With new Android phones releasing month after month, there can be no definitive way to declare a particular phone to be the best buy for too long. That's why we've made it a monthly habit to keep updating the Best Android phones to buy list, so that potential buyers have one place to seek advice.
Phones under Rs. 10,000
There is a growing number of options in this cost conscious smartphone range, with every manufacturer trying to one-up the other by marginally improving the features. As a rule of the thumb, I'm not even going to consider all those phones with resistive touchscreens, and with good reason. As of now, we declare the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Pop S5570 as the champion of the paisa vasool range.
It's an upgrade to the popular Galaxy 5 i5500 model and it brings about some important changes -- the screen size is bumped up from 2.8 inches to 3.2 inches, although it still has the low QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution. But for the price, we can forgive Samsung of this sin.
The camera resolution is upped from the pitiful 2 megapixel to the not-so-pitiful 3.2 megapixel. It still lacks autofocus and an LED flash; don't expect great photo quality from it.
The most important change is that it runs Android 2.2 Froyo from start, unlike the Galaxy 5 which still runs Android 2.1, with no clear update roadmap in sight. It may not be the most recent Gingerbread (2.3) version, but we still appreciate it running a fairly recent version, given how fast Google churns out OS updates every year.
It still has the i5500's 600 MHz processor, and with the same QVGA resolution and the Froyo performance optimizations, you can expect the User Interface to fly swiftly. Apart from this, the Galaxy Pop also adds a proximity sensor and a compass to the package.
Connectivity is sorted with 3.5G (HSDPA), Wi-fi 802.11n and A-GPS support. It sells for Rs. 9,000 -- the same price that its predecessor was sold at when launched. For the price, we think the Galaxy Pop S5570 is a good package for the Android lover who likes to hold back on splurging hard earned money.
Phones between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000
Till a few days, the LG Optimus P500 was the undisputed champion of value for money phones for people who want more quality than what the el-cheapo Andros offer. That was until Samsung launched the most tempting mid-range Android phone - the Galaxy Ace S5830 - for just a shade under Rs. 15,000.
While the Optimus P500 is still a decent buy for Rs. 12,500, let us tell you why investing Rs. 2,500 more to buy the Galaxy Ace will repay you aplenty. First -- the screen is bigger at 3.5 inches -- imagine the iPhone's screen size. Second, it comes with a higher resolution 5 megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash (the P500 doesn't have one). Although both the P500 and the Ace run the same type of processor, the Ace gets a speed bump of 200 MHz which brings the clock speed to 800 MHz.
The Galaxy Ace too runs Android 2.2 out of the box. At a price of Rs. 14,990, it is a tempting buy and gets the upper hand in this spot.
Phones between Rs. 15,000 and 20,000
This range is currently ruled by the one and only champion -- the Motorola DEFY. We had a chance to use this phone intensively, and I walked away impressed. It's a tough nut to crack, thanks to the resistance from water and dust. The screen is protected by Corning's scratch-proof Gorilla glass. It has a bigger 3.7 inch high-resolution (854 x 480 pixel) screen, and yet the phone's body is very petite.
The interface runs pretty smooth thanks to the 800 MHz processor and the PowerVR SGX530 graphics chip. The camera doesn't take stunning pics but they're pretty decent in quality overall.
The call quality and network reception is awesome and the loudspeaker is powerful. The only bottleneck in the DEFY is its Android 2.1 OS, but it is expected to be updated to Version 2.2 in the second quarter of 2011.
At Rs. 18,500, you're getting a good set of add-ons when compared to the pick in the category before.
Phones between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 30,000
For people willing to invest a good sum into feature-packed Android phones in this price range, we'd ask you to do one thing -- HOLD YOUR PURCHASES! Have we gone nuts? Of course, we're a little nutty all the time. But seriously, the main reason for why we're saying this can be explained in three letters -- MWC, or the Mobile World Congress 2011 that's going to happen next week.
The MWC will have all phone manufacturers launch their latest handsets. Phones like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc and XPERIA Play and the Samsung Galaxy S2. Then there are phones like the Motorola Atrix 4G or the LG Optimus 2X that have been formally announced and are expected to start selling soon.
What will these monster phones bring to the table? Some will bring dual-core processors and 1080p HD video playback, higher screen resolutions and biometric fingerprint readers. 8 megapixel camera sensors will become a standard, and front-facing video-call cameras, that were a rarity even in the best Android phones till now, will also appear in many of them.
So, when these phones launch in India at that Rs. 30,000 price range, you'll feel like a fool having spend very close to that amount in purchasing a high-end Android phone today. And once these phones land, we can only expect the pricing of current "high-end" phones like the Dell Venue or the HTC Desire HD to go down for the fear of being called outdated, overpriced handsets.
But if you don't really care about all the features we mentioned above, and cannot wait any longer to buy one (maybe even both), then here are our recommendations. Just don't come crying back saying we didn't warn you.
In the under Rs. 25,000 bracket, we find the HTC Desire to be quite a tempting buy. A big S-LCD display with HTC's eye candy Sense UI and it runs Android 2.2 now. The Desire feels nice to hold and has a good build quality. It's got all the features that an avid smartphone user would want, and a Rs. 22,000 price tag that might seem very reasonable to many.
In the Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 bracket, if you really had to buy one now, we'd put our money on the Dell Venue, since the original Galaxy S isn't selling anymore. The Venue has a couple of pluses over the former; like a body that isn't entirely made of plastic and the 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash. It sells for Rs. 28,000.
Next week is going to be an insane week for mobile phones enthusiasts, and we can't wait to lay our hands on the new Titans that will be launched. But if you want to buy an Android phone today, hope this guide has helped you make a choice.
source - techtree
Phones under Rs. 10,000
There is a growing number of options in this cost conscious smartphone range, with every manufacturer trying to one-up the other by marginally improving the features. As a rule of the thumb, I'm not even going to consider all those phones with resistive touchscreens, and with good reason. As of now, we declare the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Pop S5570 as the champion of the paisa vasool range.
It's an upgrade to the popular Galaxy 5 i5500 model and it brings about some important changes -- the screen size is bumped up from 2.8 inches to 3.2 inches, although it still has the low QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution. But for the price, we can forgive Samsung of this sin.
The camera resolution is upped from the pitiful 2 megapixel to the not-so-pitiful 3.2 megapixel. It still lacks autofocus and an LED flash; don't expect great photo quality from it.
The most important change is that it runs Android 2.2 Froyo from start, unlike the Galaxy 5 which still runs Android 2.1, with no clear update roadmap in sight. It may not be the most recent Gingerbread (2.3) version, but we still appreciate it running a fairly recent version, given how fast Google churns out OS updates every year.
It still has the i5500's 600 MHz processor, and with the same QVGA resolution and the Froyo performance optimizations, you can expect the User Interface to fly swiftly. Apart from this, the Galaxy Pop also adds a proximity sensor and a compass to the package.
Connectivity is sorted with 3.5G (HSDPA), Wi-fi 802.11n and A-GPS support. It sells for Rs. 9,000 -- the same price that its predecessor was sold at when launched. For the price, we think the Galaxy Pop S5570 is a good package for the Android lover who likes to hold back on splurging hard earned money.
Phones between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000
Till a few days, the LG Optimus P500 was the undisputed champion of value for money phones for people who want more quality than what the el-cheapo Andros offer. That was until Samsung launched the most tempting mid-range Android phone - the Galaxy Ace S5830 - for just a shade under Rs. 15,000.
While the Optimus P500 is still a decent buy for Rs. 12,500, let us tell you why investing Rs. 2,500 more to buy the Galaxy Ace will repay you aplenty. First -- the screen is bigger at 3.5 inches -- imagine the iPhone's screen size. Second, it comes with a higher resolution 5 megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash (the P500 doesn't have one). Although both the P500 and the Ace run the same type of processor, the Ace gets a speed bump of 200 MHz which brings the clock speed to 800 MHz.
The Galaxy Ace too runs Android 2.2 out of the box. At a price of Rs. 14,990, it is a tempting buy and gets the upper hand in this spot.
Phones between Rs. 15,000 and 20,000
This range is currently ruled by the one and only champion -- the Motorola DEFY. We had a chance to use this phone intensively, and I walked away impressed. It's a tough nut to crack, thanks to the resistance from water and dust. The screen is protected by Corning's scratch-proof Gorilla glass. It has a bigger 3.7 inch high-resolution (854 x 480 pixel) screen, and yet the phone's body is very petite.
The interface runs pretty smooth thanks to the 800 MHz processor and the PowerVR SGX530 graphics chip. The camera doesn't take stunning pics but they're pretty decent in quality overall.
The call quality and network reception is awesome and the loudspeaker is powerful. The only bottleneck in the DEFY is its Android 2.1 OS, but it is expected to be updated to Version 2.2 in the second quarter of 2011.
At Rs. 18,500, you're getting a good set of add-ons when compared to the pick in the category before.
Phones between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 30,000
For people willing to invest a good sum into feature-packed Android phones in this price range, we'd ask you to do one thing -- HOLD YOUR PURCHASES! Have we gone nuts? Of course, we're a little nutty all the time. But seriously, the main reason for why we're saying this can be explained in three letters -- MWC, or the Mobile World Congress 2011 that's going to happen next week.
The MWC will have all phone manufacturers launch their latest handsets. Phones like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc and XPERIA Play and the Samsung Galaxy S2. Then there are phones like the Motorola Atrix 4G or the LG Optimus 2X that have been formally announced and are expected to start selling soon.
What will these monster phones bring to the table? Some will bring dual-core processors and 1080p HD video playback, higher screen resolutions and biometric fingerprint readers. 8 megapixel camera sensors will become a standard, and front-facing video-call cameras, that were a rarity even in the best Android phones till now, will also appear in many of them.
So, when these phones launch in India at that Rs. 30,000 price range, you'll feel like a fool having spend very close to that amount in purchasing a high-end Android phone today. And once these phones land, we can only expect the pricing of current "high-end" phones like the Dell Venue or the HTC Desire HD to go down for the fear of being called outdated, overpriced handsets.
But if you don't really care about all the features we mentioned above, and cannot wait any longer to buy one (maybe even both), then here are our recommendations. Just don't come crying back saying we didn't warn you.
In the under Rs. 25,000 bracket, we find the HTC Desire to be quite a tempting buy. A big S-LCD display with HTC's eye candy Sense UI and it runs Android 2.2 now. The Desire feels nice to hold and has a good build quality. It's got all the features that an avid smartphone user would want, and a Rs. 22,000 price tag that might seem very reasonable to many.
In the Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 bracket, if you really had to buy one now, we'd put our money on the Dell Venue, since the original Galaxy S isn't selling anymore. The Venue has a couple of pluses over the former; like a body that isn't entirely made of plastic and the 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash. It sells for Rs. 28,000.
Next week is going to be an insane week for mobile phones enthusiasts, and we can't wait to lay our hands on the new Titans that will be launched. But if you want to buy an Android phone today, hope this guide has helped you make a choice.
source - techtree
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