Smartphone Buying Guide [Work In Progress]

Before I make a more detailed list, here is the draft:

Below 10k:

Spice Mi-310:

The Good:

Standard resolution display
Decent build quality
3G, Wi-FI, GPS
Optical Trackpad
very good price

The Bad:

support/updates a big question mark
Battery is low at 1200mAh
Very low internal memory

Who should buy this phone:
Those looking for a cheapest smartphone that can do everything, not concerned about support or updates to firmware

Product Page: *www.spiceglobal.com/SpiceMobiles/Model.aspx?id=187
User Guide: *www.spiceglobal.com/SpiceMobiles/displaymanual.aspx?id=cf94a34a-7085-453c-bb5b-6dc67707fddc.pdf (PDF)

Samsung Galaxy Pro:

The Good:

Excellent qwerty and good touch display
802.11n/3g/GPS in a sub-10k phone
Superb price
Document Editor
Digital Compass

The Bad:

256k colors only
No flash for camera and no front facing camera
Froyo is getting outdated
270MB of RAM is less if you are planning to use lot of new apps

Who should buy this one:
qwerty lovers who want low-cost all-in-one package powered by android OS.

Product page: *www.samsung.com/in/consumer/mobile...AINU/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&returnurl=
User Guide: *org.downloadcenter.samsung.com/dow...5123351/GT-B7510_UM_EU_Eng_Rev.1.1_110316.pdf

LG Optimus One:

The Good:

Standard resolution display
512MB RAM
Froyo pre-installed
Dedicated Graphics Accelerator
Native support for DivX
Lot of custom ROMs and good dev support
Minimal modification to Android UI

The Bad:

Mediocre camera (no flash)

Who should buy this:

Anyone with a max budget of 10k, unless you want a hardkey qwerty.

Product Page: *www.lg.com/in/mobile-phones/all-phones/LG-smart-phones-P500.jsp
User Guide: *www.lg.com/in/mobile-phones/images/RDL-1010-00472_LG-P500_IND_101027-2_1,0_Printout.pdf

10k to 15k:

Model | Price | OS | Availability
Nokia C6-01|13,900|Symbian S^3
HTC Wildfire:S|13,400|Android Spice Mi-410|14,000~|Android
Samsung Galaxy Ace|14,500~|Android
Motorola Defy|15,000|Android
Blackberry Curve 3G 9300|13,000|BB OS

15k-20k:

Model | Price | OS | Availability HTC Mozart|15,500|WP7 |at saholic
Nokia C7|16,700|Symbian S^3
Nokia E6|17,500|Symbian S^3 Anna
HTC Desire|16,500|Android
Samsung Google Nexus S|19,900|Android
Samsung galaxy S:L|19,000|Android
LG Optimus Black|19,900|Android
Samsung Wave II|15,200|Bada
iPhone 3GS|19,900|iOS

20k-25k:

Model | Price | OS | Availability
Nokia X7|20,700|Symbian S^3 Anna
Nokia N8|22,300|Symbian S^3
HTC Salsa|22,300|Android
Dell Venue|22,400|Android
HTC Desire:S|22,900|Android
Samsung Galaxy S|23,000|Android
Blackberry Bold 3|22,000|BB OS

25k-30k:

Model | Price | OS | Availability
Nokia E7|26,000|Symbian S^3
LG Optimus 2X|25,500|Android
HTC Incredible:S|26,500|Android
Desire:HD|26,600|Android
SE Xperia Arc|27,500|Android
HTC Sensation|29,900|Android
Dell Venue Pro|29,000|WP7

30k+:

Model | Price | OS | Availability
SE Xperia Play|30,600|Android
Samsung Galaxy SII|30,500|Android Apple iPhone 4|34,000+|iOS

The following chart is provided by Anorion:

*img27.imageshack.us/img27/8157/jbmex6.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Source: flipkart.com, infibeam.comNokia N8|22,300|Symbian S^3

Thanks desiibond for stepping in. I request all other Mobile Gurus here at TDF, to contact Desiibond and work together and get this thread working, as we get same type of queries now and then.

Nice draft. You should take mobiles from Digit magazine's tests a few months back. Also add a section for availability. Just tell whether easily available,available online or rare(WP7 phones). Also add Samsung Wave II.

Cybertonic said:
Nice draft. You should take mobiles from Digit magazine's tests a few months back. Also add a section for availability. Just tell whether easily available,available online or rare(WP7 phones). Also add Samsung Wave II.

yes. there is another list with phones that not everyone likes.

I'll try to make a list of a few phones and add them here.

Nokia X7 priced at 20.7k only, saholic.com

Nokia C6-01 priced at 12.5k at letsbuy after applying coupon.

You know I think we should have a list of websites and the applicable coupons too in this thread for mobile phones.

comp@ddict said:
Nokia X7 priced at 20.7k only, saholic.com

Nokia C6-01 priced at 12.5k at letsbuy after applying coupon.

You know I think we should have a list of websites and the applicable coupons too in this thread for mobile phones.

let's keep the price-after-coupon away from this list. We have a separate thread about that kind of deals.

^^No, let this be buying guide. We are already discussing on a Hot Deals section under Market, where coupons and deals can be shared.

Let this thread just be a buying guide and update it regularly so that it doesn't dies, and peoples don't come up with same query again and again. After desiibond and you guys are ready, we'll merge the other threads with this one.

One suggestion please decorate it

krishnandu.sarkar said:
One suggestion please decorate it

Be my guest. am poor with this decoration thing

Phones that are popular among users are in Bold

PS: there is lot more to add

And if possible mention the source from where price is taken.

+ 1 for source and coupon codes too if applicable

Continue the deals and coupons discussion over *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/mobile-monsters/143409-mobile-deals-price-updates-digitians.html

@desiibond You are right, let the old threads be as it is, we'll merge any new threads from now on.

Two Seperate threads for Mobile prices ??

so this thread is for the best mobile for money & which one is recommended among the crop of similar mobile?
and the next one is simply a pricelist with "deal of the week".

so can't one just check the 2nd thread about where a particular mobile is avl? or is it necessary to add here?

and its better to keep this thread as simple as possible by avoiding coupon codes, discounts, gifts, etc.

azzu said:
Two Seperate threads for Mobile prices ??

This is mobile phone buying guide, we decided to come with a sticky thread which will be daily updated to face the threads which come up with almost same queries everyday.

And the other thread is about deals, in simple words where you'll get a particular mobile at lowest price along with coupons.

And this one is about choosing that particular mobile for which you'll be looking for coupons

krishnandu.sarkar said:
This is mobile phone buying guide, we decided to come with a sticky thread which will be daily updated to face the threads which come up with almost same queries everyday.

And the other thread is about deals, in simple words where you'll get a particular mobile at lowest price along with coupons.

And this one is about choosing that particular mobile for which you'll be looking for coupons

i still dont get it.....
the other thread is useless with this one being active..
this thread has the Price list and the mobile (similar to mine)
whats the diff then ( just the name ? ..smartphone buying guide?and is categorized by price range)

azzu said:
i still dont get it.....
the other thread is useless with this one being active..
this thread has the Price list and the mobile (similar to mine)
whats the diff then ( just the name ? ..smartphone buying guide?and is categorized by price range)

There would be countless deals and offers for these phones. Do you really want to mess up this thread by putting all those deals and coupon codes in here?

Also, I have made some changes to the thread that you initiated. cleared the thread of price list so that it can be used exclusively for coupon codes. If you don't want this change, please let me know and I shall revert the changes.

desiibond said:
There would be countless deals and offers for these phones. Do you really want to mess up this thread by putting all those deals and coupon codes in here?

Also, I have made some changes to the thread that you initiated. cleared the thread of price list so that it can be used exclusively for coupon codes. If you don't want this change, please let me know and I shall revert the changes.

Its not like i want to mess up this thread....
putting up two threads with Prices of mobile's is confusing for the user's
i want to say is that we already have the Mobile price+best deals thread...
just make this thread Mobile buying guide...(best phone below 5k , 10k etc...its short review , specifications , final verdict and etc..)

lets not just mess up creating two threads with Price list of mobile's
(thats my view , Final verdict is your wish as Obvsly ur a MOD

)

@desiibond: Why are phones like N8, C6-01 not highlighted(bold)?
I mean N8 is the best camera phone we have today apart from the absence of full-hd recording.
C6-01 is also a good buy who are looking for camera phones below 15k.

Ya I guess the first post should be in detail. I mean otherwise many members will come up with "Why *** is better??" "What makes you think so??" like questions. So putting a detailed review or comparison between the contenders(OS and Priced based) would be great.

Apple iPhone 3GS 19990
should it be included?
and a comment field with the most decisive factors for every model should be buying guide enough

azzu said:
Its not like i want to mess up this thread....
putting up two threads with Prices of mobile's is confusing for the user's
i want to say is that we already have the Mobile price+best deals thread...
just make this thread Mobile buying guide...(best phone below 5k , 10k etc...its short review , specifications , final verdict and etc..)

lets not just mess up creating two threads with Price list of mobile's
(thats my view , Final verdict is your wish as Obvsly ur a MOD )

i second that idea.

Anorion said:
Apple iPhone 3GS 19990
should it be included?
and a comment field with the most decisive factors for every model should be buying guide enough

added 3GS and yes, there is lot more to add to the tables. Will be doing that over the weekend.

desiibond said:
let's keep the price-after-coupon away from this list. We have a separate thread about that kind of deals.

But X7 is 20.7k w/o any coupon whatsoever.

anything apart from a comment about why the phone stands out would make it confusing. the specs never paint the full picture.
I know its the phones on the market atm, but is the list supposed to be exhaustive or are only selected models put up? feels like the list is missing Samsung Galaxy Fit, the SE x10s - mini and mini pro, and the Motorola Milestone

Thanks a lot for this post. Very usefull and necessary

Rep added

Anorion said:
anything apart from a comment about why the phone stands out would make it confusing. the specs never paint the full picture.
I know its the phones on the market atm, but is the list supposed to be exhaustive or are only selected models put up? feels like the list is missing Samsung Galaxy Fit, the SE x10s - mini and mini pro, and the Motorola Milestone

yes. selected models. we know how goooooood (eyes rolling, girlish way) x10 minis and fit etc are

Wat abt desire z?

R

Hi guys!
In another forum (another site), i have posted a guide about advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a phone of each mobile manufacturer. I think you may find it useful here. So shall i post it in this forum? If yes, where to post?
(Make a new thread or here itself?) or just PM a mod with my content for approval?

S

It may be useful to add the pluses and minuses about each phone. For example, in the same price range, one phone may be good with multimedia, another may have awesome battery life (in that price range), while another may be good for social networking... Depending on the personal preference in the budget, the user can make a more informed choice... Already, most phones are reviewed in Digit itself (and other websites) - this can be consolidated to give a one-stop shopping guide...

Arun

Post it here.

R

- Post deleted by user -

berrys are good for multi-tasking... and security, making it their primary advantage... good for journos, politicians and underworld people lol, all the droids are full of bugs and are rushed, the complete phone will be in your hands only after the next update
LG is not done justice, the optimus one is def one of the better droid buy out there atm,
and I dont think a berry is any more gifted at preserving data after a fall than an iphone, a droid, or any other phone actually
and apple, brother, you got that all wrong, they relaunched the 3gs for us and you are still complaining? theres no talk about stability, or the stuff that really makes it sad, like regional restrictions on the app store. instead of saying what kind of people should or should not buy the phone, focus on what makes the phone stand out at being particularly bad or good

R

Post edited a bit, it seems the humor was not taken with a pinch of salt

, plus, in a general guide, an advantage such as 'The optimus one is good' makes no sense at all.
BB is known widely for protecting data after falls.

@ruggles, nice try there. but i think should add these also:

Samsung:
very few & late updates.

LG:
community support & frequent updates.

Motorola:
good community support but lowend smartphones are mostly rebranded or poor design (eg: XT series & flipout/charm).

look its useful at the lower price points where a call between a defy and a wildfire is between call clarity and build quality, but if you are comparing the optimus 2x, the htc sensation and the SE arc, this guide will not really take you anywhere... it needs more pluses and minuses, and althouth the SE phone cams are pretty good, they are not the best at any price point, the nokias seem to be better at this
this is a tough terrain to navigate lol, im trying to figure this out myself

^^ agreed with you. this guide only tells about a company as a whole & not about the mobiles they make.

Nice list. @desiibond: I'm planning on to buy HTC Incredible S, but then there is Samsung Galaxy SII for just 4k bucks more, is it really worth the extra money? The major factor diverging me towards Incredible S from Galaxy S2 is the HTC Sense UI.

+ Above average software support

I seriously doubt that.

sygeek said:
I'm planning on to buy HTC Incredible S, but then there is Samsung Galaxy SII for just 4k bucks more, is it really worth the extra money? The major factor diverging me towards Incredible S from Galaxy S2 is the HTC Sense UI.

S2 is better than Incredible S in everyway. and if you like Sense UI, get S2's counterpart. HTC Sensation. but i wonder how long you will stick to Sense UI.

sygeek said:
I seriously doubt that.

in the (Android) mobile market, not everyone will be willing to take the custom rom route rendering the warranty useless. and when you are spending 10k+ one will expect very good support from the manufacturers. but in realty, even the 25k+ mobile receive updates long time after a new version of Android is released.

at least with HTC, even their lowest end smartphone, Wildfire revived Froyo update sooner than the highend Samsung & Motorola counterparts. & Sony Ericsson last flagship mobile, Xpera X10 is still stuck @ Android 2.1

Sam said:
S2 is better than Incredible S in everyway. and if you like Sense UI, get S2's counterpart. HTC Sensation. but i wonder how long you will stick to Sense UI.

Well, thanks for the heads up. I guess I was looking for something that is (or will be) non-existent, a perfect smartphone. HTC sensation isn't really a choice, even if I were to choose between sensation and incredible, I'd go for Incredible. Reason, more bang for bucks.

R

Sam said:
Sam said:

Samsung:
very few & late updates.

Click to expand...

You should be thankful that the updates at least come.
Better late than never.

Sam said:

LG:
community support & frequent updates.

Click to expand...

LG's community support is nothing compared to HTC's and moto's. Frequent updates? As far as i know, only optimus one has got a proper OS update in time. Optimus 2x should have come shipped with GB.

Sam said:

Motorola:
good community support but lowend smartphones are mostly rebranded or poor design (eg: XT series & flipout/charm).

Click to expand...

Agreed, will update

Anorion said:
look its useful at the lower price points where a call between a defy and a wildfire is between call clarity and build quality, but if you are comparing the optimus 2x, the htc sensation and the SE arc, this guide will not really take you anywhere... it needs more pluses and minuses, and althouth the SE phone cams are pretty good, they are not the best at any price point, the nokias seem to be better at this
this is a tough terrain to navigate lol, im trying to figure this out myself

Thats why nobody tries to make such a guide even though it will be useful because they know they will get heavily criticism, so at least appreciate the attempt and effort.

Above SE cams, i said 'Above average quality camera', i never said 'Best in class camera' as i am well aware that it isnt.

Sam said:
^^ agreed with you. this guide only tells about a company as a whole & not about the mobiles they make.

Read the title first. It says smartphone manufacturer guide, not smartphone guide. And the aim of this guide is to make the users aware of what to expect from a phone from a certain manufacturer, so it is indirectly about the phone only. And points like 'Above average build quality', 'Above average quality camera' mean the build/cam quality of the phone right?
Or is it the build quality/cam quality of the company?

sygeek said:
Nice list. @desiibond: I'm planning on to buy HTC Incredible S, but then there is Samsung Galaxy SII for just 4k bucks more, is it really worth the extra money? The major factor diverging me towards Incredible S from Galaxy S2 is the HTC Sense UI.

I seriously doubt that.

Isnt HTC the only co. which has updated most of its phones?
And never released and phone with outdated OSes?

Used desiibond's list as a starting point, and ruggle's list to distill the choices between phones. then used gsmarena for a specs comparison, and some other choices.
trying to figure out a way to show exactly how important any feature on a phone is (perhaps the font size of the feature?) and this does not state the OS or till what version the OS can be upgraded.
feedbok plox
*i.min.us/jbMEx6.jpg
full size here

^ Nice flowchart, but where do I start (and where is Incredible S)?

^start in the middle, choose a price point
picked the phones in bold from desiibond's list, with a few best in category additions from gsmarena, so yeah the incredible S isnt here

hey guys, was very busy with work and couldn't add anything extra to the tables. should be done in the next two days or so.

R

I have realized that nobody bothered to appreciate the work ive put in that guide, you all are just criticizing and picking out what you feel isnt right within the guide. I am receiving a lot of likes and appreciation from another forum where i have posted it. They also give constructive suggestions and i update the post accordingly. But i dont think i have got what i deserved in this forum. Not a single 'thanks' or 'well done' about the 95 correct points out of around 100. Only criticism about those remaining 4-5 points which u felt were not perfect.
I knew that it wasnt perfect, but intended to make a start and update the guide according to the users' suggestions, but i am receiving nothing but criticism from here. And it is really discouraging to a writer, especially one writing for free for the benefit of other users to face this.
Hence, i have decided to delete the guide since i feel i dont want to continue to see my effort being mocked here. So, goodbye.

ruggles said:
I have realized that nobody bothered to appreciate the work ive put in that guide, you all are just criticizing and picking out what you feel isnt right within the guide. I am receiving a lot of likes and appreciation from another forum where i have posted it. They also give constructive suggestions and i update the post accordingly. But i dont think i have got what i deserved in this forum. Not a single 'thanks' or 'well done' about the 95 correct points out of around 100. Only criticism about those remaining 4-5 points which u felt were not perfect.
I knew that it wasnt perfect, but intended to make a start and update the guide according to the users' suggestions, but i am receiving nothing but criticism from here.
Hence, i have decided to delete the guide since i feel i dont want to continue to see my effort being mocked here. So, goodbye.

+1 for this

........

dude it doesnt work that way here..
Repping , thanking....
i appreciate the amount of work u did...but
hoping u'll get rewarded by tons of thanks and reps(whch we dont have here) is out of the line....

^huh? the internet is serious business, we are not mocking anyone's work here where did that come from? post it again, and criticism is just criticism it is not inherently good or bad, or with any kind of malicious intent, and why would you prefer appreciation over criticism anyway?

R

azzu said:
+1 for this ........

dude it doesnt work that way here..
Repping , thanking....
i appreciate the amount of work u did...but
hoping u'll get rewarded by tons of thanks and reps(whch we dont have here) is out of the line....

I dont expect tons of thanks and reps, but not a single one? Instead criticism and only criticism? I didnt write the article for money here, just to help users.

ruggles said:
I have realized that nobody bothered to appreciate the work ive put in that guide, you all are just criticizing and picking out what you feel isnt right within the guide. I am receiving a lot of likes and appreciation from another forum where i have posted it. They also give constructive suggestions and i update the post accordingly. But i dont think i have got what i deserved in this forum. Not a single 'thanks' or 'well done' about the 95 correct points out of around 100. Only criticism about those remaining 4-5 points which u felt were not perfect.
I knew that it wasnt perfect, but intended to make a start and update the guide according to the users' suggestions, but i am receiving nothing but criticism from here. And it is really discouraging to a writer, especially one writing for free for the benefit of other users to face this.
Hence, i have decided to delete the guide since i feel i dont want to continue to see my effort being mocked here. So, goodbye.

So, you do the hard work just so it is appreciated, but not because it can help others/benefit the community. In plain words, that's selfish.

And just so you know, "thank you" and other BS two-wordies are not allowed. We rather prefer constructive criticism.

There's no like system here, but there's a rep system. This alt. system is not meant to be abused like the "Like system". But if there were a "rep-down system", I'd used that for you.

R

sygeek said:
So, you do the hard work just so it is appreciated, but not because it can help others/benefit the community. In plain words, that's selfish.

That sums it up! Now somebody calls me selfish! I did post it because i thought it will benefit the users, but that is the final straw i guess. No more. Bye.

sygeek said:
But if there were a "rep-down system", I'd used that for you.

Cant believe you man. Im not coming back here. You sure know how to kick well wishers.

Update in progress. Added more detail for best smartphones inside 10k. Have a look and let me if this is enough. Adding detail for 10k-15k phones.

@desiibond - Really appreciate your effort in starting this thread and updating it. Its like a must have thread for so many ppl. When u get time, please put in pros and cons for each highlighted phone. That would be useful. No need for any extra description, one liner is enough, those are already available on google.

@ruggles - Nice work with your flowchart. I want to know how u created it. The guide isnt perfect and fool proof, but i appreciate the effort u put in, in creating it and distributing it.

.
But wassup with the melancholy attitude man. Its not like ppl are ignoring you. Your guide isnt perfect, u know that, so y not accept all the criticism and pick up the ones which will help u better your flowchart.
Anyways, my suggestion for your flowchart - Avoid the phones which are not recommended. Only put a handful of phones which have USPs or are extreme value for money. There are just too many phones out there, it makes the user confused and difficult to follow the lines. And add more text with pros and cons for each.

@sygeek-if u r planning to go for Incredible S then go for it,I m sure u wont regret

Just looked through the posts. The Nexus S or the Defy seem to be the only phones that make sense at all, for any price point.

yeah. they offer terrific VFM.

S

hii frnds, i want to buy a mobile price upto 20k, which will be the perfect one android or symbian mobile, and which phone will be better having good functionality along with good camera and camera must be with autofocous.
wat r the problem with lg optimus black ,its review was not good in digit

saurav0906 said:
hii frnds, i want to buy a mobile price upto 20k, which will be the perfect one android or symbian mobile, and which phone will be better having good functionality along with good camera and camera must be with autofocous.
wat r the problem with lg optimus black ,its review was not good in digit

1. Nokia N8 (the best camera phone)
2. Google Nexus S

saurav0906 said:
wat r the problem with lg optimus black ,its review was not good in digit

heard about reception issue & both highend Optimus (2X & Black) rom is far from perfect.

we need to stop looking at phone model numbers as version numbers (windows 93, 95, 98 etc). This is like everyone just thinking about the BMW8 and ignoring all the others.
The S is better than the SII, the 3GS is somewhat on an even footing with the 4, with even the 3G being most suitable for many purposes... every single berry has only superficial differences, LG phones as well... In fact they get better with the lower model numbers, Not even starting on the Nokias as they are named strange. the new trend seems to be an postscript to the model number (+, pro, *-02 etc), or just a re-branded name (BB gemini lol)

Probably o.t,
which one has the best s.q(any price range)