The Best of 2014: Budget LTE Smartphones

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.

bestphone2014-LTE10k

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.

Cherry Mobile Ultra

Cherry-Mobile-Ultra-heroweb
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

ascend-p2

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

Acer Liquid E600 LTE

acer liquid e600 lte_2

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

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G LTE

xiaomi redmi note lte_2

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

Meizu M1 Note

meizu m1 note_1

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

Huawei Honor 4 Play

Honor-4-Play

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++

ASUS Pegasus X002

ASUS-pegasus-x002

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)

Xiaomi RedMi 1S 4G LTE

redmi 1s_1

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+

ZTE Speed

ZTE-Speed

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)

Lenovo K3 (K30-T)

lenovo k3_1

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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Avatar for Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

23 Responses

  1. Avatar for XDDD XDDD says:

    Hay naku makapag-noob naman tng mga to mga nagmamarunong. Binasa ko naman ang article, di naman nilagay na available LANG sa local market. Tandaan ny, may mga nagbabasang OFW na natingn din ng phone na mabibili nila doon sa bansang pinagtatrabahuan nila. At yung sinabi din ng isangcommenter, may mga naghihintay lang din na maging available sa market yung phone gaya ko. Mga ambisyosong palaka kayo! Tse!

  2. Avatar for ardee ardee says:

    Palpak ok sana yung asus pegasus x0002.. Malamang wala dito yan….

  3. Avatar for Phol ghas Phol ghas says:

    Waist of time for d blogger, he should review phones which are available in the market, duhh!!! ????????????

  4. Avatar for Michael Michael says:

    Boo! Bad article! No sense including phones not locally available.

  5. Avatar for Zhyphr024 Zhyphr024 says:

    Pansin ko lang lahat ng “Best of, Most Affordable at mga Top article nyo eh may devices na hindi pa available dito sa pinas.

    Pilit masyado, lalo sa article na to almost lahat wala pa sa pinas.

  6. Avatar for kusina101 kusina101 says:

    hey yuga can you also do a list of budget tablets readily available in our market? thanks a lot.

  7. Avatar for garry collado garry collado says:

    yung o+ evo 4g,bakit wala dito, di hamak naman na mas mura yun(7,990)

  8. Avatar for a a says:

    what is the point of including phones here that you cannot buy locally

  9. Avatar for pat pat says:

    4 play? Well played huawei haha

  10. Avatar for Komento Komento says:

    Dumb article. Need more research.

  11. Avatar for Gelo Gelo says:

    Yung Lenovo A606 locally available ( may article na rin dito) pero hindi sinama sa list

  12. Avatar for carol carol says:

    Grabe nmn eto kla ko p nmn available mga phone na to
    Ndi nmm pla.

  13. Avatar for pons pons says:

    What is the point of having LTE kung mabagal naman ang internet sa pinas? Most of the time mas mabagal pa lte kaysa 3g.

  14. Avatar for Tris Tris says:

    Sana next time yung mga pwede bilhin dito sa Pinas. May price comparison pa nilagay pero yun pala, hindi rin mabibili dito. What’s the point? LOL!

  15. Avatar for Easy E Easy E says:

    yun din ang gusto kung sabihin. Mas marami pa ang wala sa pinas sa nakalista. Pero sa akin ok lang na walang lte, dagdagan ang ram nalang.

  16. Avatar for joop joop says:

    Dapat ang kasama lang dito are phones made available locally!

  17. Avatar for Josh Josh says:

    Pinilit naman tong article na to. Wala nang ibang maisulat. 7 out of the 10 phones here aren’t even available locally.

    • Avatar for Ghosthunter Ghosthunter says:

      I agree. If Yugatech is going to write an article like this, it should be phone you can ACTUALLY BUY in a store within the borders of the Philippines.

      No BS about phones released abroad and equivalent pricing.

    • Avatar for gadgeteer gadgeteer says:

      hindi lang yun availability kamo, kasi pede ko gawan ng paraan yan pag punta ko sa china, kaya lang ang pinaka masagwa, yung mga nasa top lte smartphones puro TD-LTE, paano naman gagana yan dito sa pilipinas, its as good as none! ito siguro si kevin bruce francisco hindi alam ang network type natin dito sa pilipinas!

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