Good Cameraphone needed, for around 18-20k

Gonna get scholarship of Rs18,000.... may sell my existing phones...so add 4k-5k but i dont want to stretch beyond Rs20k

However if i am to get a REALLY good option for slightly higher than Rs20k, then im ok with it.

Requirements and Preferences

1) No larger than 5 inch. Smaller the better. I am happy with 4.3" also
2) No Sailfish or Blackberry or etc etc.. Either Windows or Android
3) Dont really need speed. Even those fancy Galaxy Note and all Lag like hell...Snapdragon 800 900 10000 etc etc all lags eventually..So...what i will be doing with it --
.............a) Play simply online game like Castle Clash and Clash of Clans.
.............b) Slight surfing, Whatsapp, Facebook etc.
.............c) Enough RAM to multitask . Like if i minimize Chrome, open a game, and then switch to Chrome, i want the web page to remain the same (no refresh or page reloading)

Now camera is the no.1 preference
Been using camera phones since Sony Ericcson T68i days, and thats like more than 10 years ago. From ym experince i have learned that----
Compromises can be made in battery, performance, storage etc etc but when it comes to imaging there is no compromise. Either a picture is worth keeping or worth deleting.

Used several phones, and i must say iphone5 has so far been the most consistent. Even among friends when we all take pictures of stuffs,from our respective 8,13,16 and 20mpx phones.... its the iphone's 8mpxcamera pics that we eventually end up sharing.Be it inside the classroom, at night dancing in University fest,in a moving bus on a bumpy road, while we are taking a jump pic, or a group selfie... this iSHIT is REALLY worth the money...gotta admit it,sadly...

Now i cant expect that level of PHOTOGRAPHY Reliability on a Rs20k budget, so i need something close to it.
Dont want fancy picture modes or 1080p video that just clogs the phone memory.
Just want a camera phone that can take GOOD, USABLE, WORTH KEEPING pictures. In AS MANY SITUATIONS AS POSSIBLE. (Specially at night when we are like dancing and stuff)

+1 to Xperia ZR (might be EOL) and Moto X (2013)

K

How Lucky you are!

You must be a cam lover! S-T-R-E-C-H your budget,now you have a heavenly choice.......51K worth "NOKIA LUMIA 1020" with 41MP cam and 4.5" display for 27,900 only with 1yr Manufacturer Warranty,brand new item from Flipkart:

Error 500 Server Error

Enjoy!

+1 to Xperia ZR

If camera is your main concern, then for 20k, you can get the Galaxy K Zoom which has a 20.7 MP camera... Really good camera phone... -- Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (Shimmery White): Buy Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (Shimmery White) Online at Low Price in India - Amazon.in

Samples -- *www.flickr.com/photos/samsungcamera/sets/72157644385910726/

For an overall performer, consider Huawei Honour 6. It is launching on Flipkart on 6th October for around 20k... It has a 13 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, and a 5 MP front facing camera... The phone also has an Octa core processor with 3 GB RAM, a 5" 1080p IPS display and a microSD card slot for expansion... Camera is not its strong point though...

AnandTech | Gallery - Huawei Honor 6 Camera Samples - 15 Photos

K

avoid samsung and huawei , get lumia 730 or xperia(note-clash of clans isnt available on lumia but it has age of empires castle siege which is a similiar game- i play both )
note that xperia z series has had reports of self cracking screens,overheating and might go EOL soon
though it is still a great buy for its camera

moto x has an older sony exmor sensor and is < than Xperia ZR and Lumia 730

as for iphone 5 avoid it because its home button and power button gets spoiled very fast,my aunts iphone has had 4 replaces before she decided to use asistive touch instead of exchanging again
i highly recommend the Lumia 730 and the Xperia ZR,from one photography enthusiast to another

1. Lumia 730 to be launched soon. Priced around 15-16k.
2. Xperia ZR - Approx price Rs. 18k. Excellent VFM phone.
3. ASUS Zenfone 5 - priced at 10k.

Suggestion - Get the Asus Zenfone 5 for 9.9k and save that extra 8 k for something more valuable (say getting an external 2 TB HDD or repairing your HP Laptop! )

K

zenfone 5 camera is just above average,not as good as lumia 730 or xperia ZR
i wouldnt get it over the 730 or the ZR
its a good phone for the price though

ZR doesn't have screen cracking issue. Xperia Z has it.

kkn13 said:
zenfone 5 camera is just above average,not as good as lumia 730 or xperia ZR
i wouldnt get it over the 730 or the ZR
its a good phone for the price though

^True. Xperia ZR is the best buy in my opinion too. Actually I recommended Zf5 just to save money (as in the OP mentioned in another thread about his Laptop repairing problem )

seamon said:
ZR doesn't have screen cracking issue. Xperia Z has it.

Z doesn't
Z1 above does

K

seamon said:
ZR doesn't have screen cracking issue. Xperia Z has it.

im not very sure but people say the entire z series has it,i cannot vouch for this to be true/false

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Ronnie012 said:
^True. Xperia ZR is the best buy in my opinion too. Actually I recommended Zf5 just to save money (as in the OP mentioned in another thread about his Laptop repairing problem )

oh ok

kkn13 said:
im not very sure but people say the entire z series has it,i cannot vouch for this to be true/false

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oh ok

I can vouch for it. ZR screen doesn't crack.
You should see the kinds of sht I do to mine.

OPO /mi4. They have more than decent camera but might cost somewhere between 20 and 25k depending on what model they release here
But night time shots almost all phones give the same performance, from the reviews I have read there is no standout phone in the low light camera cateogry in the price point you have mentioned except perhaps zenphone who employs some pixel binning tech to produce nice low light photos but they will be low pixel photos, good for social media sites
Huawei honor 6 is another option but it's gpu is mediocre, here's a review

Huawei Honor 6 review: Mid-Range at its best! - Gizchina.com | Gizchina.com

The reviewer only has good things to say about camera, but I remember reading on anandtech it has issues with video recording check the same site for more info
You can also try to get lg g2 yeah it's overpriced here in India but in countries like dubai or us you can get g2 for 20-24k I think of all the choices you have this is the best,!
And for the sake of it how about redmi, I have seen some good pics taken with that phone

Now one more thing I would like to suggest is not to go for old phones just cause they have decent specs, you should also consider the software part also, android right now is getting smoother and faster, so if you buy an old phone with little chance for any updates you might end up regretting the decision as the improvements are remarkable you should aim for a phone with KitKat either from oem or through developer support

Ronnie012 said:
Suggestion - Get the Asus Zenfone 5 for 9.9k and save that extra 8 k for something more valuable (say getting an external 2 TB HDD or repairing your HP Laptop! )

Haha, my laptop lol. its k, my parents already gave me the Rs10,500 for laptop repair. I aint touching it... However, its been 2 months, they say the parts havent arrived yet. Wth is wrong with AMD A8 Motherboards >_<

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Ronnie012 said:
1. Lumia 730 to be launched soon. Priced around 15-16k.

Dont you think its over priced? Just because its a "new" launch... The specs seems meh. The only stand out point seems to be the selfie cam which is just another run of the mill 5mpx with Wide Angle View.

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AndroidFan said:
If camera is your main concern, then for 20k, you can get the Galaxy K Zoom which has a 20.7 MP camera... Really good camera phone... -- Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (Shimmery White): Buy Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (Shimmery White) Online at Low Price in India - Amazon.in

Samples -- *www.flickr.com/photos/samsungcamera/sets/72157644385910726/

For an overall performer, consider Huawei Honour 6. It is launching on Flipkart on 6th October for around 20k... It has a 13 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, and a 5 MP front facing camera... The phone also has an Octa core processor with 3 GB RAM, a 5" 1080p IPS display and a microSD card slot for expansion... Camera is not its strong point though...

AnandTech | Gallery - Huawei Honor 6 Camera Samples - 15 Photos

Man i checked it out and the review is impresive- I quote - "Sharp images with vivid colors, amazingly fast shutter times and one of the most easy to use focuses for macro shots we’ve ever seen is exactly what this handset has to offer! Night and low-light performance quite remarkable as well. Acceptable noise levels and almost perfect close-ups at night using the LED flash will make this smart phone a delight for every mobile photography enthusiast. "

Almost has me convinced...

Anyways, what about the Lumia 925.
As for Clash of Clans and CastleClash ill play it in my tablet..

Even though I suggested honor 6 you may want to read more reviews as another reviews which I just read also mentions camera as its weak point, but to be fair they are comparing it tI flagship phones, at this price point the only real threat to honor is mi4 or oPO.. Here's the review
Huawei Honor 6 Review: Flagship Like Experience at an Affordable Price

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here is a user review and much more info to go alongside

HUAWEI Honor 6 Review, Unlock Bootloader andâ€¦ | Android Development and Hacking | XDA Forums

Some nice suggestions here.

Only camera, Galaxy K Zoom.

Phone + Camera : Xperia ZR

Phone + Camera + a fluid ecosystem : L730

By the way ZF5's camera is average at best. I don't think it belongs to the level of the above phones. But still for a 10k phone that's more than acceptable.

kamikaz said:
Even though I suggested honor 6 you may want to read more reviews as another reviews which I just read also mentions camera as its weak point,

I checked Anandtech's review and they bashed it left right and center.
AnandTech | Huawei Honor 6 Review
Am SOOOO confused!

I may be forced to play it safe and go for the Xperia ZR, which in available on a limited stock and is..ughh.. white version only >.<

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This Youtube reviewer from India has a really good opinion about this phone though...
*www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJor8i9gTOY

He says high end gaming is smooth and lagfree, and even shows it... while other reputed website reviews says the game lags on Asphalt 8 ....seriously man....buying cellphone is a bug headache..

ithehappy said:
Phone + Camera + a fluid ecosystem : L730

By the way ZF5's camera is average at best. I don't think it belongs to the level of the above phones. But still for a 10k phone that's more than acceptable.

I vouch that....
Do consider lumias. Quality hardware & fluid Win 8.1 Lumia CYAN OS even my lumia 520 was butter smooth on multitasking.

But avoid Zenfone 5 if priority is camera.
My Xiaomi Redmi 1s takes much better pics that my bro's Zenfone5. Unnatural color rendition & getting dark patched on persons faces even in images taken in broad daylight. may be update may solve the issue but avoid Zenfone5.

MI 3 OR MI 4 could be considered too.

mikael_schiffer said:
Haha, my laptop lol. its k, my parents already gave me the Rs10,500 for laptop repair. I aint touching it... However, its been 2 months, they say the parts havent arrived yet. Wth is wrong with AMD A8 Motherboards >_<

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Dont you think its over priced? Just because its a "new" launch... The specs seems meh. The only stand out point seems to be the selfie cam which is just another run of the mill 5mpx with Wide Angle View.

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Man i checked it out and the review is impresive- I quote - "Sharp images with vivid colors, amazingly fast shutter times and one of the most easy to use focuses for macro shots we’ve ever seen is exactly what this handset has to offer! Night and low-light performance quite remarkable as well. Acceptable noise levels and almost perfect close-ups at night using the LED flash will make this smart phone a delight for every mobile photography enthusiast. "

Almost has me convinced...

Anyways, what about the Lumia 925.
As for Clash of Clans and CastleClash ill play it in my tablet..

If I were you, I'd just get the Xperia ZR = Safest buy. More choices = more confusions. Stick to Xperia Zr for the time being and lead an ""Aspirin Free" Life :razz:

Anyway, I feel Lumia 730 price is competitive. It would be overpriced had it been priced at 18k. The specs are good for a Windows phone.

Lumia 925, 1020 are the phones for camera lovers. Get them if you can!

Galaxy K Zoom has revolutionized the concept of camera and phones altogether. Great phone and greater camera.

But I'd say, stick to Xperia ZR for the time being, mainly because it's a tried and tested mobile.

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sandynator said:
I vouch that....
Do consider lumias. Quality hardware & fluid Win 8.1 Lumia CYAN OS even my lumia 520 was butter smooth on multitasking.

But avoid Zenfone 5 if priority is camera.
My Xiaomi Redmi 1s takes much better pics that my bro's Zenfone5. Unnatural color rendition & getting dark patched on persons faces even in images taken in broad daylight. may be update may solve the issue but avoid Zenfone5.

MI 3 OR MI 4 could be considered too.

^I won't vouch that. Zenfone's camera is pretty good. Haven't experienced any dark patches on persons' faces even at low-light/night mode.

mikael_schiffer said:
I checked Anandtech's review and they bashed it left right and center.
AnandTech | Huawei Honor 6 Review
Am SOOOO confused!

I may be forced to play it safe and go for the Xperia ZR, which in available on a limited stock and is..ughh.. white version only >.<

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This Youtube reviewer from India has a really good opinion about this phone though...
*www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJor8i9gTOY

He says high end gaming is smooth and lagfree, and even shows it... while other reputed website reviews says the game lags on Asphalt 8 ....seriously man....buying cellphone is a bug headache..

Lol dude did you see the phones they were comparing with, all flagships ie 30-40k+ plus phones for this price that shouldn't deter you
If yoh are really looking for flagship performance at this price, your only hope is getting an OPO or mi4 or hey even mi3 is much better than all the phones mentioned here
My personal experience so far is, it's giving me rock solid performance I haven't taken much photos with it and most I have taken are daylight and they are all good ones. If you can get it mi3 is a very reasonable option
You can also head over to the honor 6 thread I had posted earlier and ask the users there
Oh btw xperia zr wont be getting android l if the leaks are to be believed

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*forum.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-mi-3/themes-apps/mi3-photography-t2846506
There, thats a mi3 photography thread, some real nice pics in there

Ok checked out the Galaxy K Zoom. Might get it. Too bad the Black version is no where in sight

Anyways,, whats your opinion on this

ZF5's camera is slightly above average under daylight. It's more than average under low light, I have not checked what sensor they have used, but the sensor does allow more light to come in than even some flagships, so photos come out grainy / noisy under low light but it's usable. I once used the HDR mode on ZF5, then saw a photo that scared the hell outta me. It was a 3 year old playing with his newly gifted pastels :lol:

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mikael_schiffer said:
Ok checked out the Galaxy K Zoom. Might get it. Too bad the Black version is no where in sight
Anyways,, whats your opinion on this

Camera is your priority right? Then you are going the right way.

Hmm, Nokia Lumia 1020 Black 4G Camera Grip 6438158603790 | eBay

With coupon you can get it for 26.4k

Isn't that phone a bit much bulky, infact it's more like a camera with phone functions, rather than the other way around!
That's what I feel, you can go to showroom and see how the mobile feels in hand

ithehappy said:
ZF5's camera is slightly above average under daylight. It's more than average under low light, I have not checked what sensor they have used, but the sensor does allow more light to come in than even some flagships, so photos come out grainy / noisy under low light but it's usable. I once used the HDR mode on ZF5, then saw a photo that scared the hell outta me. It was a 3 year old playing with his newly gifted pastels

My guess was right. You were indeed talikng about Zf5's HDR mode :razz:

Well, on the very first day I tried clicking pictures with the HDR mode on and the results were horrendous. Thankfully now I have learnt how to use its HDR mode. As for patches on people's faces, not witnessed anything till now.

Ronnie012 said:
My guess was right. You were indeed talikng about Zf5's HDR mode
Well, on the very first day I tried clicking pictures with the HDR mode on and the results were horrendous. Thankfully now I have learnt how to use its HDR mode. As for patches on people's faces, not witnessed anything till now.

Ha ha. I don't use HDR mode at all, unless the mobile's camera it crappy, like on my X using HDR produces better results than normal, but that HDR mode was, well, let's not talk about that.

K

@op you have been mistaken about lumia 730,its a 6.7Mp carl zeiss sensor based right off the pureview sensor found on the 1020 and is easily one of the best camera phones in the market
its the best low light photography phone in the market even beating the 920,930,820 and 1020 etc in low light despite sharing the same sensor

kkn13 said:
@op you have been mistaken about lumia 730,its a 6.7Mp carl zeiss sensor based right off the pureview sensor found on the 1020 and is easily one of the best camera phones in the market
its the best low light photography phone in the market even beating the 920,930,820 and 1020 etc in low light despite sharing the same sensor

Carl zeiss provides the optics ie the lenses, they don't make sensors
And how can you say it's the best phone, when it's not even released on the market. I can't find any article regarding its low light capability let alone a review for it
Do you have any links to share, please do if you have

kamikaz said:
And how can you say it's the best phone, when it's not even released on the market. I can't find any article regarding its low light capability let alone a review for it

I am not fully sure but I think he meant the 1020 for being the best camera-phone.

Lol if he meant 1020 he would have certainly said that was the best camera phone in market, which it is, but 730 isn't pure view branded either :/

kkn13 said:
@op you have been mistaken about lumia 730,its a 6.7Mp carl zeiss sensor based right off the pureview sensor found on the 1020 and is easily one of the best camera phones in the market
its the best low light photography phone in the market even beating the 920,930,820 and 1020 etc in low light despite sharing the same sensor

kamikaz said:
Carl zeiss provides the optics ie the lenses, they don't make sensors
And how can you say it's the best phone, when it's not even released on the market. I can't find any article regarding its low light capability let alone a review for it
Do you have any links to share, please do if you have

I think kkn13 is basing his opinions of the Lumia 730 based on his experience on the old Lumia 720 which had excellent camera...

ithehappy said:
Ha ha. I don't use HDR mode at all, unless the mobile's camera it crappy, like on my X using HDR produces better results than normal, but that HDR mode was, well, let's not talk about that.

Yup, no need to use HDR mode if you have a pretty decent camera phone :wink:

I hardly use HDR mode in my Zf5 unless I have to click landscape images under bright sunlight in which case the pictures come out brilliant.

K

AndroidFan said:
I think kkn13 is basing his opinions of the Lumia 730 based on his experience on the old Lumia 720 which had excellent camera...

yeah its the same sensor and lens etc
i even compared photos to cross check,my friend has a lumia 735 from abroad
its a great buy imho especially for photos and battery life

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kamikaz said:
Carl zeiss provides the optics ie the lenses, they don't make sensors
And how can you say it's the best phone, when it's not even released on the market. I can't find any article regarding its low light capability let alone a review for it
Do you have any links to share, please do if you have

carl zeiss make sensors with nokias pureview division in collaboration
its not yet rolled out in india but my friend bought a luia 735 from abroad and i have a lumia 720
same camera, lens and sensor

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ithehappy said:
I am not fully sure but I think he meant the 1020 for being the best camera-phone.

yeah but for low light the 6.7Mp and 8.7mp surprisingly even beat the 1020 etc thanks to its aperture etc

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kamikaz said:
Lol if he meant 1020 he would have certainly said that was the best camera phone in market, which it is, but 730 isn't pure view branded either :/

its a carl zeiss lumia which is based off the 41mp pureview sensor so its technology etc is actually a modded pureview though not a full fledged one

[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION]
lumia 720 did have a good camera ,735 was released only this week right? in europe? and you already got hold of it thru your friend "kewl"

Carl Zeiss provides the Optics,the branding on lumia and other nokia phones also say so!! they are primarily a Lens company and it has been the case till now as far as i know and well naturally Nokia makes the tech for the camera sensor and they probably makes the sensor too themselves or outsource it,i couldnt find much info apart from 808 sensor being made by Toshiba

and would you mind on elaborating the "modded pureview" tech used in 730?, i tried googling but couldnt find any explanation , perhaps you can shed some light on it?
What part of Pureview tech are they adopting here? , it should be somewhere on internet surely ? im hoping you will be able to guide me there

K

kamikaz said:
[MENTION=184724]kkn13[/MENTION]
lumia 720 did have a good camera ,735 was released only this week right? in europe? and you already got hold of it thru your friend "kewl"

Carl Zeiss provides the Optics,the branding on lumia and other nokia phones also say so!! they are primarily a Lens company and it has been the case till now as far as i know and well naturally Nokia makes the tech for the camera sensor and they probably makes the sensor too themselves or outsource it,i couldnt find much info apart from 808 sensor being made by Toshiba

and would you mind on elaborating the "modded pureview" tech used in 730?, i tried googling but couldnt find any explanation , perhaps you can shed some light on it?
What part of Pureview tech are they adopting here? , it should be somewhere on internet surely ? im hoping you will be able to guide me there

there is an article in wpcentral,cant find it at the moment but ill edit and add later for reference
see it all started with the 808 pureview, toshiba and nokia made the pureview division to develop a very high quality sensor in collaboration with carl zeiss optics to create the Pureview sensor(41MP)

the same sensor was modified for the 920,720 and later the 1020,which was released late because the OS had to be "updated" for the Pureview sensors full capacity

basically the carl zeiss lumias incorporate the same technology(not downscaling,only lowlight and imaging clarity etc) , hence the 6.7MP can often beat most 8MP camera phones ad the 8.7mp can beat most 13mp and even sonys 20mp in low light and other situations

the 720 is basically a "budget,downsized" 920 including the camera which means it is indirectly based off the 1020s 41mp

my friend got a 735 early because his dad works for microsoft

hmm, not much praise for the Galaxy K Zoom. Guess ill chuck that out of the option bin. Ill look forward to this Lumia 730. Checking youtube for some previews

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Guys just checked some camera reviews.. Man the front camera blows the water out of many Android phone's rear camera!!!!

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*www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xTahvNi8k8

Check it out

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Can we install Games, you know, using ahem ahem methods, like we do in Android?

mikael_schiffer said:
Can we install Games, you know, using ahem ahem methods, like we do in Android?

It is almost impossible... I had a Samsung Focus... tried that... not easy at all...

Just keep aside a couple of thousand bucks to buy good games and apps over the next one year... add it to the cost of buying a phone... Most apps or games cost a dollar or two... Not really expensive... Rs 2000 will easily last a year...

LUMIA 1020 for 20k on flipkart [MENTION=1376]mikael_schiffer[/MENTION] !!!!
Error 500 Server Error

kamikaz said:
LUMIA 1020 for 20k on flipkart [MENTION=1376]mikael_schiffer[/MENTION] !!!!
Error 500 Server Error

Yes... awesome offer...

K

mikael_schiffer said:
hmm, not much praise for the Galaxy K Zoom. Guess ill chuck that out of the option bin. Ill look forward to this Lumia 730. Checking youtube for some previews

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Guys just checked some camera reviews.. Man the front camera blows the water out of many Android phone's rear camera!!!!

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*www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xTahvNi8k8

Check it out

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Can we install Games, you know, using ahem ahem methods, like we do in Android?

you can,its very easy if you know the method

AndroidFan said:
Yes... awesome offer...

Its 43,000 +
Is it a joke or smthing

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kkn13 said:
you can,its very easy if you know the method

K if it is possible then good

Cuz suddenly switching to Win Mo would have been a huge step back for me.

K

mikael_schiffer said:
Its 43,000 +
Is it a joke or smthing

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K if it is possible then good
Cuz suddenly switching to Win Mo would have been a huge step back for me.

no,hes not joking,the Lumia 1020 was available as low as 14k yesterday during flipkart's sale,its constant price for yesterday was 19k,last noted price yesterday for the yellow one was 24k and then it went OOS
Error 500 Server Error

Ok, so guys.. whats the final conclusion??

K

mikael_schiffer said:
Ok, so guys.. whats the final conclusion??

Lumia 730 hands down!!that camera and battery life itself is enough to buy it!!
i get 1.5 days on my 720 and its a stunner in low light