The world of smartphones has some recent additions that are sure to shake up the market. We will be reviewing some of the mid-tier phones that have been released recently. These phones are packed with great features that are sure to impress if you are in the market. Since there are so many options, it’s a good idea to take a look at what is on the table. Today we will be looking at the LG Volt, the Asus Zenfone 5, and the LG G2 Mini.
First up, the LG Volt. The LG Volt is a smooth looking phone, one that you would be happy to show to your friends. It has a big screen that makes up the majority of the phone, as has been the trend in smartphones for the last couple of years. The screen covers 5.18 by 2.6 inches and is the first thing that you will notice when holding the phone. Though the picture is not bad, it is fairly unremarkable at 540 x 960 pixels. This tends to be at the lower end of the spectrum of a mid-scale phone like this one. The phone weighs in at a reasonable 4.8 ounces. This is pretty impressive considering all the specifications that this phone brings to the table. It’s primarily a touchscreen phone, so you will notice a lack of exterior buttons. The display is scratch resistant. The phone, when treated properly, should stick around for a long time to come. The main strength of this phone comes in the form of its processing power. The LG Volt has a quad core with 1200 MHz, this means it can run multiple applications with no problems. The battery life is an impressive 24 hours of talk time, almost double the average smartphone. The operating system is Android 4.4, a solid system that lets you experience this smartphone fully. The camera is a reasonable 8 megapixels and about in line with what you would find on the market today. Additionally it sports 1024 MB of RAM. The Volt retails for just under $200, and you will be surprised to find all the features that come with this reasonable price.
Next up, the Asus Zenfone 5. Similar to the LG Volt, the Asus Zenfone 5 has a monster display. In fact the 5.83 by 2.87 inches is even bigger than the Volt’s. You may also notice the improved pixel display at 720 x 1280 pixels. The weight is a reasonable 5.11 ounces, which makes carrying the phone a breeze. While it is a slight knock that the phone runs Android 4.3 (as opposed to 4.4) you will quickly forget about that once you see all that the phone has to offer. The battery life is shorter on the Zenfone 5 due to the additional processing power that has been added in. While this is a tradeoff, you will be impressed to know that the phone has a 2000 MHz duel core processor and a PowerVR SGX 544MP2 chip for graphics. In this case less battery life really is more. This is all not to mention the 2048 MB of RAM that will allow your phone to run its programs. You will find that this phone is exceptional at processing the information that it has been provided. The phone camera is an impressive 8 megapixels and comes with LED flash that helps you get the right picture in any situation. Overall the Zenfone 5 comes in at about the same price as the LG Volt. It retails for just under $200 at most reasonable vendors. It is surprising that you can fit all these features into such a reasonably priced phone.
Lastly, another phone worth mentioning is the LG G2 Mini. As you can gather from the name, the G2 Mini is smaller than its predecessor the G2. Impressively enough while they cut of much of the size of the phone, they did not cut major features. Technology is constantly allowing manufactures to put more into a smaller package. This is apparent as the G2 mini has a Quad core ARM Cortex-A7 with 1200 MHz. Unfortunately this processing power does not extend as much into the RAM as desired with only 1024 MB. The screen is surprisingly big for a phone dubbed a “mini”. The height of the screen is 5.10 inches with 2.6 inches width. One of the features that nearly everyone is impressed with on the phone is its strong battery life. You can talk for hours completely uninhibited and can likely go days between recharges. Like the other phones, the G2 Mini has microSD storage that allows you to move files easily. It is light too, weighing in at 4.27 ounces. The operating system for this phone is Android 4.4.2, which is solid. This phone should be able to handle all the processes that you desire. As with the two prior phones the G2 Mini has an 8 megapixel camera display. Not amazing, but not terrible either. The Mini is a serious effort by LG to capture the mid-tier cell phone market. It succeeds in fulfilling its function of putting LG in the driver seat in this area. It is worth noting that this phone is a little pricier than the other two, coming in at around $250.
Overall, all the phones are strong. They all have relatively similar offerings in regards to the camera. There are some differences in processing power, but these must be weighed against the respective price. These are all great phones and it is hard to choose just one. However, the LG Volt just stands a slight notch above the rest. For the price point, you will find that the Volt is very hard to beat with all that it offers. Best of all is the smooth look of the phone which is sure to impress whoever is checking it out. It is recommended that you give each of these phones a shot today and pick one for yourself!
