Tips for Buying Gaming laptop

With so many gaming laptops on the market, I thought this would be a good time to create a general gaming laptop computer guide to help some of you choose the perfect gaming laptop.

Design

Picture credit: Tom's Hardware

The first thing to think about when buying a gaming laptop is the design. Are you going to with 15 or 17 inches? 15-inch laptops have reached a point where they are highly portable. They are light enough for you to use them every day. For example, I have two laptops here, the Razer Blade 17 below and the top one is the main gear vector. For example, the main gear vector has a lot of power in a chassis that weighs only four points one and six pounds and is lighter than the MacBook Pro. Below is the 17-inch Stealth Razer Blade Pro, which is very well built but weighs over 6 pounds. The advantage of portability is that you always have that laptop with you. The advantage of the 17-inch laptop is that it gives you more screen space, a desktop replacement, a larger chassis for better cooling, and more memory to increase the overall storage of the device. Ports would not worry me now. Most laptops have a good selection of ports.

Upgradeability

Next up is the upgradeability, and there are generally three things to upgrade on gaming laptops. Memory, RAM, and the Wi-fi card. These are important because they are the minimum requirements for your gaming laptop and allow you to upgrade your machine later. If you buy a 15-inch gaming laptop now, there are roughly two storage spaces. Sometimes you find three, but generally, the average is one or two. The 17-inch gaming laptop has 2-3 storage spaces, sometimes up to four, for example, I have a Helios 300. This is a 15-inch laptop. They decide to stick three here by sacrificing battery life. The sacrifice of battery life saved space for a 2.5-inch drive. This can be a mechanical drive or a standard SSD. If you buy the base model now, it will come with an NVME drive. But if I want to have more space later, I have two slots to two additional drives.

RAM

Next up is Ram. Most premium and mid-range laptops now have either two RAM sticks or Dual-channel memory. This is important because it improves performance. When you buy a low-cost gaming laptop, sometimes it comes with just one. If it comes with one, you'll want to buy another stick to put it in, as this will improve the performance of your laptop. Most laptops allow you to upgrade your RAM from 32 GB to 64GB.

Wi-Fi

The next thing I’m going to talk about is the wifi card. I think this is important now that Wi-Fi 6 is out now and I have updated my home to Wi-Fi 6, and I am confident it makes a huge difference in coverage and speed. Some of these gaming laptops don't have Wi-Fi 6 cards. So if you can upgrade on the go, your future Wi-Fi capabilities will be assured.

Thermal Management

The last is thermal management. This is the most important thing for your internal components. If you see a laptop with one fan, don’t buy it. Because it overheats and doesn't work as it should. If you see a gaming laptop with two fans on the other side of the laptop. It works well but warms up. Usually, you want to look for such a configuration.

Picture credit: LaptopMedia

There’s something better, but it’s more or less standard. You want the fans to be at opposite ends of the central heating pipes. In general, you do not want all heat pipes to be shared between the GPU and the CPU. You want some distinction, and this will give you a better chance of having better thermals.

Display

Picture Credit: Engadget

The display is also very important because you want to take advantage of the new high refresh rate displays that are available today and the Sweet Spot of 2020 is typically 144 Hertz. If you buy a 15-inch laptop with Full HD, IPS, and 144Hz, most of these mid-range or premium gaming laptops have good color descriptions, good color gamut, and most of all 144 Hertz where you want them. Now I would no longer focus on 4k games. Because ideally, you want a GPU that runs fast enough to get 144 Hertz frame rates. If you really want to game at 4K, there are some 15-inch laptops that have 4K panels but most of them only have 60 Hertz. And I feel that you will only hurt yourself if you continue like this because the gaming experience will not be the same. If you need 4K, move up to 17 inches because computers like Razer Blade Pro offer 4K at 120 Hertz. I still think that even the new NVIDIA and AMD GPUs that coming out this year are still not that important for laptops. Perhaps more on desktops, but not on laptops. The sweet spot you want to be in 2020 is 1080p and QuadHD, but unfortunately, there are not many qHD panels with high refresh rates.

Sound

Then there is the sound and I would probably pay the least attention to it since every gaming laptop you are buying is very loud. When you play, the fans kick on so that the laptop stays cool, just overwhelm the speakers of these laptops. You should focus more on buying a good gaming headset because it gives you so much more value than the speakers on these laptops.

Keyboard and Touchpads

Picture Credit: Eluktronics

I believe that game keyboards are one of the most important things for a gaming laptop. The hand interacts with it to move your character. Usually, you want a gaming keyboard with a good travel distance. The lowest value I want is 2mm, but ideally, you want to be at 2.5mm. Like the Razor Blade Pro 17, a beautiful laptop and my favorite 17-inch laptop, but does not have the best keyboard. Great RGB, but the keyboard shortcuts and touch experience aren’t the best. Other vendors with a SteelSeries keyboard, is a bit dated but feel tangible and have a good actuation force that works well; I feel the keys pressed while playing. I wouldn’t be worried about the touchpads because you would be using an external mouse while playing. However, if you want to do productivity work or use it at school, you want to make sure the touchpad is made of glass and it’s big enough. Ideally, you don’t want one with the real button but like one that looks a piece of glass and you also want to make sure that the touchpad is using Windows precision drivers.

GPU

So let's talk about performance, because I think most people will make the purchase decision based on it and the most important thing is the GPU for gaming. Whether you buy an i5 or the latest i7, it's all part of the GPU. I think today if you buy a gaming laptop the GTX 1660 Ti is the lowest you want. It is now the case that some cannot afford it and have to jump over a 1650. However, if you get a 1660 TI, this can guarantee that you can play most games comfortably in high settings at 1080p. It can still do VR, it'll not perform as good as an RTX card, but it can still do it. If you want to be at a nice sweet place, the RTX 2060 is more recommended, and if you want to play high-performance games, I would probably skip the RTX 2080 and chose the RTX 2070. I think it offers the best value for high gaming performance. I think I have practically completed my first laptop gaming guide. Let me know how I did it in the comments below.

If you want to buy gaming laptop under 500 dollars.

Should You Buy the iPhone SE 2020?

This is the new second-generation iPhone SE. I was actually gonna start this article by saying that I'm using the Oneplus 8 Pro at the moment and how dinky and cute the new SE looks next to that. But actually, I had to pause writing because the mailman knocked on my door. Because the original SE (2016) original has just come from eBay which I bought a few days ago.

iPhone SE 2016 VS SE 2020

You can see actually compared to that this original SE just feels like almost like a kid's toy or something and I think that's one of the reasons why the new SE is going to sell by the truckload. Because the vast majority of my friends and people I talk to, they're not spending a thousand on a new phone. They want something that's affordable a reasonable size that they can use one-handed. You know is going to last them a few years and has a good camera and this checks all the boxes for this. But lined up, you can see the new SE is a little bit smaller than the iPhone 11 pro but still a good deal bigger than the original SE.

Display and Design

We're looking at a 4.7-inch display and essentially we're getting the body of an iPhone 8 but with vastly improved internals. So, we have a glass back that does support wireless charging. We've got an aluminum chassis around the edge, stereo speakers. It's also IP 67 water resistance which means you can dunk this in up to a meter of water for half an hour. There's a single camera lens on the back which Apple is very cleverly saying is the best single camera on iPhone up to date. It comes in three colors black white and this product red which I think is my favorite color and a portion of the proceeds goes towards a covert relief charity.

When I first unboxed this my initial impression was everything feels so small. Because I'm using the OnePlus 8 Pro at the moment which is massive compared to this. But if you are using an older of 8 or 7 or 6 gen iPhone or even the original SE and this is gonna feel right at home for you actually. So with the SE obviously had the touch ID button. These pretty chunky bezels were about as thick as my finger. and side by side with the iPhone 11 pro (which just cost two and a half times more it does) feel a little bit old-fashioned. But you could argue it's a more classic iPhone look. Aside from the size, one thing you'll notice is missing on the new SE is the headphone jack. This is something we got on the original one but it has disappeared here as you would expect really. Apple wants you to buy their Air pods, so yeah, that is something that we've lost.

iPhone 11 Class Hardware

So from the outside, it is a slightly refined iPhone 8 with absorb centralized Apple logo, a slightly different camera layout, but it's what's on the inside that counts. We've got Apple’s latest A13 Bionic chip that's the same one that you'll get in the iPhone 11 Pro max which costs about three times more. This is insane for a phone that costs $400 or 420 pounds and using it feels just like the iPhone 11 Pro. To be honest, it's got the same 60 Hz refresh, it's powered by the same A13 chip what does that really mean well you can burn or play any Apple game on this flawlessly. And you'll be able to do that from probably several years to come. We get the latest software. This shipped with iOS 13.4. and it's just lovely to use. I kind of forgot how much I appreciate using our phone one-handed.

 

Camera

It's been a few years but aside from the price, I think what really makes the SE stand out is the camera. Apple on going into specifics about exactly which sensor it is using. But the 12-megapixel f/1.8 camera on the back again given the price is incredible. We can even shoot up to 4k 60 videos. so here's a few shots from the SE but I also wanted to compare it to the iPhone 11 Pro. Just to see what we are missing out versus the higher-end iPhones. On the face of it, there isn't a massive difference really they both use my HDR. You can use portrait mode on both and to be honest, even cropping in by three times there's not really much in it. sometimes the SE, by comparison, is a little less detailed and maybe a tad noisier. but if you're just posting these on Instagram I think most people will be hard-pressed to tell them apart. of course, we are missing out on the ultra-wide and the telephoto lens plus we don't get any night mode on the SE 2020. This is a little bit disappointing.

Shooting video at 4k 30 on both the iPhone SE 2 and the iPhone 11 Pro to see if there's much difference actually they both seem to be focusing pretty much the same. but what about the front-facing video, the SE 2020 actually shoot at 1080p and the iPhone 11 Pro which I've got here goes up to 4k with the front camera. I'm not sure how often or how many people would actually use 4k obviously you do get bigger file sizes. However, then again it's a higher-resolution and thus looks a little bit sharper. But handling the dynamic range of a very bright background then a slightly darker foreground and again just changing the lighting up a little bit, at least I don’t see a big difference between The SE 2020 and 11 Pro.

Need more in-depth camera review? Visit here.

Battery Life

For battery life, I think I need to spend a little bit more time with it. In my experience so far, it's good and a little bit less than the iPhone 11 pro. While it has a relatively tiny battery, smaller screen size, and  a lower resolution and also the lower peak brightness which tops out at 625 nits, all helped it to mitigate. So you'll still easily get a full day out of it but it's not in the same league as say the iPhone 11 pro max.

Alternatives

This really is one of the best budget/sort of mid-range phones that you can buy. Yes, I do know that there were tons of really good Android alternatives for similar money or some of them are even less. You can get the Realme X2 pro, Xiaomi Mi Note 10, and of course the pixel 3a and hopefully also the pixel 4a coming soon which I can't wait to put this again. So that's gonna be I think the real competitor to this but the thing is while they're all great phones and some of them offer better specs and some regards maybe full HD screens, maybe more RAM. However, the truth is I think most Android users probably upgrade their phones every two years or so. I bet with iPhones, it's less often. I know a couple of people who still have the original SE in fact.

Should You Buy it?

Yes, I know that Apple was guilty of software updates slowing down all the phones so that their batteries didn't explode and all that. So that is a concern but as a package with that A13 chip, the latest software, the really good camera and all for $400 or 420 pounds. I don't think there's a better value phone and I think this like the original SE for a lot of people will be their phone for the next three-four maybe even five years. With those specs, I think it can easily last that long. Although to be fair no other phone in 2020 has a bezel and a screen to body ratio like this. I appreciate it helped, Apple makes the SE 2020 cheaper and we can argue it's a classic design but it does seem a little lazy from being honest. I mean we give Google and the pixel phones enough grief for their bezels and I think if the 4a launch looking like this, people would make a big deal about it. They've got the fundamentals right and for the vast majority of my friends who asked me pretty often what phones I should buy. If they want an iPhone, this is gonna be the one that I recommend.

If you want a more in-depth review of the iPhone SE 2020, visit here.

 

Best Gaming Laptop Under 300

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Gaming Laptop Buying Guide 8 Important Buying Tips

Gaming laptops are great for dedicated gamers with mobile lifestyles, ranging from college students hoping to play Gears 5 anywhere on campus to businesspeople who want to place their Wall Street bets and play Forza Horizon 4 all during a train commute. Whatever uses you have planned for your machine, there are a lot of intricacies to laptop gaming, so do your research.

We've whipped up this handy-dandy guide, so you'll know all the important ins and outs of your prospective machine before you hit the buy button. From advice on choosing between SSDs and HDDs to insider scoops on where to find the best prices on gaming laptops, here are some essential tips for finding the right gaming notebook for you.

Pick the best GPU for you

Without getting too technical, here's the skinny about GPUs: They accelerate your machine's creation of images. Because games pump out a metric ton of images, getting a laptop with a dedicated GPU is important. We recommend most gamers consider a laptop armed with a GTX 1060, which offers more than enough horsepower to handle modern AAA games like Control and Devil May Cry 5 at a price that won't force you to sell a kidney. Weaker but cheaper, GTX 1050-equipped laptops can be a solid option as well.

(Image credit: Nvidia)

If you're only interested in playing indie, visually minimalistic or older (i.e., Xbox 360-era) games, you'll probably be able to scrape by with a low-end integrated graphics card like the UHD 620. But I prefer AMD APUs like Ryzen 3 3200U, because they have a higher base clock and a higher amount of VRAM. On the flip side of that, if you're feeling like J. Paul Getty and have all the money in the world, you might want to check out machines with the RTX 2080, the GPU currently at the top of the geek pyramid. The 2080 is a monster, built to handle 4K resolutions, ultra-graphics settings and fancy features like real-time ray tracing at 60+ frames per second.

Get a clue about RAM and CPU

Your CPU handles a lot of game-related calculations, like physics and AI. Therefore, you'll need a great CPU to match your GPU, because if either component is weak, it'll bottleneck the other one and stymie performance.

(Image credit: Intel)

In general, bigger numbers mean better performance with CPUs, so if you can afford to get an Intel Core i7 CPU over a Core i5, go for it. Core i3s aren't going to play nice with flashy modern games, so avoid those. Every CPU has a clock speed, and again, bigger numbers are better. A processor with a 3.3-GHz clock speed will outperform one that reaches 2.2 GHz. As for the number of CPU cores, aim for quad-core or above, since dual-cores aren't as capable in gaming. Regarding RAM, make sure your prospective laptop has at least 8GB, since 4GB won't be enough for most major games.

AMD’s story is different. AMD generally provides great processing power on value. If your budget is low like $300, then I advise to go for AMD’s Ryzen 3 3200U based laptops. They provide batter performance than 10th gen Ice Lake processors. As for RAM, the more the RAM, the better the performance in case of AMD. 

You can  see best gaming Laptops under $300 available in 2020. 

SSD vs. HDD: Who wins?

The only thing you need to know about SSDs and HDDs is that SSDs are generally a bit more expensive and can load your games way faster than HDDs. If you can find a laptop in your price range with an SSD, aim for that. 

MORE: Best Gaming Laptops 2019

If the laptops you're ogling have only HDDs, it's not the end of the world; things will just be a bit slower. Either way, make sure your prospective laptop packs at least 1TB of storage (1,024 gigabytes), because game installations are getting fatter by the day. Seriously, Rainbow Six Siege sucks up over 70 gigabytes by itself.

Size matters

If you're looking to game on the go, get a laptop that's backpack friendly. Look for a screen size of 14 inches or less for maximum portability. Also check the weight, because lugging around laptops weighing over 5 pounds can be a chore. Razer has some hot-off-the-press thin-and-tiny gaming laptops if you're in the market for mobility.

Alternatively, if you don't plan to move your laptop around much get a 10-plus-pound, 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch foldable gaming tank like the aptly named MSI GT75 Titan. The main benefit of this kind of laptop, beyond just the bigger screen, is that it will tend to come with much stronger hardware. And with that extra muscle, you can game with unlimited power (Palpatine, 2005).

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Display your way

Read reviews on which laptops have the richest, most vibrant displays if that's a big deal to you. And remember you'll likely be getting a 1080p screen if you don't plan on shelling out more than $1,500 to reach the 4K price zone. Touch screens also increase costs, but they aren't necessary for lots of people, so avoid models with those screens if you want to save cash.

MORE: Best Laptops of 2019

Keep an eye out for laptops that support Nvidia G-Sync or AMD FreeSync, both of which mitigate the screen tearing that happens when your computer produces images at a rate that's out of sync with your display's refresh rate. G-Sync and FreeSync aren't must-have technologies, but they are useful if you want to avoid potential distortions on your screen when playing games.

Be careful about brands

The big-name gaming-laptop brands all charge a premium for laptops with their logos, so be wary of spending more for less just because a manufacturer is popular. It's not hard to find some very solid gaming laptops for under $1,000, if you can live without a cute Alienware symbol on the shell of your machine. For instance, Acer offers a good value with its GTX 1650-equipped Nitro 5, and Asus also provides a respectable budget selection.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

With that said, costly brands like Alienware, Razer and MSI do offer some unique products at the highest echelons of laptop gaming. So, consider those brands if you're looking for maximum power and flashiness and want to draw out any robbers in a 50-mile radius.

MORE: Best and Worst Gaming Laptop Brands

Where to buy gaming laptops

Lots of retailers won't hesitate to charge you more than you should be paying for a gaming laptop, but there are a few good ones that'll help spare your piggy bank. Best Buy usually keeps its prices competitive. Another great option for low prices and top-tier buyer protection (insurance, refund policies, etc.) is Amazon. Newegg is good for saving on gaming laptops, too, in rare instances.

And never rule out eBay. If you're sharp, eBay can offer tremendous discounts unlike anything else on the internet. Just make sure the laptop is new-in-box and the seller has 100% positive feedback, and you could save a small fortune. Be sure to also check out our always-updated guide to the best laptop deals available.

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Know the risks

Gaming laptops are risky business. Example: If your GPU dies, you're going to have a hell of a time replacing it, compared to if you had a traditional gaming desktop and could easily swap out graphics cards. Similarly, laptops are harder to upgrade and tend to be more expensive than equally powerful desktops, due to their smaller, custom components. And if you're thinking about a 17-inch, tank laptop, a small monitor and gaming desktop might also fit your needs and will almost definitely be a better financial value overall. Think hard about if a gaming laptop is the best choice for you.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitor - Budget, G-Sync and 4K Monitors

That about sums up the biggest items to be aware of when scouting for a gaming laptop, but here are a few more tips before you go:

Avoid refurbished laptops. Typically, the tiny savings are nowhere near enough to offset the risks of buying a machine that was once unusable.

For laptop gaming, buy an Xbox controller (the default for most PC games) or a gaming mouse. Playing with just a laptop's touchpad is tough.

Laptop speaker audio is never going to be great, even though MSI and Alienware machines have proprietary software tricks built to mask that. Just invest in a headset or computer speakers if you care about getting the richest audio experience.

And there you have it! Take all this knowledge with you on your laptop search, and odds are you'll wind up with a solid gaming laptop that matches your budget and expectations. If you have a budget of $300, then  see available Best gaming laptops under $300.

How To Pick Right Desk Chair

The Latest Smartphones Under $200 for 2018

Saving up for the iPhone X or Galaxy S9? You don't have to. Today’s budget smartphones are so good that you won’t feel like you’re settling.For less than $200, you can get a big screen, enough performance to run the most popular apps and even a metal design. Cameras in this phone price range have also improved greatly. No, you won’t get special features, like waterproof designs, or serious graphics power for playing games, but overall, these handsets are excellent values.

Honor 7X

Here’s a scenario: you’ve got just $200 to spend, but you have certain requirements for creature comforts, like a massive 18:9 full-screen design, solid midrange performance, a metal chassis, and dual cameras. It turns out only one phone checks all those boxes, and it’s the Honor 7X. The latest model to drop from Huawei’s budget-focused brand, the 7X has about everything the average user could ask for in a smartphone, but costs just a third of what you’d spend on most flagship models.

• Edge-to-edge all-screen design. With a high screen-to-body ratio and 2160 x 1080 FHD+ resolution, the Honor Full View display on the Honor 7X brings you an astonishing, immersive visual experience.
• Take the lead in games. The Honor 7x’s 18: 9 screen provides more real estate than a traditional 16: 9 screen, giving you a wider view than other gamers.
• Never fall behind in catching up with friends while watching videos. The one-key screen split function offers an even faster multi-management experience.
• The Classic metal design of the Honor 7X is a delight to hold, with its perfectly rounded edge. The 2.5D glass face flows seamlessly into the aluminum chassis.
• The dual-lens 16MP + 2MP rear Camera captures life’s magical moments in the highest definition, empowering your inner photographer.

Honor 7X

Moto G5 Plus

The Moto G5 Plus is the ultimate budget phone. This unlocked Android device works with all four major U.S. carriers and comes with features you wouldn’t normally expect at this price, including a fingerprint sensor with gesture controls and a premium (mostly) metal design. The 5.2-inch full-HD screen isn’t huge, but it’s plenty bright and colorful. Add in a relatively snappy Snapdragon 625 processor, long battery life, 32GB of storage and a very good 12-megapixel camera, and you have a winner.

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• 2MP primary camera (f1.7) with dual auto focus pixels and 5MP front facing camera, color balancing dual LED flash, 8x digital zoom for photos, 4x for video, drag to focus exposure
• 4GB RAM and 32GB internal memory expandable up to 128GB
• Metal body with finger-print reader
• 13.2 centimeters (5.2-inch) Full HD TFT IPS display with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 capacitive touchscreen
• Android v7 Nougat operating system | Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor (2GHz) with Adreno 506 GPU
• Dual nano SIM with dual-standby (4G+4G)
• 3000mAH lithium-ion battery

Moto G5 Plus

LG X Power

Want extra-long battery life? Check out the LG X Power, which lasted nearly 13 hours on our battery test. That makes it one of the longest-lasting phones around. The phone is available unlocked as well as through such carriers as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Other highlights include a 5.3-inch screen, expandable storage and decent octa-core performance, though we don’t love the plasticky design.

• Factory Unlocked Phone with 4,100 mAh non-removable Extended battery with Qualcomm quick charge 2.0, Android V6.0.1 Marshmallow
• 5.3 inch HD LCD 720 x 1280 pixels (~277 ppi pixel density), Snapdragon 210 Quad-core 1.3 GHz Processor, FM radio
• 16 GB ROM, 2 GB RAM, 8 MP rear camera (1080p Video) with lg-exclusive photo features, 5MP Front Camera, microSD Slot (up to 256GB)
• 4G LTE Bands 2/4/5/12/13/17/25; GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz
• CDMA - Compatible with Most GSM Carriers including (T-Mobile, AT&T, MetroPCS, Straight Talk, Etc.)

LG X Power

Xiaomi MI A1

Google’s Android One program never quite took off the way the company had envisioned. The program focused on developing markets like India and aimed to deliver budget smartphones with a stock Android experience powered by Google. A series of disappointing devices from domestic OEMs, partly thanks to stringent requirements from Google, didn’t manage to make a dent in the market. But Android One wasn’t out for the count.
In collaboration with Xiaomi, Google has just rebooted the Android One program, which has since had the Moto X4 and HTC U11 Life added to the mix. It is clear the program is not just about entry-level smartphones anymore. The mid-range Xiaomi Mi A1 is pitched as a product that‘s ‘created by Xiaomi and powered by Google.

• Global Version. Dual Main Camera: Wide angle lens 12MP 1.25μm f / 2.2 and Telephoto lens 12MP 1.0 μm, f / 2.6, Chip: Snapdragon 625, octa-core 2.0GHz, Adreno 506 650MHz graphics processor. Display: 5.5" FHD LTPS Display 1920 x 1080, 403 PPI, Memory: 64GB ROM, 4GB RAM, Up to 128GB of expandable storage (microSD).
• Unlocked cell phones are compatible with GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, but are not compatible with CDMA carriers such as Verizon and Sprint.
• Please check if your GSM cellular carrier supports the bands for this model before purchasing, LTE may not be available in all areas: 4G FDD-LTE B1/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20 TDD-LTE B38/B40 3G WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz.
• This device may not include a US warranty as some manufacturers do not honor warranties for international items. Please contact the seller for specific warranty information.
• The box contains: Your new device, USB cable, Charger (may be foreign), Documentation.

Xiaomi MI A1

Samsung J7 Prime

A good Samsung phone under $200? The J7 Prime is a pretty solid handset for the price, offering a 5.5-inch full HD screen and a pretty impressive 13 megapixel camera. The shooter works well even in low light. The Galaxy S6-like design looks pretty good, too. The Exynos processor inside the J7 Prime provides decent performance, but the 8.5 hours of battery life is below average.

• Screen: 5.5-inch Full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi pixel density) IPS LCD, Memory: 16 GB ROM, 3 GB RAM, microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot), OS: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Finger Print Scanner, Compact Metal Design, Camera: 13 MP Main Camera f/1.9, 28mm, 8MP Front Camera w/ Flash, Exynos 7870 Octa-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53.Unlocked cell phones are compatible with GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, but are not compatible with CDMA carriers such as Verizon and Sprint.
• Unlocked cell phones are compatible with GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, but are not compatible with CDMA carriers such as Verizon and Sprint.
• Please check if your GSM cellular carrier supports the bands for this model before purchasing, LTE may not be available in the US as this is the international model: 2G: 850/900/1800/1900. 3G: 2100/1900/850/900. LTE: 2100/1800/850/2600/900/800/2600/2300.
• This device may not include a US warranty as some manufacturers do not honor warranties for international items. Please contact the seller for specific warranty information.
• The box contains: Your new device, USB cable, Charger (may be foreign) If so, a FREE US adapter will be included, Documentation.

Samsung J7 Prime

Nextbit Robin

 Nextbit Robin is a phone that is able to utilize cloud storage to expand the capacity of your phone by relocating content such as apps and media from phone to cloud. It does this by monitoring which content you are using, and how frequently, and while charging and on WiFi, moves content off of the phone as needed to optimize storage. It has a 5.2" IPS FHD Gorilla Glass 4 display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU. Locally it has 32GB of storage, and buyers of the phone get 100GB in cloud storage. The rear camera takes photos at 13MP and can do phase-detection autofocus, while the front-facing camera takes 5MP shots. The battery's capacity is 2680mAh. Lastly, the Robin has a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button.

• 5.2-inch IPS LCD Capacitive Touchscreen, 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution (~424ppi pixel density) + Scratch-Resistant Glass & Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Android v6.0 Marshmallow, Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 MSM8992, Processor: Hexa-Core (Dual-Core 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A57 & Quad-Core 1.44 GHz ARM Cortex-A53), GPU: Adreno 418
• 13 Megapixel Camera with Phase Detection Autofocus, Dual-Tone LED Flash, Continuous Shooting, Digital Zoom, Digital Image Stablization, Geo-tagging, Panorama, HDR, Touch Focus, Face Detection + 5 Megapixel Front Camera; Video Capture: HD 1080p @ 30fps
• Internal Memory: 32GB, 3GB RAM - Merged with 100GB Cloud Storage
• WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct; Bluetooth: v4.0, LE, A2DP; GPS: Yes, with A-GPS; NFC: Yes, Android Pay; USB: microUSB v2.0, USB Type-C

Nextbit Robin

Blu R2 Plus

The Blu R2 Plus is a decent Android phone under $150 with a 5.5-inch display, a fingerprint reader and 13-MP camera that performs pretty well for the price. There are some odd design choices, though, such as the microUSB port on the top of the phone. What ultimately put this handset towards the back of the pack is its middling battery life and sluggish MediaTek processor.

• Unlocked Dual SIM smartphone; Android 7.0 nougat
• 5.5” Full HD 1080p curved glass display, metal housing design with finger Print scanner
• 13 MP Main Camera with flash + 13 MP selfie Camera with flash and battery is non removable Li-Polymer 3000 mAh
• 32GB Internal memory 3GB RAM Micro SD up to 64GB; Mediatek 1.3 GHz Octa core processor with MALI T720 GPU
• 4G LTE (1/2/3/4/7/12/17/28) 3G(850/900/1700/1900/2100): US compatibility Nationwide on all GSM Networks including AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, MetroPCS, Straight Talk, and others.

Blu R2 Plus

ZTE Blade Z Max

A great option for MetroPCS customers, the Blade Z Max features a gorgeous 6-inch display, dual-lens camera and fingerprint sensor for less than $150. The 16-MP and 2-MP rear shooters enable effects like portrait mode, bokeh and monocolor. Another highlight is the nearly 11.5 hours of endurance from the 4,080 mAh battery, which makes this one of the longest lasting phones for the price.

• 6.0" Full HD display with 2.5D Dragontrail glass
• Metropcs Service Locked
• 16MP + 2MP dual rear cameras with LED flash for a greater sense of image depth and 8MP front-facing camera
• 32GB internal memory / 2GB RAM
• Fingerprint sensor for security and added convenience

ZTE Blade Z Max

Nuu Mobile G3

The Nuu G3 has a premium, tidy design which looks good. Pick it up and it feels lightweight, and the plastic body is noticeable - detracting a little from the premium look.
Round the back, the glossy, shiny rear makes the phone stand out as it catches the light - it's a nice affect, but the finish is a bit of a fingerprint magnet.
A centrally located fingerprint scanner, below the dual camera block, is easy to reach, as are the power and volume keys on the right.
Measuring 153 x 70 x 9mm the G3 is a sizable presence in the hand, and those with smaller palms will struggle to comfortably hold and use the phone in one hand.

• Dual Rear Cameras 13 MP Plus 5 MP, Front Camera 13 MP. The dual cameras on the G3 produce stunning images and allow you to control the bokeh effect, blurring out the background for more artistic portraits.
• 64 GB Internal Memory 4 GB RAM. Expandable with microSD up to 128GB.
• 5.7 inch HD Plus Display at 18:9 Aspect Ratio. Appealing Design: The G3’s strong glass casings on the front and back creating a striking design, and the ergonomically-curved glass fits comfortably in your hand.
• Helio P25 Octa Core 2.39GHz processor, Dual SIM 4G LTE, compatible with all GSM carriers
• Fingerprint ID Passwords can be a thing of the past with this easy to use feature. Access your phone and other secured apps easily with something that is uniquely yours - your fingerprint.

Nuu Mobile G3

As you shop around, make sure that the model you choose works with your carrier. Many unlocked phones are GSM-only, which means they're compatible with providers like T-Mobile, AT&T and MetroPCS but not Verizon and Sprint. However, some cheap handsets work with all of the major networks.