Android Mobile with focus on Camera,Music @ 25k Budget

1. Budget? 25k
2. Display type and size? Touch and 4-4.5" inch
3. Form Factor? bar, slider, flip?Bar
4. Preferred choice of brand? anything
5. Preferred input method (QWERTY, touchscreen, numpad, touch-n-type). Touch
6. What camera option you want? Please specify need for flash, autofocus, front facing camera. 8-13MP with LED,autofocus,video call
7. Preferred operating system? (Android, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone etc). Android.
8. Preferred connectivity options (3G, Wifi etc)Please specify clearly.3G,Wifi,Bluetooth
9. Preferred applications (Flash, Swype, GPS, etc)?Flash,GPS,facebook,gmail....etc
10. Primary use of handset (multimedia, camera, mails, internet, gaming etc)? Internet,Camera,Music & Gaming
11. Any specific mobile phones in consideration?
Xperia P
Xperia S/SL
Samsung Galaxy SII

12. Any other info that you want to share
Photo Compare Tool - GSMArena.com

If compared with Galaxy SII/SIII ,Xperia S/SL lacks in sharpness despite having a 12MP camera with good sensor.
I'm very much interested in Xperia SL,but these reviews are kinda confusing......

Kindly suggest a Android phone with Decent HW Spec,Internet connectivity,very good camera,Music & gaming.

Look no further than Xperia SL: Sony Xperia SL vs. Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II - GSMArena.com
SGS II is a fine phone, but its a dinosaur, and Xperia P has a battery that can't even light up a torch.

Galaxy Grand has some impressive scores lately.. worth checking

Nerevarine said:
Galaxy Grand has some impressive scores lately.. worth checking

You serious bro? That cr@p videocore GPU(worst of the pack) and 192ppi screen? If you want I can show you a review.

tkin said:
Look no further than Xperia SL: Sony Xperia SL vs. Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II - GSMArena.com
,SGS II is a fine phone, but its a dinosaur, and Xperia P has a battery that can't even light up a torch.

Hey Dude
I know the SGS II is of the past,but look at the Pic Quality of both......Xperia S/SL pics & videos are sluggish and Dull.
I also don't know if GSMarena favors Samsung in their review ?

Nerevarine said:
Galaxy Grand has some impressive scores lately.. worth checking

I don't think so.

OP if you got no issues with manufacturer not providing constant updates then nothing beats this at that price point !

LG OPTIMUS 4X HD
LG Optimus 4X HD Price in India, Latest Price, Specifications, Reviews - 91mobiles.com

EDIT : Oops missed the camera part, in music most androids are same and more or less are restricted by the EQ settings and the earphones you are using with them, but for pic quality definitely lg optimus 4x ain't gonna win any awards but at this price point its a very very VFM offering

And yeah Galaxy Grand should not be considered !

Xperia SL is future proof. And by the way Sony is taking steps with updates for their Android line-ups, i would say invest in SL, get some camera tweaks from XDA and it will kill the S2 for sure.

takemein said:
Hey Dude
I know the SGS II is of the past,but look at the Pic Quality of both......Xperia S/SL pics & videos are sluggish and Dull.
I also don't know if GSMarena favors Samsung in their review ?

I don't think so.

First of all the camera quality isn't that great on SGS II, if you downsample Xperia SL pics to 8MP it WILL trump SGS II eyes closed, plus Xperia video cam has option for stabilization etc, plus check the specs, SGS II is a great set, but selling it at 26k samsung is doing daylight robbery, plain and simple, correct price for SGS II is 21-22k max.

Alright guys, thanks for ur suggestions.
I'll be going for Xperia SL soon.

The phone is crap because of the low rez screen but the benchmarks are good

58.8 on nenamark..

Even quadrant benchmark is higher than Xperia SL

Most likely the benchies are high because of the WVGA resolution

GL benchmark says Galaxy Grand GPU is not upto the mark, also note 187ppi, count teh pixels: Samsung Galaxy S II Plus review: Golden oldie - GSMArena.com

takemein said:
Alright guys, thanks for ur suggestions.
I'll be going for Xperia SL soon.

Go with it, and be happy, also Sony is leading the forefront in Android development, they even released the source code day 1, can never go wrong with SL.

A

Nerevarine said:
The phone is crap because of the low rez screen but the benchmarks are good

58.8 on nenamark..

Even quadrant benchmark is higher than Xperia SL

Most likely the benchies are high because of the WVGA resolution

Broadcom CPU for Grand? if its a Cortex A9 then it will likely perform better than Xperia SLs Scorpion. Normally the Exynos powering Galaxy S2 , Note etc will beat the krap out of any Scorpion powered phone as far as benchmarks are concerned. That should be the only major downside for Xperia S/SL, its Soc its pretty old, almost 2 yrs.

Xperia T with dual core Krait is much better. Sony is always the last in packing their phones with latest hardware, their dual core phones came out just a month before first quad core in the market. and now Xperia Z, is coming out, HTC/Sammy or even LG will be planning to release phone with their second generation quad core Socs soon.

ajaymailed said:
Broadcom CPU for Grand? if its a Cortex A9 then it will likely perform better than Xperia SLs Snapdragon. Normally the Exynos powering Galaxy S2 , Note etc will beat the krap out of any Snapdragon powered phone as far as benchmarks are concerned.

Just says dual core: Samsung Galaxy Grand I9080 - Full phone specifications

Scorpion cpu in S3 performs as good if not better than A9 dual cores, check the specs, just like how krait performs as good as A15 cores, Krait (CPU) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Also it has Adreno 220, one of the best GPUs out there competing comfortably with Mali 400MP, and yes, exynos quad core is more powerful than S3 easily, but Xperia SL has to compete with SGS II only, and at the same price as Exynos quad core competes with Krait dual core and its a head to head fight.

So a choice between XPeria SL and SGS II should be easy.

A

tkin said:
Just says dual core: Samsung Galaxy Grand I9080 - Full phone specifications

Scorpion cpu in S3 performs as good if not better than A9 dual cores, check the specs, just like how krait performs as good as A15 cores, Krait (CPU) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Also it has Adreno 220, one of the best GPUs out there competing comfortably with Mali 400MP, and yes, exynos quad core is more powerful than S3 easily, but Xperia SL has to compete with SGS II only, and at the same price as Exynos quad core competes with Krait dual core and its a head to head fight.

So a choice between XPeria SL and SGS II should be easy.

S2 probably has the better Soc, Exynos 4210 was pretty good compared to other phones released in 2011, Xperia S shares the same hardware even though released in 2012. Still Xperia S is clearly better because of its Camera & 720p Display Resolution. Both are decisive.

ajaymailed said:
S2 probably has the better Soc, Exynos 4210 was pretty good compared to other phones released in 2011, Xperia S shares the same hardware even though released in 2012. Still Xperia S is clearly better because of its Camera & 720p Display Resolution. Both are decisive.

Hmm, I don't see S2 here, but here SL is battling with the likes of Tegra 3, Exynos quadcore and Krait Dual core and not losing that badly: Sony Xperia SL review: The NXT one - GSMArena.com

HTC Sensation XE is also a good option.

+1 for xperia sl.sony is known for its music quality...

Empirial said:
HTC Sensation XE is also a good option.

Yea, but loses in display and camera, plus RAM quantity is not good anyway: HTC Sensation XE vs. Sony Xperia SL - GSMArena.com

A

tkin said:
Hmm, I don't see S2 here, but here SL is battling with the likes of Tegra 3, Exynos quadcore and Krait Dual core and not losing that badly: Sony Xperia SL review: The NXT one - GSMArena.com

It is losing pretty badly.
Xperia SL has 8260 Snapdragon, with two 1.7 Ghz Scorpion cores and Adreno 220.
which Similar to Xperia S, or the older HTC Sensation Soc except for the increase in clockspeed.
Scorpion Core doesn't have the raw performance to match Cortex A9. So any Soc designed around Cortex A9 is likely to perform better than the one designed with Scorpion Core.

Besides Exynos 4412 has shown excellent performance in various benchmarks compared to other. Anandtech gives detailed review of galaxy s2 and hardware capabilities.
AnandTech - Samsung Galaxy S 2 (International) Review - The Best, Redefined

Sony Xperia S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II: S-hootout - GSMArena.com
S2 has 20 to 30% better FPS over Xperia S in nenamark 2. Even for Xperia SL, the benchmark is 38. but S2 pushes to 45.

however Krait Socs have solved Sony & HTC Problems. They have clearly beaten Exynos quad as far as raw performance is concerned. But Sammy will soon come out with a Cortex A15 cum Cortex A7 Soc called Exynos 5 Octa and Mali T658 GPU which will probably the turn the tables. Mali T604 itself is giving Adreno 320 a run for its money if the nexus 10 benchmarks are to be believed.

Dont ever go for Galaxy Grand....Its display is such that if looked into nearly,you can see the pixels.Better wait for SGS2 Plus or go with Galaxy S2..Sony's Xperia SL is also a nice phone in that price range,and if compared against Galaxy S2/Grand,I would pick SL anyday!!!No comparison.

ajaymailed said:
It is losing pretty badly.
Xperia SL has 8260 Snapdragon, with two 1.7 Ghz Scorpion cores and Adreno 220.
which Similar to Xperia S, or the older HTC Sensation Soc except for the increase in clockspeed.
Scorpion Core doesn't have the raw performance to match Cortex A9. So any Soc designed around Cortex A9 is likely to perform better than the one designed with Scorpion Core.

Besides Exynos 4412 has shown excellent performance in various benchmarks compared to other. Anandtech gives detailed review of galaxy s2 and hardware capabilities.
AnandTech - Samsung Galaxy S 2 (International) Review - The Best, Redefined

Sony Xperia S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II: S-hootout - GSMArena.com
S2 has 20 to 30% better FPS over Xperia S in nenamark 2. Even for Xperia SL, the benchmark is 38. but S2 pushes to 45.

however Krait Socs have solved Sony & HTC Problems. They have clearly beaten Exynos quad as far as raw performance is concerned. But Sammy will soon come out with a Cortex A15 cum Cortex A7 Soc called Exynos 5 Octa and Mali T658 GPU which will probably the turn the tables. Mali T604 itself is giving Adreno 320 a run for its money if the nexus 10 benchmarks are to be believed.

Wait a minute, if the CPU of SII is faster, why is it losing in CPU intensive benchmarks like browser mark or sunspider?

And next time read the review instead of seeing the pics and jumping with joy:

For graphics performance, the Sony Xperia S and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus are at a disadvantage performance-wise with their 720p screens, but the image quality is better. Still, the Xperia S and its Adreno 220 manage the very playable 37.5fps, second only to the Galaxy S II, which has only about 40% of the total pixels as the Xperia and manages 46.2fps.

Based on this, the 60% less pixel containing SGS II should have nenamark score of 59.5 (Xperia S gets 37.5, calculate), yet is gets 46.2, Adreno 220 has always been faster than Mali 400MP, and the Snapdragon is faster than A9, just like krait>A15

And their conclusion:

The Sony Xperia S can successfully take on the best current-gen droids and come out the winner in several key areas. Its biggest problem, however, is that the flagship trend has moved on to quad-core packing, Android 4.0 ICS running phones and Sony isn't there yet.
The OS update is coming soon, which will neutralize one of the two major complaints.
The second complaint - the number of CPU cores - is not necessarily a deal-breaker as not all tasks require that many cores and games are often more limited by the GPU than the processor (even the new iPad sticks with just 2 CPU cores, but packs upgraded graphics).
The 12MP camera is definitely a key selling point for the Sony Xperia S and luckily for it, it's practically alone in its field (except some Japan-only or obscure phones). It did very well in video capture too.
The Xperia S also benchmarks well, so it should feel as an upgrade over some older dual-cores, it has very decent battery life and it's armed to the teeth when it comes to connectivity (LTE is missing from the list, but its very rare outside the US, where the Xperia ion takes over).
The Xperia S has its advantages over the Samsung Galaxy S II such as screen sharpness and the camera. Still, we wish Sony had fixed the screen viewing angles perhaps by using an IPS matrix and overall, the phone could have been thinner.
The price premium of the Xperia S over the Galaxy S II seems to vary from market to market (it's €30-€60) and we'll leave it up to you to decide if the Xperia S is worth the extra cash.

So? They cost same here.

PS: Battery life of SII is higher than Xperia S, but its pushing a lot less pixels.

And finally the big bomb: Xperia SL has a 200MHz faster CPU than S, so that's about 14% faster, Xperia SL will beat SGS II black and blue, period, and again I say this, SGS II is a fine phone, but for 26k that Samsung charges its daylight robbery, SGSII is the killer at 22k, not 26k, big boys play here(Optimux 4X HD etc).

Now peace, let the OP chose, he has enough material now.

A

SGS2 Plus is disappointing, after two years Samsung hasnt made any improvements over original S2. Probably coz it might hurt S3 sales. I expected 720p resolution and an improved camera. There is no wow factor with either S2 Plus or Galaxy Grand, worse they put some Broadcom Soc, without Exynos, Sammy high end phones lose the sheen.

Xperia S is a good all rounder, if we can ignore lack of replaceable battery and microSD Card Slot. Xperia T is a much better option since its powered by Krait Soc

ajaymailed said:
SGS2 Plus is disappointing, after two years Samsung hasnt made any improvements over original S2. Probably coz it might hurt S3 sales. I expected 720p resolution and an improved camera. There is no wow factor with either S2 Plus or Galaxy Grand, worse they put some Broadcom Soc, without Exynos, Sammy high end phones lose the sheen.

Xperia S is a good all rounder, if we can ignore lack of replaceable battery and microSD Card Slot. Xperia T is a much better option since its powered by Krait Soc

Yes, Xperia T is an amazing set: Sony Xperia T - Full phone specifications
But sadly it never came to India officially, cause priced at say 32k(same as SIII) it could have given SIII some good competition and lower prices, but SIII still reigns supreme over 28k.

Is Optimus 4XHD so bad that i haven't seen anybody suggesting it, apart from no updates thingy i don't see any harm in it

ghost_z said:
Is Optimus 4XHD so bad that i haven't seen anybody suggesting it, apart from no updates thingy i don't see any harm in it

Nowhere to be found.

See this
Buy LG Optimus 4X HD P880 (Black) online, LG Optimus 4X HD P880 (Black) Price, Reviews @ Indiatimes Shopping

and this
My Virtual Plaza

and this
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 (Black): Buy Online @ Best Price in India | Snapdeal.com

and this

LG P880 Optimus 4X HD

^^ First link, thieves, stay away, second link no idea, never heard of them, third link, heard mixed reviews, tread with caution, fourth link seems ok, heard ok reviews about them.

BTW, ebay has only 4 links, and only one seems ok: LG Optimus 4X HD P880 | eBay

Rest are either too high or zero feedback, LG must had pulled it back from India, a shame really.

Check out 91mobiles
LG Optimus 4X HD Price in India, Latest Price, Specifications, Reviews - 91mobiles.com

Guys what do you think of this one(HTC one X AT&T Version):

Brand New in box AT&T HTC One X Grey | eBay

takemein said:
Guys what do you think of this one(HTC one X AT&T Version):

Brand New in box AT&T HTC One X Grey | eBay

You like gambling with your money?

No bill or Indian warranty. Item imported from the US.
Phone is AT&T branded.

There are three types of phones sold in ebay:
1. Imported, no warranty = Gamble
2. Imported, dealer warranty(software mainly) = A bit gamble, may go if dealer has high rating, but still not advisable
3. Indian warranty = Pay a bit more, get peace for one year.

So, if you want One X go for this: HTC One X | One year Mfg Warranty | eBay
Add a 7.5% coupon and get it for 27k around.

The One X is an excellent set, faster than Xperia SL but lacks a tad in the camera department, but if you are willing to spend an extra 2k get the One X eyes closed: HTC One X vs. Sony Xperia SL - GSMArena.com

PS: Oe X might locally go for a bit cheaper: HTC One X Price in India, Latest Price, Specifications, Reviews - 91mobiles.com

^^^ I know the warranty terms on ebay sellers. But was little tempted

Anyways thanks for the warnings....I like the unibody design of HTC One X, will decide it soon.
Thanks once again Tkin.

One X has worse audio quality than Xperia S/SL. So keep that in mind

hmm... i dropped the idea of getting HTC ONE X after reading this article:
*www.androidpolice.com/2012/06/26/beats-me-why-htcs-amazing-sound-on-the-international-one-x-isnt-amazing-at-all-even-by-the-numbers/

It seems only Galaxy S3 /Note 2 got the Wolfson DAC and the rest all (Xperia S/SL/T/TL,HTC One S,AT&T HTC One X, SGS3 US version) uses an slightly inferior On-board Qualcomm WCD9310 DAC for audio.

^
Don't go by the DAC alone. Xperia S/SL/One S/AT&T One X have excellent audio quality. On par with s3

B

How is LG Optimus 4x HD for 21k ? ...It was going for that price in homeshop18 superdeals 2 days back and I suggested one of my friend to go for it.

Best damn VFM at 21k, don't even look anywhere else, go for 4x hd

Optimus 4X HD for 21k is a steal, I wish I could capture that deal

tkin said:
Optimus 4X HD for 21k is a steal, I wish I could capture that deal

You can coz the deal is up again now for 21k

*superdeals.homeshop18.com/deals/akai-dell-superdeal/

I think I'll buy this very shortly

takemein said:
You can coz the deal is up again now for 21k
HomeShop18.com Superdeals - Deals that last only minutes

I think I'll buy this very shortly

Kill me nao: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/show-off/45694-post-your-latest-purchase-583.html#post1835377 :cry:

Order placed for LG Optimus 4X HD(Black)

takemein said:
Order placed for LG Optimus 4X HD(Black)

Post pics, and what a luck, you wanted a 20k phone for some time now, you have the best, as for me, West Bengal and its stupid import policy, feels like living in a foreign country :cry:

tkin said:
Post pics, and what a luck, you wanted a 20k phone for some time now, you have the best, as for me, West Bengal and its stupid import policy, feels like living in a foreign country

Sure and thanks a lot Digitians esp.,bhokal,ghost_z,tkin

If you guys hadn't discussed about this Deal in my thread,I'd have gone for HTC one At&T (no warranty) lol.

@tkin,
Don't worry.....you've got more phones coming this year.

NP , happy to help

Guys, any recommendation for a Good quality scratch guard/ case cover for LG Optimus 4x HD ??

takemein said:
Guys, any recommendation for a Good quality scratch guard/ case cover for LG Optimus 4x HD ??

optimus 4x | eBay

tkin said:
optimus 4x | eBay

any brand i should specifically look for ??

Amzer ! ^^

ghost_z said:
Amzer ! ^^

^^ thanks and shd i go for Clear screen OR Anti glare screen protector ?

I heard the Anti-glare works well in sunlight but tend to wash out color on the screen.

EDIT:
I don't see my phone model in Amzer.co.in

SL is a good option but if your budget allows then opt for One X.

Sorry for replying late

takemein said:
^^ thanks and shd i go for Clear screen OR Anti glare screen protector ?

I heard the Anti-glare works well in sunlight but tend to wash out color on the screen.

Go for clear one. Most have complained about anti-glade screen guards.

And i guess mobile will ship with a factory installed screen guard that should last for a good 6months or even more.

Sam said:
Go for clear one. Most have complained about anti-glade screen guards.

And i guess mobile will ship with a factory installed screen guard that should last for a good 6months or even more.

EDIT:
I don't see my phone model in Amzer.co.in

Nope, the one they ship with(at least my L9) has all its features engraved on it, not usable

aroraanant said:
SL is a good option but if your budget allows then opt for One X.

Sorry for replying late

lol..thanks anyway.

Sam said:
Go for clear one. Most have complained about anti-glade screen guards.

And i guess mobile will ship with a factory installed screen guard that should last for a good 6months or even more.

tkin said:
Nope, the one they ship with(at least my L9) has all its features engraved on it, not usable

I received my Optimus 4x HD today

Great packaging and awesome phone and Yes, there are no Scratch guards,(ordered clear screen protector via ebay) but got one nice leather case similar to what tkin got for his L9.

*i.imgur.com/qjRWVNa.jpg

congrats

Nice dude, wish I lived outside this hellhole called West Bengal :banghead: