The top smartphones between Rs. 5000 and Rs. 10000 in 2013. The list includes our own recommendation of the best smartphone available in this price range. There's no particular order to this list.
1. Nokia Lumia 520
Windows Phone is growing-up and Nokia Lumia 520 is one of the biggest reasons. Its the most popular Windows phone in the world, and accounts for about 30% of all Windows Phones. It features a 4-inch WVGA panel, 1GHz dual-core processor with 512MB RAM running Windows Phone 8. There's a 5MP primary camera without LED flash.
Why one should consider the Lumia 520? Its the build quality of the device, no other device in this price bracket comes close and then Windows Phone works much better on 512MB than Android Jelly Bean. Although there are fewer apps, the impending release of the Lumia 525 has pushed the price of the Lumia 520 even lower making it a great buy if you are looking for an entry-level smartphone.
2. Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 GT-S7582
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 is an upgrade over the previous-gen S Duos with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with VideoCore IV GPU and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The upgrade makes the S Duos 2 one of the best smartphones you can buy in this price-range, the performance boost is noticeable in both everyday tasks as well as gaming.
Even though apps are movable to the SD card, app-date still resides in the Phone Memory. Therefore, some high-end games which require over 2GB data storage cannot be installed. In our review, we found that the Galaxy S Duos 2 performs great in everyday tasks but the 768MB RAM sometimes seems less during heavy multitasking and the TouchWiz UI here is to blame. It becomes sluggish after using the phone for some time. Still the build quality, good camera & LED Flash alongwith decent gaming performance warrant the Galaxy S Duos a position in our list of top smartphones in Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10000 price-range.
3. XOLO Q1000 Opus
XOLO Q1000 Opus is a new entrant in this segment and features the new 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcom BCM23550 processor with VideoCore IV GPU. It has 1GB RAM, 5MP primary camera alongwith 0.3MP front-facing camera. The Q1000 Opus has a 5-inch FWVGA display and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.
The main reason for considering the Q1000 Opus would be its build quality, XOLO has proved time and again that it knows how to make solid smartphones atleast in the build department. Although VideoCore IV is no match to Mali 400 or even PowerVR graphics found in this price range. Its a decent option in this segment, with good performance to boot.
4. Micromax Canvas Doodle A111
Although the Canvas Doodle A111 has been here for quite some time, its still quite popular. It has a 1.2Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512MB RAM running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. If recent reports are to be believed the Canvas Doodle may be in line to get Android 4.2 KitKat update alongwith 10 other Micromax Canvas smartphones. There'a good 8MP camera on board with dual-LED flash which is the main focal point of this phone.
The Doodle 2 has a huge 5.3-inch display, making it one of the largest smartphones in this price segment. The display is clear but not that sharp and contrast levels are just average. Still it packs quite a punch with Stylus support, a fast quad-core processor but is not one for the gamer. The Adreno 203 is an entry-level graphics solution which can play games mostly in low graphics settings.
5. XOLO A500s / A500s IPS
Although it doesn't cost as much as the S Duos 2 or some of the other devices in this price bracket, the XOLO A500s is still one of the best budget Android smartphones. It has decent gaming performance but excellent build quality. The IPS variant although costs a bit more, but it has a better display with good viewing angles and natural color reproduction.
The design of the A500s does remind us of the HTC One to an extent and that's not a bad thing. Plus you can get the A500s is a variety of colors including Blue, Red, Green, White and Black. The A500s has personality which is missing from most other smartphones in this segment apart from the Lumia 520.
Pick Of The Bunch
Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2, simply due to its better build quality, good overall performance in day-to-day tasks as well as good battery life and good camera.
