The Indian smartphone market is the third largest globally. It is growing at quite a brisk pace and a major part of this growth is coming in from the sub-Rs 10,000 smartphone segment in the country. The segment attracts the highest number of launches and almost every major OEM has at least 3-4 offerings in this segment.
So it is no surprise that when consumers start looking out for options in this segment, they are spoilt for choice. At times, it may get quite difficult to choose a device in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment as smartphones are closely matched in terms of specifications on offer. As a result, software and other features at times, becomes the key to help differentiate a smartphone from the rest of the crowd.
We decided to go ahead and save you some trouble in your search for the device that delivers the maximum bang for you bucks spent. Let us quickly go through the top 5 android smartphones that your money can buy in the sub-Rs 10,000 smartphone arena in India:
Lenovo A6000 Plus (Rs 7,499)
Lenovo recently managed to sell about 1,00,000 units of the smartphone in its first flash sale. It is available exclusively on Flipkart and you need to register before hand to purchase it during the open sale. Let us take a look at what the A6000 Plus offer:
- 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels
- Android 4.4 KitKat with VIBE 2.0 UI on top of it
- 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 400 MHz Adreno 306 GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB of internal memory which is expandable by 32GB with the help of a microSD card
- 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front camera
- 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and dual SIM for connectivity
- 2300mAh battery
Lenovo A7000 (Rs 8,999)
The Lenovo A7000 is quite a well-priced device and offers Dolby Atmos surround sound experience through the headphones. It is also available exclusively through Flash sales on Flipkart. Let us take a look at what A7000 offers:
- 5.5-inch IPS LCD display, 1280 x 720 pixels, 294 ppi
- Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system
- 1.5 GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6752M processor, Mali-T760 GPU, and 2GB RAM
- 8GB of internal memory and a microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front camera
- 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and dual micro SIM connectivity
- 2,900 mAh battery
The smartphone is easily the benchmark in the sub Rs 10,000 segment and brings you all the value for your money that you can expect. It comes across as probably the best one in its segment as no other device in the same price range has a Snapdragon 615 ticking inside. It is available only through Amazon.in and it is quite a difficult job to buy one as its flash sales end in a matter of seconds.Let us see what the YUREKA brings with it:
- 5.5-inch display, 1280 x 720 pixels, and Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Android 5.0.2 Lollipop based CM 12 OS
- Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, Adreno 405 GPU, and 2GB RAM
- 13-megapixel primary camera (Sony Exmor R) with a LED flash, F/2.2 aperture, 1080p @ 30 FPS, and 720p @ 60 FPS
- 5-megapixel secondary camera, OmniVision 5648 sensor with 71-degree wide viewing angle lens
- 16GB of internal storage, microSD card slot (up to 64GB)
- Dual-SIM, 4G LTE (Cat. 4 150Mbps) + 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS with A-GPS
- 2,500 mAh battery
Xiaomi Redmi 2 (Rs 6,999)
The Redmi 2 is the least priced offering from Xiaomi in India and comes forth as a well-priced handset. It is available across Airtel retail stores, The Mobile Store outlets, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal for Rs 6,999. Here's what it offers:
- 4.7-inch IPS LCD display, 1280 x 720 pixels, Corning Gorilla Glass
- Android 4.4 KitKat based MIUI 6
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 64-bit 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, Adreno 306 GPU, and 1GB RAM
- 8GB internal storage, microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- 8-megapixel rear camera, autofocus, LED Flash, 1080p video recording, and 2-megapixel front camera
- Dual-SIM connectivity with 4G LTE (supports Indian 4G bands), 3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, microUSB v2.0 port with USB OTG, and 3.5 mm headphone jack
- 2,200 mAh battery
Motorola Moto E (Rs 6,999/7,999)
The second generation Moto E comes across as quite a capable handset. It will get updated to the next major version of Android and Motorola's unparalleled software support needs no introduction. It is available in 3G and 4G variants in the country for Rs 6,999 and Rs 7,999 exclusively through Flipkart. Here's what it offers:
- 4.5-inchIPS LCD display, 960 x 540 pixels, and Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system
- 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, Adreno 306 GPU, and 1GB RAM
- 8GB of internal storage, expanded by an additional 32GB (via microSD card slot)
- 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM, 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS, Micro-USB port, and 3.5 mm headphone jack
- 2,390 mAh battery
Our Pick: Our pick out of the lot will be the YU YUREKA. It recently got upgraded to Lollipop based CM 12 OS and offers unmatched value in the sub Rs 10,000 segment. The only issue you may have is being able to buy one but on the whole, this is the best your money can buy for less than Rs 10,000.
