Smartphones Under Rs. 15,000

In our previous roundup, we showed you some smartphone options that fell under the Rs. 20,000 mark. Today we’d like to offer you a few more smartphone choices but in a lower price bracket. Obviously, you cannot get the very best features available in the market but these nevertheless make for some really neat handsets that are priced under Rs. 15,000.

Before we get started though, I’d just like to remind you that the prices we’ve mentioned here are the Market Operating Prices (MOP) and will not necessarily be the exact same at every mobile phone dealer. These prices can vary depending on which city you reside in.

Samsung Galaxy Ace – Rs. 14,800
The Galaxy Ace runs on Android FroYo with TouchWiz UI 3.0 and is powered by an 800 MHz Qualcomm processor with the Adreno 205 GPU boosting up the graphics. The handset looks pretty loaded in terms of connectivity options with 3G, Wi-Fi plus the ability to use the Galaxy Ace as a Wi-Fi modem. This phone supports media formats like MP4, H.263 and H.264 and also boasts of Samsung’s DNSe audio engine.

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Ace-ing the group…

You can take a detailed look at the specifications of the Galaxy Ace as follows:

• 3.5-inch TFT Capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels
• 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, DLNA
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory expandable up to 32 GB via microSD

LG Optimus One – Rs. 10,380
The LG Optimus One doesn’t need any introduction to many. Running on Android FroYo and powered by a 600 MHz ARM processor, the Optimus One also has some pre-loaded apps customized for the average Indian user. The handset supports quite a few media formats that also includes XviD and DivX support. The 3.15 megapixel camera has features like geo-tagging, face and smile detection and Beauty shot.

Optimus-tic!

The specifications for LG’s Optimus One are given below:

• 3.2-inch Capacitive Touchscreen with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels
• 3G, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Hotspot, A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 3.15 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Stereo FM Radio
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory expandable up to 32 GB via microSD

Motorola Quench XT5 – Rs. 13,990
Apart from a small issue that the firmware is not upgradable to FroYo, the Quench XT5 is a good option in this price range. The Gorilla Glass encased display makes it able to sustain a few drops and scratches to the screen. Support for media formats like DivX, MP4 and others also mean that the Quench XT5 does well in the entertainment division.

Quenches the thirst for a smartphone

The Quench XT5 has the following specifications:

• 3.2-inch Capacitive touchscreen encased in Gorilla Glass and at a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels
• 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
• FM Radio
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Additional memory supported is 32 GB via microSD cards

Nokia E5 – Rs. 10,400
The E5 has all the features that make for a good QWERTY-based smartphone. The connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi, and EDGE and the handset is DLNA compliant as well so you can hook it up to other DLNA-enabled devices. The handset runs on the Series 60 platform of the Symbian OS and is powered by a 600 MHz ARM processor.

Nokia’s a good choice as well

Taking a look under the hood, the E5 has the following specifications:

• 2.3-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels
• 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, DLNA
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• 5 megapixel camera with fixed focus and LED flash
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory expandable up to 32 GB via microSD cards

Dell XCD28 – Rs. 10,999
While Dell has hit it out pretty well with the Venue and Venue Pro, the XCD series are more for mid-range users. The XCD28 has some pretty decent specifications and for the price, has enough of flair for a decent smartphone. It runs on an ARM 11 processor clocking 600 MHz with a boost to graphics from the Adreno 200 GPU. The only slight drawback is that the XCD28 runs on Android Eclair and there’s still no word on whether it gets a firmware upgrade.

Smart enough isn’t it?

The Dell XCD28 has the following specifications:

• 2.8-inch Resistive touchscreen with a 240 x 320 pixels resolution
• 3G, Wi-Fi, A-GPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 3.15 Megapixel camera with autofocus
• Stereo FM Radio with RDS
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Memory expandable up to 8 GB via micro SD cards

So these are the smartphones that we think make a good buy if your budget is maxed out at Rs. 15,000. Please don’t forget that the prices mentioned above are just market operating prices and can differ in various places.