The Best Affordable Smart Phones for College Students

College students need a way to stay in contact with hometown friends and family members, and a smartphone is the coolest way to keep in touch. The trouble is that many smartphones are too expensive, or worse, have slow, buggy performance that can be more frustrating than a long research paper.

Here are four fast cell phones that are both affordable and full of great features to make any college student's academic life a lot easier.

LG Neon II - LG's excellent smartphone packs in smooth operating and clean web browsing for less than $200 (under $30 with a contract). Make no mistake, it's a fully-featured smartphone, with multi-tasking abilities and 3G access. It also has a 2.0 MP camera. Absolutely fantastic for the money, it's the cheapest smartphone overall on this list without resorting to refurbished units or old models, but it's still got everything that a student could need.

iPhone 3GS - College students and their parents may not be able to pony up the cash for the iPhone 4, but the 3GS is still an outstanding phone with an easy-to-use operating system and access to the best apps in the world. The downside is that you pay something extra for an iOS phone, so hardware-wise, it's not as feature-rich as some Android devices. Still, it costs next to nothing with a longer AT&T contract, and the iPhone is famous for a reason--it's easy to do almost anything with this smartphone, from buying and playing music to taking videos and multitasking.

LG Optimus T - Another budget option for college students. The Optimus T isn't the fastest or best-looking smartphone on the market, but it has Android 2.2 as its operating system. The screen isn't the best, but it's under $300 and is a fast, responsive, feature-rich smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Prevail - Here's another great Android 2.2 phone for under $200. This Samsung will handle email, video viewing, most apps from the Android market and web & email duties. Its 3.2-inch touchscreen works brilliantly, so it's perfect for college students who want something hip but useful. One big selling point for this phone is its 6.5-hour battery life, which is pretty decent for a budget smartphone.

College students should take the time to try a few of these phones at the store, then buy them online. It's the best way to save money while finding the features that they'll need (and know how to use) for the upcoming school year.