Huawei released a device called the Sonic about a year ago that shipped with Android 2.3, came with a 3.5 inch 480 x 320 display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 600 MHz processor, GPS/3G/WiFi, and all that jazz. According to Android Community, it’s going to hit T-Mobile USA this coming Sunday as the Prism. They don’t know how much it’s going to cost, but if we had to take a guess we’d say it’s likely going to be free with a two year contract. To give you an idea of how cheap the Sonic is, here’s a link to it on Amazon Germany, who is selling it for 120 EUR, which is around $160.
Now for the important question: Should you buy it? No way in hell. T-Mobile has plenty of other devices that are free on contract that are much more desirable. Take the Nokia Lumia 710 for example. It’s not running Android, we’ll give you that much, but it has a larger screen with a higher resolution display (3.7 inches at 800 x 480 pixels). It also has a better camera (5 megapixels, though to be fair it’s EDoF), and knowing Nokia’s expertise when it comes to antennas and materials, it’ll likely get you better reception.
Should you even buy a device on T-Mobile? That’s another question. There are multiple prepaid operators out there that’ll give you service for far cheaper than the larger players. Funny thing is, they’re using the same networks that the big boys setup. Look at Straight Talk for instance. For $45 per month they’ll give you unlimited talking, texting, and 2 GB of data. That’s outrageously cheap, by American standards at least.
And one final tip for the penny pinching crowd: Buy used. There are huge bargins out there on devices that were once considered flagships. The Samsung Nexus S for example, which runs the latest version of Android, can be had for less than $250.