Top mobile phones under Rs.10,000

We finally come to the bottom of the list, the sub-10K mobile phones. While these aren’t really power houses, they are feature-packed enough to get the job done. We’ve split this list into two segments - top phones under Rs. 5,000 and top three in the 5K to 10K range. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer.

iBall Aasaan – Rs.3,100 (View Stores)
Not everyone needs a flashy, pimped out phone with more features than you’ll ever use. Many just want basic telephony, which is where the iBall Aasaan fits the bill perfectly. Ok, so it’s not going to fly well with today’s urban youth, but then it’s not really targeted at them. It’s designed mostly for senior citizens or anyone having difficulty seeing the numbers on small keys.

Extremely simple

This GSM phone sports extra large keys and the straightforward menu system lends it a very small learning curve, so it’s easy to operate even for a novice. It does have some basic apps like a Calculator, Stopwatch, Reminder and FM Radio with an internal antenna, so you don’t need the headset for it to work. The following are some of the specs of the phone:

• 1.6-inch TFT monochrome display with a 128 x 64 pixel resolution   

• FM Radio with internal antenna

• 3.5mm earphone socket

Nokia X2-01 – Rs.3,300 (View stores)
This is one of Nokia’s more popular budget handsets. For this price, you get a robust and very functional QWERTY feature phone. The screen is decently large and is easy to read under most lighting conditions.

The budget QWERTY handset

Coming from their ‘X’ series range, we get a dedicated music key, as well as good audio quality. The built-in player offers EQ presets along with enhancements like Stereo Widening. The comfortable keypad is great for all you text addicts. Here are some of the highlights of the phone:

• 2.4-inch TFT with a 320 x 240 pixel resolution

• EDGE/GPRS

• GPS with A-GPS support

• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and USB 2.0

• VGA camera, video capture up to QVGA resolution

• 3.5mm earphone socket

• Expandable memory up to 16GB

Micromax X450 Van Gogh - Rs.3,500 (View Stores)
It’s hard to get more value for your money than what Micromax offers with the X450. Called the Van Gogh, the phone comes bundled with a Bluetooth handsfree headset, which snugly clips on to the back of the phone when not needed. How cool is that?

Great value for money

That’s really smart thinking from Micromax, as there’s no excuse for misplacing your headset now. Apart from this, it also has a good battery life, decent audio quality, a great design and the ability to expand its use through Java apps. Here are some of the highlights of the phone:

• 2.4-inch TFT with a 320 x 240 pixel resolution

• EDGE/GPRS

• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and USB 2.0

• 2 megapixel camera, video capture supported

• 3.5mm earphone socket

• Expandable memory up to 16GB