Memory Matters: Budget Smartphones with 2GB RAM

With yesterday’s list of octa-core smartphones under Php9K, a reader suggested that we make a compilation of affordable smartphones with 2GB of RAM since apart from processing power, memory also matters. That’s exactly what we did and below, you will find the phones that concentrated on good RAM without asking for a lot in return.

We categorized these smartphones as budget since they have 2GB of RAM yet they don’t go beyond the 11K mark. The common phones that sport the same memory usually start from 12K or even 13K and above. Handsets in this list are arranged from the most expensive down to the least expensive. Let’s get started!

Acer Liquid E700

The Acer Liquid E700 is capable of supporting up to 3 SIM cards

Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS LCD display @ 720×1280 pixels, 294ppi
1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582
Mali 400 GPU
2 GB of RAM
16 GB of internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
2-megapixel front camera with LED flash
Quad-band, triple-SIM
DTS Studio Sound
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
FM Radio Tuner
Li-Ion 3500mAh battery
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Price: Php10,990USD 187INR 15,876EUR 178CNY 1,364
Acer Liquid E700 first impressions

Xiaomi Mi 3

Great balance in price and specs? The Mi3 is a good bet.

Specifications:
5-inch Full HD IPS display, 441ppi
Gorilla Glass 3
2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core CPU
Adreno 330GPU
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
13 megapixel rear camera w/ dual LED flash
2 megapixel front camera
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct
NFC
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS
USB OTG
3,050mAh battery
MIUI v5 (Android 4.4.2 KitKat)
144 x 73.6 x 8.1mm (dimensions)
145 grams (weight)
Price: Php10,599USD 181INR 15,311EUR 172CNY 1,315
Xiaomi Mi3 review

Huawei Honor 3C

The Honor 3C flaunts a One Glass Solution display.

Specifications:
5-inch LTPS, OGS full lamination display @ 720×1280 pixels
Mediatek MTK6582 1.3GHz quad-core processor
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD card
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with aGPS support
8MP Sony lens rear camera with BSI support
5MP Samsung lens front-facing camera
FM Radio Tuner
Android 4.2 Jellybean
Emotion UI 2.0 Lite
Price: Php9,990USD 170INR 14,432EUR 162CNY 1,240

BlackBerry Q5

BlackBerry’s Q5 has a dual-core processor made by Qualcomm.

Specifications:
3.1-inch IPS LCD display @ 720×720 pixels, 328ppi
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 1.2GHz dual-core
Adreno 305 graphics
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 64GB via microSD card
HSPA+ 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
5MP autofocus rear camera, LED flash
1080p video recording
2MP front-facing camera
720p video recording
GPS w/ aGPS support
BlackBerry OS 10.1
Li-Ion 2,180mAh battery
120mm x 66mm x 10.8mm (dimensions)
120 grams (weight)
Price: Php9,480USD 162INR 13,695EUR 154CNY 1,176
BlackBerry Q5 review

Qube Colonia

The Qube Colonia is the only handset in this list with an octa-core processor.

Specifications:
5.5-inch IPS HD display @ 1280 x 720 resolution
G+G capacitive touchscreen
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor
Mali-450MP GPU
2GB RAM
16GB storage
Up to 64GB via microSD
13MP rear camera with autofocus
5MP front camera
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
GPS, 3G
Dual-SIM
2400mAh battery (removable)
156 x 78.4 x 8.2mm
168 grams
Price: Php8,990USD 153INR 12,987EUR 146CNY 1,116

ASUS Zenfone 5

The most affordable phone in this list, the Zenfone 5 only retails for Php6,495USD 111INR 9,383EUR 105CNY 806 and comes with an Intel processor.

Specifications:
5-inch IPS display, 1280 x 720 @294ppi
Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz multi-core processor with HyperThreading Technology
PowerVR SGX 544 MP2
2GB RAM
8GB internal storage
64GB via microSD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
3G/HSPA+
Bluetooth
8MP BSI rear camera w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
2MP front-facing camera
2110mAh battery
Android 4.3
148.2 x 72.8 x 10.3mm
144g
Price: Php6,495USD 111INR 9,383EUR 105CNY 806
ASUS Zenfone 5 review