As we enter a brand new year, we take a look at the previous year’s bests and give you the hottest devices for 2014. In this article (which is the first of our year-ender series coming this week) we’ve picked our 10 budget LTE smartphones with a price tag not over Php9,000. Check them out after the break.
The devices listed below were chosen due to their balance of good specs and affordable price tag. They are arranged from the most expensive among the bunch down to the most affordable model that boasts 4G connectivity. Let’s get started.
Also making our previous list, the Cherry Mobile Ultra comes with a 5-inch HD display for those who like a little more screen room to navigate. We have tested one before and we liked its display and long battery life. Read the full review here.
Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS display, 1280×720 @293ppi
1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 MSM8926 quad-core processor
Adreno 305 GPU
1GB RAM
Expandable 8GB internal memory
13MP BSI rear camera with LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera
LTE, HSPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
FM Radio
GPS w/ A-GPS, GLONASS
Single SIM (Micro)
Android 4.3 Jellybean
2,000mAh battery
Dimension: 145.5 x 72.5 x 9 .0mm
Weight: 162g
Price: Php8,999
Huawei Ascend P2 LTE
Originally priced at almost Php23K, the Huawei Ascend P2 LTE’s tag was discounted to only Php9K! This sweet deal already comes with a Gorilla Glass protection, NFC, and 16GB of memory to save all your files. Only downside is that it still uses the old Android Jelly Bean, but if it’s not that much of a deal-breaker for you then you might want to check this phone out.
Specifications:
4.7-inch IPS LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels, 312ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Huawei K3V2 1.5GHz quad-core processor
1GB
16GB
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band
3G/HSPA+, LTE 150Mbps
Bluetooth 4.0
NFC
FM Radio
GPS w/ aGPS support
13MP BSI rear camera, LED flash
1.3MP front-facing cmera
Li-Ion 2,420mAh battery
Android 4.1 Jellybean
Price: Php8,990
This is Acer’s stab at going for the budget category without compromising power. The Acer Liquid E600 has 2GB RAM, DTS Sound technology, and LTE capability for less than Php9K.
Specifications:
5-inch FWVGA IPS display, 196ppi
1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
8 megapixel AF rear camera w/ LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
4G LTE, 3G HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP
microUSB 2.0
GPS, A-GPS
DTS Sound
2,500mAh battery
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
147 x 72 x 9.5 mm
155 g
Price: Php8,988
This LTE variant of the octa-core-touting Redmi Note is now powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It’s got 8GB of internal storage that goes with 2GB of RAM. The latest Android KitKat runs the OS department so you get a responsive interface.
Specifications:
5.5-inch HD IPS display, 267ppi
1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8928 quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 GPU
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD
13 megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash
5 megapixel front camera
4G LTE (FDD-LTE/LDD-LTE)
3G(WCDMA/TD)
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
GPS, A-GPS
USB OTG
MIUI V5.0 (Android 4.4 KitKat)
3,100mAh battery
154 x 78.7 x 9.5mm
199g
Estimated Price: Php7,299
Another budget phone from Meizu that carries beefy specs is the Meizu M1 Note. Enjoy watching videos on its Full HD Sharp IGZO display that’s reinforced with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. Inside, it also employs a generous 2GB RAM and a choice of either a 16GB or 32GB internal storage for your files.
Specifications:
5.5-inch Sharp IGZO Full HD display, 401ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 octa-core CPU
Mali T760 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB / 32GB internal storage
13 megapixel Samsung camera w/ LED flash, F/2.2 aperture
1/3.06-inch CMOS sensor, 300-degrees panoramic lens
5 megapixel OVS670 front camera, F/2.0 aperture
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
FDD-LTE / WCDMA / GSM
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0, BLE
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Flyme 4 OS (Android 4.4 Kitkat)
3,140mAh battery
150.7 x 75.2 x 8.9mm
145g
White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink
Price: CNY999 (approx. 7,200) for 16GB / CNY 1,199 (approx. Php8,600) for 32GB
Enjoy more space for your photos with Huawei Honor 4 Play’s 8GB internal storage. NFC is also on-board so you can just tap and pair to other NFC-enabled devices while the 64-bit ARMv8 SoC from Qualcomm runs the show.
Specifications:
5-inch HD (1280 x 720) display, 294ppi
1.4GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core SoC
Adreno 306 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB of internal storage
8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
4G/LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n,
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
NFC
GPS, A-GPS
Android Jelly bean (4.2) with Emotion UI
2,000mAh battery
Estimated Price: Php5,800++
Introduced right before Christmas of 2014, the ASUS Pegasus X002 continues the legacy of the Zenfone 5 and offers powerful specs for a sub-Php6K price tag. Its Ultra Picture Quality mode can stitch a number of pictures together to create an ultra-high resolution 30MP photo.
Specifications:
5-inch IPS display, 1280 x 720, 294ppi
1.5GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6732
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and Ultra Picture Quality mode
5-megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
4G TD-LTE/TD- CDMA, 3G
WiFi
Bluetooth
Android 4.4 KitKat with ZenUI
2500mAh battery
Price: CNY799 (approx. Php5,200)
Obviously the LTE-enabled version of the RedMi 1S, Xiaomi’s RedMi 1S 4G LTE sports 8GB of storage space, a MediaTek processor decently-clocked at 1.3GHz, and a proprietary UI on top of Android KitKat.
Specifications:
4.7-inch HD IPS display @ 1280 x 720 resolution, 312ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MTK6582 quad-core CPU
Mali-400 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8 megapixel rear camera w/ LED flash
1.6 megapixel front camera
Single SIM
4G(LDD-LTE), 3G(TD-SCDMA), 2G(GSM)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
BT4.0LE + BT3.0HS
GPS, A-GPS
MIUI V5 (Android 4.4 KitKat)
2,200mAh battery
137 x 69 x 9.9mm
158g
Estimated Price: Php5,100+
With an approximated tag of Php4,500, the entry-level ZTE Speed carries with it good specs for its asking price like 8GB of internal memory, Snapdragon processor, HD voice, and LTE.
Specifications:
4.5-inch IPS Display
1.2 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
expandable via microSD card
5MP rear FSI camera with HRD and LED Flash
2MP front camera
3G, 4G, Enhanced LTE
HD voice enabled
WiFi
Bluetooth 4.0
Android Kit Kat 4.4
2000mAh Battery
Price: $99.99 (approx. Php4,500)
The Lenovo K3 has the most affordable price (although still lacking PH price) among the list. It is available online for CNY599 or approximately Php4,300 and offers its users capable internals — there’s your spacious HD screen, big room for files, and dual-SIM capabilities. We surely are looking forward to the local arrival of this LTE phone.
Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS display, 294ppi
1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core CPU
Adreno 306 GPU
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8 megapixel camera w/ LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
4G (TD-LTE), 3G (TD-SCDMA)
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.1 LE
GPS, A-GPS
Waves MaxxAudio
2,300mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat w/ VIBE UI 2.0
141 x 70.5 x 7.9mm
128g
Price: CNY599 (approx. Php4,300)
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