While many of you upgrade your mobile phone every 6 months and tend to go for the high end handsets that cost over $500, there are some people out there who due to their current economic situation, or simply their refusal to be bleeding edge, opt for lower cost feature phones. It’s a market that’s, in our opinion, even more competitive than the smartphone market is today. Orange, over in the UK, has just introduced one such low end device, the Rio II. What makes it unique is that it has both a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard. It looks kind of like the Nokia E6 that’s launching this month, but it’s just £70 ($115) if you opt to go on a prepaid plan. For that amount of dough you get a 3 megapixel camera, 3G connectivity, 2.4 inch 320 x 240 pixel resolution screen, FM radio, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth, and … well that’s it. What do you expect for that price?
Now if you’re thinking of buying this thing, we’re going to have to tell you that you’re going to make a huge mistake. Last month Vodafone UK introduced a smartphone called the “Smart” that packs Android 2.2, has WiFi, GPS, 3G, a 2 megapixel camera, and a capacitive 2.8 inch touch screen for just 90 EUR ($130) on prepaid. Sure, it may not pack a QWERTY keyboard, but this thing will provide you with a much richer mobile web browser, plus once you experience the convenience of Google Maps in your pocket you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
If you really want to be a penny pincher then there are some excellent Symbian, yes we’re actually recommending Symbian, and older Android devices that you can pick up used off eBay. If you go on a SIM only plan then you’ll also have a much lower monthly bill.
[Via: Unwired View]