Is there a single GSM cellphone under $200 that meets the ba

[Eddie Powalski]

In another thread, we established bare-minimum specs for a starter
Android phone (for a kid) to be the following:

BARE MINIMUM SPECS:
0. Carrier = (your personal choice)
1. OS = Android 4.0 or better (for app compatibility)
3. CPU = 1GHz single core
4. Internal memory = 1 GB (is this the same thing as ROM?)
5. RAM = 512 MB
6. Screen = 800x480 pixels
7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB
8. Price < $200 (your personal choice)

My personal choices on #0 and #8 above are that I'm on a T-Mobile
family "Value Plan"; and, I don't want data for my kid (so WiFi is
important since she will only be using the Internet at home).

I had bought a T-Mobile Android phone for my grade-school kid, but it
turned out to be woefully inadequate for some of the first things we
tried to do with it:
a. We couldn't install Talkatone (Google Play refused to upload it)
b. We couldn't install Temple Run 2 (Google Play wouldn't do it)
c. We couldn't upgrade the Android OS (no upgrades are available)

So, we definitely *know* these specs are inadequate:
(http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3875)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile (this is, of course, your personal choice)
1. OS = Android 2.3
3. CPU = 823 MHz Broadcom BCM21553
4. Internal memory = 512 MB (why don't people just call this ROM?)
5. RAM = 512 MB
6. Screen = 480x320 pixels
7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB
8. Price = $80 (this is, of course, your personal choice)

I created a T-Mobile account, and looked at EVERY phone they sell
for those on the family "Value Plan", and NONE (so far) seem to meet
these minimum specs above!

I originally had a price point of $100, but, I've had to double that,
just to have 3 phones to consider.

Here are the dozen Android phones T-Mobile will sell me as of today:
(priced low-to-high, with only "Android" checked as a filter):
a. Samsung Dart id $72 + ~$7 CA tax & fees ~= $80
b. T-Mobile Prism II is $116 + ~$12 CA tax & fees = ~$130
c. Samsung Gravity Q is $154 + ~$15 CA tax & fees ~= ~$170
d. LG Optimus L9 is $240.00 + ~$24 CA tax & fees ~= $265
e. Samsung Galaxy Exhibit is $236 + ~$23 CA tax & fees ~= $260
f. T-Mobile myTouch Q is $260 +~$26 CA tax & fees ~= $285
g. Samsung Galaxy SII is $336.00 + ~$33 CA tax & fees ~= $370
h. Nexus 4 is $428 + ~$42 CA tax ~= $470
i. Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE is $530 +~$53 CA tax & fees ~= $580
j. Samsung Galaxy S4 is $580 +~$58 CA tax & fees ~= $630
k. HTC One is $580 +~$58 CA tax & fees ~= $630
l. Samsung Galaxy Note II is $650 +~$65 CA tax & fees ~= $715

Unfortunately, NONE of them meet the bare minimum specs until you get
way past the $200 price point!

Samsung Dart (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3177)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile
1. OS = Android 2.2 <== fails minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = 0.6 GHz <== fails minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 0 (2GB card included) <== is this the same as ROM?
5. RAM = unknown <== why does phonescoop not list any RAM?
6. Screen = 240x320 <== fails minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. WiFi (no data plan), Bluetooth, & microUSB <== meets minimum connectivity
8. Price = ~$80 <== meets minimum spec of no greater than $200

T-Mobile Prism II (Huawei Prism II Specs, Features (Phone Scoop))
0. Carrier = T-Mobile (is this T-Mobile Prism the same as the Huawei?)
1. OS = Android 4.1 <== meets minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 MSM7225 <== meets minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 4 GB <== meets minimum spec of 1GB
5. RAM = 512 MB <== meets minimum spec of 512MB
6. Screen = 320x480 <== fails minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. WiFi (no data plan), Bluetooth, & microUSB <== meets minimum connectivity
8. Price = ~$130 <== meets minimum spec of no greater than $200

Samsung Gravity Q (Samsung Gravity Q specs)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile
1. OS = Android 4.1 <== meets minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = Single core, 416 MHz, STE U6805-Core <== fails minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 256 MB ROM <== fails minimum spec of 1GB
5. RAM = 128 MB <== fails minimum spec of 512MB
6. Screen = 240x320 <== fails minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. WiFi (no data plan), Bluetooth, & microUSB <== fails connectivity (no wifi)
8. Price = ~$80 <== meets minimum spec of no more than $200

Given I can't find a cellphone *at* T-Mobile that meets the minimum
specs independently created, may I ask whether there is a cellphone
*outside* of T-Mobile which *does* meet the minimum specs?

Or must we revise the minimum specs?

 

[Eddie Powalski]

On Tue, 02 Jul 2013 23:51:45 +0000, Eddie Powalski wrote:

In another thread, we established bare-minimum specs for a starter
Android phone (for a kid) ...

Here's how the next three of the dozen phones from T-Mobile stack up
against the bare-minimum specs we've established in a prior thread:

Samsung Galaxy Exhibit (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3979)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile (my choice)
1. OS = Android 4.1.2 <== meets minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = 1 GHz STE U8420 dual-core <== meets minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 4 GB <== meets minimum spec of 1GB (isn't this just ROM?)
5. RAM = 1 GB <== meets minimum spec of 512 MB
6. Screen = 800x480 <== meets minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB <== meets minimum connectivity specs
8. Price = $236 + ~$23 CA tax & fees ~= $260

LG Optimus L9 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3830)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile (my choice)
1. OS = Android 4.0.4 <== meets minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = Dual core, 1 GHz, ARM Cortex-A9 <== meets minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 4 GB <== meets minimum spec of 1GB (isn't this just ROM?)
5. RAM = 1 GB <== meets minimum spec of 512 MB
6. Screen = 950x540 <== meets minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB <== meets minimum connectivity specs
8. Price = ~$240.00 + ~$24 CA tax & fees ~= $265

NOTE: Since the LG myTouchQ is apparently discontinued,
(http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3375)
I'll assume T-Mobile is currently selling the Huawei myTouchQ.

T-Mobile myTouch Q (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3795)
0. Carrier = T-Mobile (my choice)
1. OS = Android 2.3.6 <== fails minimum spec of 4.0
3. CPU = 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 <== meets minimum spec of 1GHz
4. Internal memory = 4 GB <== meets minimum spec of 1GB (isn't this just ROM?)
5. RAM = 1 GB <== meets minimum spec of 512 MB
6. Screen = 800x480 <== meets minimum spec of 800x480 pixels
7. Connectivity = WiFi, Bluetooth, & microUSB <== meets minimum connectivity specs
8. Price = $260 +~$26 CA tax & fees ~= $285

In summary, of those next 3 (much higher priced) phones, only one fails
to meet the bare-minimum specs. So, the current list of phones that meet
the bare-minimum specs are:

a. Samsung Galaxy Exhibit ($260) ==> pass
b. LG Optimus L9 ($265) ==> pass
c. T-Mobile myTouch Q (presumably Huawei) ==> fail

 

[Cary]

On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 01:18:17 +0000, Eddie Powalski wrote:

a. Samsung Galaxy Exhibit ($260) ==> pass
b. LG Optimus L9 ($265) ==> pass
c. T-Mobile myTouch Q (presumably Huawei) ==> fail

I like the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit better than the LG Optimus L9
mainly because it has a much better screen and better Wi-Fi
and usability is better with the later Android phone os.

 

On 03 Jul 2013 18:17:02 GMT, Cary <Cary@example.com> wrote:

On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 01:18:17 +0000, Eddie Powalski wrote:

a. Samsung Galaxy Exhibit ($260) ==> pass
b. LG Optimus L9 ($265) ==> pass
c. T-Mobile myTouch Q (presumably Huawei) ==> fail

I like the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit better than the LG Optimus L9
mainly because it has a much better screen and better Wi-Fi
and usability is better with the later Android phone os.

The L9 screen is larger and has higher resolution. How is the Wi-Fi
better?

And the L9 is available with a hefty discount. I don't see the Exhibit
at anything but list price. The reviews I find rate the L9 higher than
the Exhibit.

 

[Cary]

On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:05:03 -0700, nobody wrote:

The L9 screen is larger and has higher resolution. How is the Wi-Fi
better?

And the L9 is available with a hefty discount. I don't see the Exhibit
at anything but list price. The reviews I find rate the L9 higher than
the Exhibit.

The Exhibit is newer. So it must be better since the L9 is old by now.

 

[Bert]

In news:51d485b4$0$48890$afc38c87@read01.usenet4all.se Cary
<Cary@example.com> wrote:

The Exhibit is newer. So it must be better since the L9 is old by now.

Now, that's interesting.

--
bert@iphouse.com St. Paul, MN

 

On 03 Jul 2013 20:12:37 GMT, Cary <Cary@example.com> wrote:

On Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:05:03 -0700, nobody wrote:

The L9 screen is larger and has higher resolution. How is the Wi-Fi
better?

And the L9 is available with a hefty discount. I don't see the Exhibit
at anything but list price. The reviews I find rate the L9 higher than
the Exhibit.

The Exhibit is newer. So it must be better since the L9 is old by now.

Great logic. Is a new Is a new Kia better than a year old Mercedes?
Must be. It's newer.

Or maybe you ought o consider what you are getting interms of
function.

And again, how is the Wi-Fi better?