Sony Ericsson W580i

Diwali Dhamaka: Phones under 15K

If you were under the impression that the market was flooded with more of the low-end phones you're quite mistaken. Even with a budget of Rs. 10 to 15 thousand your decision to pick the right mobile phone may be quite confusing considering the variety of phones available and the host of features they offer.

This time I've kept the number of phones down so it becomes easier to figure out the best in this price category. Well, with the number of phones available, it's always possible to find something that you find worth investing in.

Sony Ericsson W580i: Rs 10,150

The Sony Ericsson W580i is Walkman branded S500 phone with music quality that's surely better than most phones. The phone has seen quite a success after its price was slashed. The only thing that's poor about this phone is its camera and the 512MB memory card. This phone has RDS FM unlike its S500 counterpart and the Walkman v2.0, which shows album art and visualizations.

The Sony Ericsson W580i sells for just over 10K and can be got for Rs 10,150. It's a good price but a serious upgrade to 1GB memory card is needed and some dealers do offer it in exchange of the 512 MB card and a couple of hundreds. However, this pushes the price to 10.5K. The W580i's good battery life promises not only enough talktime to last you a couple of days but also good amount of music playback.

If you are really not too keen on the music quality and want a better camera along with your music phone, then there is the Nokia XpressMusic 5610. It has a 3.15MP camera with flash and produces image results much better than the W580i. This is an alternate solution and it's for about a thousand more with a 1GB card.