Tuesday, March 11, 2014

GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL ..................Smartphones to suit your wallet and needs



GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL Smartphones to suit your wallet and needs 

VALUE FOR MONEY Cut-rate joy or right price? Android cool or accessory range? Four models to  choose from

With hundreds of millions of people coming on to the mobile world to buy smartphones that make them smarter, there are handsets to suit every pocket. And more often than not, there are striking similarities in the basic things that most phones can do, especially after the rise of the Android platform that enables various price points for the same core software.
A budget smartphone (for us, this means something that costs less than the highend ones that cost more than 30,000) may no longer necessarily mean big sacrifices.
We sample a few here to match price points within that still large range.
Remember, there are brands like MicroMax, Karbonn and others who have hit the Indian market with an amazing range of features and prices. Also, keep your eyes wide open for data plans from telecom operators. 

Datawind Pocket Surfer 3G5 @`6,499 

Datawind is the company behind the much-loved and much-lambasted cut-price tablet Akash, and has been in the business since 2001 and recently launched smartphones. Its Pocket Surfer 3G5 runs Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and from what we know t he company has no plans to court the next KitKat (4.4). It features a 5” WVGA Screen (800x480 pixels) and runs on a 1.2 Ghz Dual Core Cortex A7 Processor.
The phone comes only in black, and with a side button that reminds us of the Sony Xperia Z. It features a 5 megapixel rear camera that works nicely on a bright sunny day, and a front facing VGA camera, that really requires a bright room in case you want to make a Skype call. The build quality is fine and battery lasts about 3.5 to 4 hours in talk time. The logo is a put-off.
The phone also features an FM Radio, dual SIM support and a microSD card slot to increase storage – all India-friendly features. The Datawind phone is among the cheapest i n the smartphone category and if the Akash experience is anything to go by, it would not be fair to compare it with the bigger, more expensive brands. This is a cut-price product and should be seen in that light. You can’t be looking for too much at such a price. 

Nokia 525 @`11,499 

One of the top performing phones in our budget line-up, the Nokia 525 is designed to make gaming affordable.
With the Windows Mobile OS inside, the 525 comes with a 4” IPS LCD display that is crisp and bright — among the best we have seen in this class. A 5 MP rear camera works wonderfully both outdoors and inside. The Nokia Camera app gets some great results.

The 525 has 8 GB of storage on board, and a microSD card helps you add much more. The battery gives a decent 7 hours of talk-time. And there are free games worth R 2025. The handset comes in black, white and yellow and red. Sadly, there is no front camera to help video calls - and this is a surprise. As we write this, there is a range of Nokia X phones that have hit the market. Perhaps they also should be given consideration 

iPhone 4 @`22,900 

Well, one is not sure if this can be called a budget phone, but it is worth having this here — though three generations outdated in the Apple scheme of upgrades. Look at the sheer number of apps, an amazing set of accessories and one of the fastest cameras in the business. The docking chargers, the cases to fit in the device and the fitness gizmos that work with it – all put this in a league apart. No, you cannot run the latest iOS7 on this machine but there is a reliability that is worth the price.
To summarise, all the handsets reviewed here has plus points as well as drawbacks, depending on your needs and price priorities. The Datawind phone clearly scores on price but the Nokia model is great for gamers. The Moto G has Android power, while the iPhone, as they say, is an iPhone. Make your pick based on what works for you — or what matters most!

Motorola G @`12,499 (for 8GB memory) 

It is a powerful Android phone that comes from the company that spent time in Google’s fold before being hived off to Lenovo. With the latest Kit Kat version that makes it efficient and a 4.5” edge-to-edge display, it has a large-view look and a curved rubberised back gives it a sound grip. The Moto G comes in two variants of 8 and 16 GB storage — but there is no memory-enhancing microSD slot. The dual SIM facility is a winner, and the large number of accessories give it a great comfort level. The 5MP rear camera is underwhelming though the front 1.3MP camera is nice for a video chat.


It is also the only phone in our line-up here with a Quad Core Processor. The 10+ hour talk-time makes the battery a winner.
  • Gagandeep Singh Sapra  HT




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