Any tips on finding a good phone (budget range)?

[Tuppence]

Hello!

I have registered here to request guidance on finding an Android phone. I'm totally new to the scene - my current phone is a 2004 Ericsson P910i - but have been hearing tidbits of greatness about Android that cannot be ignored. Turn my TV on via my Android? YES PLEASE!

My problem is that I'm on a student income, so I'm having trouble finding the right phone. I wondered if anyone has any tips for me on where I can find good deals on Androids, or indeed which phones in particular have a really great price to capability ratio. I'm looking for an entry level device, definitely under 200 GBP (that's 320 USD and 220 EUR), but hopefully nearer to 100.

Some additional information:

I recently built a new PC, and learned a lot about the various price drop-off guidelines - PC parts go down rapidly in price at the 6 month mark, making it the sweet spot for buying on a budget. I got a tip of a really great GFX card at the time, for example, that has made my PC phenomenally good given my budget and expectations.

I expect, with Android manufacturers being in the same sort of competition, that similar things can be said of phones. There must be phones out there that are just great value. How can I find these? It certainly doesn't need to be fancy - as a guide, I'd like to be able to emulate (homebrew) SNES games on it. That's as powerful a phone as I require. If it can't run Angry Birds, so be it.

Greatly appreciating any tips or links you guys can give!
Thanks!

 

[El Presidente]

Welcome to the forums!

Out of the box, the Orange San Francisco/ZTE Blade is quite poor, but it can be rooted and have a new ROM flashed to it and it becomes a brilliant phone. It's so easy to do too. The camera is quite poor and the processor isn't capable of flash, but it doesn't really inhibit it that much. I think you can pick it up for about

 

[Vorbis]

Welcome to the forums!

Out of the box, the Orange San Francisco/ZTE Blade is quite poor, but it can be rooted and have a new ROM flashed to it and it becomes a brilliant phone. It's so easy to do too. The camera is quite poor and the processor isn't capable of flash, but it doesn't really inhibit it that much. I think you can pick it up for about

 

[Tuppence]

Great stuff chaps, that's some excellent advice.

I had read quite a bit about the Blade and it's status as an entry-level phone, but it's great to have some confirmation. Thanks for the tip!

It's

 

[El Presidente]

Flashing is mega easy and it is something you can do on your own. As Vorbis will testify, it can be a little nerve racking, but still pretty straightforward with all the guides available on this forum.

Take a look here, there are a number of ways of doing it and if you get stuck there's plenty of support here to assist you on your way.

 

[Vorbis]

I'm as thick as two short planks but, with guidence from fellow forums members here, I managed to flash mine without bricking it (well ... the only bricking I did was in my underwear).

Visit El Presidente's link to see my various daft questions!