A couple of years ago, budget smartphone catalogue was only limited to domestic players such as Micromax, Karbonn, and LAVA. Now with biggies such as Nokia and Motorola looking to grab some market share, users are spoilt for the choice. Today, you can get phones from top-tier brands without crossing the Rs 10,000 mark. Now if that’s your budget, here’s the list of handsets you should consider buying.
Nokia Lumia 630 (Single SIM)
Street Price: Rs 9700
The Lumia 630 offers sturdy build and trendy looks in an affordable package. It features a 4.5-inch IPS screen with 480×854 pixels. The display features ClearBlack polarisation filter for better sunlight legibility. Plus, the Gorilla Glass 3 protects it against scratches. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 (quad-core) chipset. Apart from the 8 GB internal storage, the phone features a microSD card slot. There’s a 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, and 1830 mAh battery. What’s missing here is a front-facing camera. The 512 MB RAM looks under-whelming on the paper, but thanks to the optimised Windows Phone 8.1 OS, the phone runs very smooth.
Motorola Moto E
Street Price: 7000
The Moto E is the only handset under 10k to offer lag free Android experience. The phone offers a 4.3″ IPS screen with 540×960 pixels, which looks quite sharp. It’s one of cheapest smartphone to feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass. The phone runs Android Kitkat out-of-the-box. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 processor and is coupled with 1 GB of RAM. There’s 4 GB of internal memory, plus a microSD card slot that supports up to 32 GB expansion. The camera quality and craftsmanship are not up to the mark. But, I’m sure most people won’t complain about it due to the affordable pricing. All in all, if you’re looking for an entry-level Android smartphone from a reputed brand, the Moto E is your best bet.
Gionee M2
Street Price: Rs 10,000
The Gionee M2 is ideal for “phablet” users. The 5-incher has pixel dimensions of 480×854 pixels. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad core chip from mediaTek. The 8 megapixel camera can record HD videos. It has got connectivity basics covered. The phone comes with 4 GB internal storage, and there’s also a microSD card slot. What’s impressive here is the huge 4200 mAh battery that easily last for two days on a single charge. That’s something rare in the Android camp.
XOLO Q700s
Street Price: Rs 10,000
The Q700i is yet another 4.5-incher in this list. XOLO has done very good job in the design department. This dual-SIM phone from the domestic manufacturer is powered by a 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6582M chipset. The screen is IPS type supporting 854×480 pixels. The Q700s packs in an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, 0.3 megapixel front-facing snapper, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, microSD card slot, and 1800 mAh battery. The phone ships with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).