If you’re in search for the latest and greatest smartphone, then look elsewhere, for the Motorola WX395 isn’t it.

In fact, the WX395 is one of those often-overlooked devices in today’s smartphone-obsessed market: a cheap, basic handset that makes and receives phone calls and text messages – but doesn’t really do much else.

It must be said that for the price ($79), the phone does what it should quite nicely. It’s easy to operate and feels sturdy while still being compact and light enough to carry around comfortably in most pockets. Battery life is also much better than that of any smartphone, as you’d expect from a basic mobile phone (given that they don’t have any functionality that requires significant battery power).

The most advanced feature is the 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, which performs – well – in an average fashion. Motorola has equipped the WX395 with 2.5MB of internal memory for storing photos on, exapandable via the microSD card slot under the back cover.

Buy a cheap Motorola phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

The HTC Snap is the latest addition to the HTC stable of phones, and while it does not really break any new ground, it is a reliable and relatively inexpensive basic smartphone.

The HTC Snap is a messaging-focused phone, as evidenced by the inclusion of an excellent QWERTY keyboard (this is not a touchscreen phone). The keyboard sits below the 2.4-inch screen and a trackball, similar to what you’d find on a BlackBerry phone.

The most outstanding feature of the HTC Snap is Inner Circle, a feature that allows you to add your most-used or favourite contacts to a single list. When you receive emails from your Inner Circle they go straight to their own separate message list, so you can access them with the touch of a single key as needed. These emails also go to the main list of messages.

Some of HTC’s high-end phones have some very advanced features, but the Snap isn’t one of them. The feature set includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 (A2DP profile), HSDPA radios and a GPS receiver. HTC has also equipped the Snap with Windows Mobile 6.1.

The HTC Snap is available exclusively in Australia on the Telstra network for the three months to November priced at $0 upfront on a $60 or higher phone plan.

Buy a cheap HTC phone on sale

By Caroline Warnes