GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL TOP 10 SMARTPHONES UNDER RS 20,000

GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL  TOP 10 SMARTPHONES  UNDER RS 20,000   Indian consumers want value for every penny they spend on tech products,  whether it's smartphones, laptops, hard drives or even a pair of headphones.  Keeping the value factor in mind and aided by cost of technology constantly coming down, brands like Xiaomi, Motorola and Huawei, among others, have managed to scale up their mobile businesses in the country by flooding the market with powerful phones. The best part about the mobile space right now is the availability of a wide variety of phones, widening the horizons of buyers and letting them make the right call. Over the past 8-10 months, we've seen the sub-Rs 20,000 bracket getting a lot of attention and much to everyone's liking, these products are locking horns with the flagships. With so much to choose from, we're here to help. Here are the top ten phones in the market right now that will cost you  Rs 20,000 or less. Take your pick! 10 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo The Note 3 Neo is the poorer and more affordable cousin of the Note 3 but it doesn't lose out on the size-dimension quotient. It's got a bright  720p Super AMOLED display, and an Exynos 5260 hexa core chipset clubbed with 2 GB RAM. The Neo comes with S Pen stylus support that works exactly the same via Air Command. The camera has been downgraded to 8 MP on the Note 3 Neo and its imaging quality is not up to the mark with the competition. The battery will easily last you a day, and the real draw here is that it's the only device here that comes with an S Pen; great productivity at a compelling price. 9 Huawei Honor 6 The Honor 6 packs in a punchy octa-core processor, 3 GB of RAM,  a 5-inch full HD display, 13 MP rear camera and 5 MP front snapper. In terms of design, it doesn't really break new ground. Front on, it's simply  just another black (or white) phone, with a silver band around the sides hugging the plastic case. The Honor 6 is a behemoth when it comes to battery life though, thanks to its 3100mAh battery. 8 ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini In terms of quali ty, the Nubia Z9 Mini comes close to the Xiaomi Mi 4 or OnePlus One, with considera tion given to durability. It offers 16 GB storage, which is expandable up to 128 GB via microSD. The phone is dual SIM and supports 4G LTE bands compliant with India's frequency. ZTE went for the kill with imaging features and it's hard to find any other phone with a flagship-quality camera in this range. However, we weren't impressed with the battery life, and the UI needs a major overhaul. 7 Microsoft Lumia 640XL This is the lone non-Android phone here.With a 5.7-inch screen, the Lumia 640 XL is one of Microsoft's largest smartphones, but it's still comfortable to hold. The larger body accommodates a 3000mAh battery with ease. The phone runs on Windows Phone 8.1, but is upgradeable to Windows 10, bringing in a bunch of cross-device support. 6 Samsung Galaxy J7 Samsung isn't loading this segment, but the Galaxy J7 is a move in the right direction. It sports a 5.5inch 720p Super AMOLED display, which is bright and sharp. The edges sport a metallic finish, but that aside, the J7 features a plain Jane design. Powered by an octa-core CPU, the J7 is a decent bet for gaming but didn't impress us too much. Samsung manages to offer quality snappers in its phones, which is a given these days, and it remains true here. 5 OnePlus One At launch, this was the phone everyone wanted. The OnePlus One has curves, a metallic finish over plastic casing and rounded edges, with a unique, rough `sandstone' back. It can play games, watch mov ies, and do any thing else you throw at it, with performance that's way beyond its price range. The downside is that the storage isn't expandable. The camera captures images that are crisp and detailed, but low-light shots look washed out. That said, the OnePlus One is still right up there in this category, thanks also to its great battery life. 4 Asus Zenfone 2 The new Lollipop-based Asus phone features a hard plastic chassis, a 5.5-inch full HD dis play, and it weighs 170 grams: heavier than most phones in this segment. Asus promises fast charging and the back panel is removable to offer dualSIM support. It offers a 13 MP camera at the back and in our testing, images were of high quality, putting it at par with the Xiaomi Mi 4i and even better than the OnePlus One. It's one of the few phones to pack 4 GB RAM at this price point, and with help from Intel, Asus has man aged to bulge up the Zenfone 2 line-up with over 16 models in the country. However, battery life flatters to deceive. 3 Motorola Moto G 2015 The Moto G is available in two variants. While both pack a quadcore Snapdragon 410 CPU, the dif ference comes on the memory and storage  front: 1 GB RAM and 8 GB storage, and 2 GB RAM with 16 GB storage. The 5-inch screen isn't bad, but the lower resolution is apparent. However, the marriage between software and hardware is nearperfect here, which translates into a smooth, stable usage experience. The 13 MP rear camera is a definite improvement and the dual LED flash offers high luminosity in low light, but it's still lacking image stabilisation and it shows. The bat tery should give about 12 to 15 hours of use, which is acceptable, and with IP57 surety, this phone is water-resistant too. 2 Xiaomi Mi 4i For a device with a 5-inch display, the Mi 4i is very compact, and it still manages to have the rear camera levelled without any protrusion. The display's colour reproduction and viewing angles are decent, and the Sunlight Display feature adjusts the screen based on ambient lighting. Overall performance of the Mi 4i is pretty good, and in most instances, matches that of highersegment smartphones, but the transition effects and animations are a little jerky and there are minor frame drops while gaming. The rear camera is definitely one of the best in the segment, with great detail and colour reproduction. Low light and indoor shots are decent too, but not without some noise. The phone is available in 16 GB and 32 GB variants, but storage is not expandable. 1 Motorola Moto X Play The second Moto device in this listing makes its way to the top because of the value on offer. One of the biggest selling points of the Moto X Play is the 3,630mAh battery, which Motorola promises will last two days. The phone comes with an “edge-to-edge“ 5.5-inch screen with thin bezels on either side. The curved back feels good, the rubberised material makes the device robust and easy to grip, and the phone is also said to be waterresistant. For the first time, this is a Moto X phone with an option to expand storage, which is a must for many users. Although you get a 21 MP camera at the back, the quality feels closer to that of a 13 MP sensor. The phone breezed through all our performance-intensive tests and the numbers that showed as a result were more than convincing to project the Moto X Play as the top smartphone to buy in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment in India.

Tech Radar Staff TOI19OCT15