Budget deals

There are several good phones in the below-Rs 3,000 range. Here are the best picks

Mobile phones are a dime a dozen these days, with increasingly prohibitive prices and new features. I8217;d love to have a phone with a big address book, speaker phone, FM receiver, and preferably, a camera8212;and one that8217;s not too expensive. But what8217;s a good budget? Till a few years ago, Rs 3,000 would have seemed unfeasible, but no longer. Most leading manufacturers8212;Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Motorola8212;have come out with multiple options in this range.

Motorola
Motorola has recently unveiled a large number of phones 50 last month and is one of the most interesting movers in this budget. It has two good picks, of which one was launched recently and is a recommended buy. Yuva or the W180 is light at 85 gm, has a 128215;128 pixel screen, all the features other than a camera. It claims a talk-time of nine hours, 50 minutes and a brilliant Hinglish SMS feature8212;all for Rs 2,399. Sadly, it8217;s available only in black. The other option is the W215, lighter than Yuva at 78 gm and more expensive at Rs 3,000. It has a camera, which is responsible for the increased cost and shaving off of two hours , 50 minutes of talk-time.

Nokia
It8217;s still the world leader in terms of the number of phones produced and has various models in the below-Rs 3,000 range. The two models that are selling well are the Nokia 2310 and the 2626. The latter has a much higher MRP but sells for about Rs 3,000 in the market. With talk-time ranging between three and six hours, no camera options and the phone book memory of only 200 contacts on 2310 and 300 in 2626, these are the most featureless phones in the market in this price band. The good part is that Nokia still has a huge fan following and with the available colours red, blue, white, it is a major seller.

Samsung
The Korean company8217;s phones are stylish and priced well. Two good options in the below-Rs 3,000 category are the C140 and C170. The former has small buttons, but at Rs 2,099, 69 gm and with a talk-time of five hours, it8217;s a good pick. The colour options are limited to dark and light gray. The C170 is slim at 8.9 mm thick, weighs 72 gm, is available only in red and makes for a good buy. Samsung is the only firm that maintains a 500-entry phonebook even in its cheaper models, has a useful voice memo function and costs Rs 3,000.

Sony
The Japanese giant is making waves with it8217;s Walkman series, but hasn8217;t abandoned the budget category. It has two good lookers: J110 and K220. The J1108217;s screen is small, but at Rs 2,199, with a simple interface and a lovely plastic body, it has the feel of a great phone. It features everything except a camera and has a nine-hour talk-time. Available in gray, cream and purple, it is good for college kids. But if you are looking for a camera option and a better screen, go for the K220. Though it features just a VGA camera, it has all the features you8217;d want. The battery lasts eight hours, the phone comes in black and blue and has a 300-entry phone book memory. Available for Rs 3,000, it8217;s the best buy.