I also have the exact same question/dilemma, have been searching for the best deal below 13k for 2 weeks now. I've researched the 10-15k bracket THOROUGHLY (yes seriously thoroughly
) on the net and here's what I have so far.
in 10-13k, serious contenders would be xperia mini and samsung galaxy ace. that's it. wildfire s is seriously underpowered (why go for wildfire s when you have the new htc explorer, a very good and newer set with very similar specs at 9-10k?)
I was all for defy in the beginning too, but with just android 2.2 (unless you do the cyanogen mod thingy which i'm assuming you won't) it doesn't match up, esp with the prices of defy+ falling so low (abt 16k best price online now). defy+ is better but again for ~16k you have much better spec'd options like xperia neo V and xperia ray.
Anyways, I've boiled it down to two:
1)
Xperia Mini ST15i (best price at the mo: 11k -@Timtara with coupon code YR2011)
this is my default choice at present. it has the best hardware in this range by far (1 GHz processor, 512MB ram, 320MB internal memory,decent 5MP cam, does 720p HD video, great screen pixel density of 192ppi with the bravia display engine {otherwise found on higher end SE models}).
very big bonus: is confirmed to be updated to android 4.0 ICS
only things going against it are the small screen (3 in) and somewhat drab battery life.
ofcourse there's the mini pro with the qwerty and front facing cam but i don't see the point of paying 2/2.5k extra for just that, esp when it makes the phone much thicker and heavier.
2)
Galaxy Ace (best price at the mo: 11.6k- @Koovs with coupon code koovsocial3-but be quick with this one, may expire soon)
strong contender in this category, single biggest plus being the big 3.5 in screen (which is a gorilla glass display btw), and also better battery life wrt the mini/mini pro. looks similar to iphone 4.
But gets dragged down by older hardware. Has 800MHz processor, ~200MB RAM and somewhat similar ROM. also it's android 2.2 by default but i guess it can update to 2.3 maybe, but 4.0 is out of question
About other slightly higher range phones, there's the defy+ as i said @16k, not a bad choice, and there's the neo V and galaxy S at ~15.5k (koovs again, both great deals). sadly my budget is strictly 13k, so these are out of reach (atleast for now
)
Hope this helps...
I've decided to wait till the christmas/new year week when i guess many new offers will be seen...but then some people are saying with the rupee getting weaker the price of cellphones may rise in the near future. this is really confusing, so guys please help me out here....
duh2: what do i do?
