Getting a phone around Rs.30k from the USA

A

agudam

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I'm planning to ask my uncle to get a phone from the USA. He'll be coming in the 2nd week of January. My phone purchase has been long overdue; I've been using my Nokia 5230 since more than 2.5 years :D. What would be the best phone at about Rs.30k? What would I need to know before ordering a phone like this? Should I get an unlocked phone? How would the warranty work? Does it actually make sense to get one from the USA?

Questions:-
1. Q: Budget?
A: 30k

2. Q: Preferred Form Factor(flip, bar, slider)?
A: Bar

3. Q: Preferred display type?
A: LCD. I don't mind AMOLED, though.

4. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: I like HTC's build quality and I don't quite like Samsung's. But I've heard bad things about HTC's service and they've earned a bad reputation for a bad battery life as well. A bit confused here.

5. Q: Preferred input method (Touchscreen, QWERTY, etc.)?
A: Touchscreen

6. Q: Camera required or not? If required, please specify type like front camera/flash/etc.
A: I don't care about the camera much.

7. Q: Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android. Not against iOS, if it fits in my budget.

8. Q: Preferred connectivity options? (3G, Wifi, Edge etc).
A: 3G.

9. Q: What is your intended use for this phone(internet, camera, multimedia, mails, etc)?
A: Majorly audio, because I travel quite a lot and I even sometimes sit and write reviews at restaurants. I tend to go alone sometimes and I would like to take my documentaries with me, to keep me company at cafes or restaurants. I'm not much of a gamer.

10. Q: Any other requirements?
A: I need at least 32GB of storage. A screen that's really good in the sunlight, because I tend to be outdoors for quite long. Because I tend to be out for quite long in a day, I need a good battery life too.

11. Q: If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
A: HTC One X, HTC One X+. Should I consider Motorolas and Sonys?

Thanks in advance.
 
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31k? The 32GB models are at least 35k. Looks like it's better to get a 16GB model instead, and get a memory card. Buy Samsung Mobile Phone India| Samsung I9300 Galaxy S iii 16Gb Marble White , Prices & Specifications, Review|Zoomin.com - This is the cheapest I could get. I've always disliked Samsung's products, especially for their looks and build, but I don't quite mind the S3. Its display is a bummer, though, when compared to the One X. So unless there's some real benefit like an amazing service in comparison to HTC's or price I don't think I'll go for it.
 
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@agudam take a look at SONY XPERIA S, it is a powerful handset with a smaller screen (which supports 1080p) and can hold its own against HTC One X and the SAMSUNG Galaxy series. Cons are, older software and non-removable battery.

ince you are asking why don't you go for the Google Nexus4. It fits your budget, latest and greatest from Google and overall a worthy buy (con is that there quite a few production batch issues and stock scarcity).
 
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ALPHA17 said:
agudam take a look at SONY XPERIA S, it is a powerful handset with a smaller screen (which supports 1080p) and can hold its own against HTC One X and the SAMSUNG Galaxy series. Cons are, older software and non-removable battery.

Since you are asking why don't you go for the Google Nexus4. It fits your budget, latest and greatest from Google and overall a worthy buy (con is that there quite a few production batch issues and stock scarcity).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

Hasn't the Nexus4 earned quite a lot of criticism for its battery life? I have a friend who owns a One X and his battery life has improved after the Jelly Bean update. Even in XDA I saw people saying the battery's improved. The memory's quite less too. These are apart from the cons that you mentioned.

Even I was thinking about the Xperia S. The viewing angles are bad, but the screen's still gorgeous. I hate Sony's UI, but I can still flash some ROM. The only issue is with the battery life. I don't understand these battery life comparisons sometimes - everyone's dissatisfied with their battery. Probably except the owners of Note II and Razr MAXX.

This seems to be a good price to me(26.7k) HTC One X Android Smartphone Polar White (Unlocked) #99HRL003-00 - Expansys USA
 
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agudam said:
Thanks for the reply.

Hasn't the Nexus4 earned quite a lot of criticism for its battery life? I have a friend who owns a One X and his battery life has improved after the Jelly Bean update. Even in XDA I saw people saying the battery's improved. The memory's quite less too. These are apart from the cons that you mentioned.

Even I was thinking about the Xperia S. The viewing angles are bad, but the screen's still gorgeous. I hate Sony's UI, but I can still flash some ROM. The only issue is with the battery life. I don't understand these battery life comparisons sometimes - everyone's dissatisfied with their battery. Probably except the owners of Note II and Razr MAXX.

This seems to be a good price to me(26.7k) HTC One X Android Smartphone Polar White (Unlocked) #99HRL003-00 - Expansys USA
Click to expand...

Continuous screen usage, saps the battery on the phones but I think every handset will face the issue. Screen is as per your taste, it is an IPS LCD panel not AMOLED / S-AMOLED like most of the competition and has its own PRO's and CON's.

I have the XPERIA go and for the most part am satisfied with the performance and battery-life of the device but that is thanks to my usage pattern not because the battery capacity is huge. In-fact I hope that once the phone is out of Warranty I will try to get an extended battery compatible with my handset but that means forfeiting the main PRO's of my handset.

So as long as you are not gaming, I doubt you should run out of battery unless you turn into a Whatsapp addict.

SONY UI is the most basic you can get in a third-party device. In-fact I have absolute disdain for SAMSUNG's Touchwiz and HTC's Sense UI systems, they gobble up RAM really fast, something that is not the case with the SONY's Timescape system.

The Nexus4 is a mixed bag, most people are happy with its battery and have reported upto 2-days continuous operations with 'moderate' usage. There are more pressing issues like poor build quality, screen having a yellowish-tinge and microphone and speaker coming loose (OR being DoA). So there is a catch in importing it and finding a dud in your hands.

So dig some-more before finalizing on the handset. Cheers!
 
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That's a lot of sense in one post. You've almost convinced me to buy the Xperia S. I just spoke to one of my friends' brothers who owns one and he's in love with it. I'll go to a showroom tomorrow and check out the Xperia S, because I've never actually used it. I've ordered a pair of VSonic GR-06 earphones and until I buy a good audio player I'll be using my phone. Any idea how the audio response is? I just googled it and found this thread - Audio quality tested on 2012 Xperias - Page 3 - xda-developers . A lot of people seem happy with it.
 
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Most chances the audio DAC is different between my phone and the XPERIA S but as per my knowledge, SONY and earlier Sony Ericsson handsets generally have a lowered audio volume but the performance (clarity, detail) is good and more importantly very minimal distortion, cracking of voice.

I do get hiss when I initially plug in my earphones into the go but its dissipated OR nullified as soon as I start listening to music.

So try to do a demo with the VSONIC GR06 (I use the GR02 Bass edition, Marshmallows) before passing judgement and play a little with the default equalizer given in the WalkMan app.

Hope this helps, Cheers!
 
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I expect it to be delivered in a day or two. Just a few hours ago I received an email that it's been shipped. I think it was from one of your posts that I got to know about Hifinage. I should find it and 'like' it. They've been really prompt till now. I'll demo the earphones on a One X as well and make the final decision. Thanks a ton, Abhay!
 
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