As a grand year-ender treat to consumers on a budget, two mobile manufacturers introduced their latest mid-range smartphones to target those who are planning to purchase a new device at a more reasonable price.

Samsung, one of the leading smartphone makers in the world, released the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime in November. This entry-level smartphone is packed with all the basic features of an Android-powered handset, and it is matched with a pretty average price of approximately US$155.

Meanwhile, Microsoft also unveiled the Lumia 535, the first Lumia phone bearing Microsoft's brand after the Redwood company purchased the phone manufacturing arm of Nokia in the middle of the year.  The device is also a mid-range smartphone that aims to provide entry-level specs to more consumers because of its relatively low price of US$147.

But which entry-level smartphone is the better option between the two?  See the side-by-side comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime and Microsoft Lumia 535:

Body and Display 

The new Galaxy Core Prime from the South Korean tech giant offers a 4.5-inch display screen that has 480 x 800 pixel resolution with 207 ppi pixel density. It measures 5.15 x 2.67 x 0.35 inches and weighs 4.59 ounces. 

The Lumia 535, on the other hand, comes with a 5.0-inch display screen with 540 x 960 pixel resolution and 220 ppi pixel density. The smartphone measures 5.52 x 2.85 x 0.35 inches all over, and weighs 5.15 ounces. 

Internal specs 

The Samsung Galaxy Core Prime is packed with a quad-core Snapdragon 410 series processor with an Adreno 306 GPU. It also has 1 GB RAM and 8 GB buit-in storage that can be expanded up to 32 GB using the microSD slot. It runs using the Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system. 

Microsoft's first smartphone is also packed with impressive specs. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset and quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 processor paired with an Adreno 302 GPU.  Although it also has the same 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal memory as the Galaxy Core Prime, the Lumia 535 can support up to 128 GB memory using its microSD slot. The Microsoft smartphone runs using the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. 

Camera 

Both smartphones have 5-megapixel primary shooters with LED flash and autofocus functions, but the Lumia 535 has a better secondary front-facing shooter at 5 megapixels while Samsung's entry is only 2 megapixels.