KitKat on a budget! Moto E, Micromax Unite 2, Lava Iris X1 lead the sub-Rs 8,000 segment

The competition in the entry-level smartphone market gets fiercer in India, thanks to the latest entrant Moto E. Following the Moto E, several other local phone makers have pulled up their socks and crafted some nifty devices for the budget segment. In fact, in the past one month, a handful of sub-Rs 8,000 device running the latest Android KitKat OS - that was once a privilege for high-end phones only - have surfaced. Let’s take a quick look at smartphones running KitKat priced under Rs 8,000 in India.

Motorola Moto E - Rs 6,999

The Moto E bring a nifty package with a 4.5-inch scratch-resistant display, 1GB RAM, customisable covers, waterproof capabilities and the latest Android KitKat OS. All of this for a entry-level price of Rs 6,999. The Moto E was designed to be beginner’s smartphone and for that, it does its job brilliantly. If you want a better camera or faster CPU, then you have the  Moto G  for that. Motorola has cleverly chalked out the specifications for the Moto E so it doesn’t eat into the sales of the Moto G, thereby justifying the price gap. Read our complete  Moto E review , to know more.

Micromax Unite 2 - Rs 6,999

To compete with the budget wonder Moto E, Micromax quickly launched its all new Unite 2 smartphone priced similarly at Rs 6,999. Just like Moto E, it also runs on Android KitKat. The Unite 2 sports a larger 4.7-inch IPS display with 800×480 pixels of resolution. Under the hood, it is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, coupled with 1GB RAM. On the camera front, a 5-megapixel rear snapper with flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera complete the package. With 4GB onboard storage, it can be expanded further up to 32GB via microSD card. The connectivity options include GPS, Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi. All of this is fuelled by a 2000 mAh battery.

Lava Iris X1 - Rs 7,999

Another sub Rs 8,000 smartphone running Android KitKat is the Lava Iris X1 . While Moto E is exclusive to Flipkart, the Iris X1 is available exclusively via  Amazon.in . It runs the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat out-of-the-box. With an 8.9 mm of thickness and 138 grams in weight, the handset sports a 4.5-inch FWVGA IPS (854 x 480 pixels) display. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM23550 processor coupled with 1GB RAM. On the camera front, it comes equipped with an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.4 µm pixel BSI+ sensor. It also gets a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calling. The 4GB onboard storage is expandable up to 32GB via micro-SD card. The connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0 BLE (Bluetooth low energy), micro-USB and EDGE.

Micromax Canvas Engage - Rs 6,199

The Micromax Canvas Engage (A091)  has been spotted online  with a price tag of Rs 6,199. It is not yet on the company’s site, so this could be an early release, but there’s no word on the official launch.  The Canvas Engage is likely the most affordable KitKat smartphone, given its price. It is likely to come with a 4-inch IPS WVGA display, which is lower resolution than the Moto E’s qHD screen.  It gets an unspecified quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz, which is most likely a MediaTek chipset. Other specs are typical entry-level fare:  5-megapixel rear camera (no flash), a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 4GB of internal storage,  microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, GPS/A-GPS, dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) and 1500mAh battery.