Phones have become a huge part of everyone’s life, and it is very common for one person to have more than one phones. With so many brands, models and functions in phones, how do you decide which to get? If budget is not an issue, most will go with whichever brand they desire, but if you are looking for a phone on a budget, here are 5 good to have features to look out for.

Form and Design

The common perception of human is that cheap things don’t look good, good stuff doesn’t come cheap. But seriously, how bad can a phone look? Don’t all phones look the same? True that the more pricey ones will look more sexy and sleek, but there are wallet-friendly phones that look equally sleek and good too.

Screen Size

5.5” is probably the most common and minimum screen size a smartphone should have. Anything smaller will be not be optimised for our multi function and need from our phone. A phone with 5.5” screen is just right for daily use, video watching, and gaming.

Battery Life and Fast Charging

This is probably one of the most important factor for powers users who use the phone around the clock. Often I see people around me using their phone with one end plugged into a power bank, almost 4 out of 10 people do that. There are phones below $400 that gives good battery life and fast charging feature as well.

Speed and Processor

Personally I cannot tolerate a phone that is slower than me. When I fire up my commonly used apps, the phone should perform as fast as I am toggling between apps. When I tap on the camera for a quick shot, the phone must react to my requests without any delay.

Budget phones often may come with a processor that’s one step behind the latest in the market. Do your research before you jump into buying the next phone, look out for phones with at least 3GB RAM and words like deca-core processors etc. Usually one cannot go wrong with phones with these specs.

High Resolution Megapixel Front Camera

Phone cameras are taking over the role of traditional point-and-shoot, especially when come to taking selfies and wefies. Because the phone is always within hand reach whenever wherever, many of us are recording notes, things we like and happy moments with the mobile phone.

Just a walk around Resorts World Sentosa and you can spot people with selfie stick and their mobile phones! But do you know most front cameras on our phone takes lower quality photo as compared to the back camera? If you are one of those who likes using the selfie sticks and snapping photos with your front camera, be sure to find a phone that gives the same quality photos on both front and back camera.

With more selfies, it’ll also mean you will need a higher capacity storage card. Some phones may not work with higher capacity microSD card, so when you are purchasing the phones, do make sure you check it out.

Smartphone on a Budget

We tried and tested two budget smartphones and were impressed at its form, function and quality. At less than $300, you can get a 13MP dual camera smartphone that’s great for those who want a fuss free phone for photo taking and daily use. The SHARP MS1 (Yes! SHARP has mobile phones too!) is slim and sleek designed with Japan DNA, wallet friendly and comes in 2 colours – Hanayome White and Pure Pink. And for the wefie snappers, the front camera is also wide angle and captures up to 77 degree view.

The MS1 also comes with an in-built back illuminated sensor that allows you to snap well focused images regardless of lighting conditions. No more glaring screen hindering you from taking that perfect shot.

One user-friendly feature of the SHARP mobile phones is the ability for you to customise your dashboards the way you like it in both horizontal and vertical directions. That means you can have apps arranged in different interface and instead of swiping left and right to flip through pages of apps, you can also swipe up and down. Pretty cool!

If you need something more hardcore for gaming and working on the go with productivity apps, then the SHARP Z2 could be one of your option. The SHARP Z2 looks equally slim and sleek and yet it is built to last through the day thanks to the deca-core processor, which is also the first deca-core smartphone in Singapore.

Watch deca-core explained in the video below…

If you need a quick battery boost, it takes just 30 mins of charging to get 50% of the 3,000mAh battery powered up. Z2 comes in gold and silver which looks premium and professional. And this budget smartphone even comes with fingerprint recognition, and it allows you to easily unlock the phone and snap quick photos with single touch.

The SHARP MS1 is retailing at $299 and the Z2 at $399. SHARP smartphones are also available at all M1, M1 exclusive distributors, selected Challenger stores, and authorised resellers.

SITEX SPECIAL

With Sitex happening this weekend, be sure to ask about Sitex deals when you’re checking out SHARP phones in store![/box]