If you asked me three years ago what kind of smartphone you could get for a couple hundred bucks off-contract, my answer would have been easy: You could get one that, to put it delicately, is a total piece of crap.

My, how things have changed.

In my pocket right now is a phone that costs $220 — unlocked and off-contract, with no carrier commitments or years of inflated service charges attached. This is the higher-end model of the device, too; you can actually get the same phone with less storage and memory for a mere $180. 

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