Alternative Android Smartphones

This is the launch weekend of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (SGS4) in Singapore and several other countries. Sales (not pre-order) commences at 4pm tomorrow in Singapore. If for any reason you’re not going to get the SGS4, but wonder about other Android alternatives, well, you’re actually going to be quite spoilt for choice. Not least because of other flagships from HTC (HTC One) and Sony (Xperia Z).

Yes, there are yet more Android smartphones to consider. Those from the Chinese market, for example. I just chanced upon a marketing email from MP4Nation, which, despite what their name suggests, sells Android smartphones and tablets as well. They do have a new line up of Android smartphones. Nothing costs more than US$250. They are modern too, running Android 4.2, and boasting reasonably modern hardware specifications.

Take, for example, the Cubot M6589 smartphone. It has a 4.7″ IPS LCD display with 1280×720 resolution and 5-point capacitive multitouch panel. It’s a quad-core CPU, 1GB RAM, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5G quadband, etc. Pretty decent. Though this one, in particular, doesn’t have quite so good a camera.

They even have 5.8″ devices, which I suppose will sort of compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note. This one has a pretty decent 8MP resolution main camera too.

Don’t expect these smartphones to match or exceed the hardware specifications of mainstream Android smartphones, and yet offer a significant bargain. There’s always a tradeoff somewhere. There’s no free lunch. But if you’re willing to compromise on something, it’s possible you’d find something suitable amongst these alternative smartphones.

Anyone fancy Chinese smartphones?