OUR DIFFERENCES
There are more to cellphones than just an iPhones, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Motorola or Google. Beyond the other brands like OnePlus, Lenovo and Alcatel there are a lot more phones which never reach the U.S.A. A lot of phone manufacturers are strictly boutique in size. There are others which only make specialized phones. A case has to be mentioned about Kodak and CAT having specialty phones.
The following phones are noteworthy for being capable devices available in the country right now, with specs rivaling the top brands, but at a more affordable price. They boast unique features which a regular user would appreciate. Of course, there are those brands which have cover a very small niche for those who can afford it. Your friendly neighborhood cell phone repair shop might not even know these existed.
It may look weirdly like an iPhone, but the Meizu MX4 does not advertise on looks alone. It has an octo-core MediaTek processor with 2GB or RAM, and a 20.7 MP camera built around a Sony sensor. What is different about the Meizu is that an Ubuntu Phone OS version will be released soon. The specs may not sound like a flagship phone, but it delivers very good performance at the right price point. If you want to accessorize, it is easy to find screen protectors for this form factor.
- Asus Zenfone.
A lot has been mentioned about the Asus Zenfone series. However, Asus seems that it still does not get any top billing anywhere. One problem Asus has in selling their device is that these are not bundled with any carrier. Instead you would have to buy them as unlocked phones. Most Americans don’t buy their phones separate from the carriers.
Even though the Zenfones get lost in the shuffle, they still offer best value for money. For instance, the cellphone cameras offer very good low-light capability. This is usually where small-sensor cameras have problems. The Zenfone 2 has a 13MP f/2.0 primary camera which beats out similar offerings from Samsung and the iPhone. It also has a 4GB RAM with a 2.3GHz 64-bit quad core processor. This was released at the time when premium phones were only offering 3GB. It also has a 3000 mAh battery to go with the slim package. Among the brands listed here, only Asus has existing support facilities due to their being a computer company first, and a cell phone manufacturer as an after thought.
The Nubia is a subsidiary of the Chinese manufacturer ZTE. The latest offering is the Z11, which offeres up to 6GB of RAM with a Snapdragon 820 processor. The screen is borderless 5.5 inch. The slightly cheaper priced Nubia Z17 is built around an octa-core processor with 6Gb RAM and 64GB or internal storage.
The THL 5000 has been described as a fairly mid-range phone from the Chinese manufacturer. What makes it unique is that it has a 5000 mAh battery capable of talk times of up to 30 hours while running on 3G networks. It does use an octa-core MediaTek processor, which is admittedly not at par with the processors from Qualcomm. The device itself is not hard to find, as it sells for $245 at Amazon
Lumigon is a Danish manufacturer which has not been very visible in the United States. Its products have only been sold in Europe, until a year ago. Differentiating itself from the masses, the Danish brand is going premium. The current flagship is the T3, which uses machine grade stainless steel and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and was designed to be dust and water resistant. It has a 64-bit octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. It has noise cancellation capability which comes with the audio. Its 13MP primary camera is capable of 120fps slow motion video, 4K video with an H.265 codec. It is also night vision capable, downgrading to 4MP resolution with dual IR flash. It also has a 360 degree 3D fingerprint reader. It supports quick charging, as well as Bluetooth/Bluetooth LE. If comes in black, white, orange and 24-karat gold versions. The standard versions sell for $925 direct from the website. The gold version costs $1,625.
The above list of phones offer a wide gamut of choices for different users. What they all have in common is that they are not easy to find, and are still technically searching a market in the country. Every other manufacturer worldwide would want to get their products to the United States, but only a few really get to be sold here in any significant numbers.
One other thing to check out when it comes to these phones is support and durability. Since they have a very small following, it is expected that the nearest cell phone repair shop might not have spare parts in store. In addition, support calls may be non-existent. If these prove to be durable with no problems during three years of operation, that would be well and good. However, nobody can guarantee that.
