Mobile World Congress 2014: Smartphones on a budget

The Nokia Asha 230 is a budget smartphone due to hit the market in March, setting you back only $60. 

The aggressively-priced smartphone sports a 2.8-inch, 320x240 pixel screen, 1.3 megapixel camera and 4GB storage. Nothing fancy, certainly, but it works as a sturdy, basic smartphone for those on a low budget. In some markets, Nokia plans to release a dual-SIM version.

You can pick up this gadget in green, yellow, red, cyan, white and black.  

Via: CNET

The Alcatel One Touch Pop S7 is a low-cost LTE handset which is due to retail at $260 in Q2. 

The smartphone comes with a 5-inch display at 960x540 pixels, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 4Gb of online storage -- although an external SD card can be used to boost space. In addition, the gadget features 1GB RAM, and can be purchased in five different colors. 

Via: CNET

A particular trend this year at Mobile World Congress was the introduction of many low-end smartphones built for the budget market. 

At MWC, Mozilla announced a deal with semiconductor company Spreadtrum for chipsets that will be the catalyst for $25 smartphones. The SC6821 is expected to redefine prices within the entry-level market, and Mozilla claims that a number of operators -- including Telenor, Telkomsel and Indosat -- have expressed interest in the device. 

Via: ZDNet

ZTE's Open II smartphone, alongside the budget-friendly 4-inch Open C, will be aimed at emerging 3G markets outside of the United States. The smartphone features a 3.5-inch HVGA display with a 480x320-pixel resolution, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 1,150mAh battery.

See also: CNET: The wallet-friendly ZTE Open II (pictures)

The Open II also comes equipped with a 2-megapixel camera and 256MB of RAM. It will be shipped with the latest Firefox OS, version 1.3.

Via: CNET

The BlackBerry Z3 is a 5-inch budget smartphone designed for customers in Indonesia, and costs no more than $200 unlocked. 

While there are not many technical details available, the company has promised that the budget smartphone will come with a long lasting battery, and the smartphone will run on the BB 10.2.1 operating system. More details will be given at launch in April in Jakarta.

See also: CNET's full coverage of Mobile World Congress

Via: BlackBerry

Lenovo's S850 smartphone is a slender, 8.2mm gadget with a 5-inch 1,280x720 HD display. The S850 has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 16GB storage, 1GB RAM and a 2,000mAh battery. In addition, the smartphone is equipped with a 13 megapixel back camera and 5 megapixel front camera.

The S850 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. 

The smartphone comes in white and hot pink, and will set you back $269 on launch in June, unlocked, although it is not expected to be shipped to the United States -- with a targeted customer base in Asia. 

Via: CNET

Another entry-level model released by Nokia at Mobile World Congress is the $150 Nokia XL, the flagship smartphone for the firm's budget range.

The Nokia XL, running the Android-based Nokia X Software Platform, has both a 5 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-inch screen at 800x480 pixels, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor and 4GB storage. The smartphone is powered by a 2,000mAh battery, and comes with a dual-SIM option. 

The smartphone comes in green, orange, cyan, yellow, black and white colors. 

Via: CNET

HTC's latest offering, the Desire 816, is a mid-range smartphone sporting a 5.5-inch HD screen -- supporting 1,280x720 pixels -- a front 5 megapixel camera and 13 megapixel rear-facing camera. The smartphone is also able to record HD video.

Although the dual-SIM smartphone's price hasn't been announced yet, HTC told CNET that the LTE-enabled phone will be very competitively priced against other mid-range models on the market. The smartphone is due for launch in Q2. 

Via: CNET