Big trend going on: cheap Smartphones. LG’s done one, Nokia has done a few and Motorola has jumped on the bandwagon.

Worth finding out about, and if they are, which one is boss?

Let’s go!

The new Optimus L3 from LG is the first in the brands new design stable, L-Style, smartphones. Obviously, being a first, LG are going long on pushing the “design and beauty” of this phone. They want people to think the most of their new design language.

Some of their words
Strikes a superb balance between sophisticated style and functionality
Biggest draw-card is its superior styling; reminiscent of LG’s successful and much sought after Chocolate and Shine phones
The handset is a sight to behold and will leave passers-by google-eyed over the pretty little accessory

Problem is, I don’t think it’s tremendously good looking. I know it looks OK here (Photoshop and all) but when it’s in your hand it feels a bit cheap. I suppose that’s because it it.

And the 3.2-inch LCD TFT capacitive touchscreen doesn’t do it any favors. The picture it gives off is quite underwhelming, and as one friend I showed it to pointed out “you can even see the pixels”.

Mercifully though, this isn’t one of LGs flagship, high-end models. Instead they’re quite honest that the Optimus L3 is targeted at first time Smartphone users, people who are just so grateful to be using a piece of modern technology, looks are the last thing on their mind.

And in this regard, the Optimus L3 is quite a winner.

Be honest, when you got your first Smartphone, it took you a year to understand what a third-party app was, another 6 months to learn where you get these wonderful add-ons and then a month or two to set up an account on the required store.

First time users spend their first months on a Smartphone using the native apps like Facebook and Twitter and will only migrate to a third-party GPS after a while. The Optimus L3 has all these native apps running on the Android OS and it’s a good place for tech-idiots to get started.

In fact, it’ refreshing that Smartphone tech has become affordable to the entry-level masses.

The phone only has a 800MHz single-core processor, so it’s noticeably slow, and I wouldn’t trust it to report the Arab Spring on. Also a good thing then that you’re not filling the 1GB storage and 384MB RAM up with apps, it is quite sketchy and slow.

The lack of activity and requirements from the innards mean the battery life is pretty impressive though. It’s like a hybrid Nokia 6200 and a 2-year-old iPhone. I know there are some people out there that would sacrifice their iPhone for a phone that makes calls and SMSs but stays awake later then the 11PM coffee break.

To finish off the package, the phone has a 3.2MP camera (just enough for poor people), is Wi-Fi enabled and is named after a Transformer…so there’s that.

Get if for R1 500 from www.lge.co.za
Nokia Asha 303

I got to play with both the Asha 303 and the 302 and the 303 is definitely the way you want to go. Some call it a feature phone, but you get the idea: smarter tech in a cheaper phone.

It’s light enough, stylish enough and has both a touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. In fact, I would hazard to say that in the latter respect, it is better looking than the Blackberry dual-input phones, even though some call the Asha a Blackberry rip-off.

The Asha range runs on Nokia’s S40 OS, so it’s not the Windows Phone 7 OS you’ve been reading about in the media. Don’t make this mistake and blame Nokia. Playing on the S40 OS can only be described as travelling back to 1999 and showing people your phone. It has the similar and friendly Nokia feel, but lacks any sort of smart feel to it. Still it gets the job done.

On a cheap phone that has a touchscreen, the main concern is how well does it work. Frankly it can have a 52MP camera, if the touchscreen is kak, the phone is kak.

Starting off the 303 did quite well on touch. I was glad to have the QWERTY keyboard to fall back on sometimes, but in all the touchscreen works. There are definitely going to be moments of frustration as you have to push over and over again to get a response, but please take note of the pricetag at the bottom.

The Asha 303 has a 1GHz processor and 128MB of RAM, so it is very responsive and quick on menu navigation and setting changes. Apps run quite smoothly and really the only frustrating part was trying to work out some of the shortcuts to enter text more smoothly into the desired field.

In true Nokia style, this is the media choice of the 3 devices. A dedicated music key for instant music listening, a 3.2MP camera for Instagram shots but only a measly 100MB internal memory (expandable to 32GB).

A decent cheapie. Worth considering if you’re hiking Kili next month and need a phone you can leave there.

Get if for R1 800 from www.nokia.co.za

Motorola Defy +

Let’s get it out of the way: this phone costs a full R1 000 more than the other two. But still, at R2 900, a damn good and cheap Smartphone.

You might remember the Defy name from a few years back? Motorola’s indestructible Smartphone. It really was too. The MB525 could withstand water, gravity, sand and a Jozi lifestyle.

This new phone is just as rugged for a fraction of the price.

It’s way smaller than the Asha or the Optimus, and that’s probably because they have to cut down the screen real estate they need to protect. But it feels much, much more rugged in your hand more and more people are clambering on about how much abuse their phone goes through on a daily basis. Surely it’s time we started using our noggins and choosing rigidity over OS as a phone feature?

For the inflated price tag, you get a few better features. Android 2.3 OS and a 1GHz speedy processor. So imagine you’re playing on a normal Android phone with a smaller than average 3.7-inch display but that you can throw at your boyfriend when he’s being a nonce.

Memory includes 2GB onboard and a 2GB micro-SD in the box. The 5MP camera is paired with a scratch resistant Corning Glass screen and the fact that the phone is waterproof, scratchproof and dustproof.

Full Android ability, a 1GHz processor, 5MP camera, 2GB memory everywhere and steroid-junkie strength? R1 000 doesn’t sound like a lot to me to be paying for that sort of benefit.

Battery life is the worst of the lot though. So do bear that in mind.

Get if for R2 800 from www.motorola.com