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Best Smart Phones [High End] in India – Top Selling Mobiles in 2013

Gone are the days when mobile phones were looked upon as a luxury or when people used to scout for the devices based on its price and their budget. Mobile phones have now become a necessity drawn by the urge for people to stay connected 24×7. With the surge of smart phones in the market and better Internet connectivity in India, the demand has risen drastically. You will no longer be treated as a spend thrift just because you carry a mobile phone more powerful than an average laptop and more expensive than a 100cc motorcycle. That’s because everyone wants the best smart phone today. No wonder buying gadgets on EMI is such a rage!

So I would like to believe that you are reading this post because your mobile phone has deprecated and you strongly feel its the time to upgrade. And since smart phones are now as important as one’s staple diet, you are thinking why not make it an upgrade that counts and hopefully lasts. Either you have saved up for a few months now or you are ready to leverage your credit card power to make the purchase. But the difficulty does not come with HOW to buy but actually its about WHAT to buy? No worries, eWebBuddy is here to help you out (to an extent). With a wide variety of choices right from Samsung to Micromax, this post tries to make it easier for you to filter your choices down to a select few and then go for the one that suits your priorities. Once you have selected your phone, all you have to do is go to an online store and buy. Yes! it is absolutely safe and what more you can find discount coupons for popular sites like Snapdeal to make that price tag a little lighter.

So let’s get started. The below list comprises of best smart phones and is for folks who are ready to spend anywhere between 24k to 45k (550 USD to 900 USD) on their dream phone. The list is NOT sorted in any specific order.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S4
Samsung Galaxy S4

The Galaxy series of phones have changed the game for Samsung. Not only has it helped the company make millions but also helped it rule the roost and become the number 1 mobile device manufacturer in the world. Samsung Galaxy S4 is the newest offering from the stable (I would like to ignore the new Mega phones Samsung launched! Sorry, but they are not phones in my opinion.) and it is loaded with features.

This is latest update over the most popular android phone last year, galaxy S3. Its also widely over-hyped but still is a worthy device. With a 5in screen, Samsung has still managed to keep the device look like a phone and not a phablet (remember Note). The design is slim, sleek and yet quite conservative IMHO, nothing ground breaking but works well. The Qualcomm chipset has been clocked to 1.9Ghz instead on 1.7Ghz as in HTC One making the device function faster and smoother. Battery life is impressive as well. Tech wise, Samsung has added features like wave to take calls, look away to pause video, multi-tasking, etc to make the device click. This is also I believe one of the first full HD AMOLED 5in screen with 441 px density. If you don’t mind the conservative design, like the screen size and enjoy the way the name Samsung has a ring to it, this phone is for you.

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.2.2
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.9GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, LTE
DISPLAY 5in 1,920×1,080 LCD
CAMERA 13-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 17 hours talktime, 15 days standby
DIMENSIONS 137x70x7.9mm, 130g

HTC One

HTC One
HTC One

In one word, I would like to say this phone is ‘Stunning’. This was launched sometime before S4 and both phones have a lot of similarity but its best to not think so. Yes, HTC One uses the same processor but that is where the similarity ends. One look at the phone’s metal finish body, razor sharp Full HD display quality will make you fall in love with it. The qualcomm quadcore processor is clocked at 1.7Ghz which makes it lightening fast and has a 4.7in screen which is perfect for browsing the web and using day-to-day apps.

What makes HTC One really different from other android offerings like sony xperia Z apart from its design is its heavily modified UI. If you have used a HTC smart phone before, you should be aware of HTC Sense UI pack. This phone has a news screen as the home-screen which slightly resembles the Windows Metro UI with its LIVE tiles which makes the phone stand out. However, if you would like to stick to the standard android screens, that can set as home screen as well. So if you are as taken by the hardware design as I am and do not mind the heavily modified HTC Sense UI, this phone is for you.

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1 (JellyBean)
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.7GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA LTE
DISPLAY 4.7in 1,920×1,080 LCD
CAMERA 4.1-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 32GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT none
DIMENSIONS 137x68x9mm, 143g

Apple iPhone 5

Apple iPhone 5
Apple iPhone 5

Apple brought about a revolution in the smart phone industry when it launch its iOS and iPhone device 5 years ago. They envisioned a phone to do so much more and gave user experience a new meaning. The latest offering from Apple – iPhone 5 still stands by the company’s values of user experience and innovation. Being an Apple iPhone 4s user, I can tell you frankly that when 5 was launched I was disappointed. A lot more was expected from the device apart from being bigger, thinner and lighter. Yes they innovated and yes its a great phone but it was not a worthy upgrade for someone like me. The latest tweaks in the OS with the launch of the upcoming iOS 7 may bring some more charm to the phone but technology wise Apple is behind compared to the likes of Samsung.

Now coming to the good things. The phone is still one of the best platforms from a user experience and quality of apps perspective. If we remove all those cool features from S4 which people hardly use, Apple is an easy winner. The phone has a 5in screen with amazing display quality but fits in your hand well. Gives you a seamless experience in daily use and works beautifully. Hardware wise its definitely sleek and cool. And most importantly carries a brand reputation which no other mobile manufacturer can match even today. So if you are not crazy for Samsung gymnastics, looking for a great user-experience and ofcourse identify yourself with the brand value Apple holds, this phone is for you. Ooh..and I love FaceTime!

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM iOS 6
PROCESSOR SPEED 1GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 2
RAM 1GB
MOBILE DATA 4G
DISPLAY 4in 1,136×640 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT none
DIMENSIONS 124x59x8mm, 112g

Google Nexus 4

Galaxy Nexus 4
Galaxy Nexus 4

Google’s android OS is the most popular mobile OS today. It powers millions of devices priced at right from a few to several thousands. The Nexus series has been synonymous with the OS upgrades and innovation google has shown. The Nexus 4 has been around for quite some time but was recently been launched in India. Manufactured by LG, the phone surprising is excellent from a hardware and design spec point. It feels really good to hold and operate. Has a 1.5Ghz quadcore processor and Android 4.2. Works super fast and real smooth.

The phone also sports a high quality 8 Mega Pixel camera and the pictures clicked are really sharp and impressive. For the price tag it sports its quite a powerful phone and a real value for money. If you are looking for a amazing smart phone but are not willing to spend big bucks, this one is for you.

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.2
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA
DISPLAY 4.7in 768×1,280 LCD
CAMERA 8-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 8GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT none
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 15 hours talktime, 16 days standby
DIMENSIONS 134x69x9.1mm, 139g

Sony Xperia Z

Sony Xperia Z
Sony Xperia Z

Lately Sony has been kind of behind in the Smart Phone wars. The recent releases under the Xperia series were good but failed to impress. That was until they launched Xperia Z. With Xperia Z, Sony got a lot of things right including the design. The phone clearly stands out with its monolith glass design and a wide 5in Full HD screen. Its definitely a little bigger than my liking but if you are sucker for big screens and awesome display quality (thanks to the Bravia Engine), you won’t be disappointed.

Xperia Z also comes with a lot of power under the hood. Sony’s take on the Android UI is lighter and way simpler than that of HTC One. Also the 13.1MP camera (cybershot) makes you feel like a pro. Above all this, this is the only smart phone that claims to be water and dust resistant but still gives you an option for expandable memory. If you like Sony’s slab-like design, want to click a lot of pictures and ofcourse are a Katrina (brand ambassador) fan, this phone is for you. I also think this is a perfect phone to sport for the fairer sex out there.

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.1 (upgradable to 4.2)
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 4
RAM 2GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA
DISPLAY 4.7in 768×1,280 LCD
CAMERA 13.1-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 16GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD (upto 64GB)
CLAIMED BATTERY LIFE 11 hours talktime, 16 days standby
DIMENSIONS 139x71x7.9mm, 146g

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920
Nokia Lumia 920

Behold people. If you think you have seen it all, think again. Nokia went all the way with its first Windows Mobile 8 phone. Leaving apart the vibrant colors, the best think about the phone is its design. The design makes it easy to hold the phone and browse across comfortably. Compared to a few on this list, the phone does feel chunky but is beautifully made with a 4.5in screen with a superb 1280 x 768 resolution. The screen has the best viewing angles in this whole lot making it a pleasure to use the Windows 8 metro UI.

While the phone has all the features that come with the Windows OS like the LIVE tiles, ability to resize tiles and ofcourse the people hub, hardware wise it also sports a compelling camera. This phone has the best optical image stabilization and excels in low light clicks. The dual-core 1.5ghz processor may sound under powered on this list but you will not feel so when using the phone. The decluttered tiles approach of the OS has been designed to work smoothly even on a 3yr old processor. If you find the Windows OS interesting, love to stay connected with everyone in an easy way and are a Nokia loyalist, this phone is for you.

SPECS
OPERATING SYSTEM Windows Mobile 8
PROCESSOR SPEED 1.5GHz
NUMBER OF CORES 2
RAM 1GB
MOBILE DATA GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA
DISPLAY 4.5in 1,280×768 LCD
CAMERA 8.7-megapixel
INTERNAL STORAGE 32GB
MEMORY CARD SLOT microSD
DIMENSIONS 130x71x11mm, 185g

Well, that’s it then. Yes, there are a few other picks that could have made to list but then how would that be helping you? The idea is to help you filter down your high end purchase to the best. I have tried to highlight the best features in each of the devices here to make it easier for you to decide. So go over the list and get your list down to just 2 choices max. Once you have the 2 choices figured out, it will be quite simple for you to make up your mind, go to an online store, apply discount coupon and get the best deal for your purchase. Yes EMIs are available online as well.

Do share your choice in the comments below. Happy shopping.

Piyush Agarwal
Piyush Agarwal is a part-time freelance webdesigner who loves to play with design and the web around. You can check out his designs on Technix Designs. He is also into Theatre and Photography.
http://www.piyushagarwal.com

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