"Premium" Android phone under 20K

agantuk

Skilled
This is for a friend of mine, neither a geek nor a noob, wants a fast phone with good display and battery life. Does not game a lot, but good to have a phone which can do so if required.

1. Q: Budget?
A: 20K

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

3. Q: Preferred display type?
A: LCD, AMOLED - more specifically, the best possible display in this budget

4. Q: Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them.
A: No Indian brands

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: Good camera with flash, not in the mp game, clarity important

7. Q: Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc).
A: Android, second choice Windows

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: Calls, mails and internet

10. Q: Any other requirements?
A: Good battery life is required. Currently owns a HTC (don't remember the name) which sold for around 18K a couple of years back, and has terrible battery life like most HTC phones. Open to purchase from US

11. Q: If you have already considered a phone then please mention the model.
A: None
 
In this range, nothing can get as premium as HTC 8s. Yes it's a windows phone and the battery performance is at par with other phones that offer things that this one does. And OMG! It's so so so light. In terms of premium look it's always Apple>HTC>Others

Don't think there's any android phone which comes close to 8s in terms of premium feel with that budget. Maybe HTC One S? But you'll have to search hard to get one for about 20K.
 
I second the HTC 8S recommendation. A friend got one, and this is the best looking phone right now, bar none. It feels great in hand too. I'm not kidding, this phone is just awesome to look at and hold, and this coming from a HTC 8X user which I previously thought was the best designed phone ever. It is flawlessly smooth, just what you expect from Windows Phone. Battery life is great too, he's been getting through almost 2 days on one charge, which is not surprising as ~1700 mAH is a big battery for a 4 inch phone with a conservatively clocked SoC. Two issues though, you only have 1 GB storage space left for installing apps (all other data can be installed on microSD card) and there's no front facing camera. Lumia 620 looks like it will be a better deal overall though without such restrictions if you don't mind the relatively inferior design. If you want a large screen or access to more apps, there are Android options in this range too like LG Optimus L9 but most of these are cheaply built with mediocre performance.
 
In terms of premium look it's always Apple>HTC>Others

Don't think there's any android phone which comes close to 8s in terms of premium feel with that budget. Maybe HTC One S? But you'll have to search hard to get one for about 20K.

hTC = Premium looks, different people have different opinions and the SONY XPERIA P / Sola are also well built and perform fine.

The P will get a bump to Jelly Bean but the Sola won't.

Also the hTC One S is at a different budget all together, it is competing with the likes of the NOKIA Lumia 820, SAMSUNG Galaxy S II and SONY XPERIA S.

I DONT reccomend the Galaxy S advance , a friend has it and it seems pretty ordinary. I think maybe HTC or sony would have better options.

It will get Jelly Bean soon and build quality not withstanding it is a capable performer.
If you want a large screen or access to more apps, there are Android options in this range too like LG Optimus L9 but most of these are cheaply built with mediocre performance.

Why mediocre performers? I agree on build quality but why mediocrity in performance. The SAMSUNG Galaxy Ace Advance will get a bump up to Jelly Bean so it is definitely in the reckoning for me.

Same with the LG OPTIMUS L9, although the bump to Jelly Bean will take ages.
 
"Premium" tag fits few devices and one of them is HTC Sensation. I would say go for sensation. Buy it from here if you don't care about warranty-

NEW HTC Sensation Z710E, ICS 4.0, 4.3" LCD, 1.2 GHz DC CPU, 768MB RAM, 8 MP | eBay

Use 7% coupon and it will be under 15k.

With some custom ROM's this phone runs rock solid, screen, camera and music quality in all department this is excellent phone specially at this price.
Though its infamous for its touch screen issues but I still think nothing can beat it at this price.

Or if you can buy second hand ones then you will get many good deals at this price.
 
This is for a friend of mine, neither a geek nor a noob, wants a fast phone with good display and battery life. Does not game a lot, but good to have a phone which can do so if required.
If he can use a CDMA phone then you can get the HTC Evo 4G LTE for 20k. If not, then you can have a look at the Samsung Galaxy Nexus(from ebay) - $335.92, Sony Xperia S - 19.5k(from ebay india), HTC One S (from ebay) - $349.77.
If he can extend the budget a little then you can also get a galaxy s2 for around 22.5k.
If it has to be 20k then probably your best bet is to either pick an evo 4g lte(if he can live with a cdma phone/reliance) or a Sony Xperia S. There are mixed user reviews about battery life for the XS. evo 4g lte seems to have no such issue.
 
hTC = Premium looks, different people have different opinions and the SONY XPERIA P / Sola are also well built and perform fine.

Also the hTC One S is at a different budget all together, it is competing with the likes of the NOKIA Lumia 820, SAMSUNG Galaxy S II and SONY XPERIA S.

Well I should've put "according to me" after iPhone>HTC>Other. And HTC One S can easily be had for under 20K as the OP said he's open to buy phones from Uncle Sam's Farmland.

But it would be interesting to see a vote thread for the "Premium" built for the phones. :D
 
Look for the HTC Sensation if warranty is not necessary for you, it has that premium looks and feel which you are looking for especially for it's Unibody Aluminium Design.
I would anyday pick Sensation over SII just for it's Sense UI alone forget even it's dead cheap price.
 
Thanks @creative420, @benryu, @Sub, @Zloyd, @ALPHA17, @amitjakhar, @comp@ddict, @2kool2btrue, @Nalin. Apologies if I missed anyone!

What I gather from the suggestions so far is that most people recommend one of the HTCs - and I agree about their build quality.

All CDMA models are ruled out and so are Sony and LG (he isn't interested). Of the remaining, I see three major options:

- HTC 8S

- HTC One S or HTC Sensation

- Galaxy S Advance

He is inclined towards the HTC due to a general poor impression about Samsung's not so great build quality / physical feel even in phones like the S II .

If he had to pick on of the two mentioned HTC Androids, which one does it have to be? He isn't going to root or do anything like that.
 
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Thanks creative420, benryu, Sub, Zloyd, ALPHA17, amitjakhar, comp@ddict, 2kool2btrue, Nalin. Apologies if I missed anyone!

What I gather from the suggestions so far is that most people recommend one of the HTCs - and I agree about their build quality.

All CDMA models are ruled out and so are Sony and LG (he isn't interested). Of the remaining, I see three major options:

- HTC 8S

- HTC One S or HTC Sensation

- Galaxy S Advance

He is inclined towards the HTC due to a general poor impression about Samsung's not so great build quality / physical feel even in phones like the S II .

If he had to pick on of the two mentioned HTC Androids, which one does it have to be? He isn't going to root or do anything like that.

HTC 8S, if he's willing to dive into the Windows 8 world. 8S is hands down one of the best(if not the best) looking phone in the market right now! The processor and RAM although is still pretty average by today's standards but then Windows phone 8 runs butter smooth(apart from a few occasional lags), -ives - inferior camera, inferior audio quality, limited codec support.

HTC One S because..well..its an Android so he'll never run short of apps. The S4 version is a perfectly capable device(even now), superior processing power viz a viz 8S, classy looks, great build quality, good camera, excellent audio quality and anodized aluminium body.

Sensation - Naa, its had its day.

My vote goes for the HTC One S.
If your friend happens to be a lady then by all means HTC Windows phone 8S probably makes more sense :p jk.
HTC One S! :)
PS - Read your post once again just to confirm if you've written a gender specific pronoun(assuming you do not consider him/he/his to fall under a gender-neutral pronoun ;-) )
 
Thanks @creative420, @benryu, @Sub, @Zloyd, @ALPHA17, @amitjakhar, @comp@ddict, @2kool2btrue, @Nalin. Apologies if I missed anyone!

What I gather from the suggestions so far is that most people recommend one of the HTCs - and I agree about their build quality.

All CDMA models are ruled out and so are Sony and LG (he isn't interested). Of the remaining, I see three major options:

- HTC 8S

- HTC One S or HTC Sensation

- Galaxy S Advance

If he is not going to root his Androids, I think he might as well go for the hTC 8S.
 
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Don't go for One S as it is using old S3 chipset instead of S4 which is used in it's international version. Indian version is trolled again by HTC.

Rather get 8S if only HTC is you are considering.
 
Don't go for One S as it is using old S3 chipset instead of S4 which is used in it's international version. Indian version is trolled again by HTC.

Rather get 8S if only HTC is you are considering.
OP has no problems in buying it from US. So, an S4 version is what has been suggested here mate! :)

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We have krait based one s for 22k on ebay. Worth the money?
Depends.. I would rather add 2k more and get a 16gb one X from ebay instead. ;)
 
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