Updated 14 Feb, 2012, 6:01 pm IST

Multimedia Mobiles Under Rs. 12,000

15 May, 2009, 5:18 pm IST | Shayne Rana

For those looking for multimedia handsets and have a tight leash on their wallets.

In today's fast paced, techno-crazy world of wireless handheld entertainment and the almighty mobile phone with its promise to fulfill all of man's desires, the latest focus in the manufacturer's head seems to be mobile multimedia. The once hardcore business handsets like RIM's BlackBerrys that have been a symbol for Enterprise handsets designed for the businessman on the go, have taken a step in a new direction by developing and incorporating heavy multimedia capabilities into their handsets.

However, the BlackBerry handset range is not for the common man as the handsets do tend to weigh one down when the price hits you square in the face. This is the time of an apparent 'recession', and I'm using the term loosely here, as the money situation that's infected the global economy still doesn't seem to have truly affected the individual's propensity to buy. Handset manufacturers are still launching newer and better models all the time. With this in mind here’s a quick list of handsets for those with a tight budget looking for ‘mobile’ entertainment.

LG KP500 Cookie – Rs. 10.479
The LG Cookie is not a handset one would regard as a contender for the iPhone’s coveted crown when it comes to touchscreen handsets. However, it is one of the cheapest handsets to come with touchscreen technology that also manages to deliver on its multimedia capabilities. LG’s UI for the handset offers dual desktops for segregating specific functions. Even the main menu is neatly divided to make navigation easier. The Cookie also offers users multiple options for data entry, from a full QWERTY virtual keypad in landscape mode to a standard mobile phone keypad, half QWERTY and handwriting recognition for use with the stylus.

Its large 3.0-inch display will make watching videos easy on the eyes. It’s also loaded with an FM radio and music player and plenty of editors for various purposes. LG has also included a few motion sensitive games and a 3 megapixel fixed focus camera and a Muvee Studio application for editing images and creating slideshows. Users will also be able to view MS documents on the Cookie. So even if the handset looks nothing like its namesake, but at the risk of sounding a little feminine, it’s a ‘sweet’ handset.

Samsung S5233 – Rs. 11,100 ��
Samsung’s Star S5233 is their cheapest touchscreen mobile to date and even manages to beat out the Cookie in terms of price. This is going to be the Cookie’s toughest competitor. Aside from the fact that it features a 3.0-inch touchscreen and Samsung’s Widget desktop UI, the company has tried to make the touchscreen experience a little more interesting by introducing a new-ish technology called Gesture control. This new system allows for a rather innovative way to control the handset’s touchscreen interface. The best part is that users will be able to customize various applications to particular gestures. The phone also supports a virtual QWERTY keyboard for messaging and handwriting features.

Multimedia features include a 3.2MP camera that has smile technology and Samsung’s DNSe sound engine for audio playback with multiple format support for video and audio playback. Although it has just 50MB of internal space, it supports up to 8GB of external via microSD cards ensuring you have plenty of memory on hand. Google has also integrated a few of their services on the handset, that include - Google Search, Gmail, Google maps; online widgets and photo blogging.

Tags: 2 Megapixel , XpressMusic , touchscreen , 3 Megapixel