Gizmo Ground

T-21 is a lightweight (weighing just 76 grams) dual SIM, basic multimedia phone which also happens to be Techcom's flagship mobile lurking in the Indian market. It is coated with a matte black finish on the front & rear panels, while a red strip decorates the body contours. The navigation control dial comprises a centre select button coated in matte black finish, which is enclosed by a red squared strip that represents the four-directional navigation key.

The T-21 incorporates a 3.5mm audio jack on the left, a USB power port on the right and the LED torch at the top. The colour coding of T-21 is identical to the Micromax's X250, which also incorporates black with red colour pattern. Also, the design aesthetics of the navigational control are quite similar to each other. That should not sound like just a coincidence, as both the cellphones are dual SIMs. The only features separating the two are: Bluetooth and the integrated camera which are missing on the T-21.

However, we could forgive the T-21, as it is one of the cheapest dual SIMs available in the market today at Rs. 1500; while the Micromax X250 is priced a little higher at Rs. 2500 (street prices might be much lower). The X250 misses out on the 3.5mm audio jack, while it is the strong point of the T-21 making it a better multimedia cellphone. T-21 is rated to play a full three hour length (200MB) movie without any hiccups, while being the flagship MP4/3GP video player champ in the low budget category (under Rs. 1500).Incorporating hard touch keys, the T-21 looks and feels rugged. However, it results in poor tactile feedback forcing the user to press the keys harder for registering the input successfully. The slow response time to display the user input makes typing even more cumbersome & straining to the fingers. Overall, the shoddy keypad design aesthetics and poor ergonomics happen to be the biggest drawbacks for such a value for money cellphone. However, the menu interface is neat and well organized.

The recent surveys done by top research firms like Gartner point to the growing popularity of the Android operating system (OS). Worldwide, the shares of Android OS have jumped and it is now the second most popular OS after Symbian, as per Gartner’s third quarter smartphone data released in November 2010.

The reason for the immense adoption of Android can be attributed to it being an open source operating system that is preferred by handset manufacturers. Plus there is the Android market that houses more than 200,000 apps. Indian manufacturers are cashing on big time in theAndroid platform and are coming up with new and cheap handsets to cater to the Indian user’s taste and sensibility.

We picked top five phones running on the Android platform and are priced below  10,000 that give value for money.

1. Samsung Galaxy 5

Running on Android 2.1, the Samsung Galaxy 5 features a 2.8 inch display touchscreen with 240×320 pixel resolution. The phone is powered by a 600MHz processor. It has Samsung’s proprietary TouchWIZ UI. The phone has access to the Android market, thus you can download huge number of apps through this. Connectivity wise, the phone scores with packing in 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS support. With an internal memory of 170MB, the phone comes with a 2GB microSD card. The memory can be further expanded to 16GB. It packs in a 2MP camera and its powerful battery gives a long talk time of 9.5 hours.
price:  8,869

Having got itself the update from Android 1.6 to 2.1, the Spice Mi-300 has brought itself out of the initial criticism that it faced without the OS update. Sporting a 3.2 inch capacitive display screen, and supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth for connectivity, it has a 5MP camera with LED flash option. It comes with 150MB internal memory that can be extended up to 32GB with a microSD card. The battery supports a talk time of five hours.
Price:  9,000

The Dell XCD28 features a 2.8 inch resistive touchscreen and runs on the Android 2.1 operating system. Powered by a 600MHz processor, the device has a 3.2MP camera. The phone weighs just 100 gram and has 256MB of RAM and ROM each. Connectivity wise, the phone has 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. It ships with an internal memory of 200MB that can be extended up to 16GB.
Price:  7,999

The Android 2.2 run phone from Huawei has just been released in India in partnership with Aircel. Ideos has a 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen with screen resolution of 320X240. A 3.2 MP camera is present at the rear of the phone. Connectivity options include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3g and GPRS. Powered by a 528MHz processor, the phone can function as a Wi-Fi router for eight devices. The memory of the phone can be increased up to 32GB using a microSD card. With the Aircel tie-up, a postpaid subscriber of Aircel is granted 2GB of free mobile data every month.
Price:  8,499

The first Android phone launched by Micromax, the Andro A60 is a full touchscreen smartphone that runs on the Android 2.1 Eclair OS. The phone has a 2.8 inch resistive screen with an auto focused 3.2 MP camera. Powered by a 600MHz microprocessor, the phone comes with an internal memory of 150MB and can be expanded up to 32GB using a micro SD card. Connectivityfeatures of the phone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. The Andro A60 also packs in an Accelerometer and Gravity sensor for playing the Android-platform based games. The device includes FM radio and is powered by a 1280 mAh Li-ion battery.
Price:  6,699

 

The Dual SIM Mobile phone market is growing exponentially with each passing day. We hear the announcements of new dual SIM phones almost every day launched by local as well as global mobile phone makers.  There was a time when the dual SIM market was mostly dominated by the ‘desi’ handset makers. Taking the cue from the success of dual SIM handsets in India, now the mobile giants have joined the big league too as we recently heard that Nokia, Samsung andMicromax have entered the dual SIM bandwagon in India.

In fact, the dual SIM phones are becoming more popular and there is big demand proportionate to the market  in this part of the world. As people want different networks for their different needs and call usage, dual SIM phones become more relevant in light of the fluctuating tariff plans offered by the leading mobile operators in India. The companies have already begun to produce and push Triple SIM handsets in the recent times to lure the avid mobile phone users in India.

Although, its too difficult to sort out the best dual SIM cellphones in India, as the volume of devices being too big to handle, we have tried to list the new released handsets with some unique features and pricing other than the dual SIM capabilities. Feel free to suggest other devices which could have found their way within this listing.

Samsung Star DuosSamsung Star Duos (GT-B7722), the first dual SIM device offering 3G and 2G dual-active standby support, is now available in India. The new Samusng Star Duos dual SIM (GSM + CDMA) is a 3G-ready bar phone. The device comes with the options of two SIM cards, running 3G on one and GPRS/EDGE network on the other. The key features of this new Star Duos device include a 3.2 inch TFT touchscreen display, 5 megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom and LED flash support, QVGA video recording @ 30 fps and secondary camera for video calling. The handset introduces a 3 page extended menu with TouchWiz 2.0 UI. The Samsung Star Duos (GT-B7722) is priced at Rs. 12,300 in the Indian market.

Micromax X600Micromax X600 is another dual SIM GSM mobile phone that allows users to change the SIM just by rotating the phone upside down. This feature is enabled with Gravity Sensor technology incorporated on the handset. Micromax X600 is a 3.2 inch full touchscreen phone with 2 sets of hangup and call keys – one at top and the other at the bottom. It features a 2 megapixel camera and comes preloaded with the Opera mini browser, Nimbuzz and Facebook. Micromax X600 mobile phone is approximately priced at about Rs. 4,900 in India.

Karbonn K25Karbonn Mobile has launched Karbonn K25, an attractively priced dual SIM QWERTY phone featuring an optical trackpad. The new Karbonn K25 mobile phone comes with eye-catching features coupled with a stylish design. The Karbonn K25 phone is a dual SIM (GSM), multimedia phone and comes preloaded with social networking apps like Facebook, Twitter, Opera Mini, Yahoo Messenger and MSN. The phone is equipped with rich multimedia features, with hi-fidelity sound and different equaliser effects. It offers FM Radio, video recording, torch, expandable memory upto 8 GB, 2 megapixel camera and A2DP  Bluetooth. The Karbonn K25 mobile phone is available at a price of Rs. 4,400 in the Indian market.

LG KS660The LG KS660 Dual-SIM mobile phone is a Touchscreen triband GSM network ready phone which features a large 3.0-inch 262K colors color display, 5.0 MP digital camera, powerful MP3 and media player, integrated FM Radio with recording facility, memory expansion card slot and option for Hindi language in SMS and system menu. The LG KS660 mobile phone also features a unique scratch-proof display screen and it boasts of capacity of continuous 15 hours of music playback.

Nokia C1Nokia has also made its debut in the dual SIM segment with the launch of Nokia C1 mobile phone in the Indian market. All domestic brands such as Zen, Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are giving immense competition to global giants such as LG, Samsung and Nokia with their pocket-friendly and feature-rich dual SIM phones. Nokia has launched C1 handset that offers multiple SIM capabilities with a balanced feature set and relevant innovations at affordable price points. It sports FM radio and flashlight as well as a call divert feature, ensuring that the user does not misses a call from either of the SIMs. The Nokia C1 (C1-00) is priced at about Rs. 1,999 in India.

Motorola EX115The Dual SIM market in India is getting more competitive with the launch of new handsets by the global mobile phone makers. By far, the local handset makers were dominating the dual SIMmarket in India. Now the mobile phone giants have joint this league too to offer a stiff competition to the “desi dual SIM devices”. Now Motorola has recently introduced a new dual SIM phone Motorola EX115 in India. The Motorola EX115 is a stylish messaging phone equipped with QWERTY keypad. It sports a 3 megapixel camera and a 2.3 inch QVGA screen. The Motorola EX115 mobile phone is priced at Rs. 5,990 in the Indian market. Motorola glam is another newly launched phone by Motorola in India.

Spice D-1100The Spice D-1100 Candybar style India’s first Dual SIM Mobile Phone PDA is powered byWindows mobile 6.0 and it features 256K colors TFT color dislay, 2.0 Megapixel Digital Camera with 6x Zoom, integrated MP3 media player, GPRS and Bluetooth connection.Dual SIM(GSM+GSM) Spice D-1100 mobile phone allows in SIM-1 Tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and in SIM-2 Dual-band 900 / 1800 MHz network connection. The phone enables user to carry two distinct phone numbers at the same time.

Intex IN 6633Intex Technologies has recently launched Intex IN 6633 dual SIM (GSM+GSM), QWERTY mobile phone in India. The feature-rich Intex device scores well on its appearance, tech specs and push mail features. Intex IN 6633 mobile phone sports a 2.3 inch TFT screen display, 2 megapixel VGA camera and video player with video recorder. The device is equipped with FM radio with scheduler, audio player with equalizer and games. Preloaded with 1300 mAh battery, Intex IN 6633 provides up to 4 hours of talk time and up to 260 hours of standby time. The Java-enabled Intex IN 6633 device comes with answer machine and push mail support up to 10 accounts. Thedevice is currently priced at Rs. 4,500 in India.

Lava B5Lava B5 is another innovative dual SIM device that deserves attention. It’s the first dual SIM device with Alpha keypad with rupee symbol incorporated. This innovative keypad is neither traditional Multi-tap nor QWERTY; instead the keys are arranged in ABCD order to provide convenience for the users. The tech specs of Lava B5 include an A B C D keypads with QWERTY looks,  a 2.2 inch QVGA TFT screen display and a 2 megapixel camera. The device comes with E-mail support, multi format video and audio player, FM, MP3 and MP4 features. Lava B5 mobile phone is available at a price tag of 4,399 in the Indian market.

Zen M25
Zen M25 mobile phones is a dual SIM device with standby time of 72 days or 1,728 hours. Zen M25 is the first dual SIM device with 72-day standby time, which is the maximum backup time for any device available in India to date. Targeted at rural areas where people face frequent electricity problems, Zen M25 comes powered with a 2500 mAh battery that allows users up to 16 hours of talk time and 72 days or 1,728 hours of battery back up time on the standby mode. Zen M25 handset supports two GSM connections. It comes with a 2.4 inch QVGA screen display, 1.3 megapixel camera and FM radio. Offering English and Hindi language support, Zen M25 mobile phone is available at a price of Rs 3,400 in India.