Xiaomi has launched a killer smartphone in India. With the Redmi 1S, Xiaomi has shown the Indian market that budget smartphones with above-average hardware can be sold for low prices by cutting margins across the profit. Xiaomi claims that their aim is to provide the user with good handsets at low costs, and they don’t believe in making massive profits for themselves. They manage to cut down on additional, unwanted costs, which eat up into the profits. These unwanted costs are usually added to the customer’s bill by various other brands.
Xiaomi had unveiled the Redmi 1S in July, which was priced at Rs 6,999. However, before the launch of the sale, they announced cutting down the price of the Redmi 1S by Rs 1,000 for the Indian market. Hence the Redmi 1S is presently being sold at a killer price of Rs 5,999.
Among the higher brands in the market, Motorola’s Moto E is one of the cheapest Android-based smartphone in India, retailing at Rs 6,999. Google has announced the Android One for the Indian market and a tie-up with three Indian smartphone manufacturers, Karbonn, Micromax and Spice, Google and the Indian brands are trying their best to dominate the budget smartphone segment.
The Android One handsets are in strong competition with the present low-cost smartphones in India. Since the launch of Motorola’s Moto E and later the Xiaomi Redmi 1S, the Android One handsets are tough competition because of the same price bracket. If Android One would have launched earlier, they could have possibly taken a larger share of the budget smartphone market. However, now that the Android One is launched, we pitch the five budget handsets against each other to find differences between them to pronounce our verdict of the Best Buy.
Motorola Moto E: The well-known smartphone brand, Motorola, had earlier launched the Moto G, Moto X and the Moto E. With the Moto E being the cheapest, Motorola managed to attract smartphone customers on a low budget. Selling at Rs 6,999, the Motorola does have unique features, which makes it a daily smartphone for the masses.
The Moto E is a dual SIM Android smartphone, which features a 4.3-inch 540x960 pixel display protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset with two processors bussing at 1.2GHz. An Adreno 302 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM help with the performance of the smartphone. The Moto E features 4GB of internal storage with an option to further expand it to 32GB using a micro SD card. The phone has a 5MP rear shooter without a flash, but does not provide a front-facing camera for selfies and video chats. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 1980 mAh non-removable battery and runs on the Android KitKat 4.4.4 operating system. The Moto E weighs 142g and is 12.3mm thick.
The Moto E is marginally waterproof—you cannot use it under water, but the company claims that wetting the phone is standard conditions, such as low rain showers or water splashes won’t harm it. The Moto E is also protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is tough and scratch-resistant. The chassis is well-built and sturdy enough to take light impacts. The Moto E is a great buy if you are looking for a tough display glass, splash-resistant and tough chassis, latest operating system, and a small form-factor.
Xiaomi Redmi 1S: The Redmi 1S started selling in India from September 2. The smartphone price, previously announced at Rs 6,999, has been cut down to Rs 5,999. The new entrant in the budget smartphone category is a product of Xiaomi, which is just a few weeks old in the Indian market, but has made a mark as the fifth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world within four years of its existence.
The Redmi 1S is a dual SIM smartphone featuring a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels and protected by an AGC Dragontrail scratch-resistant glass. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with four processors clocked at 1.6GHz and coupled with an Adreno 305 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM. The internal storage provided is 8GB, expandable to 64GB via a micro SD card. The rear shooter is an 8MP with a single LED flash, while a front-facing 1.6MP camera is also provided. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 2050 mAh battery and runs on a custom Android flavour of Jelly Bean v4.3 operating system, MIUI V5. The Redmi 1S weighs 158g and is 9.9mm thick.
Android One: Android One was announced at the Google IO with three Indian manufacturers on board. The Android One handsets from Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are new entrants and specifically aimed at the masses. With the Google tag on their names, the Indian smartphone are expected to give their customers the latest Android update as and when it launches. The Google tag will also help them boost sales as the customer will have the confidence of it being an up-to-date Android smartphone with a backing of the tech giant.
The Android One handsets feature a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 480x854 pixels. The smartphones are powered using a MediaTek chipset with four processors clocked at 1.3 GHz and coupled with 1GB of RAM and a MALI graphics processor. The internal storage provided is 4GB, and the cameras equipped on the handsets are 5MP for the rear and 2MP for the front. The battery fuelling the three handsets are 1700 mAh, and the operating system installed on them are Android KitKat v4.4.
Considering the hardware specifications of the five handsets, we still think the Xiaomi Redmi 1S has a superior configuration and offers a better value for money. A look back reveals a larger display with a higher resolution, a better camera at 8MP, a powerful quad-core SD400 processor over the other’s, an internal storage of 8 GB in contrast to 4GB and a customisable operating system and user interface. While the Redmi 1S and Android One smartphones are priced just Rs 300 to Rs 400 apart, the Moto E is still a bit pricey.
In our opinion, the Redmi 1S wins hands down over the others in terms of features, performance and price. The only hurdle for now is the purchase of the handset which is available exclusively on Flipkart via flash sales, while the rest of the handsets are available as and when required. So, unless you are brand conscious, and if your budget is Rs 6,000, we would still advise the Redmi 1S over the other four.
