High-end smartphone brands are coming up with affordable price tags. Sangeeta Yadav reports
In a smart marketing strategy increase sales, several mobile phone brands are coming up with high-end smartphones in an affordable price range. And, there is no compromise on the features. From high speed and fluent operating systems, to other amazing features, it is a win-win situation for the buyers. So, if you are looking for a phone within the Rs 20,000 budget, there is choice galore.
With the recent launch of Nokia lumia 520, and the company offering digital camera lens in the same variant as in lumia 920, Nokia seems to have joined the price slash bandwagon. The 520 comes in five colours, has a four-inch display and a five MP camera. It’s powered by dual-core Qualcomm MSM8227 1 GHz processor coupled with 512 MB of RAM. It also has an Adreno 305 GPU, internal storage of 8 GB and has 1430mAH battery life.
“The aim is to offer uncompromised experience of a high-end smartphone at an affordable price. We want to broaden the reach of the lumia experience and the only way to do so is by offering affordable mobile phones,” Vipul Mehrotra, Director-Smart Devices, India Middle East Africa, Nokia, says.
Big players like Sony, HTC and Samsung are also not far behind in this race. Sony’s Xperia E is a Jelly Bean-powered handset. Sony Xperia E has a 3.5-inch touchscreen. A 1GHZ MSM7227A Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 5130mAh battery life, it has 3.2MP camera with auto focus and 4x digital zoom. The phone uses 512GB of RAM and delivers 4GB of onboard space for hoarding content. It has Android 4.1, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7227A processor. E dual on the other hand has 800 Mhz Android OS, v4.0.3, 2.9 GB Internal Storage and 512MB RAM. Price wise, the Xperia E comes for a friendly Rs 10,490.
Meanwhile, HTC’s Windows phone 8S offers an 2.1mp camera and supports 1080p video capture. The rear camera sports an 8 mp sensor with backside-illumination (BSI) for improved low-light performance, along with an f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens. Available on HTC smartphones, Beats Audio provides authentic sound that delivers the spirit of the original recording.
However, Samsung Galaxy S DUOS offers Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon and 1 GHz Cortex-A5 processor. This handset offers 5 MP camera. It also has microSD up to 32 GB Internal along with li-Ion 1500 mAh battery life.
“Samsung offers 14 smartphones ranging between Rs 5,890 and Rs 37,800. The main differentiating factor between the devices in the affordable and the high-end smartphones range is the overall mobile experience linked with the size and quality of display, processor speed, multitasking, gaming and browser. Samsung is the only company offering diversified form factors like Touch, Touch + QWERTY (Hybrid Desi),” says Asim Warsi, vice-president, Samsung Mobile.
Talking about Karbonn’s latest model Karbonn Titanium S5, it offers the latest in technology and has Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, 8MP camera etc. “Quad-core processor enabled smartphones don’t reach the masse due to their high price. We have kept the Titanium S5 in the pertinent price bracket which will be available at Rs 11,990,” Shashin Devsare, executive director, Karbonn Mobiles, says.
