[Question] Smartphone < 180€/200$ good camera and 4.5" to 4.7"

[colin]

Hello,
After the daughter, now I need a new smartphone for my wifey.
She wants a compact smartphone 4.5 to 4.7" with a good camera.
It must be less than 200$/180€ and 4G compatible band 800/2600 (at least one of them).
What is important for her is the camera. She likes to take pictures for social media and souvenir. Okay she comes from nothing with her samsung J1 and anything new will probably be better.
But I'd like to find a good compromise. You recommend the xiaomi note 3 pro for my daughter but it's way too big for my wife, she will not like it for sure.
Should i wait for the xiaomi redmi 4 and will the camera be decent on those chinese brands ?

Or should i spare some money for a better chinse phone or should I buy an older phone like xperia z3 compact which price have lowered those days ?

Thanks.
Colin.

[Sniper47]

The Xiaomi Redmi 3 might be a good match. It's 5.0", has a decent SOC (CPU/GPU), great battery life and good camera. Also it will be cute that both your wife and daughter have the same phone, though daughter will have momma phone and wife will have baby phone

It's also at a great price now at $125-130
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_367021.html

If want to step up one more step in camera, the Mi4C has Sony IMX258, same camera as what will be coming in the new Xiaomi Note Pro. This is a more powerful phone than Redmi 3, and 1080p display. The downside is that the battery life not as good as Redmi 3.
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_241901.html

These are both 5" phones, the Mi4C will be a bit slimmer, but both small. There aren't many <5" phones worth mentioning these days.

[GizBeat]

I think the Redmi 3 is a great choice. Check out the album here for the camera. Don't pay too much attention to the 100% crops; though they're not bad, I don't think it's realistic that people will be making 100% crops. Maybe 50% at most, if any.

All the pictures in the album are unedited other than crop/resize and saved at 75% quality.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]

[colin]

Ok, then let's stay with xiaomi.
By the way, is the next generation will get out soon ?
It could worth waiting untill september or so for a newer one.

[cookiedough]

Could be. But you're looking at a much higher price for a couple months until demand dies a bit. The current generation are very good and at excellent prices.

[colin]

Could be. But you're looking at a much higher price for a couple months until demand dies a bit. The current generation are very good and at excellent prices.

Ok, got it.
Thanks.

[GizBeat]

This is a tough call, and I don't mean to make your decision more difficult. I think the bottom line is that your wife and daughter are unlikely to appreciate or even notice the differences of the new generation. Indeed, most users wouldn't notice the difference in terms of performance, and likely the current gen are going to be more than enough for them.

That being said, the upcoming Redmi Note Pro (http://www.gizbeat.com/10614/xiaomi-redm...-everyone/) has some interesting aspects to it, that is the OLED display which on paper should provide a richer looking display, and the dual-camera system, that on paper may provide some interesting camera possibilities...

But, as mentioned...I'm not sure the differences would even be noticed by them....And the current generation (Redmi 3s and Redmi Note 3 Pro) are both great phones at amazing prices at the moment.

I'd say don't spend more than $140 on Redmi 3s and not more than $160 on Redmi Note 3 Pro (look around at our sponsors, you should see them available for around those prices, if not, let me know).

You might consider getting the upcoming Redmi Note Pro for yourself, and satiate your wife and daughter now with Redmi 3 and Redmi Note 3 Pro.