You want the best smartphone but probably your wallet isn’t permitting you to go for one. You long to have a phone with all the functions of a smartphone but within a reasonable budget. You are wondering which is the best, cheapest smartphone in the market right now. Don’t worry. All is not lost. You can get yourself a smartphone within your budget. How? Well, the market is flooded with some good varieties of budget smartphones. These phones run on Android, Windows and Blackberry OS but are available at prices much less than the regular smartphones.
Tips to Buy Budget Smartphones
- Screen: When you talk of entry-level smartphones, they usually have small screens of around three to four inches, with lower resolutions. The most common screen resolution is 320x480 pixels, which is not good for playing games, looking at photos or watching movies. Instead, search for models that offer a resolution of high-definition (HD) of at least 1,280x720 pixels (720p). In case, a 720p phone is more than your budget, go for a resolution of 480x800 pixels but not less. A bright display and a large size screen are comfortable to read texts, watch movies or play games.
- Processor: If you go for a cheaper smartphone, check its processor. Cheap does not mean that you have to go for a phone with a weak single-core processor of 1 GHz, which is very common in most cheap smartphones. A weak processor makes the phone function very slow, especially when you run several programs at the same time. You may not be able to find a phone with fast processor within your budget but you can opt for a phone with a dual-core processor so that it keeps everything running smoothly. Opt for a combination of performance and good battery life, rather than the most powerful and fastest processor.
- Operating System: A budget phone nowadays does not mean that you go for an old version of the operating system (OS). Today smartphone makers are focussing on the OS for their lower-priced devices too. You can now get cheap smartphones running smoothly in the new versions of Android, Windows Phone OS and even blackberry OS. As a buying tip, get a smartphone device with the latest version of the OS.
- Camera: All phones nowadays have an in-built camera. Get a smartphone with minimum five-megapixel camera with flash. An LED flash is also very essential. Although, a five-megapixel camera won’t give the best picture quality as compared to the expensive smartphones with higher megapixels camera, at least, it is perfectly fine for quick shots of family and friends and that too within your budget. Some manufacturers even offer eight-megapixel ones for your budget smartphones.
- HD Video Camera: Opt for models which can shoot 720p HD video. Usually the common phones support VGA resolution which does not give good picture quality. Cheap phones also do not have front-facing cameras. But, if you want to make video calls, then get yourself a smartphone with both front and back facing cameras.
- Connectivity: Although 2G connectivity is easily available and 4G connectivity is for the higher price range phones, do not settle for anything less than 3G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Nowadays, these have been made available in most handsets. Also, make sure your phone has a microSD card which will help to transfer information from other devices.
What Other Things to Consider?
- Sound: Though sound quality is not a prime focus, yet, check your phone in both the loudspeaker and headphone modes before buying, even if the specification sheet boasts of a high level sound technology.
- Service: Always make sure after sales service is available for your phone as and when required. Irrespective of the price, check the brand’s service and support backup. Service centres in various locations are always a positive sign.
- Versions of Android: If you buy a cheap Android phone, it may be that it still runs on the old version. Make sure your budget Android smartphone runs on the very latest version of the OS. Avoid models older than Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or 4.1 Jelly Bean. If your phone runs on old version of Android, it means that you cannot enjoy the latest apps.
The Best, Budget Smartphones in India
Now that we have provided you the guiding tips to buy the best budget smartphone, we present below a list of some of the best cheap smartphones available in India:- Micromax Canvas Nitro: This Micromax smartphone, with better battery life and camera performance, has excellent overall performance.
- Nokia Lumia 730: Supposed to be the best Windows Phone, around Rs. 15,000 in India, with simple UI along with an effective front facing camera.
- Alcatel One Touch Idol X Plus: A top smartphone option that gives a balanced combination of features and performance, with five-inch 1080 p screen well supported by Octacore processor and 2GB of RAM.
- Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen): Under Rs. 15000 with stock Android experience, larger screen, and a better camera.
- Asus Zenfone 5 (16GB): Excellent balance of features, performance, and build quality, around Rs. 10,000 in India. Buy it as the best Android smartphone.
- Micromax Canvas Gold A300: This is a faster and enhanced version of the Canvas Nitro, that gives higher performance and more features.
- Xolo Q3000: This is an Android smartphone, with a big-screen, 2GB of RAM, good battery life, supporting its big 1080p screen.
- Micromax Canvas Knight A350: A budget smartphone with octacore processor, 2GB of RAM and 1080p five-inch screen.
- Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus: This is a good value for money smartphone in terms of specifications and the good build quality.
- Blackberry Z30: For Blackberry loyals, this is the best smartphone under Rs 15,000.
