The Cheapest Android Phone Yet

With the onset of the Android season since the last two years a number of significant takedowns and turnarounds have taken place in the cell phone world. Symbian is dead, Blackberrys have lost their charm and elegance, iOS is being threatened while cheap JAVA phones are just ridiculed. Gone are the days when the only use of one's cell phone was to make a call and send a text. Today, the platform markets are thriving with millions of applications which are being downloaded and becoming an addiction. The frequency of an app being launched in the market is so high you're gonna spend your lifetime in trying each and every app available.

The Android market boasts and delivers some of the best applications and games that have been developed which even the iPhone's market lacks. You're gonna agree with me on the fact that India is a country where a product can be sold with the help of cunning advertisement. The teen mob is so huge you're never gonna fail in selling a product which is appealing to them. Hundreds of Android phones have already been launched and sold so far but we're here to talk about a particular handset which I think might be the cheapest Android phone yet.

we're talking about the recently launched Vodafone (858) Smart by none other than the biggest service provider company themselves. It's cute, trendy, can be easily pocketed and flaunted about for running Android and the biggest advantage, it doesn't even burn a big hole in your pocket. Let's first go through the basic specifications of the phone.

• Runs on Android OS v2.2 (Froyo)
• CPU: 528 MHz ARM 11
• Accelerator, proximity and compass sensors
• Snapdragon S1 processor
• 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen
• 2MP camera
• Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1
• 130MB of internal storage
• 2GB card included, extended upto 32GB

When tested with some of the well known apps from the market, the phone performed good except some sluggishness during high physics. It's not bulky and has a nice matte finish which becomes handy to use and hold. Apart from the above mentioned advantages, the mobile also comes with some drawbacks.

• Camera quality is not up to the mark with 2MP and no flash
• No multi touch. You're gonna miss the pinch and zoom
• Processor is slow, not a smooth UI experience
• Takes time to download Apps from the market
• Text is not extremely sharp

And comes the most important point for which you've kept up the pace with me till here. Vodafone released SMART in India for just Rs 4,995 . A perfect entry level phone for some start up person who wants to taste Android. The inclusion of a capacitive touchscreen which gives a smooth touch experience is a plus point for a mobile phone in under 5,000 price range. Make up your mind to go for it or not.