GadgetByte Nepal

Shopping Guide

In this week’s Shopping Guide we are going to reveal our top 5 smartphones priced between Rs.15000 to Rs.20000.We have already reviewed our top 5 smartphones under Rs,15000 segment,you can read them HERE.Under the price segment of Rs.15000 to 20000,we wish to have at lease a qHD screen, Quad Core processor, 1 GB of RAM,a decent camera and a durable battery. let’s check my top 5 mid-range smart phones available in Nepalese market. (DATED-JUNE 22,2014)

1.Colors K1 Amoled

Colors K1 was priced at Rs.32000 at its launch in October 2013 but the price has now heavily reduced and is now available for a price of Rs.19000.It has a beautiful unibody design.It sports a 4.8 inch HD screen with OGS technology.We have a MediaTek processor running at 1.5 GHz and a gig of RAM.This handset runs on 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS with 16GB of internal storage.There is no memory card slot for this device. There is rear camera of 8 megapixel resolution and a front camera of 5 megapixel resolution.The battery is of 2000 mAh.

• SIM: micro SIM (3G)
• DISPLAY: 4.8  inches, IPS panel, 1280 * 720   pixels (309 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:16 GB internal memory;  No micro SD 
• RAM: 1GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.5 GHz Quad Core (MediaTek MT6589T)
• GPU: PowerVR SgX544
• Camera: Primary: 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash; 720P Video Recording
• Secondary: 5 MP
• OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
• Battery: Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery
• Market price: NRP 19000

For:

1. Unibody Design

2.Great Specs for a price (It was priced at Rs.32000 during its launch)

Against:

1. Average Battery Life

2. High Costumed Interface

2. Nokia Lumia 630

Nokia Lumia 630 is one of the most affordable smartphones around right now, putting it neck and neck with the Android-powered smartphones. The Lumia 630 runs Windows Phone 8.1, which is the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS. It brings with it a host of features that have so far been missing. It offers a 4.5-inch 16M colour ClearBlack display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor which is supported by 512MB of RAM. It also carries Adreno 305 graphics processor for game support and good visual experience. Despite not having a 1GB of RAM, you don’t see lags while multitasking as the Windows OS consumes less amount of RAM unlike Android OS.
The Lumia 630 comes with a 5MP primary camera, however it misses the front camera and the LED flash. It is packed with 8GB of internal storage memory which is expandable upto 128 GB via the microSD card slot.

• SIM: Dual-SIM; 3G enabled
• DISPLAY: 4.5  inches ,IPS panel, 480 x 854  pixels (218 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:8 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 512 MB RAM
• PROCESSOR: Quad Core 1.2 GHz Cortex A7  Snapdragon 400 Processor
• GPU: Adreno 305
• Primary Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash:NO, 720p Video Recording
• Secondary Camera: No
• OS: Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1
• Battery: Li-Ion 1830 mAh battery
• Market price:17500/-

For:

• Mid range Windows smartphone
• Latest OS
• Snapdragon Processor

Against:

• No front camera and LED flash
• Average RAM

3. Karbonn Titanium S5 plus

For a budget of around Rs. 16,500, the Karbonn Titanium S5 Plus is more than a decent option if you are looking for good performance and sexy looks. The device performs very well bearing in mind the segment it falls in.The improved and upgraded version of Titanium S5 features a 5 inch qHD screen with Quad core processor,1 GB RAM,not so great 8 MP camera and a 1800 mAh battery.If you want to learn more about Titanium S5 plus, check on review HERE.

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 5  inches, IPS panel, 540 x 960   pixels (220 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.3 GHz Quad Core (MediaTek MT6582)
• GPU: Mali 400MP2
• Camera: Primary: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash; 1080P Video Recording
• Secondary: VGA
• OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.2
• Battery: Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery
• Market price: NRP 14500

For:

1. Vivid and Bright screen

2. Best design seen on a budget smartphone

Against:

1. Mediocre Camera performance

2. Overheating issues while playing High End games

4. TOUCHKON M504 

Touchkon has been able to establish itself in the Nepalese smartphone space as a player that offers one of the  best value for its customers’ money Touchkon introduced the M504 a couple of months ago and this smartphone offers a 4.5 inch screen with a relatively low resolution of 480 * 854 pixels. This phone is powered by a Quad Core processor and a 1 GB of RAM like any other smartphones in this price segment,but what you get here is a better 13 MP shooter on the rear and 2MP on the front.The 13MP camera does not automatically put this camera at par with the S4 or the iphone 5s–the images looked good on the phone, nothing spectacular.

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 4.5  inches, IPS panel, 480 x 854 pixels (245 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1 GB RAM
• PROCESSOR: 1.3 GHz Quad Core (MediaTek MT6582)
• GPU: Mali 400MP2
• Camera: Primary: 13 MP, autofocus, LED flash;Full HD Video recording
• Secondary: 2MP
• OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1
• Battery: Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery
• Market price:16400/-

For:

1. Very Good camera

2.Decent Battery Life

Against:

1. Screen is over saturated and no so bright and vivid.

2. Overheating issues.

 

5. Sony Xperia M

An iPhone-sized screen Xperia M sports a 4 inch TFT screen with reliable dual core processor from Snapdragon and a powerful Adreno 305 GPU. Despite many smartphones coming with Quad Core processor,the Dual core of Xperia M does a decent job. The 5 MP rear camera,with dedicated buttons is good,but nothing spectacular.It currently runs on Android 4.3 JellyBeans and you wont get a Kitkat update for this device. The 1750 mAh battery works for a day on normal usage.

• SIM: micro-SIM; 3G enabled
• DISPLAY: 4  inches ,TFT panel, 480 x 854  pixels (245 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1 GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1 GHz Dual Core Krait (Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8227)
• GPU: Adreno 305
• PrimaryCamera: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash,720p Video Recording
• Secondary Camera: VGA
• OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 (upgradable upto 4.3)
• Battery: Li-Ion 1750 mAh battery
• Market price:18000/-(for Single SIM)

For:

• Affordable & lightweight
• Reliable performance
• Loud speaker

Against:

• Mediocre camera
• Very low internal storage

MORE OPTIONS:

I. Xolo Q 700

II. BQ S60

III. Colors Xfactor HD

IV.Nokia Lumia 525

V. Micromax Canvas Beats

The most frequent question we encounter as a gadgets geek is which phone you should buy. Obviously, we’re not just going to recommend the flagships models which are in fact the best smartphone you will get. So, we will be excruciating up the guide by price category, starting with entry level handsets and going all the way to the very finest devices available in stores.As of now, let’s see my top 5 entry level smart phones available in Nepalese market. (DATED- MARCH,2016)

1. Motorola Moto E

Motorola launched Moto E recently in India via Flipkart for a price of  INR. 7000 (NPR.11200). This is probably the best entry level Android smartphone around.The Moto E uses a 1.4 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chip with 1GB of RAM, 4GB (2.21GB user available) of onboard storage and microSD support for cards up to 32GB, while the rear camera is rated at 5-megapixels. The battery is a 1980mAh setup and Motorola says that, with its software optimizations, users can expect a full day’s worth of use from a single charge.You can buy here in Nepal for a price of Rs.14500 from The Online Baazar. Contact number-9813851528

Key Specs:

• SIM: Dual ; 3G enabled
• DISPLAY: 4.3  inches, IPS panel, 540 x 960 pixels (256 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1 GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.4 GHz Dual Core Snapdragon™ 200 
• GPU: Adreno 302
• Primary Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash:NO, 480p video recording
• Secondary Camera: NO
• OS: Android Kitkat 4.4.2
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 1980 mAh battery
• Market price:14500/-

2. Lava Iris X1

Lava Iris X1 sports a 4.5 inch screen with a resolution of 854 × 480 pixels, 1.2 Ghz Quad core Processor (Broadcom),1 GB of RAM,4 GB internal storage expandable via MicroSD card upto 32Gb. On the back you have a 8MP shooter with single LED flash. You have a 2 MP Front facing camera. For connectivity,you have a dual SIM support,Wi-FI with Hotspot,Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS for navigation.

Powering up is a rather decent 1800 mAh battery which should be enough for daily usage. The best part of this device is it comes with Android Kitkat 4.4 out of the box.You can buy it for a price of Rs.14500 

Key Specs:

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 4.5  inches, IPS panel, 480 x 850  pixels (217 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 64 GB
• RAM: 1 GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.2 GHz Quad Core Broadcom 23550 processor
• GPU: Broadcom VideoCore IV
• Primary Camera: 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p video recording
• Secondary Camera: 2 MP
• OS: Android Kitkat 4.2.2
• Battery: Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery
• Market price:14500/-

3. Micromax Unite A106

Unite A106 has a 4.7 inch screen equipped with Quad Core 1.3 Ghz processor and 1 GB of RAM.  It houses a 5.0-megapixel primary camera capable of HD video recording , 2 megapixel front camera for video chatting and a 2000 mAh battery.It’s the first Micromax phone that comes with Kitkat 4.4.2 Operating system. Unite A106 is priced at Rs.14000 in Nepal.

Key Specs:

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 4.7  inches, IPSpanel, 480 x 800  pixels (199 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek Mediatek MT6582
• GPU: Mali-400MP2
• Primary Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash, 720p video recording
• Secondary Camera: 2 MP
• OS: Android Kitkat 4.4.2
• Battery: Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery
• Market price:14000/-

4. Colors Xfactor Quad 2

Colors Xfactor Quad 2 is a successor of a Quad 1 and it comes with a better 4.5 inch IPS panel with qHD resolution. It sports a Quad core mediatek processor clocked at 1.3GHz and 1 GB RAM. For taking photos you have a 8MP rear camera and a 2MP camera on the front. It runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly bean but Colors recently announced Kitkat update for Quad .You need to visit the nearest service centre to get the update.Good to see Colors coming with updates for their midrange phones too!You can buy it for a price of Rs.14000 

Key Specs:

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 4.5  inches, IPS panel, 540 x 960   pixels (245 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1GB RAM
• PROCESSOR: 1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek Mediatek MT6582
• GPU: Mali-400MP2
• Primary Camera: 8 MP, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p video recording
• Secondary Camera: 2 MP
• OS: Android Jelly Bean 4.2 ( upgradable to Kitkat 4.4.2 from Colors service centre)
• Battery: Li-Ion 1800 mAh battery
• Market price:14000/-

5. Karbonn Titanium S1 plus

Karbonn Titanium S1 plus a have been officially announced in Nepal, showing Karbonn‘s ambitions to make a decent smartphone in a low price segment. Karbonn Titanium S1 plus offers Quad core snapdragon processor and 1 GB RAM at a decent price.

Key Specs:

• SIM: Dual SIM (2G+3G);  Dual Standby
• DISPLAY: 4  inches , TFT panel, 480 * 800 pixels (220 ppi pixel density)
• MEMORY:4 GB internal memory;  micro SD up to 32 GB
• RAM: 1GB RAM
• PROCESSOR:  1.2 GHz Quad Core Snapdragon 200
• GPU: Adreno 302
•  Primary Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, LED flash;480P video recording
• Secondary Camera:VGA
• OS: Android 4.3 JellyBean
• Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh
• Market price: Rs.12000/-