Best budget unlocked phone?

[dleavitt]

My wife and I are looking for good entry-level smartphones, but are a bit overwhelmed at the number of choices! I was hoping you guys might be able to help us out.

When: Within the next week.

Price: $100-200. Lower is better

Where: Not terribly particular. Had good experiences with Amazon and Newegg.

Location: US

Compatibility: GSM compatibility required. Going to be used on T-Mobile

OS: Android or Windows

Brand: Not particular

Other: Wife thinks she wants a physical keyboard, I'm fine without. These will be our first smartphones, but we'd still like them to last a few years. Obviously, the less expensive the better but may be willing to stretch if it will get a considerably better phone.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ssddx]

$100-200 for an "unlocked" phone is not going to buy you a whole lot. you might be able to get a refurbished or older generation phone but not current technology. most new phones retail at $400-600 brand new without a plan.

if you will be using tmobile and will be signing up for a contract you might as well take the discount on phones they offer as it is calculated into your plan costs! if you choose a pay-as-you-go or other non-contract plan it might be a good idea to go unlocked but unless you want to constantly switch carriers its not worthwhile.

with how current tech is progressing i would say you should get a dualcore phone. single core phones are still usable but are aging (but this means you could get them cheaper if you are okay with a slightly slower phone).

i'm still using my htc incredible and its held out well. installing a custom rom on android phones can get you quite a bit of options that aren't installed on or are block on stock phones such as free wifi tethering (vzw wants you to pay for the option!).

 

[dleavitt]

Best answer selected by dleavitt.

 

[dleavitt]

Ended up going with the LG Quantum. Thanks for the replies!