Thrift smartphones - Sony Xperia E1 vs HTC Desire 200

The news is often inundated with stories of high performing premium smartphones along with their somewhat premium price tags. But what if you don’t want an all-singing, all-dancing smartphone which breaks the bank?

Even if your budget is slightly conservative, it doesn’t mean you have to compromise when it comes to having a spectacular smartphone.

The Sony Xperia E1 and the HTC Desire 200 are two such budget smartphones which are great for your lifestyle and your bank balance. And here’s how they compare…

Specs

With most budget smartphones, you often get a smaller set of specs in return. However both the Xperia E1 and Desire 200 offer impressive features under the hood, all within a manageable-sized handset.

The HTC Desire 200 sports a 3.5-inch screen, whilst the Sony Xperia E1 features a slightly larger 4-inch display, similarly to that of the iPhone.

But cutting down on size doesn’t mean cutting down on power; the Sony smartphone offers a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, which, in a phone of this size is pretty mighty in comparison to other similarly-priced smartphones.

The HTC Desire 200, meanwhile, sports an equally impressive dual-core 1GHz processor, which, while running slightly slower than that of the Xperia E1, won’t leave you wanting for more.

What’s more, the Sony Xperia E1 is available in three colours: black, white and purple. The HTC Desire 200 on the other hand can be found in a more subdued black or white colour option.

Desire 200 vs Xperia E1 Features

If there’s anything that Sony does well, then it’s music, and the Xperia E1 is no exception to this.

The smartphone features Sony’s infamous Walkman music experience, which extends to a dedicated Walkman button on the side of the handset, allowing you to launch your music from just one touch of a button.

But not only does the Xperia E1 offer the Walkman music app, but it also ensures that you can listen to your tunes in perfect clarity with the built-in Clear Audio technology.

But it’s not just the Sony Xperia E1 which is ideal for music lovers; the HTC Desire 200 is also packed with HTC’s well known Beats Audio, which makes all audio crystal clear.

Best budget camera phones

No smartphone is complete without a camera for you to snap away whenever the moment takes you, and this is where the HTC Desire 200 steps up to the mark.

The Desire 200 features a 5 megapixel camera, which isn’t a bad offering from a thrifty smartphone. Compare this to the Xperia E1’s 3.15 megapixel rear facing snapper and you can see who comes out on top.

But, as we all know, a camera phone isn’t all about the megapixels. Both smartphones offer a range of pre and post editing features which make your shots look as good as you’d expect from a professional camera.

The Desire 200 features an intuitive camera lens which recognises when people are smiling in a shot; the device then automatically captures the photograph before you even press the button!

Not only that, but the Desire 200 also offers a range of digital filters, allowing you to add exiting effects to all your pictures. Add that to the one-push sharing feature, which lets you share your shots with your friends via social media with one touch of a button, and you’ve got one impressive camera phone in the Desire 200.

The Sony Xperia E1 camera features, on the other hand, include image stabiliser, red-eye reduction, sweep panorama and touch capture, similarly to those offered by Sony’s flagship models such as the Xperia Z1.

Take a look at how two other budget smartphones, the Nokia Lumia 635 and Huawei G6.

Sony Xperia E1 vs HTC Desire 200

So when it comes to a battle of the budget smartphones, which is better, the Xperia E1 or the Desire 200?

Both smartphones offer everything you could ever need from a device which won’t break the bank. The Xperia E1, in true Sony style, is ideal for multimedia fans, especially with the phone’s Walkman and camera features built-in.

The HTC Desire 200, on the other hand, offers a smartphone that’s ideal for your everyday life; its 3.5-inch is great for slipping in your pocket, whilst the 5MP camera is perfect for snapping quick shots wherever you go.

The only advantage that the Sony might hold over the HTC smartphone is that it’s brand new; unveiled only a matter of months ago, we are expecting the Xperia E1 to hit our shelves by April.

With both handsets arriving to e2save this spring, check back soon for pay monthly deals on these affordable phones.