Old is gold, but not in case of gadgets. Unlike old gold, the price of gadgets including mobile phones drop very fast with time. Please note that we are not talking about used phones.
For example, some of the flagship phones of last year are today available for much lesser than their debut price while some of the entry level smartphone are now priced below many feature phones.
This means that though you get specification not as flashy as recently launched phones, they are very powerful when price reduction pits them against much lower segment recently launched phone.
Here are five such examples.
Apple iPhone 3GS (Rs 9,999)
There is no doubt about iPhone 3GS’ performance. Though its specification wise it looks like a very low end smartphone (if launched as Android today), its performance is of top notch and can give competition to many Android phones that are priced much higher.
Despite being three years old, it comes with a great user interface thanks to the latest iOS 5. Moreover, Aircel is also offering 2 GB data per month for 12 months for Rs 3,000 in its 3G circles. In case of Aircel’s 2G circles, customers will every month get 1000 minutes calls, 2500 SMS and unlimited 2G data for six months for the same price is simply a great offer.
###PAGE###
Motorola Milestone XT800 (Rs 10,500)
The biggest drawback of this phone is that it is still based on Android 2.1 which is very old. However, Milestone XT800 is feature rich with HDMI connectivity, WiFi, a 5 megapixel camera and a 3.7 inch touchscreen.
Though we have not used this phone, the Milestone series of phones have been with us and they still perform really well with no problem of slowing down despite having only 600 MHz processor.
At Rs 10500, being offered by Flipkart, the Motorola Milestone XT800 is definitely worth every penny.
Spice Mi310 (Rs 3,989)
Mi-310 was Spice’s first Android phone. It has Android 2.2 Froyo operating system, which is its biggest drawback but rest of the specs are very much in line with what is being offered today by other low cost phone but at a higher cost.
Though there are recently launched Android phones priced only few hundred rupees more, they mostly miss on certain essential features like GPS, 3G, and proximity sensor.
Spice Mi310 comes with a 3.1 inch capacitive touchscreen and optical track pad. The phone has 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth support. It comes with a 2 megapixel camera with video recording and editing features. Other features include A-GPS, proximity and Accelerometer sensors, document viewer, direct access to multiple IMs and email accounts, and 16 GB expandable memory.
Saholic.com is offering the phone for Rs 3,989. You can read our review of the phone here
###PAGE###
Lava S12 (Rs 5,099)
Lava S12 is still based on Android 2.2 Froyo, which is quite an old operating system now. Its other features are much better than the recently launched Android phones in this price bracket.
Lava S12 has a 3.2 inch capacitive touch display. The 3G device supports WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity. It comes with 5 megapixel camera and features including 2x Digital Zoom and fixed focus. The phone has SRS surround sound and music apps such as TuneWiki, Saavan, and Hungama MyPlay. Other features include AGPS, 600 MHz processor, social networking, push email and IM support, and 32 GB expandable memory.
Both Spice and Lava will not disappoint in terms of App support as most apps available on the Google Play support the Android 2.2. Infibeam is offering the Lava S12 at Rs 5,099. However just a few weeks ago the phone was priced even lesser, unfortunately we seems to have missed that opportunity but even at this price, it is a good value for money. You can read the review of the phone here.
Micromax M2 (Rs 1,869)
If you are looking for a MP3 player or a phone with great music, Micromax M2 is one of the best options, especially since it is now available for just Rs 1,896 (offered by Infibeam).
Its a dual SIM phone with unibody design and comes with a massive Headphone which is also good in terms of audio quality. Though it has a small 2 inch wide QVGA display, it offers GPRS connectivity, a 2 megapixel camera and comes with stereo FM which can be recorded on the 2 GB internal memory.
The sound effects are augmented with the built-in Yamaha Audio Amplifier, and SRS WOW high definition sound. Besides, the Micromax M2 is loaded with a multi format audio/video player, providing a premium audio visual experience.
The only drawback of the phone is its lack of external memory support. However, you can load a lot of songs on the 2 GB Internal Memory and the sound quality is good enough to replace you costly MP3 player. You can read the review of the phone here.