Android Phone Buying Guide Thread

Google Android Phones became very popular in very short time. I am sure in future we’ll see a huge competition between Symbian Mobiles and Android Mobiles. People in India also began to move toward Android Operating System Phones. I have seen people on TE asking information or advice in buying new Android smartphones. Going for a good brand with good features is always a good idea so I’m putting out some effort and compiling a list of best Android phones available in India across different price segments. I’ll try to keep updating this thread with the best Android phone every month or so.

So, below is a list consisting of the best Android phones available in India right now:-

Less than Rs. 10,000:

LG Optimus One P500:

lgoptimusonep500.jpg


This phone is without a doubt the best phone inside 10K. It offers the best hardware in its price range. It runs the latest version of the Android OS – Android 2.2 Froyo, when all the other budget phones run Android 2.1.

Specification: LG Optimus One P500 - Full phone specifications

Pros: For a budget mid-range phone, the Optimus One packs a 3.2-inch HVGA display, the 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen is really good, 512MB of RAM. The usual Wi-Fi, GPS and 3.5mm jack. The price verses performance ratio of this phone is top notch.

Cons: None to be honest. As I said it offers the best hardware in its price range. Go for it you need an entry-level Android phone.

Price: Available for 10.4K.

Rs. 10,000 - Rs. 15,000:

Samsung Galaxy 551:



Samsung Galaxy 551 can be a great option for you if you are looking for an Android touchscreen with QWERTY. This Android phone has got dimension of 111x55x15.2mm, and no doubt it appeals you at very first look. The 667 MHz processor is covered up by 2.2 version of Android and it’s the best phone you can get at that budget without any doubt.

Specification: Samsung Galaxy 551 - Full phone specifications

Pros: Nicely spaced keypad, clearly making it a winner at this budget . Handset running Android OS v2.2 with TouchWiz launcher (we don’t often see a phone running 2.2 in this budget). Slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. Battery power is fairly satisfactory. 3G network support

Cons: Poor camera quality. No dedicated camera key. No Adobe Flash support. Heavy body.

Price: 10.7K

Motorola Charm:



Motorola Charm is the first QWERTY BAR mobile. Blackberry combined with Android OS perhaps?! Well yes. This device is made for typing combining with the Android messaging system. Running Android 2.1 with Motoblur, the Motorola Charm packs a punch in 3.87″ x 2.65″ x 0.45″ and 3.9 oz. The 320 x 240, 2.8″ capacitive touch screen is a nice addition. Responsive and smooth touch screen.

Specification: Motorola CHARM - Full phone specifications

Pros: The QWERTY keypad gives a complete satisfaction. Backtrack for checking mails quickly. Perfect for internet freak Solid design. Decent looks. On the back is a trackpad like the ones on the BlackBerry, which you can use like a mouse.

Cons: Battery life is not good. Camera quality is not good at all. Display(QVGA display) is not upto the mark because of it low screen resolution. The Charm appears to be stuck on Android version 2.19 with no indication of updates to 2.2 or 2.3.

Price: 13.2K

Samsung Galaxy Ace:

samsunggalaxyace.jpg


Samsung Galaxy Ace is a phone with incredible design. Best part of the phone it has 5 Mega-pixels camera with bunch of nice features like auto-focus. The manufacturer so positioned Ace: “for fashionable and communicative business young people”. Overall, this is one mid-range phone that’s seriously impressive in the but a little overpriced if we take into account the features it pack.

Specification: Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 - Full phone specifications

Pros: 3.5 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M color nice graphics. Samsung Galaxy Ace has Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) running on 800 MHz ARM 11 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset which provides really incredible speed. Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate.

Cons: The video recording is somewhat poor! Dismal QVGA video recording at 15fps. No support for Adobe Flash in the web browser. No DivX/Xvid video support out of the box. A price of 14.5k is little too much. Ace is not VFM.

Price: Available for 14.5K.

Rs. 15,000 - Rs. 20,000:

Motorola Defy:

motoroladefy.jpg


The Defy is a rugged smartphone. The DEFY is a true smartphone, an entertainer. This thing is genuinely good. A really sturdy phone with a fair amount of features. If you're looking for a good mid-range Android, then the DEFY is your only good choice. DEFY is Android 2.1 OS, but it is expected to be updated to Version 2.2 in the second quarter of 2011.

Specification: Motorola DEFY - Full phone specifications

Pros: 3.7" capacitive TFT touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 854) resolution, 16M colors. Scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass screen, dustproof and water-resistant. The interface runs pretty smooth with a 800 MHz processor and the PowerVR SGX530 graphics chip. Awesome network reception. Battery life is good. Survives almost an entire day with normal usage.

Cons: No front-facing video-call camera

Price: Available for 17K.

Samsung I9003 Galaxy:

samsungi9003galaxysl.jpg


Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL is almost the same as its predecessor but a bit longer and thicker than the Galaxy i9000 S. Changed looks and most of the internals have been replaced. SL Galaxy Samsung I9003 will be present with Android 2.2 Froyo and in its features are comparable to the Nexus S/Galaxy S i9000.

Specification: Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL - Full phone specifications

Pros: Quad-band GSM and tri-band 3G support. 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support. 16M-color Super Clear LCD capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution. 1GHz processor, 5 MP autofocus camera with face, smile and blink detection , Front facing Secondary VGA Camera.

Cons: No LED Indicator, No button for camera, Camera lacks flash and Super Clear LCD is somewhat inferior to SuperAMOLED.

Price: 19.9K

[strike]Dell XCD35:[/strike]

dellxcd35.jpg


Dell XCD35 is the android based mobile phone comes with advance latest features. Dell launched this phone compete other smartphone like HTC Wildfire. In all its a smart and sleek phone at affordable price. The phone is manufactured by ZTE Blade. Being reasonable in price and with so many additional features, it surely gets a sweet spot.

Specification: Dell XCD35 - Full phone specifications

Pros: The Dell XCD35 packs a 3.5 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen . 480 x 800 pixels. Supports Android V2.2(froyo) OS with Qualcomm MSM 7227 600Mhz processor, 3G Connectivity with HSDPA Speed up to 7.2 Mbps, 256 MB RAM and 512MB Flash Memory, 3.2 MP Camera with Auto Focus. Great GPS, Browsing is great and a great display.

Cons: Battery is OK. 600 Mhz processor. Not slow but still.

Price: Available for 11K.

Rs. 20,000 - Rs. 25,000:

HTC Desire:



One of the initial phones to hit the Android market and is widely regarded as one of the best Android phones. HTC is the ultimate Android Smartphone. It’s a very similar mobile like Google Nexus One. If you cannot buy Google’s Nexus One, then grab this. It runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 GHz processor making it one of the fastest phones available. WVGA (800×480 pixels) @ 15fps, 720p@30fps via Android 2.2 (Froyo) update

Specification: HTC Desire - Full phone specifications

Pros: 3.7 inches of AMOLED or SLCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors and its resolution is 480 x 800 pixels . Decent on-screen keyboard. Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate. Optical trackpad with HTC Sense UI. 5 mega-pixels of camera with autofouc and LED flash

Cons: Low battery life (better than Desire HD though).

Price: 21.9K. At this price, the Desire is a truly desirable handset.

HTC Desire S:



HTC decided to further increase the line-up , and added the HTC Desire S to the Desire family. it is a well crafted, elegant, easy to use, fast and very capable smartphone. The Desire S doesn’t pack up many many improvements over the preceders . Battery life is another area the HTC Desire S improves upon its predecessor.

Specification: HTC Desire S - Full phone specifications

Pros: The Desire S runs at the same clock speed as the Desire but it uses the second generation Snapdragon and Qualcomm MSM8255 with the Adreno 205 GPU. It also comes with 768MB of RAM that is more than the original phone. It comes with the tastes of Gingerbread (2.3.3). Improvements in video recording, with 720p HD capture now supported, though the sensor stays at five megapixels. Fantastic unibody design.

Cons: No HDMI output. Non-readability in direct sunlight.

Price: 23.7K

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo:



Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo is the newest addition to the new generation of Xperia smartphones featuring cutting edge technology from Sony. Xperia Neo runs on Android 2.3 OS. Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo features a 480 x 854 pixels resolution, full touchscreen display, 8.1 MP camera, 1GHz processor. Xperia neo has a unique shape that not only looks good, but fit perfectly in the ones’s hand available in blue, red and silver body colour.

Specification: Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo - Full phone specifications

Pros: Captures brilliant images/videos with its 8.1MP rear camera and 0.3MP Front Camera. 8.1MP camera with HD video capture using Exmor R imaging sensor. Great video recording even in low light. 3.7 inch capacitive display with 854 x 480 resolution. Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine. Built-in HDMI.

Cons: It does everything well.(?)

Price: 24.6K

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S:

samsunggalaxysi90001.jpg


This is one of Samsung’s fastest selling models . It is one of the best Android multimedia phone out there recently released with Android 2.2 upgrade. Its features are comparable with the SLCD i9003 model. Capacitive touchscreen which is just amazing ability to play 720p HD recording are some of the awesome features that it packs.

Specification: Samsung I9000 Galaxy S - Full phone specifications

Pros: 4 SAMOLED display, PowerVR SGX 3D graphics Engine, It runs super fast because of 1GHz Hummingbird Processor and 512 MB of RAM. Ability to play 720p HD Videos smoothly. Secondary font-facing camera.

Cons: No HDMI out(well, yes. :-/) No LED indicator thus making it very hard to know new SMS/missed calls.

Price: 24.9K.

HTC Desire Z:

htcdesire.jpg


The phone has Great design and build, superb display, physical QWERTY keypad, Android OS v2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense UI. HTC's build quality is legendary, and the HTC Desire Z makes no exception. The HTC Desire Z makes an impressive entrance in less than 25K budget Android phone.

Specification: HTC Desire Z - Full phone specifications

Pros: Capable of recoding 720p HD videos. 3.7 inches S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors and its resolution is 480 x 800 pixels. QWERTY keyboard Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate. Optical trackpad, HTC Sense UI and the list goes on..

Cons: No video call camera, No front facing camera and no MKV format support.

Price: 24.9K.

Above Rs. 25,000:

I would strongly advice you to wait as some really good Android phones are expected to launch soon. Although there are some good phones right now, such as the Xperia Arc and the HTC Desire HD, still if I would recommend you to wait. HOLD YOUR PURCHASE. If you cannot wait, pick up:-

HTC Desire HD:



HTC have become an incredibly popular Android propagator since the release of the original HTC Desire The handset is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and packs an Adreno 205 GPU. A great camera and excellent screen. The same 800 x 480 screen resolution as the original Desire. Thus implementing this resolution onto a larger display just makes operating the phone easier.

Specification: HTC Desire HD - Full phone specifications

Pros: 768MB RAM, 4.3″ display, The back of the phone also sports an 8MP camera along with dual-LED flash. 4.3" 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution. Android OS v2.2 Froyo with HTC Sense UI.

Cons: No HDMI out, Li-Ion 1230 mAh battery – barely make it through a day. No front facing camera.

Price: 26.4K

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc:



Sony Ericsson’s new Xperia Arc has with a 4.2-inch display, marking it as the company's biggest android handset till date. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc runs at the very latest Android 2.3.2 version. Xperia arc is just 8.7mm at its thinnest part. It's fast, stylish and light too.

Specification: Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc - Full phone specifications

Pros: Very thin and light. 1GHz processor and 512MB RAM. State of the Art design. 8.1 mega pixel, best camera in the price range. Unlocked bootloader. The screen is very usable outdoors in direct light. Latest version of gingerbread.

Cons: No privileged access to PlayStation content. No front-facing camera. Main competitors have dual-core CPUs.

Price: 26.5K

[strike]Incredible S:[/strike]

htcincredible.jpg


The Incredible S is a pretty great smartphone. The best screen on an HTC. 720p video recording and HD video playback with DivX/Xvid support. Attractive design, powerful hardware, Recommend it over the Desire HD because it has a better battery life. Also one disadvantage is Runs Froyo on launch, instead of Gingerbread.

Specification: HTC Incredible S - Full phone specifications

Pros: 768 MB RAM, 8 MP camera, font-facing 1.3 MP camera, Sense UI, better looks, more ram, better camera and graphics). Unlike other phones using android, this one does have a Notification LED behind the top speaker to notify unread messages and missed calls. Incredible also features rotating buttons at the bottom, which is a feature not found in any other smartphone.

Cons: No HDMI Out, No dedicated camera key and no lens cover

Price: 27K.

Here we end for now. As I said, I will try to update this guide monthly. Comments/ Suggestions/ Reps are welcomed. :)
 
I think you should add the following phones to the list:

<=15k - HTC wildfire

<=20k - HTC Desire (Dont know how you missed it)

<=25k - HTC Desire S

>=25k - HTC Desire HD (Dont know how you missed it)

- Nexus S (Again Dont know how you missed it)
 
Nice List.

Few suggestions :

1. Don't use Below 15k, Below 20k like that, better use Between 10 - 15, 15 - 20 like this.

2. Well, I'd say better link all the phones with their whole review pages.

3. Many people would argue and want to know other options in that budget, so it'd be good if you can post the competitors, and with a small review(as you did) mention the best and why is it best(VFM).

4. Don't use BEST, it means a lot, Best VFM would be the right word. (Not a good point I know :p)

And lastly,

@Mods, Sticky please :)

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

devvfata1ity said:
I think you should add the following phones to the list:

<=15k - HTC wildfire

<=20k - HTC Desire (Dont know how you missed it)

<=25k - HTC Desire S

>=25k - HTC Desire HD (Dont know how you missed it)

- Nexus S (Again Dont know how you missed it)
I don't think Wildfire deserves include. It's really not a VFM phone.

@OP See as I said, many would argue why this is not in the list, so it's always recommended to add other competitors in that budget section and with a small review for all of them mention the VFM one with reason.
 
Great write up, but any particular reason for missing the HTC Desire HD. If you do include it in your post, make sure you don't forget to mention 'poor battery' and 'very poor network antennae' in the writeup, apart from of course having a great camera and excellent screen.
 
Good writeup dude...

Good thing you have not included SE phones ..

Also do consider the amount of mods available for each and the Versions/stability of ROMS....

Pinned this thread.....
 
Dell XCD do not deserves it's place in this list. People bought it because it was in range of 7-9K. At 11K, nope, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

and nice effort :)
 
nice list but i seriously doubt we will see a "huge competition" between symbian and android because android is already ahead in the competition and symbian has been left in the dust(and in every way,be it the apps world or the hardware powering these os's),just compare the hardware of phones you have listed above to the one found in symbian devices.and you have missed lg optimus 2,motorola atrix(dont know if it is available india).And be ready to add the behemoth galaxy S II soon.
 
devvfata1ity said:
I think you should add the following phones to the list:

<=15k - HTC wildfire

<=20k - HTC Desire (Dont know how you missed it)

<=25k - HTC Desire S

>=25k - HTC Desire HD (Dont know how you missed it)

- Nexus S (Again Dont know how you missed it)

HTC wildfire - Definitely not. Poor screen image quality, QVGA, No video calling, No TV-out port. Poor video recording at 352 x 288 pixels.

HTC Desire - Added.

HTC Desire S - At that price range, there are better models out there than Desire S.

HTC Desire HD - Added.

Nexus S - Definitely not. Priced at 28K and having features similar to the Samsung Galaxy S i9000(which are priced so much lesser) will get this phone at definitely no from my side. Without AMOLED screen, No 720p video recording, no video playback out of the box. No FM radio and the list goes on..

krishnandu said:
Few suggestions :

1. Don't use Below 15k, Below 20k like that, better use Between 10 - 15, 15 - 20 like this.

2. Well, I'd say better link all the phones with their whole review pages.

3. Many people would argue and want to know other options in that budget, so it'd be good if you can post the competitors, and with a small review(as you did) mention the best and why is it best(VFM).

4. Don't use BEST, it means a lot, Best VFM would be the right word. (Not a good point I know :p)

1. Done.

2. You read just one review and opt for the phone? One can alway google. :)

3. Done.

4. Well, will update the guide.

avi said:
Dell XCD do not deserves it's place in this list. People bought it because it was in range of 7-9K. At 11K, nope, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

True. Priced at 11K, definitely it doesn't deserves it's place in this list. Removed.
 
Nice compilation bro.

Just one Motorola there....Milestone and Milestone 2 could figure out there.

Also if you could give a one up to phones running CyanogenMod ... It would be amazing.

Have been delaying my 2nd Android Purchase

Reviews like these give me a pain :D
 
Good job but OMG, I think you have your work cut out for you. I can't offer any suggestions since I live in the US and our availability is different (but I would if I could :bleh:) As you can already tell, everyone is going to gave a different opinion about this ;) that's what happens when you make a post like this amongst so many techies :p

Perhaps a poll would be in order :D I hope that you will continue to update fairly regularly as there are soooooo many new phones hitting the market this year.
 
RD274 said:
eh? No mention of the Optimus 2X or SE Arc or Motorola Charm (QWERTY option) or Samsung Galaxy 551 (QWERTY option again).

Added Galaxy 551 & Motorola Charm.

Optimus 2X - Dual-core smartphone! 4-inch display! 1080p video! 30K! Great phone indeed. Will add it to the list once its released.

SE Xperia Arc - TBH, It doesn't deserves it's place in this list. Priced at 28K, it will definitely get a no from my side. I mean why not buy a 30K priced phone(Optimus 2X) and get dual core processor?

As I said, if your budget is above 25K, then hold your purchase. Many new phones will be hitting the market soon.

agantuk said:
Great write up, but any particular reason for missing the HTC Desire HD. If you do include it in your post, make sure you don't forget to mention 'poor battery' and 'very poor network antennae' in the writeup, apart from of course having a great camera and excellent screen.

Thanks. Done.

hotshot05 said:
In the less than 10k section, you missed out the Micromax Andro A60, Spice Mi-310, Samsung Galaxy 3, Samsung Galaxy Pop

Micromax Andro A60@6.3K, Spice Mi-310@7.3K, Samsung Galaxy Pop@8.9K - Well, why not spend 3.5K/2.5K/1K respectively more and opt for LG Optimus One?

I've seen people who will go for a mobile of 6k...then after 6-7 months...again a mobile of around the same cost. Why not go and buy a decent mobile for 10K perhaps in one go? LG Optimus One is the VFM phone.

Thanks to all the guys for Reps. :)

Again, this is not a typical 'Android Review' thread. Consider it as a 'Android Phone Buying Guide Thread'. :)
 
Why is the Incredible S there and the SE Arc not?

Let me state a few reasons why the SE Arc should be there

1)State of the Art design

2)Best camera in the price range

3)Latest version of gingerbread

4)Best and the largest screen in the segment

5)The only device with an unlocked bootloader

6)Has yet to receive a bad review. In fact has received a 3 4.5s and 2 5/5 reviews.

Extremely biased comparison.

The Nero should also get the go ahead, given it will retail at 23k and will also be a segment leader.
 
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