The choices for no-contract phones have been getting really good lately;
Kyocera Hydro Wave ($39-$149):
- waterproof.
- 5-inch display, unfortunately resolution is only qHD (960 X 540, 220 ppi pixel density)
- 5MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing
Microsoft Lumia 640 ($39 -$79):
- 5-inch display, 720p resolution (1280 X 720, 294 ppi pixel density)
- 8MP rear-facing camera, 1MP front-facing
- NFC support
- XL version (5.7-inch screen size) available for $250.
- unfortunately it only runs Windows.
2015 Motorola Moto G ($179):
- waterproof
- 5-inch display (720p resolution, 1280 X 720, 294 ppi pixel density)
- 13MP rear-facing camera, 5MP front-facing
- front-facing speakers (why don’t more companies make them like that?!)
- I want me one of them!