Android price of entry just fell to $30: Best Buy has contract-free ZTE Score for $29.99

9to5 Staff | Mar 5 2012 - 2:28 pm PT

If you still do not own an Android phone and cannot afford one of them high-end superphones, this is one of the best deals we have seen to date. Over at Best Buy, the Muve ZTE Score smartphone from Cricket Wireless can be yours in exchange for only $29.99. How sweet is that? That’s your fully unsubsidized price for a contract-free Android handset—down from its regular $69.99 price point. Keep in mind that $30 is what people pay to AT&T each month for their 3GB smartphone tethering plan.

Just because it is cheap does not mean it is worthless. Quite the contrary, the Muve ZTE Score runs Android 2.3 and has a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, 4GB microSD card, and a little QWERTY keyboard with that nice clicking feel to it. It also does Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G connectivity. It is your most affordable ticket into the Android world, even if you only intend on using it as a machine to run Android apps. Moreover, it is only 4-months-old.