Android Smartphone Of The Month - May 2013 (Tier 1 - Tier 2)

Alright. Let's talk about smartphones. I hope this article can be used as reference for someone who want to buy a new smartphone. About the classification, note that Tier II contains 2 subclasses, subclass 2.1 includes 3.2"-3.3" sized smartphone, meanwhile subclass 2.2 includes 3.5"+ sized smartphone. Subclass system will be applied too for Tier III (on the next post :p). Alright, let's start!


Tier I - $85-$160

1. Samsung GT-S5360 Galaxy Y

832MHz CPU | Broadcom BCM21553 Chipset | 290MB RAM, 190MB User Memory | 3" QVGA (240x320) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 2MP FF Camera | Android 2.3 Gingerbread (not upgradable)

Not bad for a starter. At least you have well-made Android smartphone with such a price (but don't expect anything much for the hardware spec, since it's a low-end). 1200mAh battery is quite small even for this low-end thingy.

+ Quite fast processor and more RAM for it's class (usually they use 800MHz CPU and 256MB RAM), well-priced.
- No GPU (locked, unlockable with Custom ROM), display feels bad and blurry (240x320 on 3" screen), stucked on Gingerberad, not upgradable.

2. LG Optimus L3 E400

800MHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 384MB RAM, 1GB User Memory | 3.2" QVGA (240x320) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 3MP Camera | Android 2.3 Gingerbread (not upgradable)

Expect a Galaxy Y, with different CPU, a bit more RAM, slightly larger screen, and oh, an Adreno 200 GPU! This one strongly recommended for starters who known Android before, but don't have much money.

+ Fairly balanced performance, plenty of RAM, fair internal storage, nice design, well-priced.
- Display feels bad and blurry (240x320 on 3" screen), stucked on Gingerberad, not upgradable.

Tier II - $165-$200

1. Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 S6500

800MHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 4GB User Memory | 3.3" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 3MP Camera | Android 2.3 Gingerbread (upgrade to 4.1 Jelly Bean will be available soon)

Value for money, with good performance. The build quality is quite good, with small but still fair screen. Recommended.

+ Quite good performance, will be upgraded soon, nice design with 2 back covers available, well-priced.
- The camera doesn't have LED flash.

2. Sony Xperia Tipo ST21i

800MHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 3GB User Memory | 3.2" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 3MP Camera | Android 4.0 ICS

Just like Galaxy Mini 2, but with slightly smaller screen. Android 4.0 ICS preinstalled, but no upgrade to Jelly Bean as for now.

+ Quite good performance, Sony's unique design, ICS preinstalled.
- Sometimes feels laggy, meanwhile Xperia Miro with same spec doesn't have this lag.






3. Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus S7500

1GHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 4GB User Memory | 3.6" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 5MP AF Camera | Android 2.3 Gingerbread (upgrade to 4.1 Jelly Bean will be available soon)

The successor of the succesful Galaxy Ace. With larger screen, and quite good performance. But the all-plastic body feels a bit cheap.

+ Nice performance for it's class, will be upgraded soon, feels better than Galaxy Ace
- All-plastic body


4. Sony Xperia Miro ST23i

800MHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 4GB User Memory | 3.5" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 5MP AF Camera | Android 4.0 ICS

The design was charming, it's almost doesn't look like a Tier 2 smartphone. Performance is good, if you're already satisfied with Tipo, then Miro can satisfy you more.

+ Nice performance, Sony's unique design, nice camera quality, premium feel.
- CPU doesn't as fast as Xperia E or Galaxy Ace Plus, a bit overpriced.


5. Sony Xperia E C1505

1GHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 4GB User Memory | 3.5" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 3MP Camera | Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The new one from Xperia. With nice design and balanced performance, and look! Jelly Bean! This one is quite good too, but unfortunately the camera is still 3MP

+ Nice performance, Sony's unique design, Jelly Bean 4.1 preinstalled, premium feel
- Camera is still 3MP







6. LG Optimus L5 E610

800MHz CPU | Adreno 200 GPU | 512MB RAM, 4GB User Memory | 4.0" HVGA (320x480) | 3.5G HSDPA | Card slot (MicroSD) up to 32GB | 5MP AF Camera | Android 4.0 ICS

Huge screen! Yay! But wait, it's still HVGA. Performance is good, but the CPU is still 800MHz like Miro, such a minus point for LG.

+ Quite good performance, biggest screen in Tier 2, nice design.
- CPU doesn't as fast as Xperia E or Galaxy Ace Plus, a bit overpriced, the screen has low density.



Well, enough for Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 3 and 4 will be posted soon. Thanks for reading my post.