Confused like Hell for a ~20k phone !!!

ashs1

ashs1

Padawan
Hi guys :)

After about 7 years, atlast, i decided to buy a new Android phone.
I've been using Sony Ericsson W580i( :p pls don't laugh ) for calling/messaging purposes & an ipod touch ( which my brother no longer needed ) for my multimedia purposes.

The SE W580i has been through the rough patches of my life . Its time for it to get some rest.
So, i hopped on to my Bike & went to the nearby Shop to check out the latest Android phones.
I was shown these mobiles from the shopkeeper :

Samsung galaxy Grand Duos - 19k
Samsung Galaxy Quattro - 16k
Samsung Galaxy Mega - 23k
Samsung Galaxy Core - 15k-ish
Sony Xperia L- 15k-ish
LG L9 - 15k-ish
& some other Indian companies Mobiles..

Out of these, Galaxy Mega is pretty much out of budget as its about 23k..
My budget is about 15-17k which can be stretched to 20k in case the mobile's really really good.
Grand Duos looks pretty awesome, but from what i read online, its not worth 19k.
Galaxy Quattro has 4 processors, but it seems they're a bit weak
No idea about galaxy core.. O__O
Xperia L seems to be the flavour of the month..a lot of fairly positive reviews for it..
L9 is pretty old..came out in Nov 2012..not that much interested in LG

I'll be using the Mobile for Internet, about 4-5 apps would probably be opened most of the times ( FB, whatsapp, couple of games ), Camera is an fairly an Important part as i'll be using it quite often.
Loudspeakers : not that much as i hardly listen to music in speakers..I use earphones most of the times.
Will be using it to watch movies when travelling long distances( read : on trains :p )


Based on what i saw in the shop, Galaxy grand looked good..the UI was friendly & colourful.camera was pretty good..didn't have a chance to use either quattro nor Core nor mega.
Xperia L seemed fine, but the camera pic quality was ok..Front camera quality was horrible as it was VGA..lol


I am leaning towards the Xperia L atm, but since i had no idea about the quattro or galaxy core, i decided to open up a thread & ask for advice/suggestions..which one should i go for ?? :O
I'll be using this phone for the next 3 years or more easily..so a bit futureproof mobile is even better
I am not even gonna look towards the Indian Mobiles section...sure their specs are pretty awesome, but their after-sales service leaves a lot to be desired..8 of my friends have got micromax Canvas, 4 of them have encountered problems & 3 of them are still running once a week to the service centres hoping they'll get a solution.

Pls help me.:)
thanks
Regards
ash :)
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Xperia L is a great mobile for 15k. Good performance for the price, looks stylish. It will get 4.2 update from SONY(most probably). It may also have good dev support in future(rooting, custom ROMs, etc). Overall its a good phone to buy.

Galaxy Grand is also a good phone, better camera than Xperia L as u pointed but its only major drawback is screen resolution. For a 5" screen, its resolutionis only 800x480, so low ppi-pixel per inch, 186ppi(L also has same resolution but its 4.3" screen, 220+ ppi). With low resolution, screen won't be sharp. We use phones very close to our eyes compared to laptops, so it needs more ppi. If u spending 20k, get a screen with 200+ ppi minimum.
Get Grand if u badly need a dual SIM phone.

Galaxy Quattro : Just don't buy it (quad core A5 processor)

Galaxy Core: Don't know about its processor, most probably its A5 dual core, so leave it

Note: Xperia L & Grand have A9 dual core processors
 
Last edited:
OP
ashs1

ashs1

Padawan
Thanks for the reply Anupam !

I think i'll go with Xperia L then..I wish it had a better camera..:( :crazy:

Spending about 16k & getting mediocre camera just doesn't fill right..on the other hand, spending 18k & getting mediocre display on grand duos also doesn't feel right..:duh2::crazy:

but it seems Xperia L will be much better on the long run, so i'll stick with it.. :)

P.S : n00b ques - i found the UI on samsung grand to be much colourful & better looking than the one on Xperia L.. Is there a way to customize the UI on Xperia L to make it look like Samsung's UI ( like are there themes ??? )?

thanks again for all the help. :)
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Yeah its Krait cores with performance between dual & quad core A9 ....

ashs1 said:
Thanks for the reply Anupam !

I think i'll go with Xperia L then..I wish it had a better camera..:( :crazy:

Spending about 16k & getting mediocre camera just doesn't fill right..on the other hand, spending 18k & getting mediocre display on grand duos also doesn't feel right..:duh2::crazy:

but it seems Xperia L will be much better on the long run, so i'll stick with it.. :)

P.S : n00b ques - i found the UI on samsung grand to be much colourful & better looking than the one on Xperia L.. Is there a way to customize the UI on Xperia L to make it look like Samsung's UI ( like are there themes ??? )?

thanks again for all the help. :)
Click to expand...

Ya, u may find Samsung's Touchwiz UX launcher somewhere in net
 
OP
ashs1

ashs1

Padawan
ok..so i went to the nearby reliance digital store to finally buy a Xperia L, but it was Out of stock & he informed me that it'll be available on Tuesday for sure. Just as i was about to leave the store, he asked he requested me to check out the Nokia Lumia series
& BAM, the Nokia Lumia 720 was standing there in the shelf..sexy like megan fox..
I checked out the UI ( seemed very new, yet nice), the touchscreen was perfect & the camera was "omg, its awesome !!"
It seemed to be better than Xperia L in almost every department except the Appstore.
I know that the Windows Appstore has lot of less apps than the google playstore or ios appstore, but How bad is it ??
& also the Lumia 720 has 512mb ram..is it sufficient for windows 8 while most of the android phones have more than 1gb ram ?? Is multitasking possible in Lumia720( lets 3-4 apps at same time) ??
I am kind of a casual game player..so does the windows Appstore has some good (free preferably ) games that are noteworthy ??
I am incredibly Impressed by the Lumia 720..i read a lot of reviews online & more than 95% of them have said very positive things about it & am seriously considering about getting it..
Is the windows phone appstore developing ?? is there any scope for it in the future ? like i said in my 1st post, i'd like my phone to be a bit future proof( atleast 3 years )
i would like to know whether its worth investing about 17k on an OS whose appstore is average at the moment ? does it have the basic apps like fb, twitter, internet browsers, video players, whatsapp, palringo, instagram, skype, etc ?? will it have better apps in the future ??
& what about the movie playing capabilities ? does it support the popular formats while playing videos ? like 720p mp4, 720p mkv, flv ??
what i was thinking was even if the appstore is avg. atm, maybe i can use the Lumia720 for cellular, messaging, internet, movie, camera, music purposes while for gaming purpose, i could use my old faithful ipod ??

I am extremely sorry for so many questions, but i haven't purchased a mobile for myself in the last 7 years & i am extremly nervous about getting the right now.
thanks for the help.:)
 
Last edited:
Gauravs90

Gauravs90

geek........
If you can extend the budget by only 1.5k you can get lumia 820 it has got 1 gb ram and all games available on wp8 can easily run on lumia 820. Wp8 appstore less than the android one and is growing rapidly. And about your query only IE browser is available on wp8 but it's very fast indeed, no other video player is available than default one and it can only play .mp4 , .avi and .wmv files at 1080p resolution. 100's of games are available at price 55,110,160 and 320. All gameloft games are at rs 360 and most are available at rs 55. For future proofing every wp8 device will be supporte by microsft for 2 years. Lumia 820 has best specs you can get at this price of 22k.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Gauravs90 said:
Lumia 820 has best specs you can get at this price of 22k.
Click to expand...

Lumia 820 is a heavy phone at 186g. Better get Xperia SP at that price range

ashs1 said:
1.Is the windows phone appstore developing ?? is there any scope for it in the future ? like i said in my 1st post, i'd like my phone to be a bit future proof( atleast 3 years )
2.i would like to know whether its worth investing about 17k on an OS whose appstore is average at the moment ? does it have the basic apps like fb, twitter, internet browsers, video players, whatsapp, palringo, instagram, skype, etc ?? will it have better apps in the future ??
3. what about the movie playing capabilities ? does it support the popular formats while playing videos ? like 720p mp4, 720p mkv, flv ??
4. what i was thinking was even if the appstore is avg. atm, maybe i can use the Lumia720 for cellular, messaging, internet, movie, camera, music purposes while for gaming purpose, i could use my old faithful ipod ??
Click to expand...
1. Ya. Ya. Don't expect futureproofing for 3 years. Better to get Xperia L. It will eventually get dev support, so custom ROMs will start building up. So even if Sony stops support, u can always rely on guys at xda for android upgrades

2. I would recommend investing in Android for long run, maybe WP will become great..... so really can't comment on this one. It has most of basic apps. Ya

3. I think yes, for all queries. It plays 1080p for sure

4. Why do that when there is a good android phone that u can buy. Many games that are free in Android & iOS are not available for free in WP8, like Angry Birds...... So Android takes edge over WP8

Moreover Lumia 720 & Xperia L have same CPU & GPU.......

Advantages of Lumia 720 over Xperia L:
- Better looking
- Better battery life
- Better camera (i suppose)
 
aroraanant

aroraanant

Explorer
Don't go for a windows phone, you will get bored after some time.
Xperia L is very good for its price.
But now the companies have increased the price of almost all mobiles due to dollar rate.
 
Gauravs90

Gauravs90

geek........
For those who are suggesting xperia l must know that its video recording is pathetic than all the xperias released till date... Pls check gsmarena review. And its screen quality is not also upto the mark having low sunlight legibility and low contrast, I personally experienced that.

And all the major apps are available on wp8. One dosen't get bored by them.
 
Gauravs90

Gauravs90

geek........
aroraanant said:
Because there are not that many apps and not much customization options.
Click to expand...

The days are over when one can say that there are not many apps in wp8. Every basic and important apps are cover under wp8. And alternatives are present for every app in android.

And for customization microsoft will never allow this as it will effect the fluency and smoothness in wp8.
 
Nerevarine

Nerevarine

Incarnate
App installation will be a huge pain in the ass, if you know what i mean..
Good luck getting Asphalt 7 if you dont have a credit card
 
Gauravs90

Gauravs90

geek........
I purchase asphalt 7 with punjab national bank mastercard debit card. I purchased with no problem however SBI visa debit card do not work. It may be bank dependent.
 
OP
ashs1

ashs1

Padawan
Guys..i got the Xperia L :)
I was very tempted by the Lumia720/820 but at the end of the day, as a student, i guess i'll be benefitted more by android than W8..i am assuming W8 is more focused on Working-class people who constantly check emails ..
that being said, my dad after checking out my phone, he is now considering getting a new one for himself. :-D :-D :-D
I think Lumia will be the perfect one for him. He constantly uses outlook on PC & doesn't needs loads of apps..He just needs basic news app, cricket score app.. :D

Xperia L seems to be a popular phone..i visited 5 stores & 3 of them didn't have any stock left.. :O
I got a white colour Xperia L..Still discovering the new features of the phone..
8MP primary camera is pretty decent..VGA secondary ( front) camera is very pathertic, tbh.. :(
i overheard the shopkeeper say to someone that some firmware update & the camera image quality & battery backup will get better..can this happen or was he just making a fool of that poor customer ?? :O
one doubt,..is there a stock internet browser of Sony ?? i found only 2 browsers pre-installed : google chrome & opera mini..
& for the love of my life, i can't seem to connect to Internet..I manually entered all the details for new APN after talking with customer rep.( docomo ), but still unable to connect.. :/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom