Sony Ericsson's tiny XPERIA X10 Mini Pro smartphone.
This year definitely marks a watershed for Google's Android operating system in Australia. Providing a number of benefits over Apple's iPhone including an open applications market, a fully customisable user interface and full multitasking, the Android platform continues to go from strength to strength.
There are now more than 10 Android smartphones on the market in Australia from a wide range of manufacturers including HTC, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola and LG. We've already covered the top end of the Android market in a comparison of the HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, Google Nexus One, Motorola Milestone, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and the HTC Legend. Now we've rounded up six of the best Android smartphones for those on a budget, including models from Motorola, LG, and Sony Ericsson.
| Handset | Motorola DEXT | Motorola Quench | LG Optimus | LG GW620 | Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini / X10 Mini Pro | Garmin-Asus A10 |
| Current Android version | 1.5 (Cupcake) | 1.5 (Cupcake) | 1.6 (Donut) | 1.5 (Cupcake) | 1.6 (Donut) | 1.6 (Donut) |
| UI overlay | Motoblur | Motoblur | LG Home | LG Home | User Experience Platform (UXP) | Garmin navigation UI |
| Screen size | 3.1in | 3.1in | 3.0in | 3.0in | 2.5in | 3.2in |
| Display technology | Capacitive TFT | Capacitive TFT | Resistive TFT | Resistive TFT | Capacitive TFT | Capacitive TFT |
| Display resolution | 320x480 | 320x480 | 320x480 | 320x480 | 240x320 | 320x480 |
| Multitouch | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Keyboard | Touch screen + physical QWERTY | Touch screen | Touch screen | Touch screen + physical QWERTY | Touch screen (X10 Mini) Touch screen + physical QWERTY (X10 Mini Pro) | Touch screen |
| Camera | 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging | 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging | 3.1 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging, face detection | 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging, face and smile detection, beauty shot | 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging | 5 megapixel, autofocus, geotagging |
| Camera flash | No | Single LED | No | Single LED | Single LED | No |
| FM radio | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internal memory | 1GB | 512MB | 130MB | 150MB | 128MB | 4GB |
| External memory | microSD card (up to 32GB) | microSD card (up to 32GB) | microSD card (up to 32GB) | microSD card (up to 32GB) | microSD card (up to 32GB) | microSD card (up to 32GB) |
| Dimensions | 114 x 58 x 15.6mm | 116.8 x 60 x 12.4mm | 109 x 54.5 x 12.7mm | 109 x 54.5 x 15.9mm | 83 x 50 x 16mm (X10 Mini) 90 x 52 x 17mm (X10 Mini Pro) |
109.8 x 58.1 x 13.9mm |
| Weight | 163g | 130g | 115.5g | 139g | 88g (X10 Mini) 120g (X10 Mini Pro) |
140g |
| Processor | Qualcomm MSM7201A (528MHz) | Qualcomm MSM7201A (528MHz) | Qualcomm MSM7227 (600MHz) | Qualcomm MSM7200A (528MHz) | Qualcomm MSM7227 (600MHz) | Qualcomm MSM 7227 (600 MHz) |
| 3G network bands | 900/2100MHz | 900/2100MHz | 850/2100MHz (Telstra variant) 900/2100MHz (Optus/VHA variant) |
900/2100MHz | 900/2100MHz (Optus/VHA variant) 850/2100MHz (Telstra variant) |
900/2100MHz |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 with A2DP | 2.0 with A2DP | 2.1 with A2DP | 2.0 with A2DP | 2.0 with A2DP | 2.1 with A2DP |
| Quoted talk time | 360 minutes | 348 minutes | 440 minutes | 520 minutes | 210 minutes | 480 minutes |
| Quoted standby time | 320 hours | 350 hours | 500 hours | 500 hours | 360 hours | 600 hours |
| Adobe flash support | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Australian carriers | Optus | Optus | Telstra, Optus, VHA | Crazy Johns, Telechoice | Telstra, Optus, VHA | Optus |
| Other features | Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Digital compass | Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor | Accelerometer, Digital compass, ambient light sensor |
What's your favourite Android smartphone? How does your Android phone stack up against the competition? Let us know in the comments below!
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