While the focus in the first two days of the MWC 2015 was primarily on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9, there were a number of inexpensive smartphones announced at the event. And anyone who has been following the smartphone market would know that's where the competition lies. So, here's a look at every smartphone launched at MWC 2015 that is not going to be obscenely priced.
Gionee Elife S7
Enough with the slim phones already! The newly annouced Gionee Elife S7 has a 5.2 inch AMOLED display and 1.7 GHz octa-core SoC. It is only 5.5 mm thick and has 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage. It should be priced around Rs. 15,000 in India, which is scheduled for April 2015.
Lenovo Vibe Shot
A Snapdragon 615 SoC, with 5 inch FHD display and 16MP camera puts this phone at the upper end of the affordable range. It also has 3GB of RAM and an 8MP front camera. Come to think of it, it could easily be priced higher, but going by Lenovo's record, we expect a price around Rs. 25,000. It has a $349 (around Rs. 22,000) off contract price tag and will be released in June.
Lenovo A7000
Another budget phablet is coming to challenge the Yu Yureka. The A7000 is the phablet version of the Lenovo A6000, which we reviewed recently. It has a 5.5 inch HD display and a 1.5 GHz octa-core SoC. It looks exactly like a larger version of the A6000 should. The off contract price overseas is $170 (around Rs. 11,000) and it will be released in March. In India, the price should be about Rs. 10,000 if Lenovo gets competitive.
Microsoft Lumia 640
Microsoft continued its focus on the budget and affordable segment with this smartphone. It runs on a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 SoC and has a 5 inch 720p display, along with 1GB of RAM. The company has priced it at €139 (approx Rs. 9,200) for the 3G version and €159 (approx Rs. 11,000) for the LTE variant. The India price should be thereabouts.
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
The phablet version for the Lumia 640 is priced slightly higher. The XL comes with a 5.5 inch display and a bigger 3000 mAh battery while the other specifications remain the same. Microsoft has given this a price tag of €189 and €219 (approx. Rs. 13,000 and Rs. 15,000 respectively). Anything more than Rs. 15,000 would surely mean this device is yet another failure from the company.
LG Magna, Spirit, Leon and Joy
Although they were announced just before MWC 2015, the new budget devices from LG have one thing over their competitors — they come with Android Lollipop out of the box. All the phones look similar to the LG G3, while the Magna and Spirit have slightly curved displays. While there's no indication about the price yet, they should cost between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 25,000.
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
Sony's 4 series of smartphones is officially underway, but the company surprisingly didn't bring a Z4 flagship. Instead, Sony announced this, the Xperia M4 smartphone and the Xperia Z4 Tablet. Both the devices are waterproof and feature Sony's new cap-less micro-USB port. The device should be priced around Rs. 18,000 and has an off contract price of $330.
ZTE Grand S3
The ZTE Grand S3 is the only phone on this list that has flagship level specifications. The device has a 5.5 inch 1080p display and is powered by the Snapdragon 810 SoC. There are also 16MP and 8MP cameras on the rear and front. ZTE's pricing strategy has been like other Chinese brands, so this one should cost around Rs. 27,000.
Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3
Alcatel actually launched two phones under one name. The difference is in the screen size- 4.7 inch or 5.5 inch. Each of these runs on the Snapdragon 400 and 600 SoCs respectively and have 13MP cameras. Their main feature though is that they're reversible, i.e., there are speakers and mics on both the top and bottom and you can hold the phone any side up and make phone calls etc. The pricing for these should be between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000.