Need a new phone ~ 14k

[gemini90]

1. Budget?

14k

2. Display type and size?

Min 5 inches

3. Dual sim?

Preferably

4. Preferred choice of brand?

With good ASS

5. What camera option you want (flash, front facing camera)?

Front facing camera

6. Preferred operating system? (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc).

WP, BB or Android, any will work

7. Preferred connectivity options (3G, 4G ready).

3G

8. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, internet, gaming etc)?

Camera, internet, ebook, music

9. 9. Any specific mobile phones in consideration?

None particular in mind

 

[GhorMaanas]

don't know about its service-aspect, but my brother has been using BB Z3 since Oct.-Nov. last year, and is highly pleased with it and its UI. its remarkably well-built and oozes off a premium feel. the UI is very fuild and smooth. i don't know if he has upgraded the OS, but i had read that since v10.3 from Nov. last year, android apps run smoothly on it, almost about any you throw at it.

P.S. - but its a single sim phone....so may be keep this phone as a secondary option.
from the Windows (Lumia) stable, (Nokia) 730 and (MS) 1067 are near your max. budget-figure, but have no experience with them. tagging @kkn13; he probably can let you know more on them.

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=120775]GhorMaanas[/MENTION] Well I certainly did not have BB on my mind Is the camera any good? Is there enough support guaranteed for next 2 years?

 

[kkn13]

don't know about its service-aspect, but my brother has been using BB Z3 since Oct.-Nov. last year, and is highly pleased with it and its UI. its remarkably well-built and oozes off a premium feel. the UI is very fuild and smooth. i don't know if he has upgraded the OS, but i had read that since v10.3 from Nov. last year, android apps run smoothly on it, almost about any you throw at it.

P.S. - but its a single sim phone....so may be keep this phone as a secondary option.
from the Windows (Lumia) stable, (Nokia) 730 and (MS) 1067 are near your max. budget-figure, but have no experience with them. tagging @kkn13; he probably can let you know more on them.

will be my pleasure to assist the op
thanks for your mention

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[MENTION=120775]GhorMaanas[/MENTION] Well I certainly did not have BB on my mind Is the camera any good? Is there enough support guaranteed for next 2 years?

BB is good but since the price drop of the 730,id suggest the 730 over the Z3
not that Z3 is a bad phone but camera of the 730 is much better(puts most camera phones to shame,even flagships)
display on the Z3 however is a bit sharper and BB10.3 is a very very mature OS and puts android to shame in terms of UI design and functionality(the latter is also true for WP)
BB service is ok,not as great as Nokia/MS but certainly better than 99% of other brands in India
support will be a breeze with both the Z3 and 730 ,
both Blackberry and Nokia/MS have learned from their mistakes and I can safely say both companies are dedicated to support even older models

All this is coming from someone who currently has a 720(nearly 2.5 years old now and it still is smooth and buttery etc as ever on the latest update), a Z10(got it as a deal 1 year ago and it never fails to amaze me) , a Nexus 5 and 7(running latest android 5.1 but im disappointed with the Nexus line and Google,their customer care etc is also really slow and they dont take efforts to help,not the case with other companies such as Nokia/MS,BB or even Asus)

Since camera and dual sim are a requirement,go for 730,its an awesome phone and wont disappoint
I would have suggested Z3 but its camera while pretty good ( infact better than most android phones in that range) ,isnt as charming as the 6.7mp carl zeiss on the 730

If you like the Z3 and BB10 however,wait for the Blackberry Leap,its gonna be priced a bit higher but will offer more
otherwise Z3 is also a good phone

Since the release of BB 10.3.1 , android apps actually run smoother on my Z10 than my Nexus 5

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] So my choice will be either 730 or Leap. When is the latter coming to the market? I can wait for a month or so.

And what about the speakers? Is listening to music a comfort on these devices?

 

[kkn13]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] So my choice will be either 730 or Leap. When is the latter coming to the market? I can wait for a month or so.

And what about the speakers? Is listening to music a comfort on these devices?

I cant say much about the leap but my Z10 speakers are really awesome,as good as HTC E8 Boomsound speakers(compared with my brothers phone)
the 720 speakers are ok,I guess it will be the same in 730 as they share alot of parts, camera and design already
I wouldnt say the 720 speakers are bad but its not spectacular either

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] So it's a issue of what matters most - Sound or Camera? And the reviews for Leap i read on the net right now are not exactly flattering for the price it quotes.

As for 730, lack of important apps will not be an issue, i hope?

 

[kkn13]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] So it's a issue of what matters most - Sound or Camera? And the reviews for Leap i read on the net right now are not exactly flattering for the price it quotes.

As for 730, lack of important apps will not be an issue, i hope?

yeah, 730 has all the necessary apps
the stuff missing are just a bunch of games and snapchat
rest everything is there
also windows 10 mobile will release soon which will be easier for android apps to be ported to the platform

 

[omega44-xt]

I would suggest avoiding BB due to old hardware n bit laggy compared to similarly priced android..... Saw review of BB leap yesterday (it's SoC is same as that of Moto X 1st gen)

Lumia 730 is good if you are ok with WP.... Use WP before buying, you may regret it if you don't like it.... One of my friend is regretting buying Lumia 630 (i guess) instead of Redmi 2 or A6000

In android, Xiaomi Mi4i is great but no sd card slot & A.S.S ain't as good as Nokia.....

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[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] So it's a issue of what matters most - Sound or Camera? And the reviews for Leap i read on the net right now are not exactly flattering for the price it quotes.

As for 730, lack of important apps will not be an issue, i hope?

There are many free apps in Android.... WP has many essential apps but not all apps which are available in android & ios

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=60562]anupam_pb[/MENTION] Well i am no fan of xiaomi. 2 of my friends had bought redmi 1 & had a nightmarish experience with it. So have they upgraded their service and support system? They don't inspire confidence about long-term usage.

 

[kkn13]

I would suggest avoiding BB due to old hardware n bit laggy compared to similarly priced android..... Saw review of BB leap yesterday (it's SoC is same as that of Moto X 1st gen)

Lumia 730 is good if you are ok with WP.... Use WP before buying, you may regret it if you don't like it.... One of my friend is regretting buying Lumia 630 (i guess) instead of Redmi 2 or A6000

In android, Xiaomi Mi4i is great but no sd card slot & A.S.S ain't as good as Nokia.....

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There are many free apps in Android.... WP has many essential apps but not all apps which are available in android & ios

Im gonna have to disagree with your points
My Z10 is zippy on 10.3.1 even faster than my Nexus 5 on stock 5.1
WP UI is also smooth and much easier and smoother than android
630 is a low end phone,it lacks alot of stuff but since its low end and priced low , you cant compare it with the likes of chinese phones with better hardware, a fairer comparison would be with the 535 atleast or even the 640 which have more acceptable hardware for the same price

also stop thinking low specs= low performance,while that only applies to android, BB10,WP and ios run wayy smoother on older or low spec than android
heck I purchased my Nexus 5 and 7 much later and I really regret it so much,I went back to using my old 720 and I went ahead and bought a Z10 as my 2nd phone

As for apps,other than a few unnecessary games and snapchat,everything is pretty much there in WP and WP apps are better designed and smoother than android counterparts

also BB10 is the smoothest OS in the market right now,yes its not perfect(poor battery life in my Z10 as compared to my 720) but I can safely say its a much more consistent experience than android in terms of performance,updates etc
I bet you dont own a WP or BB10 yourself and are blindly speculating
also android apps actually run smoother on BB10,it even has play store support(only 2-3 apps dont run because they need Play services but a hack for that is also on the way to rectify this)

I hate blind judgements on WP,BB10 and ios
Ive used every platform so far and android doesnt provide a consistent experience in comparison to the competition,the Lollipop update is proof of that

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[MENTION=60562]anupam_pb[/MENTION] Well i am no fan of xiaomi. 2 of my friends had bought redmi 1 & had a nightmarish experience with it. So have they upgraded their service and support system? They don't inspire confidence about long-term usage.

I quite agree with you
I will however suggest you to try the mentioned phones at a store to get a better idea,dont fall for the "high spec" arguement,android created this stereotype
BB10 doesnt lag at all,even if WP stutters a bit,BB10 never falters at all
BB10(or even WP) may not be for everyone however which is why I suggest trying them out in a store and see if you like it
try your favourite apps etc on a BB10 first
My recommendation still goes to the 730(for better camera and display and fresh UI)
you will easily fall in love with BB10 or WP if you have used an android before WP or BB10

 

[omega44-xt]

I have never uses BB10. I have used iOS(3Gs,4,5S) & WP(520,920,630), i own android phone & recommend it to my family and friends.

Simply iphones are costly, not worth it

WP phones are liked my many initially but afterwards they get bored. My friend who bought lumia 630(some lumia 600 series phone priced 8k few months ago) earlier had android. He just regrets buying WP due to lack of customization.... As he's bored of UI. I still think WP is good for people who are 40+ in age & never tinker around with their phone.

It's just my personal opinion..... Lumia 730 is a good phone

As far as Nexus 5 is concerned, i guess you might have got fed up with its battery life. I too hate my N4's battery life....

I don't know about Z10 but i could see the lags in BB leap review (i saw a video review)... I can easily say that Redmi 1S is faster which is slower than my N4

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[MENTION=60562]anupam_pb[/MENTION] Well i am no fan of xiaomi. 2 of my friends had bought redmi 1 & had a nightmarish experience with it. So have they upgraded their service and support system? They don't inspire confidence about long-term usage.

Yeah Xiaomi's A.S.S ain't as good as their devices...

I think in future it may improve at the cost of increased smartphone prices...... Motorola has good service (better than Xiaomi) with minimal advertising but still can't compete with xiaomi in terms of VFM..... Samsung, Sony n all have good service centres with a lot of money spent on ads, that's why it's phones are even costlier
And then there is Apple!!

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=60562]anupam_pb[/MENTION] I would have opted for zenfone 2 but for its camera. And i want some stability and minimum headaches with my phone. Rapid customization is not my forte.So for now, xiaomi is out of contention. Is there any other android phone around my spending limit which i should consider?

 

[omega44-xt]

My friend has Zenfone 5 & it is stable....

Anyways i too don't like Zenfone 2... There are many options in android... But if you are ok with 730,get it..... Don't buy BB, my opinion

Android options : Lenovo A7000, Lenovo Vibe X2(sometimes it becomes available @ 15k, but it has average battery life), Grand Prime(even though 1GB RAM, it runs smoothly, it has toned down touchwiz)

 

[the.one]

Get Lumia 640 / 640 XL / 730 if choosing WP.

If ur a heavy user, who does lots of multitasking, needs specific apps (like i need Cisco Anyconnect VPN client, but its not there on WP store, available only on iOS & Android) go for a good android device.

WP has evolved slowly over the last few yrs but android is still ahead in terms of the functionalities it offers & the ecosystem. So its good for low-mid budget where u want to do only a few things, and do them well. But nothing can beat an android flagship.

 

[GhorMaanas]

nicely elucidated, @kkn13!

i would concur with what your experience has been with the 720. my brother had this phone prior getting the Z3 (lost the former). for his usage, it was an apt phone. don't know about PQ from the camera either of 720 or the Z3. but yes, with regards to the UI of the BB, his latest comment this weekend was that it would now be very tough to like or/and get accustomed to a usual android phone after the kind of superfluid and intuitive UI experience of the BB.

@gemini_90 - under android, the best i can think of is a phone that has a vanilla OS, like say the Moto G (as an instance). looks and feels very neat and smooth to use! probably Moto G 2nd gen could be had? you get to save some money which you could spend on accessories. dont know about other such devices.

another that comes to mind is Yuphoria for 7k, for its CM OS and the superb specs. but deem it as a kind of compromise between cost and service - save half the amount, and don't bother yourself much over service.

 

[kkn13]

WP has evolved slowly over the last few yrs but android is still ahead in terms of the functionalities it offers & the ecosystem. So its good for low-mid budget where u want to do only a few things, and do them well. But nothing can beat an android flagship.

thats very much arguable im afraid
and going by the current dev preview of Windows 10 on both phone and desktop,I can safely say thats a wrong statement

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nicely elucidated, @kkn13!

i would concur with what your experience has been with the 720. my brother had this phone prior getting the Z3 (lost the former). for his usage, it was an apt phone. don't know about PQ from the camera either of 720 or the Z3. but yes, with regards to the UI of the BB, his latest comment this weekend was that it would now be very tough to like or/and get accustomed to a usual android phone after the kind of superfluid and intuitive UI experience of the BB.

@gemini_90 - under android, the best i can think of is a phone that has a vanilla OS, like say the Moto G (as an instance). looks and feels very neat and smooth to use! probably Moto G 2nd gen could be had? you get to save some money which you could spend on accessories. dont know about other such devices.

another that comes to mind is Yuphoria for 7k, for its CM OS and the superb specs. but deem it as a kind of compromise between cost and service - save half the amount, and don't bother yourself much over service.

^^ Pretty much true
PQ of 720 is awesome,its unmatched in low light(has a bit of noise in low light but thats normal even for a dslr)

 

[gemini90]

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] Which one is better - 730 or 640xl? And when is lumia scheduled to receive the Windows 10 upgrade?

 

[the.one]

thats very much arguable im afraid

and going by the current dev preview of Windows 10 on both phone and desktop,I can safely say thats a wrong statement

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^^ Pretty much true
PQ of 720 is awesome,its unmatched in low light(has a bit of noise in low light but thats normal even for a dslr)

Windows 10 is bringing a few basic features that android had since ages, its not moving ahead of android.

A couple interesting ones though, like the cursor track ball in the keyboard.

 

[kkn13]

Windows 10 is bringing a few basic features that android had since ages, its not moving ahead of android.

A couple interesting ones though, like the cursor track ball in the keyboard.

not really
I bet you dont own a windows phone and are merely speculating
I have a 720 running W10 dev preview , a nexus 5 running android M dev preview,ipad 4 running ios beta and a Z10 running BB10.3.x beta,I can safely bet android has come to a standstill and still tries to become a master of all trades but it doesnt excel at anything except customisation,that too extremely buggy and unintuitive
android is wayy behind the competition and all it takes is trying/owning the competition to understand this

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[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION] Which one is better - 730 or 640xl? And when is lumia scheduled to receive the Windows 10 upgrade?

730 is better overall imho
only thing is smaller display but better quality (amoled on 730,ips lcd on 640 and 640XL)
W10 Mobile update will come in august-september according to rumours
if you are adventurous,you can try the beta version now but it still has bugs for daily use(normal for a beta version)

another good phone is the 830 but it also has an ips lcd display and is a minor upgrade over the 730
All 4 are good-730,830,640,640XL and are around the same price range but each offers a slightly different experience based on needs so I suggest checking them out in a store first for a better opinion