There was a time when branded smartphones were all you got. It started off with Apple and Samsung, then came LG, HTC and just a few others like Motorola. Now, we have the Chinese revolution. There are brands out there that will take you a while to pronounce their names and a bit longer to learn to spell them. At first, they were looked down upon, and many with good reason. Micromax came out with some great budget phones, but couldn’t sustain it because there were issues with build quality for one. Suddenly, a few years ago, then Google owned Motorola brought out the MotoG at a relatively low price and they renergised the budget phone market. Lenovo followed suit and suddenly everyone realized that one didn’t have to pay Rs 30,000 and above for a decent phone, unless you were a heavy user who needed major specifications or you wanted to flaunt it at your latest soiree.
With the various Chinese brands entering the market today, things have changed drastically. Brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus and a few others did not even exist in the market in 2012-13, but today they are taking large bites out of the ever increasing pie. They’re offering specifications in a phone that costs less than Rs 20,000, whereas you will get the same specs in a larger brand, but will have to shell out Rs 30,000 or more. So, what makes these phones so smart and ‘buyable’?
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I upgraded from the LG G2 to the Mi5 and I was a bit concerned considering it’s a Chinese product but a week into the purchase, I realised you don't need to drop 50k on a good phone. The new phones are equally efficient, styled impeccably and it’s just generally criminal to spend so much money on a product that essentially does the same thing across the board. The Mi5 got a great camera, is fast and does everything that I need it to do! Absolutely thrilled with my purchase!
Julian de Gouveia Pinto,
Nowadays in mobiles, brands hardly matter with Apple being the exception. This is primarily because there is no resale value. We are in the ‘use and throw’ era and the barriers to new entrants in the Android segment are almost non-existent. Whoever comes up with the best specs + price combo and an e-commerce tie-up runs away with the market. I use a OnePlus phone, a brand which did not exist in the market two years ago. As and when needed, I will switch to whatever offers me the best value at that point.
Alinio Mascarenhas, marketing manager
I am using Coolpad android phone. Prior to this I was using an expensive eight month old phone which unfortunately got lost. I couldn’t afford to go for a top brand, so I did a quick search and few articles later zeroed on this brand called Coolpad. It cost me Rs 7000. Three months later I am not complaining. I am minimalist user - WhatsApp, email, music app, twitter and few others. I knew the phone I was buying has enough processing power and battery charge to run those apps smoothly for 24 hours. Expensive phones are ok if you are geek or want it as a style statement, but as a bare necessity I find it absurd if anybody buys smartphone today above Rs 20,000.
Mithil Gaunkar, engineer
