[divtxt]

Android is taking off here in India because it's creeping into the low-end. I'm sure the same thing is happening in most countries.

Last week I got a Samsung Galaxy Y. It's small, sturdy, has swype input and has great battery life. Gmail, reader & facebook over 3G or wifi.

The price: just $140!!!

I used to try high-end phones and then go back to low-end Nokias. Now, I'm not going back to my $40 Nokia and I'm definitely not going to pay $700+ for an iPhone that won't even have Swype.

edit: extra sentence

[tluyben2]

A lot of people are buying, just for the hell of it, Androids from Chinese outlets like Aliexpress as well. Those are not brands, but they are really cheap; so cheap you don't care at all if they break/fall (I don't agree with that sentiment, but I know a lot of people do). There are Android 2.3 pads there for $50 (not to mention hackable Linux phone watches). Now if only you could upgrade Android without restrictions.

And, while there still is crisis everywhere, I see people selling them here on markets; they buy them from Alibaba in sets of 20-50 and sell them on a sunday market to 'fortunate but not as fortunate to pay for a $140 phone'.

Edit: added Linux phone watch, disclaimer; never tried one, but a friend did and he says it's great fun for tinkering.