Choosing a smartphone nowadays has become a tedious job and requires a great effort. These devices never really stop coming and are launched nearly every week. Now the people with a limited budget also get a lot of options to choose from because of the current smartphone market scenario that allows these budget-categories to expand and also the makers are leaving no stones unturned to have their devices in each category.
As with the budget devices, the sub-Rs. 10,000 category is filled with smartphones from many global companies as well as our Indian brands.
1- Motorola Moto E: Motorola’s priced for all smartphone, the Moto E is our favorite smartphone in this category. Priced at Rs. 6,999 and exclusively available on Flipkart the device features a 4.3 inch qHD (960×540 pixels) display with a pixel density of 256 ppi and is rugged with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. Under the hood lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 dual-core processor clocked to 1.2 GHz, Adreno 302 GPU, all backed up by 1 GB of RAM. Moto E has an internal memory of 4GB that is further expandable. On the software front the Moto E runs on pure Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) which also makes it a must-buy for first time smartphone users and for those who want unbloated UI. It has a 5 megapixel rear camera and no front facing camera. The in-built battery stores 1980 mAh of power. Furthermore, the insides and outside of the Moto E are Nano-coated which practically makes it splash proof.
2- Asus Zenfone 4: The latest entrant in the market is an offering from the house of Asus. The Zenfone 4 is priced a tad bit lower than the Moto E and at a price of Rs. 5,999 the specifications of this device make it stand against the bestseller of this category. Zenfone 4 features a 4.0 inch WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) display with a pixel density of 233 ppi and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. The device has a rear 5 megapixel and a front VGA camera. Zenfone 4 is powered by Intel Atom Z2520 dual-core processor clocked to 1.2 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP2 being a dedicated GPU which is backed up by 1 GB of RAM and an internal memory of 4/8 GB which is further expandable. It runs on Android 4.3 Jelly-Bean which is further upgradable to Android 4.4.2 (KitKat). Asus Zenfone 4 features a 1200 mAh battery.
3- Xolo Q600s: Launched only last month at a price of Rs. , the Xolo Q600s flaunts a 4.5 inch qHD (540 x 960 pixels) IPS display with a pixel density of 245 ppi. Xolo Q600s is powered by a Broadcom BCM23550 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and Broadcom VideoCore IV processor serves as the GPU backed up by a 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB internal storage space which is further expandable to support up to 64 GB of microSD cards. Xolo, known for using the stock android versions in its devices have incorporated Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) in the 600s. The device has a 5 megapixel rear and a VGA front camera. It will draw its power from a 2000 mAh battery.
4- Micromax Canvas Unite 2: This device was supposed to be the answer to Moto E, launched at Rs. 6,999 and since then having raised up to Rs. 7,499 Canvas Unite 2 features a 4.7 inch WVGA (800×480 pixels) IPS display with a pixel density of 199 ppi. It has a 5 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front facing snappers. The Unite 2 is powered by Mediatek MT6582 quad-core processor clocked at 1.3 GHz and a Mali-400MP2 as a GPU for graphics rendering, all this backed up by a 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage that is expandable. It runs on Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) version with some UI modifications from Micromax. The Unite 2 has a 2000 mAh battery to power itself.
5- Nokia Lumia 630: Launched back in May, the Lumia 630 is now available for Rs. 9,400 across various e-retailers. The device features a 4.5 inch FWVGA (854×480 pixels) IPS display with a pixel density of 218 ppi and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3. Lumia 630 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz and Adreno 305 processes the graphics. It is backed up by a 512 MB RAM which is acceptable considering the fact that the Lumia 630 runs on Windows Phone 8.1 OS. Additionally, Lumia 630 has an 8 GB internal memory which is further expandable up to 128 GB. The device flaunts a 5 megapixel rear snapper but the front facing one has been left out. It has a 1830 mAh battery that is touted to last 13 hours of talktime and 25 days of standby time.
