If you have a tight budget or aren't looking to invest more than Rs. 10,000 on a smartphone, here are the best options in the price range for you.
Phones under Rs. 10,000 offer some good features such as build quality, the ability to run a smartphone OS smoothly, access to a large number of apps, so on and so forth. On the other hand, to maintain the low price point, they compromise on some features such as the camera, display quality, built in storage and more. Here, we have shortlisted five products that will give you the best possible bang for your buck in the sub-Rs. 10,000 price range.
1. Moto E
This was the device that started the quality under 10k trend that has been going on for a while now. The Moto E sports Android 4.4 KitKat and a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 dual-core SoC. When it was originally launched, there was no other device that could match the kind of performance it gave. Now, a year later, times have changed, but the Moto E is still as much the performer that it was, albeit with much tougher competition than it had earlier. It still has a lot going for it and comes under the best smartphones under 10k.
A very good thing about the Moto E is that it will get timely updates and Motorola, which only last year was being considered to be a new player, is now considered the veteran that it is. The company recently launched the new generations to the Moto G and Moto X, but it seems Motorola believes the Moto E is the best that it can be.
Price: Rs. 6,999
Asus entered thesmartphone market with its Zenfone series and the company has surprised many with its devices. The Zenfone 5 is easily the best that Asus has to offer. Asus has also added its own touches to the UI and used an Intel processor on the smartphone. This would have raised concerns, but the Zenfone 5 impressed us on our tests and comes under the best smartphones in this price range.
While the device runs on the Zen UI layered on top of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Asus has already promised the KitKat update for it. It has 2 GB of RAM and provides very good performance with respectable battery life. The 8 MP camera is also better than many others in the market. The Zenfone 5 is one of the primary reasons why the Moto G and Moto E aren't the best in class anymore. Sure you won't get the 16 GB version for below 10k, but that's where the micro-SD card slot comes in.
Price: Rs. 9,999 for 8 GB
The fact that the Lumia 630 has come from being above 10k to sub-10k may be troubling to some, but Nokia fans and Windows lovers will rejoice. At its current price, the Lumia 630 is a good buy. It comes with dual-SIM capabilities and runs on Windows 8.1. If you don't want Android, then this is the phone you would want to go for.
It has a 4.5 inch FWVGA display along with a 5 MP camera and 512 MB of RAM. Windows runs quite smoothly on this smartphone and while it is not the best smartphone in the market, it is definitely the best Windows phone in this range.
Price: Rs. 8,970
4. Android One
Things get shaken up whenever Google decides to take a run at them. The search giant has now turned its attention to devices, with Android One as its platform. Of course, Google is still involved only with the software side of things, but the first three devices look quite nice. You can choose from Micromax, Karbonn or Spice, but remember, Google has nine more partners who are planning their devices as well. The initiative is to bring inexpensive, yet high performing devices and let's hope it lives up to the hype.
We have reviewed the Micromax Canvas A1 and Karbonn Sparkle V and we were quite impressed with them. Yes, the prices need to be a little lower, but that doesn't stop them from being two of the best smartphones in the sub-10k segment.
Price: Rs. 6,499 for Micromax Canvas A1 and Rs. 6,399 for Karbonn Sparkle V
Perhaps no other smartphone maker has been as disruptive in the recent few months as Xiaomi. The company started its business with the high-end but low priced Xiaomi Mi3 and has since moved on to the budget priced Redmi 1S. The phone costs even lower than the Moto E and boasts the specifications of phones above this price range. It does have a few issues to it, but is still one of the best smartphones for value for money buyers.
The Redmi 1S has a 1.6 GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core SoC and 1 GB of RAM. It sports an 8 MP camera that is definitely the best in class. The downside is that it runs on Android 4.3 layered with MiUI 5, but the company has promised the KitKat update and MiUI 6 by the end of the year. It is also very difficult to buy since Xiaomi insists on selling only through flash sales on Flipkarts and the stocks are quite low.
Price: Rs. 5,999
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Sameer Mitha
Sameer Mitha lives for gaming and technology is his muse. When he isn’t busy playing with gadgets or video games he delves into the world of fantasy novels. View Full Profile
