Talk Freely With These Unlocked Android Smartphone Deals from $85

It's not your imagination: Smartphones are getting smarter by the week, and so are the deals that surround them. Here's a new wrinkle to check out, for starters: Starting June 29, Virgin Mobile will offer a pay-as-you go iPhone 4S. But we're here to sing praises to five smartphones deals that are not Apple products. What's more, all of these phones are unlocked. There's always more to check out, too, on our up-to-the-minute list of smartphone deals.

1. Unlocked ViewSonic ViewPhone 3 Dual SIM Android Phone
   Vendor: eXpansys
   Price: $119.99 with free shipping
   Lowest By: $159

   Is It Worth It?: At $159 off, eXpansys is offering a great deal on this phone, which features a 3.5" touchscreen LCD, 800MHz processor, microSD slot, 5-megapixel camera, dual SIM card slots, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, MP3 player, Google Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread), and more. The dual SIM card slots are great for managing two different cell numbers and their associated accounts. You can send texts, for instance, from the same composition window and choose a SIM from which to send it.

2. Unlocked Sony Xperia S Google Android Smartphone
   Vendor: eXpansys
   Price: $479.99 with free shipping
   Lowest By: $15

   Is It Worth It?: The Sony Xperia S is a quad-band GSM phone that CNET claims features "an undeniably gorgeous HD screen, high-quality audio, an impressive camera, and plenty of clout." However, the tech site is less impressed by its overall design and outdated Android 2.3 OS. The phone additionally features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4.3" 1280x720 touchscreen, 3G connectivity, 12.1-megapixel camera with HD video capture, 32GB internal memory, Bluetooth, 802.11n wireless, and more.

3. Unlocked BLU Dash Android Smartphone
   Vendor: eXpansys
   Price: $95 with free shipping
   Lowest By: $65

   Is It Worth It?: The BLU Dash comes in Blue (pictured), White, Pink, or Black. This quad-band 3G GSM phone features a 2.8" touchscreen LCD, microSD slot, 3.2-megapixel main camera, VGA secondary camera, dual SIM card slots, video calling, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, MP3 player, Google Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread), and more. It's also one of the least expensive touchscreen phones on the market with dual SIM card capability.

4. Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S III Android Smartphone
   Vendor: eXpansys
   Price: $694.99 with free shipping
   Lowest By: $54

   Is It Worth It?: Here's a smartphone that'll make iPhone users turn their heads. While CNET wonders if the quad-band GSM Samsung Galaxy S III might "verge on being unnecessarily large," the site admits that the handset "was comfortable, and almost felt like the phone was conforming to [our] palm." It features a 4.8" 720x1280 touchscreen SuperAMOLED display, 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB memory, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9MP front camera, 720p video recording, accelerometer, compass, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS, and more.

5. Unlocked Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 GSM Google Android Smartphone
   Vendor: eXpansys
   Price: $129.99 with free shipping
   Lowest By: $4

   Is It Worth It?: It's a mini! Well, at least in price. GSM Arena calls this quad-band GSM phone "the right kind of device for smartphone newbies." The Galaxy Mini features a 3.14" 240x320 touchscreen LCD, 600MHz processor, 160MB internal memory, microSDHC card slot, 3.15-megapixel camera, 802.11g wireless, Bluetooth, FM tuner, USB port, Google Android 2.2 (Froyo), and more.

Lou Carlozo is a dealnews contributing writer. He covers personal finance for Reuters Wealth, and was most recently the managing editor of WalletPop.com, and before that a veteran columnist at the Chicago Tribune.

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