We recently talked about the top 5 smartphones under Rs 10,000 and the top 5 smartphones between Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000. So now is the time to decide on the best handsets available in the price range of Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000.
This segment is the arena of gladiators, old and new. Some even come with such high end specifications that they put handsets priced higher than Rs 40,000 to shame.
It is currently the most talked about handset. It was launched only in October this year and comes in 16 GB and 32 GB versions, in black and white colours. The 16 GB version of Nexus 5 is available from Google Play Store for Rs 28,999. Not many online retailers are offering it as of now so you will have to buy it from the Google Play store.
First of all, the Google Nexus 5 is a beautifully designed smartphone. It is just 8.59 mm thick that makes it one of the slimmest smartphones in the world today. Also despite having a 4.95 inch touchscreen and a huge 2300 mAh battery, it weighs just 130 grams.
But it is not just its body, the phone’s specifications also make it one of the best smartphones in the world today. The Nexus 5 has a 4.95 inch touchscreen, that too with full high definition resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It comes armed with the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. Moreover, the 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, Adreno 330 GPU, and 2 GB RAM make it a hulk handling a multitude of tasks with ease.
The LG made Google Nexus 5 has an 8 megapixel auto focus rear camera with optical image stabilisation. Recently, Google also issued Android 4.4.1 update to make the camera even better. There is a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera as well. Besides, the Nexus 5 has a 2300 mAh battery that is said to provide 17 hours of talktime and 300 hours on standby. It is armed with dual Band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC as well.
However, the Nexus 5 has no expandable memory. So if you are buying the 16 GB version, you have to manage with limited storage.
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This is another giant in this price bracket and is the only phone in this list to come with Windows Phone 8 operating system. It comes with a 4.5 inch Amoled touchscreen with high definition (1280 x 720 pixel) resolution. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection and is said to provide wide viewing angles. Moreover, the display is said to come with sunlight readability enhancements to make it easier to use outdoors.
The Nokia Lumia 925 has a powerful 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, which is assisted by 1 GB RAM. However, like Nexus 5, it has 16 GB internal storage only, without an expandable storage slot.
But the main attraction of Lumia 925, for which reason we have chosen it, is its camera capability. Its 8.7 megapixel auto focus rear camera with PureView technology and Carl Zeiss optics make it one of the best smartphone cameras available today. It also comes with a 1.2 megapixel front camera.
The 8.5 mm thick Nokia Lumia 925 has a 2000 mAh battery that claims to provide 12 hours of 3G talktime, which is one of the best in the industry as of now. Besides, this 3G smartphone has WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS with GLONASS support, micro USB, and DLNA capability. Currently, it is available for around Rs 28,000.
We had reviewed this phone sometime back and we gave it 9.5 out of 10! We had thus no doubts about including it in this list. It is the only water resistant handset here.
Sony Xperia Z comes with a 5 inch display with full HD resolution. It has a powerful 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core processor, Adreno 320 GPU, Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean operating system, and huge 2 GB RAM. Most importantly, it has 16 GB internal storage and 32 GB expandable storage slot.
Xperia Z is also considered one of the best camera phones available today due to its 13 megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS sensor that allows it to capture incredible images in low light. The rear camera has an image stabilisation feature with 16x zoom, and is said to capture full HD resolution videos. In the front too it has a decent 2 megapixel camera.
The Sony Xperia Z is incredibly thick at 7.9 mm, despite having a 2330 mAh battery that is said to provide 11 hours of 3G talktime. Besides, the Xperia Z has WiFi, a Micro USB port, Bluetooth, DLNA, and GPS with Glonass support. You can read the full review here.
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It is the thinnest smartphone of the world with 6.18 mm thickness. The phone is beautiful outside but is powerful from inside. It comes with a unibody construction with an artistic curvy bottom and metal work on its sides. Despite having a 4.7 inch display and huge 2000 mAh battery, it weighs just 120 grams.
But this beautiful smartphone has a beast inside- a 1.5 GHz quad core processor, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system, and a huge 2 GB RAM. The Ascend P6 also has 8 GB ROM and a 32 GB expandable memory slot. This Huawei smartphone comes with an 8 megapixel rear auto focus camera and a 5 megapixel front camera.
Besides, the Huawei Ascend P6 has WiFi, Bluetooth, micro USB port, and a single SIM slot. Currently it is available in India for Rs 25,499.
Available for around Rs 26,490, the HTC Desire 600 comes with a 4.5 inch Super LCD 2 display with qHD (540 x 960 pixel) resolution. It is powered by a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad core Processor assisted by Android Jelly Bean operating system and 1 GB RAM. Storage wise, it is the best in this list with 8 GB ROM and a 64 GB micro SD card slot.
The HTC Desire 600 also has an 8 megapixel auto focus rear camera and a 1.6 megapixel front camera. The rear camera though is able to capture only HD videos and not full HD, which is common to all smartphones in this list. The Desire 600 is armed with an 1800 mAh battery, which is said to provide 11 hours of 3G talktime. Besides, the Desire 600 has WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and DLNA.
You can read its complete review here.