So you wanna buy a good phone but don't want to waste a lot of money for it? Maybe you also don't want to have a too big screen? I was in the same situation, thus I did some research and found these models to have the best price/quality ratio for now (January 2016).

My criteria was mainly: around 5" for the screen. At least 3 GB of ram, at least 32 GB of storage (ROM) and if possible sd card support. USB type C is not necessarily a plus, but if you want to be a pioneer you'll definitively want to have a USB 3.0 phone (it's the future).

For the specs I saved a link to gsmarena. Since these (besides the OnePlus X) are phones marketed mainly for China, I added some resources to XDA forums for debloated ROMs, to add Play Store etc.

OnePlus X

OnePlus X 266 USD white, 286 USD black

In short: 5.0", 32GB ROM, 3GB RAM, Snapdragon 801 CPU, sd card
OnePlus X specs

Xiaomi Mi 4c on xda forums

I've put this phone first in this list, because it's marketed for Europe/USA. Thus you won't have to spend time to install a custom rom to get rid of the Chinese apps, or to install Play Store. 2 of my colleagues at work bought this phone, and the only thing they don't like is that it's slippery. Else they are completely satisfied with it.

Xiaomi Mi 4c

Xiaomi Mi 4c 209 USD (price checked and updated on 2016-09-13)

Xiomi Mi 4c only 125 USD (cheaper edition with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB ROM)
For 125 USD it's a limited offer valid till September 2016. I own the "normal" edition and just ordered this as a spare one. Highly recommended.

In short: 5.0", 32GB ROM, 3GB RAM, Snapdragon 808 Hexa-core CPU, no sd card, USB type C, fast charge
Xiaomi Mi 4c specs

Xiaomi Mi 4c on xda forums

I've never tested MIUI, but it seems that this operating system is quite nice, thus I decided to give it a try and order this promising phone. Check MIUI 7.0 on androidcentral. Stay tuned for more updates when I receive this phone, or google for reviews.

LeTV One Pro X800

LeTV One Pro X800 292 USD (silver)

In short: 5.5", 32GB ROM, 4GB RAM, Snapdragon 810 CPU, no sd card, USB type C
LeTV One Pro specs

[Letv x800] RuschROM (Stock debloated)

This is a monster. It seems to have a overheating problem during high usage (games). You'll also need to install a custom rom to get rid of all the Chinese stuff. The price is quite nice. If it wasn't for the fact that I was curious about MIUI, I would have definitively ordered this one.

Accessories to buy for USB type C phones

If you, like me, need sd card support e.g. to check pictures or videos taken with an external device, such a GoPro, or maybe from your reflex camera, you may need to have some adapters. I found those particularly handy:

USB 3.1 Type C Male to Micro USB 2.0 5P Female Data Adapter (3 USD)

2 in 1 USB2.0 and USB 3.1 Type C TF SD Card Reader (7.9 USD)

If you want to buy a mini drone to get the feeling on how it is to fly one of these "creatures", you are in the right place. I started my drone pilot "career" exactly like that, with a mini quadcopter.

The models I like the most are Cheerson CX-10 and Eachine H8 Mini.

Comparison between Cheerson CX-10 vs Eachine H8 Mini

	Cheerson CX-10	Eachine H8 Mini
Ease of use	Easy	Medium (it's very fast, can be unpredictable)
Protection	Cover available separately: you can fly the drone till it touches the ceiling	Integrated protection (but not as good as the CX-10 one)
Speed	Has several modes to modify the responsiveness (angle when steering) but the speed is basically average (good for beginners)	Very responsive, it's like made for racing
Control distance	Around 10m	Around 30m!
Transmitter	Small Needs: 2 AAA batteries	Small/medium Needs: 3 AAA batteries
Turning it on/off	On/Off switch	Plug/unplug battery cable
Battery	Integrated (can be replaced if broken) Flying time: 5 min Charging time: 30 min Charging mode: USB (cable included)	Separate (you can buy more spare ones!) Flying time: 5 min Charging time: 40 min Charging mode: USB (cable included)
Battery low voltage	The drone begins to blink, you see the power going down slowly and you have about 20 seconds to land it safely.	The drone begins to blink and after 5 seconds it dies. This is really bad as it's impossible to make it land properly, especially from a higher altitude.
Size	40 x 40 x 22 mm (without cover)	135 x 135 x 28 mm
Available colors	Orange Green Blue Pink Black (CX-10A) White (CX-10A) Gold (CX-10A) Silver (CX-10A)	Black White
Pros	Stable (good indoors) Low voltage: enough time to land	Racing feeling (good outdoors) Extra batteries
Cons	Short control distance No extra batteries	A bit unpredictable Low voltage: almost no time to land
Price and links to buy	Drone: 12.99 USD Cover: 0.79 USD Propellers: 1.55 USD Battery: - Total: 15.33 USD	Drone: 12.29 USD Cover: integrated Propellers: 1.89 USD Battery (upgraded 260 mAh): 3.87 USD 5-pack batteries + charger 15.50 USD Total: 18.05 USD

Prices last checked and updated on 2016-11-25.

Final thoughts

Cheerson CX-10

I own several Cheerson CX-10 models (I convinced all my colleagues in the office to buy one) and I think they are stable and reliable to fly indoors in a little room. Outdoors, since the flying distance is not big, it's not exciting.

Eachine H8 Mini

I bought also an Echine H8 Mini and tried it in my living room. A first impression I think it's a bit unpredictable and thus dangerous. I think that this is best used outdoors, in fact the drone is very fast and because of its "random" nature during the flips and simply drops when the battery is low, you can feel safer when flying it over some grass.

Eachine H8S 3D mini inverted

Compatible with the same batteries of the H8 mini, this drone is even more fun as you press a button and it will flip and stay upside down and fly inverted. Really fun.

Eachine H8S 3D Mini Inverted Flight 2.4G 4CH 6Axis One Key Return RC Quadcopter RTF
16 USD (green), 18 USD (blue)

Advantage of owning both models:

• they support the same batteries
• if you wanna fly with a friend, the same models interfere with each other, but if you have an H8S it won't interfere with the H8 mini

Conclusion

If I were you, and I assume you like to fly drones or at least I think you wanna have some beginner fun, I would buy both of them (in fact I owe both of them). The links I posted point to bangood, which is an awesome website and the delivery is free of charge (unless you are impatient and wanna pay for expedited shipping for faster delivery). Make sure to buy 1 propellers set for both (props for Cheerson CX-10 / props for Eachine H8 Mini. Note: the packages already contain a set of spare props, and if you buy the protecting cover you won't break many props, thus 1 set is enough I believe, up to you). Buy the protecting cover for the CX-10. Buy one (or two) more batteries for the Eachine H8 Mini.

Check my article Cheerson CX-10 vs Skeye nano drone to read more about the Cheerson CX-10, CX-10A and CX-10C models.

If you feel like buying something bigger, check these quadcopters. Have fun! :)

Note: I'm filming these 2 drones to compare their behaviour. I will update this blog post as soon as I have some good footage. Stay tuned.