Our Top 10 Smartphones below Php10k for (Mid) 2014

We’re more than halfway through the year once again and we’re here with another top 10 13 list, this one being for smartphones with prices below Php10,000USD 170INR 14,446EUR 162CNY 1,241. If you’re looking for great phones at this budget, then it’s time to read on!

Notes:

• Prices are based on online prices and SRPs; listed in no particular order.
• We want to keep the list diverse, meaning as much as possible, we want to avoid repetition of brands across the list without good reason.

1. Huawei Honor 3C  (Php9,990USD 170INR 14,432EUR 162CNY 1,240)

Huawei comes in with the Honor 3C only very recently, and it’s no slouch packing a balance of quantity and quality for specs.

Huawei Honor 3C specs:
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

2. Cherry Mobile Magnum S (Php9,999USD 170INR 14,445EUR 162CNY 1,241)

Cherry Mobile has a lot of offerings, but we decided to highlight the Magnum S here, being one of the most recent releases, having an octa-core CPU, Android 4.4 KitKat and a lot more – something that is still hard to find in the competition nearing the price range.

Cherry Mobile Magnum S specs:
5-inch HD IPS display, 294ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.7GHz MediaTek octa-Core CPU
Mali-450MPGPU
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage
18 megpixel BSI rear camera w/ dual LED flash
8 megapixel front camera w/ LED flash
Dual-SIM (Micro + Standard Combo)
HSPA+
WiFi
Bluetooth
USB OTG
2,300mAh non-removable battery
Android 4.4 KitKat
7.1mm thin
132g

3. Asus ZenFone 5 (Php6,495USD 111INR 9,383EUR 105CNY 806)

Asus took a lot of people’s breaths away when they launched the ZenFones locally, having quality construction and specs. If you want something less, there’s the Zenfone 4, and for more, there’s the ZenFone 6, but for us, we know a lot can find balance in the ZenFone 5.

Read our review here.

ASUS ZenFone 5 specs:
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

4. Motorola Moto G (Php8,880USD 151INR 12,828EUR 144CNY 1,102–Php10,080USD 172INR 14,562EUR 164CNY 1,251)

Specs, performance & even software – the Moto G is one of the best examples of what an entry level smartphone should be. If you need to know anything more than that, we have a full review right here.

Motorola Moto G XT1033 specs:
4.5-inch IPS LCD 1280 x 720 pixels, 329ppi
Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 Graphics
1GB RAM
8GB, 16GB internal memory
3G/HSPA+, dual-SIM, dual-standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
FM Radio tuner
5 megapixel camera with LED flash
1.3 megapixel front-facing camera
720p HD video
1.3MP front-facing camera
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Li-Ion 2,070mAh battery

5. Sony Xperia E1 / E1 Dual ( Php5,900USD 101INR 8,523EUR 96CNY 732 – Php7,890USD 134INR 11,398EUR 128CNY 979)

Sony isn’t giving up the low-end market just yet, as the Xperia E1 has support for dual SIMS and will greatly compliment any music loving user with its speakers and other additions.

Sony Xperia E1 / Xperia E1 dual specs:
4-inch (800 x 480) TFT display, 233ppi
1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8210 dual-core CPU
Adreno 302 GPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
3 megapixel rear camera
720p, 30fps video recording
HSPA+
dual-SIM, dual-standby (Xperia E1 dual)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
100Db speaker
FM radio with RDS
Android 4.3 Jellybean
1,750 mAh battery
118 x 62.4 x 12mm
120g

6. Nokia XL (Php8,750USD 149INR 12,640EUR 142CNY 1,086 – Php8,990USD 153INR 12,987EUR 146CNY 1,116)

Nokia has a set of affordable Android phones that appeal to a lot of people, and they’ve proved to be very good smartphones. We would have placed the Nokia X here, but just for the spec bumps, we skipped to the XL instead. For those who are looking to see Nokia’s craftmanship on an Android phone, you’re lucky as it falls below Php10k.

Nokia XL specs:
5.0-inch IPS LCD display @ 800×480 pixels, 187ppi
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.0GHz dual-core
768MB RAM
4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
Single-SIM (micro-SIM) or Dual-SIM
3G/HSPA 7.2Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
5MP rear camera with LED flash
141.4 x 77.7 x 10.9mm
190 grams
Li-Ion 2000mAh
Nokia X software platform 1.0 (Android Jellybean based platform)

7. Nokia Lumia 625 LTE (Php8,080USD 138INR 11,672EUR 131CNY 1,003 – Php13,200USD 225INR 19,069EUR 214CNY 1,638)

We apologize for having another Nokia in this list, but we assure you it’s not without good reason. The Nokia XL offers a different Android experience, while this one runs Windows Phone, and… (wait for it)… it has LTE support!

Nokia Lumia 625 specs:
4.7-inch IPS ClearBlack LCD screen, 800×480 @199ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 2
1.2GH Snapdragon S4 MSM8930 dual-core processor
Adreno 305 GPU
Expandable 8GB internal storage (up to 64GB)
512MB RAM
5MP rear camera w/ LED flash
1080p video recording @30fps
VGA front-facing camera
LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP support
GPS w/ A-GPS support, GLONASS
2000mAh Li-Ion battery
Windows Phone 8 (w/ Amber update)
133.3 x 72.3 x 9.2 mm
159g

8. MyPhone Agua Rio (Php4,999USD 85INR 7,222EUR 81CNY 620)

If you want to spend only around half of Php10k, then the Rio is a potential choice, having decent specs and all the color you will need.

MyPhone Agua Rio specs:
5-inch IPS display @ 1280×720 pixels, 294ppi
1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582M quad-core processor
1GB RAM
Mali-400MP2 GPU
Expandable 4GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
3G/HSPA+
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
USB OTG support
GPS
8MP rear camera with Flash
2MP front-facing camera
Li-Ion 2,000mAh battery
Android 4.2 Jellybean

9. Starmobile Knight (Php9,990USD 170INR 14,432EUR 162CNY 1,240)

While it’s no longer Starmobile’s flagship phone, the Knight is still one good looking device, and it’s still beefed up really good! The brand has a lot of other phablets to offer and phones with different highlights, but for us, the Knight wins it for them under Php10k.

Starmobile Knight specs:
4.7-inch (1280 x 720, 312ppi) HD LCD
Corning Gorilla Glass
1.2 GHz MediaTek MT6589 quad-core CPU
1GB of RAM
4GB of internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
18 megapixel AF BSI rear camera w/ dual-LED flash
8 megapixel AF BSI front-facing
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
HSPA+
3G
GPS w/ A-GPS support
dual-SIM
2,000mAh battery
Android 4.2 Jellybean

10. BlackBerry Q5 (Php9,480USD 162INR 13,695EUR 154CNY 1,176)

Sadly, the price of a brand new Z10 / Q10 still isn’t below Php10k (but we’re sure it will be there sooner or later), which is why it is the Q5 making it into the list. If BlackBerry & physical QWERTY keyboards are still your bet, then there is no other choice.

BlackBerry Q5 specs:
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)

And once again, that’s about it for our list. We’re sure there are lot more, so if we missed anything, feel free to give us your best smartphones below Php10k below! We have a lot more coming in tow, so stay tuned, and feel free to share this with your friends that are looking to buy a smartphone under budget soon!