store doesn't have nearly as many titles as other operating systems, and usually updates roll out slowly (if at all).
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Pro
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Pro
$49
Recommend
3
Nokia 215
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Pro
Great battery life
•••
With the small screen, the Nokia 215 can accomplish 20 hours of talk time or 29 days of standby time.
Top
Con
Runs proprietary OS
•••
There will be virtually no app support, as this device doesn't run any mainstream smartphone OS.
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$39
Recommend
1
LG Phoenix 2
•••
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$74.49
Recommend
1
Tracfone Alcatel Onetouch Pizi Glitz
•••
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Top
Pro
Performance is OK for basic tasks
•••
For basic social media and music playback, the phone performs good enough. There's some touch input latency when interacting with the display as well, but for $20 I don't think you'll do much better.
Top
Con
Components are cheap
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As you'd expect with a $20 phone, you get what you pay for. The 3.4" screen is a plastic 320x480 display, there's only 2GB of ROM and 512MB of RAM. The 2MP camera is barely worth using.
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$20
Recommend
1
ZTE Zinger
•••
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$29.55
Recommend
1
Blu R1 HD
•••
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Top
Pro
Ads are removable
•••
Currently, ads can be removed if you install an alternative lock screen (downloading one from the Google Play Store works). This may be removed in a future update, but for now this 'hack' is working.
Top
Pro
Dual SIM
•••
This device can take 2 SIM cards at the same time. This is important for some users (especially in Asia and Europe) who require 1 SIM for work and 1 for home, or perhaps 1 for data and 1 for texts/calls.
Top
Pro
Decent hardware subsidized by ads
•••
This is actually a $100 phone which is subsidized by ads on the lock screen. That means that you're getting better hardware at a cheaper price, and all you have to do is put up with ads on your lockscreen. By default there is also an ad widget on the homescren, however this is easily removed....
Top
Con
Very little storage
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With just 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, you will likely require a SD card slot and clear out recently used apps for a decent experience.
Top
Con
Poor update history
•••
Blu is a budget phone manufacturer, and they are known to update their phones very slow, and cut support early. This phone likely won't be getting many future updates.
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$50
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1
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8 Community Recommendations
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FascinatingAhMuzenCab
Contributor for 25 days
1
Total Rec's
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LG Phoenix 2
Recommended
25 days ago by FascinatingAhMuzenCab
FascinatingAhMuzenCab hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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HelpfulRobigus
Contributor for 5 months
1
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0
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Blu R1 HD
Recommended
5 months ago by HelpfulRobigus
HelpfulRobigus hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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IngeniousElcmar
Contributor for 7 months
1
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0
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Nokia Lumia 530
Recommended
7 months ago by IngeniousElcmar
IngeniousElcmar hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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dhiyafaris
Contributor for a year
5
Total Rec's
85
Total Karma
ZTE Zinger
Recommended
a year ago by dhiyafaris
dhiyafaris hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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Callixtus
Contributor for 4 years
2.6
K
Total Rec's
38
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Nokia Lumia 530
Recommended
2 years ago by Callixtus
Callixtus hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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Callixtus
Contributor for 4 years
2.6
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38
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Tracfone Alcatel Onetouch Pizi Glitz
Recommended
2 years ago by Callixtus
Callixtus hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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Callixtus
Contributor for 4 years
2.6
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Total Rec's
38
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Nokia 215
Recommended
2 years ago by Callixtus
Callixtus hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.
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HardwareHero
Contributor for 2 years
295
Total Rec's
163
K
Total Karma
Nokia Lumia 530
Recommended
2 years ago by HardwareHero
Pro
Smooth performance in the UI
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