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Six (6) Mobile Phones on a Php6,000 Budget

Recent statistics suggest that the jaw-dropping growth of smartphone sales in the Philippines is largely due to steep competition and cheaper phones from numerous companies, thus, resulting in device manufacturers to offer entry-level smartphones that can offer so much more minus a higher price tag.

We’ve already given you guys a list of smartphones that meet the requirements of those who want mid-level and semi-high end performance at varying prices, we figured, there are those who are looking to purchase entry-level smartphones as well.

There aren’t a lot of phones to go for at this price range (unless you purchase a grey unit) so we’ve chosen some devices that we’ve already experienced, are well-built and we think most of you will like. Feel free to have a look below.

(Don’t look for cheap, Samsung/BlackBerry Chinese knock-offs here as they aren’t included.)

Samsung Galaxy Y (Php5,650) – Undeniably popular, affordable and user-friendly.

Best for people who: Want an easy-to-use Android phone that’s easy on the wallet as well and are allured by the ‘Galaxy’ branding.

Not suitable for those who: Don’t like being seen using a phone that’s owned by many since it is a very popular device, don’t like the low-resolution display, have big thumbs.

Pros: Compact, light, easy to use [thanks to TouchWiz], solidly built, good call quality, FM radio.

Cons: Small screen, keyboard’s not as good as we’ve expected, fuzzy camera and average battery life.

Huawei Ascend Y200 (Php5,450) – Fast, responsive with a great screen to boot.

Best for people who: Want an affordable phone with great viewing angles, zippy UI and good call quality without breaking the bank.

Not suitable for those who: Are stigmatized by Chinese brands, movie and application addicts.

Pros: Great performance for the price, 320×480 3.5-inch IPS LCD display, in-call active noise-cancelling, solid fit and finish.

Cons: Capacitive touch keys can be finicky at times, so-so camera, speakerphone sounds muddy/crackled.

Lenovo A65 (Php5,499) – A phone with great looks and dual SIM capabilities for a cheap price.

Best for people who: Want to use multiple networks without bringing a second phone.
Not suitable for those who: Watch movies on the go, hate choppy UI animations, want a slim phone.

Pros: Dual-SIM [both are active all the time], easy SIM management, good battery life, top-notch design and build materials.
Cons: Screen resolution is on the low side, a bit chunky, hardware buttons can be cumbersome to use, ‘microscopic’ power/lock key.

Blackberry Curve 8520 (Php 6,800) – Cheap, zippy, no-frills entry-level BlackBerry phone.

Best for people who: Are not a fan of touchscreen keyboards, messenger addicts, want BBM and social networking on a budget.

Not suitable for those who: Think Blackberry phones are no longer relevant, who have used Blackberry OS versions 6 or higher, hate small screens, play lots of apps.

Pros: Affordable, cheap internet packages, BBM, fast [lags and freezes are there but rarely happens], very straightforward, loud speakerphone, lovely full QWERTY keyboard.

Cons: Flimsy build, rubber body moldings wear easily, awful camera, severely outdated OS.

Nokia Asha 303 (Php5,800) – 1GHz processor, QWERTY keyboard and user-friendly OS in a feature phone.

Best for people who: Feel at home with Nokia devices, want a QWERTY keyboard and responsive experience on a phone without too much bells and whistles.
Not suitable for those who: Are app freaks, want Android, hate Nokia, think that Symbian is not an option.

Pros: Feels good in the hand, inexpensive but premium-looking, full QWERTY keyboard, [very] easy to use, Symbian Belle design elements incorporates usage of thumbs on the screen which makes OS navigation relatively pleasurable, fluid and responsive internet browser.

Cons: OS is outdated, no GPS, no ‘true’ multi-tasking, small-ish screen, not exactly a smartphone (more like a feature phone with limited smartphone features), lack of apps.

Sony Ericsson E16i (W8 Walkman) (Php6,500) – Phone for the music-centric people.

Great for people who: Love listening to music without spending for additional MicroSD card and suffering from awful-sounding bundled eaphones that other phones come with.

Not suitable for those who: Think that Android 2.1 will not work for them, hate Sony’s extensive UI.

Pros: Good bundled earphones, good sound quality, simple to use, smooth overall UI and browser response, 2GB microSD card included.

Cons: OS is outdated, average battery life (so are the others on this list anyway), call sound quality is not as good.

Devices we’ve included above are just some of the phones we’ve already tested/owned so we were able to describe our experiences from a buyer’s perspective, it’d be great if you guys could help us out even further by listing more phones below and please do include the prices and reasons why you chose ’em, let’s help each other out shall we?

By the way, if you’re not afraid of purchasing brand new ‘grey units’ [devices that don’t often come with manufacturer’s warranty] from well-known online stores, then that 6,000 pesos (or a bit more) can buy you an HTC Explorer, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro or Aspen M1 and many others. Just make sure to take a great care of your grey market smartphone, don’t go crazy flashing roms otherwise you’ll end up turning your 6,000 pesos into an expensive paperweight.

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Avatar for Kevin Go

Kevin is a blogger, avid gamer and always keeps himself updated with the latest trends in technology. He's still a bit shy so no Twitter and Facebook link here.

63 Responses

  1. Avatar for al johann alday al johann alday says:

    Please remove this post.. It’s too irrelevant now.. This was 2012… thanks

  2. Avatar for ramie tabura ramie tabura says:

    check out this ..huawei mediapad M2 8.D

  3. Avatar for fce fce says:

    For those considering a BlackBerry Smartphone, the Q5 is the replacement model for the Curve.
    The Q5 costs 700 PHP more than the Curve’s listed price of 6,800 ( Widget City) The phone is 4G lte, with NFC, 2 GB RAM, and can be upgraded to the latest OS 10.3.1 with BlackBerry Blend and built in Amazon App. Store. Love the BlackBerry Blend feature of the new OS. Had this phone for over a year now and it works well for me.

  4. Avatar for archie archie says:

    Alcatel one touch magic. A truly underrated phone for P4000. Good for first time android users na ayaw bumili kaagad ng mahal na device. Available pa rin sa lazada.

  5. Avatar for Richard Castle Richard Castle says:

    Guys Check this out . Xolo .

  6. Avatar for Richard Castle Richard Castle says:

    Good Info.

  7. Avatar for Atom John Atom John says:

    Best offer ang Huawei Ascend Y200. Ganda ng screen, malinaw. Yung UI mabilis din. Beyond expectations talaga. Sabi nga sa brochure nila.

  8. Avatar for plutocrat plutocrat says:

    I bought a Cherry Mobile Cosmo a year ago for PHP 6800. (its a rebranded Cellon C8093). Its served me very well and has been surprisingly robust, although I don’t demand much of it – no need for video playing or games.
    I now see they’re selling it for 4500 PHP. And a couple of their other offerings are around the 6k mark as well, so possibly worth looking at those.

  9. Avatar for kringie kringie says:

    I have this Alcatel 918n. I bought it last Feb for 6k. But right now they sell it for 5.6k
    Super ok ang phone na’to. I must say astig talaga :D super ganda ng resolution compared to any Samsung phone I’ve seen :p the only problem with this device is it’s GPS doesn’t work.

  10. Avatar for lalaland lalaland says:

    too many lacking phones, the motorola fire XT(specs same with galaxy y but bigger screen 3.5″), the Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro(the phone is upgradable to ICS), and even alcatel 918N and MyPhone A818! sana ma edit… the LG L3 and Galaxy Y are just the same pero dapat nanjan din yun… sana magkaroon ng new list!

  11. Avatar for XXIX XXIX says:

    Huawei Ascend Y200 or HTC Explorer?

  12. Avatar for kriman kriman says:

    Gusto ko yung sony erickson.
    magkano yun?

  13. Avatar for Markie Markie says:

    I agree with the Lenovo A65 review. The screen is so-so, but you get used to it after a while naman. I also like the keyboard, it’s easy to type. The GPS, my personal favorite, works and you can download GPS navigators and spedometers, and use them without use of network. The ONLY thing that frustrates me is….

    The UI LAG. Very laggy. When you press the home button coming out of a program, it takes about 5 seconds for the icons and stuff to load. What you see is the wallpaper for five seconds and it sometimes needs your “touch” for the icons to appear. Sometimes nag hehesitate ka mag open ng programs because you almost assume that it will lag when you press the home button. It’s my first android, coming from ipod touch 3g and iphone 3gs. I like it because it’s dual sim. My friend’s Galaxy y did not naman compared to this phone, almost same specs naman, so i don’t get it. I’m no expert naman sa software pero I don’t think maganda “programming” sa A65. Kasi kahit pag tawag ko paminsan laggy, one time di ko ma cancel yung call kasi nag hang.. Grr.. Pero mura siya at sulit naman. I like the build and GPS power.

    Pero kung tutuusin sana, I would pay 2,000 more if they could fix the laggy UI, browsing is also not that good. Parang na-affect lahat eh. Yun lang naman po, ok na sana to. Increase siguro yung RAM (200mb only)?

    I’m planning to purchase a Lenovo p700 but i’m kinda hesitating because natatakot na ko baka may hints parin ng lag. Ganun po ba talaga ang Android? I mean frustrating laggy? Thank you

    • Avatar for Kevin Go Kevin Go says:

      Don’t hesitate purchasing the P700, it’s a great phone for its price and the UI is quite zippy :)

  14. Avatar for baroness baroness says:

    bakit walang Optimus L3? Agree ako sa Huwawei. Pero #1 ang galaxy Y? Hindi ata. Sayang naman yung list na’to.

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