Price drop for Androids - Smartphones getting cheaper

By Peter Zschunke Oct 23, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Those looking for a new smartphone need not spend as much money nowadays. The entrance ticket to the colourful world of internet apps can be had for just a couple of hundred euro. And the bar will be lowered even further for the 2011 Christmas shopping season.

'We have a clear drop in prices right now,' said Dirk Waasen, editor in chief of the trade magazine Connect. Entry level devices with the Google system Android are heading to the 100 euro mark (139 dollars) and even less.

The Android platform offers the advantage that it is available as Open Source software for telephone manufacturers without any additional costs - even though Microsoft is trying to enforce license fees for using certain patents. This openness certainly is playing a role in the spread of the Android, said Wassen. 'In two years, no-one will talk about mobile phones any more. They will all be smartphones.'

Devices such as the Huawei X3 are available for about 100 euro - with the current Android 2.3 OS (Gingerbread), a 3.2-inch touch screen (320 by 480 pixels), a 600 MHz processor and a 3.2 megapixel camera. 'Target groups are buyers who until now have used a simple mobile phone and are now interested in the expanded smartphone possibilities,' said European manager Lars-Christian Weisswange.

Waasen gave the example of the smartphone Base Lutea 2, which is available in Germany for the flat rate of 17 euro per month. The device's manufacturer is ZTE, which like Huawei is a Chinese company. 'It was so convincing in the practical test that we gave it four out of five stars,' said the Connect expert.

One compromise, according to Waasen, is the quality of the casing. But with such a price, you cannot expect an aluminium or titanium casing. 'But it's a solid device underneath the dressing,' said Waasen.

One should also pay attention to the screen resolution, according to managing director Arno Becker, whose Germany-based company Visionera develops mobile solutions for the Android platform. Many apps for example require a resolution of at least 320 by 480 pixels. Devices with a display of only 240 by 320 pixels could have problems with the presentation. Also important is a capacitive touchscreen. Older, resistive touchscreens only have one pressure point, leaving multi-finger controlling impossible. These touchscreens are also not as sensitive, making typing on an on-screen keyboard an ordeal, warned Becker.

Also important, according to Becker, are GPS and UMTS support. Without this ability, many apps from the Android market cannot even be installed. Becker recommends that at least the Android version 2.2 be installed.

Slowly, the inexpensive competitors from China are putting the established smartphone manufacturers under pressure. Samsung countered with the Galaxy Y, which was presented at the IFA in Berlin and is available online starting at 139 euro. The Android device has a single core processor with a clock speed of 832 MHz, a 3-inch touch screen and a camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels. The Y in the model's name stands for 'Young', which shows exactly whom the Korean manufacturers are trying to attract as smartphone newcomers.

The Taiwan smart phone specialist HTC, meanwhile, has six new devices in their program for the end of the year, with the HTC Explorer being targeted at 'buyers who are more price sensitive', according to German managing director Andre Loenne at a presentation in Berlin. The device and its 3.2-inch screen, 600 MHz processor and 3 megapixel camera is available for 199 euro. According to Loennes, HTC has adjusted the software to the needs of smartphone newcomers and has also integrated a cost control function.