Pls suggest [15K-30K] smartphone with good still camera and drive navigation

rshri

Adept
Hi,

I am still on a good-old feature phone and have never used a smartphone before! I have zero experience with smartphone OS like iOS/Android and hence have no preference at all. Buying smartphone only because it feels awkward (read shameful ;)) when I have to use my cheap phone in front of acquaintances!

All I am looking for (in order of importance) is -
1) Very good voice quality (both on normal mode and speaker mode). This is most important!
2) A good still camera (I don't care about videos, I have a camcorder for that). I think 5MP picture should be fine for me. Picture sharpness & night photography is more important to me.
3) Real-time driving directions. I want to use it as car navigation system
4) Tough. Should be able to withstand drops to floor (happens sometimes).
5) Small size (should be pocket-able without any discomfort)
6) Battery life (Not that important, I don't really need to sustain phone charge more than a day)

I will NEVER use it for games or watching videos. So I don't really need a strong processor I guess.

My budget is flexible - 15K to 30K.

Please advice! Thanks!
 
If no android / iOS then go for PureView 808, the best camera phone you can get ;-) And Nokia's Navigation is awesome :) You won't miss anything :D PEACE

You won't drop your phone often. Most of the phones (Except iPhone 4S) can bear drops and hits :)
 
Will it have all the features that I have listed?

Forget about Apple offering you proper voice-over directions. With the latest iOS 6 update not capable of proper mapping of well planned and laid-out cities of the west, imagine the nightmare of Indian roads(they have no support for Indian cities currently) and best of all they have just said SCREW YOU! to Google and disabled their services like Maps.

Apple Maps service loses train stations, shrinks tower and creates new airport | Technology | The Guardian.

I would suggest that you go for the SONY Acro S. I am using its younger brother the XPERIA gO and it is a sturdy, well built phone.

+gorilla glass
+camera
+sturdy


Acro s
I doubt the build quality (vs nokia)

It seems Acro S has a sturdier glass on it, Dragontrail it is called --> http://www.bgdna.com/it-telecom/dragon-trail-challenge-gorillas-tough-glass.html / http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2376064,00.asp / http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/39339.

For the camera --> http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_acro_s-review-807p7.php

In our field test, the 12 megapixel shooter on the Xperia acro S has a serious claim to be among the top Android cameraphones currently out there.
Images turn out pretty good with good balance between contrast and dynamic range, nice color reproduction and fast focusing. Noise levels are generally good but raises its ugly head in the shadow areas.

The Xperia acro S handles shooting on the macro level with ease, getting close to the best in its class. There isn't a macro mode on the acro S so focusing up close is done automatically. Check out the results below.

Overall the camera on the Xperia acro S shows a tendency towards regaining the past legacy of Sony Ericsson as a good cameraphone maker.
 
^

Care to check the date on the article ? That issues has already been proved false since eternity now.
Anyway Xperia P isn't a tough phone either even though its a aluminum unibody.

@OP

Keep in mind though that Acro S is NOT sold officially in India and you won't get warranty therefore.
 
Will it be a good idea to buy Acro S with "dealer warranty" from eBay? Is it worth the risk? I mean - what are the chances that mobile will go bad within usual manufacturer warranty period?
 
Hi,

Buying smartphone only because it feels awkward (read shameful ;)) when I have to use my cheap phone in front of acquaintances!


If that is your only reason for buying a smartphone, then read this....

People buy things they don't need, with money they don't have, to impress people they don't like

Growth Fetish, written by Clive Hamilton.


I was tempted to buy a smartphone, but then I realized I wouldnt be even using it, except for browsing the web, which any el-cheapo phone can handle.

If you dont need it, dont buy it. Just dont jump onto the smartphone bandwagon.
 
Just an update - I finally bought Google Nexus 4 16 GB for myself!
Seems sturdy enough - By mistake I dropped it harshly on marble floor, nothing broken. Ordered a silicon cover just the same.
Using Sygic and Google for Drive Navigation
Looks good! Voice and camera quality is good enough for me.
 
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