Most compelling hardware and designs continue to be limited to high end smartphones. However, the company is slowly filling the void in the upper mid-range smartphone segment. One can easily expect to see a dual core smartphone for about Rs 20,000. With the Rupee gaining in value, some good models are now available just under Rs 20,000.
The focus of this segment is now on all round performance rather than on great hardware with old software or vice versa. Here is a list of devices one may consider while aiming to purchase a smartphone for less than Rs 20,000.
Nokia Lumia 800
Nokia had introduced its Windows Phone 7 based Lumia 800 smartphone with a unibody design inspired by the Nokia N9 smartphone. Sporting a 3.7 inch Amoled capacitive touchscreen display with Corning Gorilla Glass for strength, the Lumia 800 offers the stream lined interface of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango mobile operating system. It incorporates a micro SIM and there is no memory expansion slot. The Lumia 800 has a single unibody polycarbonate body and packs a single core 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 mobile processor coupled with 512 MB RAM. At the back, Lumia 800 has an 8 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics for better quality images.
It also has a dual LED flash and offers Autofocus along with geo-tagging. This camera is capable of recording 720p HD video. It does not have a front facing camera. However, it comes with 16 GB on-board storage.
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HTC Desire X
HTC has just launched the new Desire X smartphone with 4 inch S LCD touchscreen display and Beats Audio technology. This new smartphone is 9.3 mm thick and comes with a removable battery which is a sigh of relief for many. By default, the Desire X runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with the HTC Sense 4.0 user interface layered on top. Under the hood, it packs the new dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play MSM8225 chip and Adreno 203 graphics chip. This HTC phone also features Beats Audio technology with pre-loaded audio profiles that become active when Beats Audio earphones or headphones are plugged to the smartphone. Other than that, the Desire X features a 768 MB RAM and 4 GB on-board storage. 
However, one can hook up to a 32 GB microSD mobile card. HTC has added the usual features such as Bluetooth, WiFi, DLNA, and GPS with A-GPS support. For longer run time, HTC has added a removable 1650 mAh battery that promises up to 10 hours of talk time over 3G networks.
BlackBerry Torch 9860
RIM had introduced its first full touchscreen smartphone last year – Torch 9860. This smartphone has a 3.7 inch TFT capactive touchscreen display and features 480 x 800 pixel resolution, which makes text and images appear crisp. Running the new BlackBerry 7 OS, the Torch 9860 smartphone has an optical track pad at the centre with a BlackBerry key and a return key, on its right and left, respectively. The Torch 9860 supports 3G and offers up to 14.4 Mbps download speeds. Under the chassis, it packs a single core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 8655 mobile processor with 768 MB RAM and 4 GB on-board storage. Thankfully, there is the capability to add up to a 32 GB micro SD card for storage. 
The device packs a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash. By default the Torch 9860 can play DivX, XviD and other popular video formats so you can enjoy multimedia on the move. Packing a 1230 mAh battery, the Torch 9860 offers about 7 hours of talk time over 3G networks. Several online as well as offline retailers are offering this smartphone now approximately at a modest Rs 19,500.
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Samsung Galaxy S Advance GT-I9070
Yet another iteration of the Galaxy S smartphone model is the Galaxy S Advance but it is a slightly higher version. The Galaxy S Advance comes with a 4 inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display and supports 480 x 800 pixel Resolution natively. By default it comes loaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. While the company remains mum, there is a buzz about this model directly jumping to an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update. Under the hood, this smartphone packs a dual core ST Ericsson U8500 mobile processor with Mali-400 MP graphics chip which powers even the Galaxy S II. By default this phone can play popular audio-video formats. 
It has a 5 megapixel camera that can record 720p HD video and a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front for video calls. Samsung Galaxy S Advance can be purchased for around Rs 19,500 now.
Sony Xperia Sola MT27i
Sony introduced a new design strategy with its Xperia NXT smartphones this year. The new Xperia Sola is a candy bar touchscreen smartphone with a 3.7 inch touchscreen display. Sony has added a range of audio technologies such as xLOUD Audio Filter technology along with the Walkman mobile application. There is also 3D surround sound enhancement added with that. Under the 9.9 mm chassis, the Sola packs a dual core ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500 mobile processor with Mali 400MP graphics chip. 
Sony has packed just a 512 MB RAM but it works perfectly for the recently released Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. The Xperia Sola has a 5 megapixel camera at the back with LED flash. There is no front facing camera, and very few apps that would support one had it existed. This phone has a great design but might fall short in terms of battery, which is merely 1320 mAh.