Android Smartphone Under 27k

[Professor X]

1. Budget? = 25,000-27,000 INR
2. Display type and size? = above 4.5"
3. Form Factor? bar, slider, flip? = Bar
4. Preferred choice of brand? = Samsung, Google, HTC
5. Preferred input method (QWERTY, touchscreen, numpad, touch-n-type). = Capacitive touchscreen
6. What camera option you want? Please specify need for flash, autofocus, front facing camera. = 8 megapixel with autofocus
7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc). = Android Jelly Bean
8. Preferred connectivity options (3G, Wifi etc)Please specify clearly. = 3G HSPA, wifi, bluetooth 4.0
9. Preferred applications (Flash, Swype, GPS, etc)? = All major android apps.
10. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, mails, internet, gaming etc)? = Texting, email, camera, music, browsing etc
11. Any specific mobile phones in consideration? = Galaxy SIII 16GB, HTC One X 32GB and Google Nexus 4 16GB
12. Any other info that you want to share =
I was basically waiting for Google Nexus 4 phone to get launched officially from 3 months. But it looks like it not going to come in India. I am not interested in buying imported phones from the grey market. Recently Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB phone's price dropped to 28,900 INR and it is available for 26,900 with samsung india warranty on ebay.in valentine's day offer code. Please help me to decide I desperately need a smartphone this month.

 

[desiibond]

trust me on this one. Warranty is a must when it comes to smartphones. Even if the phone has some broken part due to accidental fall, you should be in a position to have it fixed without sending it overseas. This is the reason why I keep saying NO for Nexus 4 as the phone is too brittle (thanks to stupid glass back).

HTC One X is a good phone but from what I know, it has poor battery life and S3 has much bigger dev interest. My suggestion to you is to either get S3 16GB or wait for new phones to come out.

 

[Professor X]

trust me on this one. Warranty is a must when it comes to smartphones. Even if the phone has some broken part due to accidental fall, you should be in a position to have it fixed without sending it overseas. This is the reason why I keep saying NO for Nexus 4 as the phone is too brittle (thanks to stupid glass back).

HTC One X is a good phone but from what I know, it has poor battery life and S3 has much bigger dev interest. My suggestion to you is to either get S3 16GB or wait for new phones to come out.

How poor is the battery of HTC One X?? for me it should last a day, mostly i use whatsapp, music and few other apps. If I'm spending that much my preference is the user experience should be excellent and responsive. I'm not some software engineer who keep in touch with these developing source, putting custom ROM etc

Galaxy SIII is the most rewarded and reputable phone till now. Do you know any upcoming phone better than this?

 

[desiibond]

How poor is the battery of HTC One X?? for me it should last a day, mostly i use whatsapp, music and few other apps. If I'm spending that much my preference is the user experience should be excellent and responsive. I'm not some software engineer who keep in touch with these developing source, putting custom ROM etc

Galaxy SIII is the most rewarded and reputable phone till now. Do you know any upcoming phone better than this?

yes. LG Optimus G seems to be mega superb. One X should last for a day at the max. If you are getting S3 with warranty and One X without warranty for same price, I would close my eyes and get S3. Warranty + expandable memory + removable battery are major +ves.

Btw, given your requirement, you can actually give Lumia 820 a try. buttersmooth UI and wont slow down after months of usage. Decent app catalogue. WP is perfect for those who doenst want to play around and want to use it the way it is.

 

[Professor X]

yes. LG Optimus G seems to be mega superb. One X should last for a day at the max. If you are getting S3 with warranty and One X without warranty for same price, I would close my eyes and get S3. Warranty + expandable memory + removable battery are major +ves.

Btw, given your requirement, you can actually give Lumia 820 a try. buttersmooth UI and wont slow down after months of usage. Decent app catalogue. WP is perfect for those who doenst want to play around and want to use it the way it is.

LG Optimus G is not available in India. I don't think it will be priced in this range as it's going to be LG's flagship.
Not interested in lumia 820 it is a nice phone but overpriced, lacks major apps, average display of 800x480 resolution and has poor battery (1650 mAh). Any idea of upcoming phones in this range? I need an android phone.

 

[randomuser111]

Two from Sony. Huashan and Dogo (codenames)

Huashan

4.6 inch 720p HD Optincontrast
MSM8960 dual krait 1.7ghz + Adreno 330 GPU
1 GB RAM
8mp Exmor RS camera

Around 25

Dogo

4.6 inch 720p HD Opticontrast
APQ8064 1.5ghz quad krait
1 GB RAM
13 MP cam
IP 58 water resistant upto more than 1 meter
Metal body

Around 29.

Dogo should launch April, and Huashan april end or early May.

 

[furious_gamer]

^^ I prefer Dogo. Awesome config and sure competitor for SIII, it looks like.

 

[desiibond]

Wouldn't that be the time when Optimus G and probably GS4 will be coming to the markets and who knows, Nexus 4 too might hit Indian shores. @OP, as you are not interested in L820, I think S3 is good option for you. Do check LG Optimus 4X HD which is now selling for some 24-25k (-ves being slow udpates, phone is still on ICS, very very less ROM development, locked bootloader, not so good looks). This phone was first choice before I hit XDA and found that this phone has no ROM development and so I went ahead with S3. The white version is good and it has a damn good IPS display.

 

[furious_gamer]

@desiibond
S3 sure is good but not worth getting as this point of time. When the MWC at near future and Samsung is in price cut, we may get good products this year.

@OP
if you ask me, wait for new Xperia/LG lineups or get Nexus 4. Get a case to protect the phone and enjoy the vanilla android experience.

If you are so much worried about warranty, then get S3.

 

[desiibond]

@desiibond
S3 sure is good but not worth getting as this point of time. When the MWC at near future and Samsung is in price cut, we may get good products this year.

@OP
if you ask me, wait for new Xperia/LG lineups or get Nexus 4. Get a case to protect the phone and enjoy the vanilla android experience.

If you are so much worried about warranty, then get S3.

Given the h/w I doubt if S3 will ever fall below 25k. Once S4 is out, s3 will be phased out or keep existing stock in market till it is cleared (similar to how S2 is). The reason why I suggested S3 is because:
1. Pretty good battery for a phone this big
2. Very stable, no issues reported w.r.t build or components.
3. already on JB
4. In case the OP wants to try something in the future, there is huge set of ROMs, documentation floating on the web. Hell, I install CM10.1 without sweating the very first week and enjoying the super smooth project butter experience.
5. Huge list of accessories for S3. Thanks to immense popularity, you can find lot of accessories for S3.

I have seen many with broken Nexus 4/7 and all they can to do is send the device back to USA and get it fixed. Am not saying that N4 will definitely break. Am saying that the probability is high and that combined with lack of memory expansion ........

The other good option is to go with Xperia devices. X:SL has already proven to be a pretty good phone. The upcoming Xpeira phones look yummy but I always pick a device that is proven instead of being an early adopter for a device that is new to the maket.

 

[Professor X]

@desiibond
S3 sure is good but not worth getting as this point of time. When the MWC at near future and Samsung is in price cut, we may get good products this year.

@OP
if you ask me, wait for new Xperia/LG lineups or get Nexus 4. Get a case to protect the phone and enjoy the vanilla android experience.

If you are so much worried about warranty, then get S3.

Samsung already dropped the price and I don't expect more in next 3-4 months. I think upcoming Galaxy SIV will be priced minimum 35k.
Not interested in LG and Sony phones. Thanks you.

 

[furious_gamer]

Well then it is in OP's hands to decide.

Still i would go with X:SL which looks damn good compared to big-plastic toy S3.

 

[Professor X]

Given the h/w I doubt if S3 will ever fall below 25k. Once S4 is out, s3 will be phased out or keep existing stock in market till it is cleared (similar to how S2 is). The reason why I suggested S3 is because:
1. Pretty good battery for a phone this big
2. Very stable, no issues reported w.r.t build or components.
3. already on JB
4. In case the OP wants to try something in the future, there is huge set of ROMs, documentation floating on the web. Hell, I install CM10.1 without sweating the very first week and enjoying the super smooth project butter experience.
5. Huge list of accessories for S3. Thanks to immense popularity, you can find lot of accessories for S3.

I have seen many with broken Nexus 4/7 and all they can to do is send the device back to USA and get it fixed. Am not saying that N4 will definitely break. Am saying that the probability is high and that combined with lack of memory expansion ........

The other good option is to go with Xperia devices. X:SL has already proven to be a pretty good phone. The upcoming Xpeira phones look yummy but I always pick a device that is proven instead of being an early adopter for a device that is new to the maket.

How much I should wait for Nexus 4? It's my first choice because it gets android updates first. Xperia SL is not in the league because of ICS 4.0 and scorpion dual core processor.

Well then it is in OP's hands to decide.

Still i would go with X:SL which looks damn good compared to big-plastic toy S3.

Are you kidding me?
What's wrong with plastic? Xperia SL is also a plastic phone.

 

[furious_gamer]

looks wise SL is better than S3. Still wait for newer lineups and see if something is worth. Otherwise go with S3.

 

[Professor X]

I used Xperia S of my friend. It is quite bulky and uncomfortable to grip due to sharp edges. Responsiveness of bottom buttons is annoying. It is in the same class of your big-plastic toys. Both software and hardware wise I don't think it is in the league of quad core jelly bean 4.1 phones in the market.

 

[desiibond]

How much I should wait for Nexus 4? It's my first choice because it gets android updates first. Xperia SL is not in the league because of ICS 4.0 and scorpion dual core processor.



Are you kidding me?
What's wrong with plastic? Xperia SL is also a plastic phone.

Ejjactly. There is nothing wrong in being plasticky. There are hardly cases where people reported previous and current 'plasticky' galaxy s phones had severe damage on fall. Compare that to nexus 4 and iPhone 4/4s with sexy looks but very very very brittle body. I hate metal body as they cannot shield heat from reaching palm like plastick or polycarbonate shell does and moreover, the metal bodies interfere with signal to/from antennae. Right now, the only thing better than plastic (overall) is polycarbonate and those phones are seriously overpriced.

Nexus 4 may take forever to reach India. LG is planning to floor the global markets with new L series and Optimus G series so I doubt if they will launch Nexus in India and ruin their market (as the majority of profits for nexus devices goes to Google).

If you want to take a gamble, go with Nexus 4 but do make sure that you use it with a case or bumper from the very first minute. The phone is slippery and one fall on hard floor is enough! If you can use the device with absolute care, you will be the happiest person on earth (krait, 2GB ram, nexus, vanilla android). But if you have butter fingers and drop your phone every now and then, go for something that can take the fall again and again and something that can be serviced 'IN INDIA'. If you want to play it safe, get GS3 and shove a 32gig UHS-1 class microSD card in it.

@furious_gamer : lets keep the 'looks' department away. Even if you consider looks, why did you buy LG L9 which looks like a rectangular box instead of Xperia Sola or P that look hot! (I know the answer, no need to explain)


PS: I banged my head to the wall for a week, consider many options and finally went for gs3 two weeks ago.

 

[Professor X]

@furious_gamer : lets keep the 'looks' department away. Even if you consider looks, why did you buy LG L9 which looks like a rectangular box instead of Xperia Sola or P that look hot! (I know the answer, no need to explain)

PS: I banged my head to the wall for a week, consider many options and finally went for gs3 two weeks ago.

haha different people, different choice. Mostly girls like her prefer beauty over performance.

 

[the.one]

looks wise SL is better than S3. Still wait for newer lineups and see if something is worth. Otherwise go with S3.

Looks are subjective to the eyes of the buyer.
I would never go for a 2012 Xperia, tis got lights glowing all around.

 

[randomuser111]

^

Chill dude. You can't take lights and some people can't take ugly cheap plastic.

 

[Professor X]

Looks are subjective to the eyes of the buyer.
I would never go for a 2012 Xperia, tis got lights glowing all around.

Yea, design wise most the phones struggles. Nokia Lumia's, HTC 8X and One X are the best looking phones I know and rest others are so so.