Hunting a new smartphone is never easy, even in the affordable segment. There are thousands of smartphones, especially based on the Android operating system, in the budget segment. So to make your task a bit easier, here we present you five devices which are most talked about at this point of time. Do have a look at them before finalising one for yourself.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G – Rs 9,999
Xiaomi, which entered the Indian market only last year, has a terrific time so far. Despite the Chinese tag, Xiaomi’s smartphones managed to woo the buyers with their “super value for money propositionâ€. The Redmi Note 4G too has similar dream story since its launch last month in India.
Like other Xiaomi handsets, it too is loaded with features despite having a price tag of just Rs 9,999. To start with, it has a huge 5.5 inch IPS display with high definition resolution. Ofcourse, it isn’t the best in the market; few handsets in the same price range also offer full HD resolution.
The Android KitKat (4.4.2) based Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G has a customized user interface and a quad-core 1.6 GHz processor, which is coupled with 2 GB of RAM. Besides, it has decent 8 GB of Internal Memory which a micro SD card slot that can accommodate a TF card of 64 GB.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G has a 13 megapixel primary camera with usual features like auto-focus, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, and HDR. It is capable of recording videos in full HD (1080p) at 30 fps. The front 5 megapixel fixed focus camera can be used for video calling and selfies.
But the attraction of the smartphone is obviously its 4G connectivity and ofcourse it has WiFi and Bluetooth. In the absence of 4G, you can use 3G for accessing internet. Xiaomi has also armed it with a 3200 mAh battery and claims that it would offer 38 hours of talk time.
Clearly, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G isn’t the best in every segment but in terms of combination of features, it is definitely one of the best. But what makes it stand out from others is the 4G connectivity. So if you need a cheap 4G handset, this is the phone to go for.
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Asus Zenfone 5 – Rs 8,999
After Motorola, Asus is the only MNC to make a mark in the affordable smartphone segment with its Zenfone series. The Zenfone 4, which is retailing around Rs 5,000, is already one of the sought after handset due to its features and brand value. For those with a little bit bigger budget, Asus is offering the Zenfone 5 which is currently available for Rs 8,999.
The Asus Zenfone 5 features a 5 inch display with qHD (540×960 pixels) resolution. This IPS display has anti-fingerprint coating. The Zenfone 5 is based on Android KitKat operating system and runs on a 1.2 GHz Intel Atom dual core processor 1 GB RAM. It has also 8 GB of internal memory and an expandable storage slot that can accommodate a micro SD card of up to 64 GB.
With an 8 megapixel rear auto focus camera and a 2 megapixel front camera, the Asus Zenfone 5 also looks quite attractive in the camera front too. Though it doesn’t boast 4G connectivity like the Redmi Note 4G but it comes with dual SIM offering 3G, and has WiFi and Bluetooth. Asus has also armed it with a 2500 mAh battery which should be enough to run this 5 inch smartphone for a day with normal usage.
Alcatel OneTouch Flash – Rs 8,999
Alcatel smartphones are slowly but surely gaining populartity in India with every passing day. TCL Corp of China, which brought the phone business from Alcatel Lucent of France in 2005, had re-entered the Indian handset market in a big way in August last year with several handsets. It too has opted the same strategy as Xiaomi – offering features loaded smartphones in the budget segment.
Take the instance of Alcatel OneTouch Flash which was retailing for Rs 8,999 at the time of writing (though the regular price was Rs 9,999). The phone offers a 5.5 inch HD IPS display, Android KitKat operating system, 1 GB RAM, and a powerful 1.4 Ghz octa core processor. Moreover, it has 8 GB of internal memory and a 32 GB micro SD card slot.
The Alcatel OneTouch Flash also offers a huge 3200 mAh battery that claims to offer 19 hours of 2G talktime. In the camera front too, it has one of the best figures that you could expect from a smartphone in its price range – to be specific, it has a 13 megapixel rear auto focus camera and a 5 megapixel front fixed focus sensor. For connectivity, the Alcatel OneTouch Flash offers dual-SIM, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, and WiFi.
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Yu Yureka – Rs 8,999
Yu Yureka doesn’t need an introduction. Introduced by Micromax, Yureka is the first phone under the brand Yu. It shot to fame the moment it was revealed to the people as it is the first device in the Indian market to formally come with the Cyanogen Mod operating system. Those who are not aware, Cyanogen is one of the popular operating systems in the world which is based on the Android OS. The Yu Yureka comes with Cyanogen Mod OS 11 which is otherwise based on Android 4.4.
Another reason for Yu Yureka’s popularity is that amount of freedom it offers to its users. The Yu Yureka allows users to even access the bootloader and root the device. You can thus experiment with the phone. Ofcourse you need to have some level of expertise to do such things with your phone.
But it is not the operating system that makes it so attractive. To start with Yu Yureka has a 5.5 inch IPS display with high definition resolution like the Redmi Note and Zenfone 5. It has a 64 bit, 1.5 GHz Snapdragon 615 octa core processor and huge 2 GB RAM – the best combination you could ask for in this price segment. On top of that, the Yu Yureka offers 16 GB of internal memory apart from 32 GB micro SD card slot.
In the camera front too, the Yu Yureka looks equally good with a 13 megapixel primary auto focus camera with a Sony Exmor R sensor. The primary camera can record in 1080p at 30 fps; it even has a slow motion mode which records in 720p at 60 fps. There is a 5 meagapixel front camera for selfies and video calls.
Whatsmore, the Yu Yureka has also 4G connectivity; it comes with two SIM slots. Besides, it has 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM Radio, and 2500 mAh battery.
Huawei Honor Holly – Rs 6,999
The Huawei Honor Holly is the cheapest phone in this lineup, and even then it absolutely deserves its place. The Huawei Honor Holly has a 5 inch IPS LCD display with high definition resolution. The phone itself runs on Android KitKat with Huawei’s own Emotion 2.3 UI on top of it. The phone offers a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor and 1 GB RAM. On storage front, it especially looks good with 16 GB internal memory and 32 GB micro SD card slot.
As for the connectivity, all the usual features are there in the Honor Holly – 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, dual-SIM, etc. The handset offers an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front unit. Like most devices in its price range, the Holly offers a 2000 mAh Li-Ion battery.