Top 5 value for money smartphones of 2013

Another year is about to end and the gadgets market has only experienced expansion. Almost every month, native as well as international mobile phone giants were launching new smartphones, thereby, increasing the options for a buyer. While some of these handsets appeared somewhat overpriced, others were truly worth every penny. The top 5 value for money smartphones of the year has been enlisted as follows:

Nexus 5: Rs 28,999 (16GB), Rs 32,999 (32GB)

 This smartphone was a result of joint efforts of LG and Google. Nexus 5 features a 5 inch True HD IPS touch display. Powered by Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset, Krait 400 quad core processor of 2.3 GHz and 2 GB RAM, Nexus 5 works on Android 4.4 KitKat platform. It has everything you can wish for except expandable memory and costs about Rs 10,000 less than the similarly specced rivals. No one comes close to this one in terms of value for money.

Lumia 520: Rs 8,000

This Nokia product was a part of its widely popular Lumia series. Lumia 520 comes with a 4 inch IPS LCD touch display. This smartphone works on Windows Phone 8 OS and has been equipped with Qualcomm MSM8227 dual core processor of 1 GHz with a RAM of 512 MB. The smartphone is the world’s most popular Windows Phone device and accounts for majority of the sales.

Micromax Canvas HD: Rs 12,000(initially Rs 13,499):

 Micromax Canvas HD sports a LCD IPS touch display of 5 inches. It has been loaded with Mediatek MT6589 chipset, Cortex A7 quad core processor of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB RAM. Canvas HD functions on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean platform. After the success of the Canvas 2, Micromax needed something bigger and better to take the momentum forth. The Canvas HD has been the reason for the manufacturer’s widespread success off late and still makes for a pretty good buy.

Xperia C: Rs 18,000

This Sony product comes with a capacitive TFT touch display of 5 inches. Powered by Mediatek MT6589 chipset, Cortex A7 quad core processor of 1.2 GHz and 1 GB RAM, this device runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS. It brings an 8MP rear snapper and a 1.3MP front camera to the table alongside getting the connectivity bases covered. The smartphone from Sony costs just about Rs 3,000 more than the similarly specced native devices but brings the trust of Sony so makes a lot more sense.

Huawei Ascend Mate: Rs 24,000

Huawei Ascend Mate features a 6.1 inch capacitive LCD IPs touch display. This smartphone has been loaded with Huawei K3V2 chipset, Cortex A9 quad core processor of 1.5 GHz and 1 GB RAM. Huawei Ascend Mate works on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean platform. The phablet did not gain much popularity, but was way better than the Mega 5.8 with which it was meant to compete. At Rs 24,000, it accounted for a really good device.

Our take: Its all about making a smart buy. And these phones were the smarter of the lot. Nexus 5 takes the cake for me. What about you?