Need advice on a low budget Android [5k]

E

Hi, I have a friend, who also happens to be a lawyer, wanting to buy an Android, but her budget is typically low, somewhere around 5k.

She currently uses a Nokia X2-01 or something like that, and she needs some specific set of features, which I am mentioning below.

- Call conversation recording (That's a must for her. I am sure third party apps will do the job, but I am unsure about compatibility)
- Dual SIM (Must have, and both SIM should be working at same time)
- External SD card support
- She didn't mention anything about camera, but I believe it will do as long as a human being's face being captured like a human being's face. But LED is a must, to be able to use as a torch/flash light.
- Under connectivity is should have Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G and GPS (LOL)
- FM Radio is a must too (God knows why!)
- At least Jelly Bean, if not KitKat (LOL)
- And it has to be from a reputable brand, like Samsung, Sony etc., no hybrid Indian Chinese brands like RedMa, Xoiami, MicroMax etc.

And that's it. Although she didn't mention but I think a compact phone will be preferred (something like Galaxy S2 like size). Cause I don't think she will be able to carry a large phone.

My simply Google search ended up with results like Galaxy Trend etc. But I want more opinion.

Thank you.

Increase your budget and get Moto E. Totally worth every penny.

Get Asus Zenphone 4.

Moto E is good except for the crap camera and lack of LED flash. Low budget androids from samdung, htc and sony are way worse than Redmi 1s.

If she is open to using windows phones, Lumia 630 (single sim) is around 6k on flipkart.

E

I have already suggested her the Moto E, but quite honestly she is a total amateur. However she does have one point, Motorola's non existent after sales service, if something happens, well she will blame me.
I will advise her to get the Asus ZenPhone 4, but then again I have no idea about Asus' after sale service either.

At least that's where she won't have to bother me with a Samsung if something happens to the phone.

Lumia 630? WP? What about my first point, the most important one? Or has WP gone open source now?

Its not possible to get even half of these requirements within a 5k phone from a "reputable" brand, Which I think is absurd, since the reputable brands that offer actual good ASS (LG,Sony) stopped showing interest in sub 10K price band a while ago and Samsuck is leading towards its doom with its horrible products and deteriorating after sales service. I would say go for Moto E (if android is an option), or Lava Iris Win1 (windows phone). Though I have seen girls end up with samsuck crap even after they are warned thousand times :-D

R

get her Nokia X2 .. it is dual standby not dual active .. even moto e,asus zenfone 4 is dual stand by as per gsmarena

Nokia X2-Dual Sim Price in India - Buy Nokia X2-Dual Sim Black 4 GB Online - Nokia : Flipkart.com

buy it on emi with sbi card and get it for 6k ( offer valid till tomorrow only )

i think this fulfils all your other requirements quite happily

K

rish1 said:
get her Nokia X2 .. it is dual standby not dual active .. even moto e,asus zenfone 4 is dual stand by as per gsmarena

Nokia X2-Dual Sim Price in India - Buy Nokia X2-Dual Sim Black 4 GB Online - Nokia : Flipkart.com

buy it on emi with sbi card and get it for 6k ( offer valid till tomorrow only )

i think this fulfils all your other requirements quite happily

call recorder and android arent present on the Nokia X2
I feel Moto E is her safest bet

A

eureka said:
Hi, I have a friend, who also happens to be a lawyer, wanting to buy an Android, but her budget is typically low, somewhere around 5k.

She currently uses a Nokia X2-01 or something like that, and she needs some specific set of features, which I am mentioning below.

- Call conversation recording (That's a must for her. I am sure third party apps will do the job, but I am unsure about compatibility)
- Dual SIM (Must have, and both SIM should be working at same time)
- External SD card support
- She didn't mention anything about camera, but I believe it will do as long as a human being's face being captured like a human being's face. But LED is a must, to be able to use as a torch/flash light.
- Under connectivity is should have Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G and GPS (LOL)
- FM Radio is a must too (God knows why!)
- At least Jelly Bean, if not KitKat (LOL)
- And it has to be from a reputable brand, like Samsung, Sony etc., no hybrid Indian Chinese brands like RedMa, Xoiami, MicroMax etc.

And that's it. Although she didn't mention but I think a compact phone will be preferred (something like Galaxy S2 like size). Cause I don't think she will be able to carry a large phone.

My simply Google search ended up with results like Galaxy Trend etc. But I want more opinion.

Thank you.

- Call conversation recording
Android app will do
- Dual SIM (Must have, and both SIM should be working at same time)
Active and Standby
But I doubt, because there are mostly "dual standby" available.
- She didn't mention anything about camera, but I believe it will do as long as a human being's face being captured like a human being's face. But LED is a must, to be able to use as a torch/flash light.
LED flash?? Ok
- Under connectivity is should have Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G and GPS (LOL)
- FM Radio is a must too (God knows why!)
- At least Jelly Bean, if not KitKat (LOL)
Ok..
Don't laugh, people spend their valuable money.
- And it has to be from a reputable brand, like Samsung, Sony etc., no hybrid Indian Chinese brands like RedMa, Xoiami, MicroMax etc.
reputed means??? only reputed in mobile industry or Computer, desktop industry???

iBall is good company
iBall Andi 4.5P Glitter - 5400
ZTE Blade G2 V880H - 4995
ZTE Blade L V887 - 4550
iBall Andi 4.5 K6 - 5050
Panasonic T40 - 5400
Lenovo A516 - 5049

R

kkn13 said:
call recorder and android arent present on the Nokia X2
I feel Moto E is her safest bet

it's Android 4.3 jelly bean with a Nokia launcher without google apps..for call recorder he can install 1 call recording app for her by side loading it ( it should work hopefully )

he is not looking for moto E as she rejected it on the basis of ASS.. he is doubtful about zenfone 4 for the same reason.. redmi is out of the question as well..

if you take out those 3 how many options does he have ?

i am not sure about call recording .., just to confirm OP post your query in xda

Nokia X2 - XDA Forums

and ask any user whether call recording is working with Nokia x2 or not .. most likely 1 or the other app will, because there are so many apps ..

otherwise his next best option have only 512 mb ram which sucks in android... and he can't go with windows phone as i think it does not have call recording app ( correct me if i am wrong, i am not much informed about wp apps )

------------------------------------------------------

if you don't want X2 , then the best option i think is S duos 3 for 6k from flipkart

M

@OP within 5k there are very less no of good phones.She is not interested in Xiaomi but redmi 1S is a very good phone she may also get zenphone 4 I could have suggested Moto E but lack of fash,front camera,lack of auto focus and 2k more than her budget is preventing me to suggest moto E.

If she doesn't agree with you tell her buy whatever you like it is better to be safe than sorry.

K

rish1 said:
it's Android 4.3 jelly bean with a Nokia launcher without google apps..for call recorder he can install 1 call recording app for her by side loading it ( it should work hopefully )

he is not looking for moto E as she rejected it on the basis of ASS.. he is doubtful about zenfone 4 for the same reason..

i am not sure about call recording .., just to confirm OP post your query in xda

Nokia X2 - XDA Forums

and ask any user whether call recording is working with Nokia x2 or not .. most likely 1 or the other app will, because there are so many apps ..

otherwise his next best option have only 512 mb ram which sucks in android... and he can't go with windows phone as i think it does not have call recording app ( correct me if i am wrong, i am not much informed about wp apps )

------------------------------------------------------

if you don't want X2 , then the best option i think is S duos 3 for 6k from flipkart

Oops my bad I forgot about the Nokia X android series
i thought you meant this one
*cdn2.gsmarena.com/vv/pics/nokia/nokia-x2-1.jpg

my bad sorry
i agree with you,the Nokia X2 seems like a great purchase and is a bargain at that price because it has decent specs and aftersales,quality etc
s duos is really bad imho,lags alot
i think Nokia X2>Moto E>S duos

you are right about WP,theres no good call recorder app yet which works flawless,Windows 10 might change that i hope,its the only problem ive had with WP,otherwise great OS

have used both zenfone 4 models and the only (and a major) complain is the battery backup. a friend of mine as well as my cousin has Zenfone 4 (4.5" and 4"). have used both and its surprising that despite heavy skinning, both phones are extremely snappy (must give credit to Asus) but runs out of juice by the end of the day.

last time i was told whoever deals in Asus laptop RMA (maybe Rashi/Digiton) also handle mobile.

K

sam said:
have used both zenfone 4 models and the only (and a major) complain is the battery backup. a friend of mine as well as my cousin has Zenfone 4 (4.5" and 4"). have used both and its surprising that despite heavy skinning, both phones are extremely snappy (must give credit to Asus) but runs out of juice by the end of the day.

last time i was told whoever deals in Asus laptop RMA (maybe Rashi/Digiton) also handle mobile.

maybe a powerbank is a good add on then,just in case
you are right about RMA
so far Moto and Asus are one of the few companies with decent after sales and RMA

E

Okay so I am confused. Shall I suggest her the ZP4? I am not going into WP, regardless of its compatibility with call recorders or not, cause in next upgrade Microsoft could ditch the support, and there's not even half development goes on on XDA about it it in comparison with Android.

Moto E would have been the best option I know, but their after sale service is nothing short of ridiculous, so don't think its a go.

ZP4 has poor battery life? Hmm! So if she ends up getting one of those cheap (in price) Samsungs would they have better battery life than ZP4? As I said, she is an amateur, if she will have to plug in her phone for charging at every night she will say I bought her a faulty product. Damn!

What's the use of battery life when the phone itself is crap in case of samsung compared to ZP4? samdung phones in that budget have 1500 mAh or lesser battery capacity. ZP4 with 4.5" screen has 1750 mAh battery, while the 4" has 1600 mAh battery.

Other thing which I forgot to mention: 768 mb or less RAM on samdung phones under 8k, couple that with crapwiz. :lol:

E

Oh okay, didn't read specs. Will suggest her the ZP4. If in the meantime anyone thinks anything, do let me know.

Thanks all.

the one priced at 5.4k with Gorilla Glass is OOS on flipkart :banghead:

A

try android one smartphones they are getting lollipop update...

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	Micromax Android One	Micromax A99	Arya A1+
Display Size	4.5"	4.5"	4.5", Free ScreenGuard
Display Resolution	FWVGA, 854 x 480 Pixels	FWVGA, 854 x 480 Pixels	qHD, 960x540 pixels
Display Features	IPS	IPS	IPS, OGS with full lamination
Processor	1.3 GHz Quad Core Processor, Mali 400 GPU	1.3 GHz + ARM 7 MTK6582V/X, Quad Core, Mali 400 GPU	1.3 GHz Mediatek 6582, quad core, Mali 400 GPU
RAM	1GB	1GB	1GB
ROM	4GB	8GB	8 GB
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat	Android 4.4 KitKat	Android 4.4 KitKat
Camera - Primary (MP)	5	5	5
Camera - Front (MP)	2	0.3	2
Battery (mAh)	Li-Polymer, 1700 mAh	Li-Ion, 1950 mAh	2000 Li-Ion
Number of SIMs	Dual	Dual	Dual (3G+3G)
Connectivity	3G, 2G, Wifi, BT	3G, 2G, Wifi, BT	3G,2G,Wifi, BT
Dimensions	13.2 x 0.9 x 6.7 cm,136g	64.5x132.4x8.65 mm, 143 g	13365.89.7mm, 145gm
Audio Jack	3.5mm	3.5mm	3.5mm
USB OTG	No	Info not available	Yes
User Available Memory	2.1 GB only for apps. No file storage	5.85 GB	~ 6GB available for apps and content
Gesture Control	No	Yes	Yes
Price	6499	6999	5499

Arya A1 Plus (Black-Silver)

*www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00Q646IGY/ref=amb_link_185311827_2?pf_rd_m=A1VBAL9TL5WCBF&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_r=1T7NVN3ZCV4Q9MXF8V20&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=574420087&pf_rd_i=1320006031

^Spice's android one is better than these three

K

eureka said:
Okay so I am confused. Shall I suggest her the ZP4? I am not going into WP, regardless of its compatibility with call recorders or not, cause in next upgrade Microsoft could ditch the support, and there's not even half development goes on on XDA about it it in comparison with Android.

Moto E would have been the best option I know, but their after sale service is nothing short of ridiculous, so don't think its a go.

ZP4 has poor battery life? Hmm! So if she ends up getting one of those cheap (in price) Samsungs would they have better battery life than ZP4? As I said, she is an amateur, if she will have to plug in her phone for charging at every night she will say I bought her a faulty product. Damn!

all windows phone 8/8.1 devices have a confirmed upgrade to Windows 10
i highly doubt they would repeat the WP7 fiasco which made them suffer a heavy setback when wp8 was released
either way,i suggest she goes in for an android device like Zenfone 4,Moto E,Nokia X
i wouldnt suggest samsung at all

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i wouldnt suggest android one,Moto E is much better except for the lack of camera flash
also Moto E has a 2000mah battery as compared to the other phones mentioned
even Nokia X has 1800mah battery

eureka said:
Moto E would have been the best option I know, but their after sale service is nothing short of ridiculous, so don't think its a go.

motorola like many other brands outsource the servicing to third party. here is the complete list: Motorola service centres in India revealed ahead of Moto G launch. build quality is excellent for a budget phone but the only reason most are saying no to E is because 2nd gen E with updated specs should appear by next month and for same price as current Moto E making first gen look like a really outdated product. but again, it should mostly include a much faster processor, slightly bigger display and maybe more storage space. so if your friend is not going to try the latest games or is not a camera addict, Moto E can be considered.

samsung budget phones in a nutshell: bad display, poor camera, really poor battery life (my uncle's galaxy grand charge it 3 times a day), glossy plastic (looks cheap but can withstand a few drops), outdated android (no OS update, rarely receives any kind of stability update) with a ton of bloatwares, bloated UI (touchwiz has been criticized for being a big piece of crap that hog memory), really weak processor, low ram, usually 4GB internal space with less than 1GB being available and lastly most phones start to lag after a month of use. this is the reason SaiyanGoku renamed samsung as samdung

K

sam said:
motorola like many other brands outsource the servicing to third party. here is the complete list: Motorola service centres in India revealed ahead of Moto G launch. build quality is excellent for a budget phone but the only reason most are saying no to E is because 2nd gen E with updated specs should appear by next month and for same price as current Moto E making first gen look like a really outdated product. but again, it should mostly include a much faster processor, slightly bigger display and maybe more storage space. so if your friend is not going to try the latest games or is not a camera addict, Moto E can be considered.

samsung budget phones in a nutshell: bad display, poor camera, really poor battery life (my uncle's galaxy grand charge it 3 times a day), glossy plastic (looks cheap but can withstand a few drops), outdated android (no OS update, rarely receives any kind of stability update) with a ton of bloatwares, bloated UI (touchwiz has been criticized for being a big piece of crap that hog memory), really weak processor, low ram, usually 4GB internal space with less than 1GB being available and lastly most phones start to lag after a month of use. this is the reason SaiyanGoku renamed samsung as samdung

pretty much sums it up very well
i would like to add-
Some Moto G units facing network issues, Flipkart offers refund - The Times of India
Moto after sales and RMA is very prompt compared to other companies in India and my friends Moto G was replaced after he had overheating issues with his phone within 2 days,no questions asked
similiar experiences have been reported with Asus India as well
so both are very safe and vfm options imho

R

keep an eye on this as well.. if tizen turns out good , it could be a good deal for a general user

Samsung Z1 - Full phone specifications

rish1 said:
keep an eye on this as well.. if tizen turns out good , it could be a good deal for a general user

Samsung Z1 - Full phone specifications

3.2 mp camera which lacks autofocus. When other OEMs are giving 5 MP camera as a bare minimum, samsung is giving 2012 specs again.

K

SaiyanGoku said:
3.2 mp camera which lacks autofocus. When other OEMs are giving 5 MP camera as a bare minimum, samsung is giving 2012 specs again.

plus i dont see Tizen taking off,its a pure touchwiz Linux based ROM
touchwiz is what most people hate about samsung anyway

R

SaiyanGoku said:
3.2 mp camera which lacks autofocus. When other OEMs are giving 5 MP camera as a bare minimum, samsung is giving 2012 specs again.

forgot to check camera , 5mp would have been much better.. even then how many tier 1(nokia,sammy,sony,lg,htc ) oem give autofocus camera at 5k price bracket ? at least it has a flash and ffc ...

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kkn13 said:
plus i dont see Tizen taking off,its a pure touchwiz Linux based ROM
touchwiz is what most people hate about samsung anyway

you never know .. tizen is backed not only by samsung but more than 36 companies including intel,lg,nokia,ebay,vodafone,adobe,mcafee ,panasonic,fujitsu,huawei..

i think tizen has more chance of succeeding than firefox/ubuntu/salifish OS for cheap phones

it can run android apps as well.. phone seems to be performing good

*www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGCjf7E9kS0

^ I agree these don't have autofocus, but have 5mp resolution and some are with LED flash

Nokia Asha 502, 503, Lumia 530, 530 dual, Zenphone 4 (with autofocus), LG L60i.

Launch price of Z1 is 5700 which would go down to 4.5-4.7k within a month or so. That's usually what samsung does.

K

rish1 said:
forgot to check camera , 5mp would have been much better.. even then how many tier 1(nokia,sammy,sony,lg,htc ) oem give autofocus camera at 5k price bracket ? at least it has a flash and ffc ...

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you never know .. tizen is backed not only by samsung but more than 36 companies including intel,lg,nokia,ebay,vodafone,adobe,mcafee ,panasonic,fujitsu,huawei..

i think tizen has more chance of succeeding than firefox/ubuntu/salifish OS for cheap phones

it can run android apps as well.. phone seems to be performing good

*www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGCjf7E9kS0

you are kinda right ,i suppose it has a decent chance ,maybe will overtake BB10 (sadly,BB10 is awesome but Blackberry is too late i feel now,love my Z10 though amazing handset,loads of potential but initial pricing and late launch ruined it)
Tizen has taken alot of cues from each OS in the market and seems alot like BB10 in a few ways but with touchwiz on it and windows phone style tiles as widgets
it all comes down to touchwiz's improvements(or quite the opposite) whichever will happen
still its too early to say what will happen in the future

R

SaiyanGoku said:
^ I agree these don't have autofocus, but have 5mp resolution and some are with LED flash

Nokia Asha 502, 503, Lumia 530, 530 dual, Zenphone 4 (with autofocus), LG L60i.

Launch price of Z1 is 5700 which would go down to 4.5-4.7k within a month or so. That's usually what samsung does.

asus and moto are still not tier 1 brands , moto is online only , and most general people don't know about asus and they are mostly online only as well.... if you count them then asus and moto will always be 2 steps ahead of other top oems in terms of features.. no need to think about other top brands then

Lg l60i i didn't knew about it, no mention in gsmarena as well.. looks like a pretty solid phone but no reviews ?

edit- oh wait this does not have 3g ?? :shock:

meanwhile lumia 435 and 532 looks pretty amazing as well apart from the 2mp camera

Microsoft makes Windows Phone more affordable with new Lumia 435 and 532 | The Verge

finally an end to 512 mb phones from top OEMs at this range :clap2:

..

^ Lumia 520 (AT&T) without contract is available on geb.ebay.in for 3.1k without warranty ofcourse. Unlocking shouldn't take much work.
Unlocked one is around 4k. Currently its priced over 9.5k on flipkart. Still cheaper than lumia 435

The lg l60i x137 isn't even showing up on LG's website. Probably a fake product listing.

R

SaiyanGoku said:
^ Lumia 520 (AT&T) without contract is available on geb.ebay.in for 3.1k without warranty ofcourse. Unlocking shouldn't take much work.
Unlocked one is around 4k. Currently its priced over 9.5k on flipkart. Still cheaper than lumia 435

The lg l60i x137 isn't even showing up on LG's website. Probably a fake product listing.

unlock code used to cost 15-20$ for lumia 520 .. now i can see some listings for 10$ but with new sellers and limited support

the cheapest unlocked version is still 5.5k+

also lumia 520 has 512 mb ram only , MS locks done many apps and games to phones with 1gb ram or more only..

why would anyone buy lumia 520 now ? when lumia 630 is available for 6.5k from fk ?

435 has 1gb ram , the only con is 2mp cam

rish1 said:
unlock code used to cost 15-20$ for lumia 520 .. now i can see some listings for 10$ but with new sellers and limited support
the cheapest unlocked version is still 5.5k+
also lumia 520 has 512 mb ram only , MS locks done many apps and games to phones with 1gb ram or more only..
why would anyone buy lumia 520 now ? when lumia 630 is available for 6.5k from fk ?
435 has 1gb ram , the only con is 2mp cam

I didn't mean to get OT, that was just for reference as how low it's price has went.

AT&T versions without contract or prepaid ones can be unlocked officially through *www.att.com/deviceunlock/ . Even iphones can be unlocked for free officially this way.

I thought those who want a phone in that low budget (3-4k) might consider this instead of any crap android or feature phone in the price range.

R

SaiyanGoku said:
I didn't mean to get OT, that was just for reference as how low it's price has went.
AT&T versions without contract or prepaid ones can be unlocked officially through *www.att.com/deviceunlock/ . Even iphones can be unlocked for free officially this way.

I thought those who want a phone in that low budget (3-4k) might consider this instead of any crap android or feature phone in the price range.

i actually was about to buy 6 months ago, but it's not easy to unlock for free, and dropped the plan later on .. most of the times they deny it

google it and you can find many people unable to get codes .. they'll say you need to be active for 6 months .. that is why unlock code prices are so high .. even iphones are not easily unlockable these days .. that's why these code unlockers are flourishing on ebay

K

rish1 said:
asus and moto are still not tier 1 brands , moto is online only , and most general people don't know about asus and they are mostly online only as well.... if you count them then asus and moto will always be 2 steps ahead of other top oems in terms of features.. no need to think about other top brands then

Lg l60i i didn't knew about it, no mention in gsmarena as well.. looks like a pretty solid phone but no reviews ?

edit- oh wait this does not have 3g ??

meanwhile lumia 435 and 532 looks pretty amazing as well apart from the 2mp camera

Microsoft makes Windows Phone more affordable with new Lumia 435 and 532 | The Verge

finally an end to 512 mb phones from top OEMs at this range ..

Lumia 532 has a 5MP shooter not 2MP
only 435 is 2MP

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i must mention 512mb ram on WP isnt that much of a restriction,there are ways to run 1gb ram apps flawlessly on 512mb,only load times for such apps are a bit more
my 720 can handle GTA SA rather well,only the "loading"and "resuming"screens take 6-7 secs more on the 512mb ram phones than the 1 sec ones on 1gb ram phones

E

I have suggested here ZenFone 4. But I have missed that it doesn't have a FM radio. So no go.

I have suggested her Moto E too. But that lacks a camera flash.

I haven't suggested her anything else, but I can guess what she is going to buy.

V

Helloo fellas, what are you thoughts on the Lumia 532??? Please reply fast...

K

VikramS said:
Helloo fellas, what are you thoughts on the Lumia 532??? Please reply fast...

its totally worth it imho !!

Certainly L532 worth it.

G

VikramS said:
Helloo fellas, what are you thoughts on the Lumia 532??? Please reply fast...

Hey Vikram.. you can go for the Lumia 532.. here's a link which explains about the device's spec and features.... go check it out.. *www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG9FLQKSaR4

V

Garima Singh said:
Hey Vikram.. you can go for the Lumia 532.. here's a link which explains about the device's spec and features.... go check it out.. *www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG9FLQKSaR4

Thank you alll... I have bought the Lumia 532... I really like its performance.. but since I have just bought it and you fellas over here are the experts.. could you please tell me what are some other great features.. I mean there are certain features which are visible to the eye but some aren't so I want to know about those hidden features which happens as a result of hit and trial.. I will also keep on posting if I find any...