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I completely agree. As one that has owned one of these phones it was entirely frustrating and the user experience deteriorated as the months went on. I finally moved to a windows phone which so far has been 100 times better. I liked the idea of android, but not the actual experience. I know there are better phones, but I've seen "higher end" androids with the same inconsistencies. Especially if those phones were carrier specific.

Problem is a lot buy a cheap phone then expect the latest apps/games to work on it. And that's not reality because you're not getting the best new technology with those "cheap" phones. And some apps/games require the newest technology to run.

A rule of thumb to use is if you want to keep up with the latest apps/games is spend $100-$150 each year or pay $200 and up every 2 years.

If you're spending under $100 then you should be buying it as a phone first with limited apps/games capability compared to the newer phone high end phones.

Like others, I was also a victim of having a cheap android phone. It was a nightmare and I looked forward to the day my contract was up. I switched to an iPhone, which has been infinitely better. It is like comparing apples to, well..., "chitlins" (chitterlings if you want to say it that way)....

I have to agree with the article. I have owned one of these cheap smart phones myself. It runs Android 2.2 and you can do a lot of things with it. Here is a sample of the things I have done successfully with it:

Audible, Spotify, BeyondPod, gReader, Business Calendar, Facebook, Yahoo Mail, Twitter, GoSMS, Astro file Manager, Documents2Go, and all the built in stuff like Google Maps, Places, Google Search and Google Voice all work. I only have 2 games that I've run on it. Cut the Rope and Angry Birds. In Angry Birds. the act of an ad popping up at the upper right causes a momentary stutter in the game. The game is choppy but you can play it.

The phone itself uses a 600 MHz process. The screen is just 320 x 400 or something like that. The phone constantly gives warnings that it is running low on memory. It was interesting phone to own for a short while. I also owned a G2x, which was extremely high up on the food chain of Android phones, but the phone itself was very buggy. Oddly enough, it was an LG phone and their cheap-o Optimus V was not buggy at all. Aside from being slow and low end, it was a reasonable Android phone.

The last Android phone I owned was the Nexus S on Sprint, which was the worst of all three phones. It felt very choppy doing the most basic of tasks. In the end I just felt Android was pretty much a buggy work in progress. My two Android tablets were also a disaster. Seriously had to replace my Galaxy Tab 10.1 4 times in a row. Still have number 5. I have given away the Nexus S and the G2x to people at my office whom wanted a free Android phone from yours truly. I offered to sell the Galaxy Tab but no takers. And it is a 32 GB model with Verizon 4G LTE, which cost me I think $799.

On the Apple side, I've been completely happy with the quality and experience of the iPhone 4 and now the 4S. I also just upgraded from the iPad 2 to the 3rd gen. All I can say is the experience on the Apple stuff is so much better, in my humble opinion. Your opinions may differ.

Now I know lots of people who use Android and love it. Some of these HTCs look pretty good and my friends don't complain so I'll assume they are okay. The LG and Samsung products I had were less than stellar. Now the funny thing is this. At the time I was actively using the Galaxy Tab 10.1 I thought it was pretty okay. It wasn't until I bought the iPad 2 thinking if I didn't like it I would just return it. The first day I was in this forum saying why I felt the Galaxy Tab was better. Pretty much two or three days later I changed my tune entirely.

I mention that because I think once you get used to something, you tend to find the good things to like about. And there lots of good reasons to like Android. File System for one. You can out icons where you want them and more of them fit on the screen. You can add widgets which really add flavor to the product. All nice features to have. But after a few days I don't really care about that stuff. I just think the iOS experience trumps the Android experience. Again, just my opinion.

What I think Apple has going for it is that seem to be unwilling to sell you a bad experience. Some vendors on the Android side are all to happy to tell you that you can have Android phone for $49 or $99 unsubsidized. But I think the truth is, it won't be a good experience. So why offer a sub-par phone? I guess these vendors just don't care. And who knows; maybe the majority of their customers don't care. I have no idea how they feel. I just know how I feel.

I agree with the article. I paid over $500 for my HTC Amaze and I don't regret it. As soon as I seen the specs on the cheap phones I shook my head. Besides, my carrier allows me to buy my phone for $15 a month for 3 years. Thats not much more to pay for a superior phone. I liken it to taking a 4 banger Honda into a Nascar race. Your not going to win. Go big or go home. Or buy a feature phone for dirt cheap to tect and make calls.

I guess the phrase ''It just works'' isnt applicable to (cheap) android phones.

karthiq, on 09 April 2012 - 09:00 PM, said:

But they do work. A cheap phone is made to be a lower cost phone that has the basic features. If you want more than the basics then you have to pay more. It's like getting a $500 computer and expecting it to compete with a $3000 computer when it comes to gaming. It's not gonna happen. That $500 computer is for the basics. If you want the best features and best apps/games you're gonna have to pay top dollar. Just like you'll have to pay top dollar if you want the best gaming computer.

I have had an LG Optimus V for almost a year now and I am extremely happy with it. Am I supposed to be disappointed that I can't run Temple Run? Really? Temple Run? If I want to entertain myself for a few minutes I can think a LOT of better ways than Temple Run. Anyways, I have no interest in Temple Run, and as such have never tried it on my phone, but every one of the few game I have tried has worked flawlessly. I'm sure there are ones that won't, but I knew that when I bought an Android phone outright for $150.

These arguments don't make sense to me. Why is this of any importance?

It's like buying a computer. If you buy a cheapo computer, you get poorer performance. You should expect that. I can't buy an EeePC and then be surprised when it doesn't play Mass Effect. Of course it doesn't play Mass Effect - it hasn't got the guts!

I think the real problem here is that in the US our phones are usually subsidized. I paid about $200 for my phone but it supposedly was a $549 phone when I got it. By comparison the Galaxy Y you speak of is supposedly priced around $146 for the unlocked version. There's a $400 difference, but in the store the price difference you'll see is maybe $100-150.

Friends don't let friends buy iPhones and become iHoles.

puterdood, on 09 April 2012 - 06:09 PM, said:

You made a choice to buy that cheap Android phone. It's not Android's fault. You chose price over performance.

I'm a techie and I only recommend Android phones. You have to choose the right tool for the job without sacrificing performance and cost is a major factor. I buy my phones from Amazon and save a lot of money and usually replace the phone within 6 months after selling my old one on Ebay. I've had a Motorola Atrix 4G for 1.5 years now though. Easy replacing the battery, Flash, 4G (we've had this for a while), dual-core processor, larger screen, $100 on Amazon, daily FREE paid app on Amazon, laptop dock $100 on Amazon, 2 extra batteries $30, Widgets, turn-by-turn navigation (been free on Android for a long time), Live Wallpapers. I don't buy cheap, I buy inexpensive technology that works. Is it perfect? No, but neither is the iphone. I have a Transformer Prime to play games, watch movies etc. etc. Not knowing how to make technology work for you will cost you. I wish there more articles that showed people how-to-do things rather than voice their opinion on nonsense. You have to put everything on a scale and make an educated decision on what's best for you, at the end it might be an iphone. Again, it will cost you. My friends save a ton of money, get the device they need and are very happy.

I would relate it to buying a pc from wal-mart with the bare bones basic for 399.99 it will not run everything my high powered computer that I spent 2500.00 on. THe problem is the general public doesnt get that about pc's and they wont get that about phones. My first android was a Samsung Intercept which was bare bones but it got me intrigued with Android and I upgraded to a Samsung E4GT and love it. I did the same thing when I first got a pc years ago and upgraded as my needs and wants were more than my pc could handle.

I would relate it to buying a pc from wal-mart with the bare bones basic for 399.99 it will not run everything my high powered computer that I spent 2500.00 on. THe problem is the general public doesnt get that about pc's and they wont get that about phones. My first android was a Samsung Intercept which was bare bones but it got me intrigued with Android and I upgraded to a Samsung E4GT and love it. I did the same thing when I first got a pc years ago and upgraded as my needs and wants were more than my pc could handle.

As a strong Android aficionado and enthusiast, I wholeheartedly agree. To keep up with the most advanced applications that are emerging, when someone is given their upgrade opportunity, they should be ready to dole out at least $150 dollars or more to maintain a strong foothold on modern applications.

It also reminds me of people who buy extremely cheap PCs, and then expect to be able to run higher-level programs like games and such. People need to learn that the higher quality the program/application, the higher quality a device that will be needed to run it(as a rule of thumb).

gizmo385, on 10 April 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

ALL smartphones cost about $150 or more. But they're subsidized so you don't pay that much.

The good phones cost $500+ - that's not what you pay, but that's the actual price of the phone. We don't see that, though - we see it as a $150-$200 phone.

If we paid full price for these phones, people would completely understand. As it is now, they see it as a difference of $100-$150 - but it's not, it's a difference of $400-$600.

linuxpenguin, on 10 April 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

At the time, it was the only choice I had. I switched from BS&S to Verizon and there were only two smartphones to choose from, both of which were a joke. If I could have just waited a few months, Verizon began offering the iPhone, but I was stuck with a horrible Android and no feasible way to escape. So I suffered through it for another year until I could get rid of it. So, to answer your comment, I was more or less forced into the Android when I switched to Verizon with the data plan. If some people love Android and stick to it, then I have no problem with that. But I have had my fill of it and have gone to an iPhone, which I have said, is infinitely better. I will stick with iPhone, and everybody should be ok with that.

karthiq, on 09 April 2012 - 09:00 PM, said:

All cheapo products should have to have a sticker smacked on them which says 'This Product Sorta-Kinda Works' lol

This post has been edited by artzy65: 10 April 2012 - 11:00 AM