Some of us Filipinos often hesitate when it comes to upgrading to a new smartphone because of many factors. One of the most important to things to keep in mind is the budget (for obvious reasons). Why choose a phone that you can’t afford, right? You’ll just end up getting frustrated.
The operating system and the phone’s hardware features should be put into consideration since you have to purchase a device that’ll suit your wants/needs! You should be able to get more use out of your new phone other than just for calls and texts (and the occasional sound trippin’).
No worries, I’m here to offer some help. I’ve chosen the ten best smartphones available locally that costs around P10K or less that offers the best ‘bang for the buck’ to help you decide on your next purchase.
Go on and have a look below:
(Note: Phones are listed in no particular order, price quotes are based on online sellers and lowest mall prices we’ve found.)
1. Blackberry Curve 9320/9220 (Php9,800 – Php10,000)
Best for people who: Want a straightforward QWERTY smartphone with cheap social networking subscriptions.
Not for you if: You love playing games, browsing the net, watching videos.
Pros: Cheap mobile internet packages, BBM, great full QWERTY keyboard, good battery life
Cons: poor app selection, outdated OS, clunky web browser, average camera, low resolution screen
2. Nokia Lumia 610 (Php9,400 – Php10,500)
Best for people who: Want a simple smartphone without too much tinkering needed to get things done.
Not for you if: You don’t like the tiled interface, if you hate Microsoft.
Pros: WP7 Metro UI is unique, beautiful and functional, zippy performance, good battery life, Xbox and Windows 8 integration
Cons: ‘Dumbed’ down version of the Lumia 710, limited UI customization (typical of WP7 devices), App market still lacking, low resolution screen
3. Sony Xperia U (Php10,000 – Php10,800)
Best for people who: Want an affordable, stylish and speedy Android phone with a simplified UI.
Not for you if: You’re a file junkie.
Pros: zippy performance thanks to the 1GHz dual-core processor, excellent design and build quality, decent battery life, good performance when running apps, high resolution display
Cons: 4GB internal storage (no microSD card slot), awful 720p video clips, no ICS yet
4. Sony Ericsson Live Walkman (P7,200 – P8,000)
Best for people who: Love music, compact phone and live an active lifestyle.
Not for you if: You play games, watch movies on your phone.
Pros: great bundled earphones, designed for music lovers, decent battery life, stylish exterior
Cons: UI is a little dated, screen can be a bit cramped for some
5. Sony Xperia Pro (Php10,100)
Best for people who: Want a good Android phone with a fully-functional QWERTY keyboard in a small package.
Not for you if: You’re a performance freak, afraid of phones with a sliding mechanism, you want a compact phone.
Pros: spacious slide-out keyboard, good display (BRAVIA engine), in-call noise cancellation, good performing camera and features (Exmor R sensor), Android ICS update is out already
Cons: No Dvix/Xvid support, old Snapdragon S2 chip, slightly bulky
6. Sony Xperia Active (Php9,800 – Php10,200)
Best for people who: Are adventurous, a fitness junkie, clumsy or love to take pictures in the shower.
Not for you if: You have really big thumbs, picky with screen resolution or like watching movies.
Pros: water, shock and dust resistant, zippy overall performance, good camera, ANT+ system support for health devices (external blood pressure monitors, Nike+ pedometer, etc…), decent battery life
Cons: bulky for its screen size, lots of Sony bloatware, lack of media format support
7. Lenovo P7000 (Php10,500 – Php10,999)
Best for people who: Want an adequately fast phone with a 4″ screen and long battery life for a cheap amount of money.
Not for you if: You don’t like the thought of owning a ‘dual sim’ phone, hate carrying a big slab inside your pocket.
Pros: ICS out of the box, large capacity battery (2500mAh), simple, minimalist exterior, dual sim functionality, HSPA+ support
Cons: UI laggy at times, 4″ screen’s resolution is a bit on the low side for its size, build quality seems a bit flimsy
8. HTC Desire C (Php9,900)
Best for people who: Want a compact phone and experience ICS on a budget.
Not for you if: You’ve owned a 1GHz phone with Gingerbread on it, ICS on the desire C isn’t exactly ‘smooth-sailing’.
Pros: simple, zippy UI, good camera
Cons: sluggish CPU (600 MHz), low resolution display
9. LG Optimus Black P970 (Php10,950)
Best for people who: Want high-performance phone on a budget.
Not for you if: The 4″ screen is too big for you
Pros: large 4″ NOVA display, 1GHz processor, HSDPA support, very thin and light, WiFi Direct
Cons: low resolution screen for the size, can be a bit too big for some people, still on Android 2.2, battery life
10. HTC Radar (P10,300- P10,800)
Best for people who: Want HTC’s solid build quality in a phone that’s stylish, FAST and runs Windows Phone 7 OS.
Not for you if: As usual — if you don’t like WP7’s Metro UI.
Pros: great S-LCD display, fast, stylish, great build quality, good camera, loud speakerphone
Cons: non-removable battery, no storage expansion, app market still lacking, limited UI customization (typical of WP7 devices)
As you may have noticed, I did not include ‘feature phones’ or phones that run different versions of Symbian, Bada OS or any other mobile operating system other than Blackberry OS, Android and Windows Phone since any OS other than these three is like taking two steps backward (i.e. app availability, performance, free bundled services, etc…) — except Apple’s iOS which I wasn’t able to include (even if I wanted to) since any iPhone version that sports a price tag around 10K is obviously a second-hand unit.
Anyway, the most of the phones I’ve chosen above mostly possess processors that are clocked at least 800MHz since anything slower than that (without taking CPU architecture into account) will most certainly guarantee frequent occurrences of headache, also, it’s worth noting that the only dual core phone on this list is the Sony Xperia U. If I were to purchase three phones found on this list, my three best bets would be the Xperia U, Blackberry Curve 9320 and the HTC Radar. It’s the best of ‘three’ worlds?
Was I able to help you decide on which phone you should purchase? If I did, please let me know by posting a comment below. If I didn’t, well… you probably should save a bit more money. Teehee!
(Just kidding! Please do post some other phone models that I’ve missed and tell us what makes that particular phone special. The rule? Price should be around 10K or less)
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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john says:
Nokia lumia 620 runs in windows 8 OS
around 10 – 11 k.
GG says:
Hi,
Please advise which phone would be the top choice among the following?
1. htc desire x
2. xperia sola
3. htc desire vt/vc
thank you1
daile says:
hi. does anyone know where I can buy the xperia pro aside from online stores? thank you! :)
Riza Flores says:
Hi, can you help me decide what to buy. a Smartphone with good camera performance. Im confused of this three Sony Xperia Neo L, Samsung Galaxy S Advance or Sony Ericsson Arc S, my bet is Sony Ericsson Arc S but ive read that Sony Ericsson will be phased out this midterm of the year. pls help me. thank you :)
lekimikel says:
update list?…
alex says:
what to buy sony xperia u or lenovo p700
ronnie says:
meron nakong p700 so far maganda nman ang performance nya tsaka mabilis ang download sa call ok txting ok din, mahirap lng maghanap ng screen protector at leather case kc bago lng sya sa market sulit ang 10k ko. . .
apolakay says:
sir kevin/yuga;
can u tell us your well-known online seller?
howard says:
can we update this post?
galaxy ace 2(800mhz dual core / 786mb ram) is around 14k
Sony Experia U and Pro sa megamall is around 14k.
I’ve bought LG Optimus Black for 7K, its a good phone for that price.
I saw the Lenovo P700 and the unit is great and hoping they mark down the price a lil’ bit.
I was hoping for the Motorola Defy+ to mark down their price aswell(I still love their design and life-proof’ability)
Estela says:
Hi everyone! My 2 1/2-yr-old nokia E66 is now broken, hope Nokia center can still fix it. However, I’m planning to buy a new one since it cannot support my corpo email. Can someone help me decide which smartphone to buy.
Here are my priorities:
1. 3G and with wifi hotspot for internet sharing with other mobile devices (laptop to be exact, not a gadget person)
2. can support corporate email (not just webmails)- microsoft outlook to be exact
3. with decent applications and media players. (E-book reader and e-piano would be useful)
4. solid body
5. not costly to use its full capacity
4. budget up to 15K
Torn between BB and android :(
Plus…there are tons of android phones out in the market. I’m not good at reading specs too.
Hope someone would be kind enough to share some thoughts. Thanks in advance!
boyscout says:
hi, im from iloilo and i cant find any malls here offering 10k for d above mentioned handsets.. could anyone suggest where to buy, even trusted online seller?
boyscout says:
hi kevin/yuga. can u give me d well-known online seller that u know?
druggist says:
totoo ba about 10k lang htc radar bat sa market e arourd 17k
vince says:
What about the BB Pearl 9105. I always wanted that phone. it’s below 10k right?
JazzHawz says:
Ang mura ng Blackberry kaso,
“Not for you if: You love playing games, browsing the net, watching videos. ”
So hindi pwede sakin :)
Marco says:
sir Kevin / Yuga, would you mind mentioning names of mall stores selling Sony Xperia U at your noted price point? 10K+ seems a good buy.
A says:
Hi sir Abe! Would you mind commenting on the mobile hotspot feature of BB OS 7.1 on the Curve 9320? I’m planning to get the 9320 primarily for the cheap BBMAX unli data plan and intend to share it to my other mobile devices. I’m hearing other people saying that the speed is somewhat throttled down and not exactly at par with regular 3G/HSDPA speeds. Other responses from other current users are also much appreciated! Thanks!
gerald says:
xperia U ftw! thumbs up sa phone na to with this kind of price! :D
Ryan says:
Gudeve yugatech! ask lng po, ung LENOVO P700, saan po kaya merong mabibilhan nyan? sa lenovo concept store sa sm bacoor wala po eh, salamat and more power.
Obob says:
Nagkaproblema ba Yugatech dati? kasi ngayon lang nagdagsaan ang mga posts sa blog
Ethel says:
This was really helpful, I am thinking of getting a BB 9320 just because I want an upgrade from my Curve 8520 :).. thanks!
Lance says:
I’m planning to buy the new Blacberry 9320 for it’s cheap unlimited internet, wifi hotspot, and bbm.
Rondon says:
Hope we can have a dual-simm Android phones w/ Jellybean and 8 megapixel camera at P10k by next year.
Jacky says:
Where to get the report or data about the samart phone market in Philippines?
wapski says:
On sale na po ang Lenovo P700 nakapromo sila ng 10,999 with free belkin 1000mah battery pack til aug 15..
Balasubas says:
Typo error: It’s Lenovo P700
http://i48.tinypic.com/2v12byc.jpg
pabs says:
What about the samsung galaxy y duos? At only 8,990 you can have it. My only complain about this phone is the back button (sometimes you have to press several times before it responds)
lordstar says:
WHat about the Galaxy Ace 2?
007 says:
meron na ba nung Lenovo P700 gusto ko na tlga magkaroon nun!!
hoota says:
magkano nba xperia play?
florence says:
i love my SAMSUNG GALAXY Y DUOS….
keemo says:
Sony Xperia U P10,399.00 in Widget City http://widgetcity.multiply.com/products/listing/11000/Sony-Xperia-U-ST25i
jonax says:
xperia u for 10k+ ftw! now where do i find one for that price? =P
Emil says:
How about galaxy y duos? Is it good?
Yanna Adofina says:
Hi. :) I’d like to ask the same thing amao10 asked. Are the prices from the mall or from an online store?
amao10 says:
saan makikita yung ganyang price? hehehe.. sa mga mall ba yan o sa online store?
Kevin Go says:
Hi!
Yes, some of the prices I’ve included here (that’s why may estimates) are from online shops and malls.
I buy most of my gadgets from a well-known online seller, the experience has been great really :D
roiji says:
puro Sony (Ericsson) heheh’ <3
Didn't know the lenovo phone has a 2500 mAh battery <3
Rodrod says:
san po nakakabili ng Sony Xperia U na ganyan ang price po?
salamat po sa mga sasagot. (:
Pepe says:
Woah you can get an Xperia U for 10k now? o_O I bought mine 13.5k a month ago haha
Marcelino says:
I don’t think so. Di naman ganun ka-bilis mag-depreciate ang Sony.
Baka online store yan or gray market price. I was at Megamall last night. Nasa 10k++ pa ang Xperia U.
kimkae77 says:
Sony experia ray….
Harley Mah-Son says:
Enjoying my new BB 9320. :) I would want the Sony xperia U too! :)
Marcelino says:
The illustration that was used on the Sony Xperia U here is actually the Xperia P.
Marcelino says:
@Kevin: No problemo! :)
Kevin Go says:
Thanks for pointing that out the Xperia series can be a bit confusing haha! We’ll update this post in a few :D
Jebs says:
How about a top 10 smartphones on 10,000 to 20,000 budget?
Enya says:
Xperia Ray
Christian Andersen says:
You can also get the Xperia Ray for 9K at Kimstore. Some phones like the Optimus Black can get ICS by installing CyanogenMod and the likes.
vince says:
make a new blog post for the 20,000 peso price range!!!!!
Meil says:
MyPhone A818. 3.5″ Capacitive Touchscreen
800mHz
P3,999 only
H says:
waiting for sony tipo dual but i really like holding the nokia lumia 610 but the windows bores me.
Ger says:
Samsung Galaxy Ace around P9,000.00 widget city
Meil says:
MyPhone A818 Duo
Dual SIM
800mHz processor
3.5″ Capacitive touchscreen
Android 2.3
P3,999 only
I love this phone at very affordable price!
hundredpercent says:
San pa ba nakakabili ng HTC radar (at that price tag)? i already asked some stores at SM and they told me they no longer get stocks of it.
Kevin Go says:
Try Kimstore :D
wapski says:
I’d go for Lenovo P7000.. Pero available na nga ba?
chinitoguy says:
Wow! Very nice top 10! I couldn’t agree more with article from Mr. Olandres. These are really the best budget smartphones out there. Although I would like to add HUAWEI HONOR there. Its around 10k too and has a 4 inch screen, Android 2.3, and 1Ghz processor if I’m not mistaken.
Something caught my attention. SONY XPERIA U for only 10K?!? Really?!? A beautiful, well crafted and with good specs smartphone like the Xperia U with 10k pricetag will be the best catch! I will buy!!! Where? Kahit nasaan yan bibili talaga ako!
Personally, if I will arrange it from 1 to 10, being 1 the highest, this is my arrangement:
1. Sony Xperia U
2. HTC Radar
3. Nokia Lumia 610
4. Lenovo P700 (this phone is really good)
5. BlackBerry Curve 9320
6. LG Optimus Black (I heard its upgradable to Android 4.0)
7. HTC Desire C
8. Sony Ericsson Xperia Active
9. Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
10. Sony Ericcson Xperia Live Walkman
Abe Olandres says:
We wanted to include the Huawei Honor but could not find one in the stores selling it at the Php10k range. The SRP then was Php14k+ pa.
NoypiGeeks says:
I’m with LG Optimus Black =)
Wax says:
Lumia 610