Owner’s Pride

“Camera,music,memory,battery life,most had all that I as a student want,” he says,flaunting his find,a sleek Nokia 6300 that he picked for Rs 4,500. Mittal is not alone in buying an entry-level phone. “About 40 per cent of my class flaunts phones which are intelligent buys than random picks,” says Shalini Kumari,a BA first year student of Government College for Girls,Sector 11,all set to buy AirNet’s dual SIM mobile phone AN2020i. “It comes with a digital camera,torch light,FM radio,MP3 player,1.8 inch TFT screen,T flash card support,expandable memory,high life battery and mobile tracker,all for Rs 1699,” she says. Amritpal Singh,a third year student of law,agrees. “I change my phone every six months so it is wasteful to buy expensive phones. There are several options too,” says Hemant Mahajan,a third year student of Panjab University who owns a Sony Ericsson J120i that cost him Rs 1,500.

“Mobile phones are becoming a need more than a necessity. One needs to flaunt stylish,hi-tech models that come at reasonable cost. But then music,expandable memory,Bluetooth are the bare necessities,” says SN Rai,co-founder and director,LAVA International Ltd,whose latest launch,Lava M 23 is priced at Rs 4,499.

Motorola has unfurled a collection of five new phones in Motoyuva WX series. “While WX181 comes with FM radio and integrated light torch,the WX260 and WX265 have Bluetooth,integrated MP3 players,expandable memory of up to 2GB and GPRS connectivity. As for WX290 and WX295 they have a digital camera,” says Andrew Morley,vice-president of marketing,EMARA,Motorola Mobile Devices and Home,adding that the products are priced between Rs 1,490 to Rs 2,890. “The aim is to meet the changing needs of our Indian consumers and offer them affordable solutions for talking,texting,taking photos and listening to tunes,” says Morley.

Elsewhere,the new Intex IN 3080 E Glider appeals with its aesthetics. “Complete with dual SIM feature,it is powered with an audio chip from Yamaha and is a treat for the music lovers. The quick access music keys provide easy navigation to high quality music and videos. The 6.1 cm long screen provides a comfortable interface to surf internet,” says Rahul Gulati,a student of SD College who bagged his set for Rs 3,490. But then if someone wants a phone just to receive and make calls Varun Kapahi,a 22-year-old has the perfect device,“the Olive phone that is priced at Rs 700.”