Snatch a Bargain

Anurag Chakraborty

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A price drop for the iPhone 5S this month sent gadget forums in a tizzy. Now that it was available for as low as Rs 21,000, would this Oooh-So-Cool-Cuz-It’s-Apple gizmo upstage all reigning mid-range handsets? Well it would, for idiots. But the application of just about 0.75 per cent of the average human intellect would incontrovertibly establish that besides vanity, the iPhone has little to celebrate. Vanity is a big seller but here on RealTech, we the sworn enemies of vanity, advise you to spend your money on better buys like the OnePluses, Xiaomis and the Motorolas. Also, a little birdie tells us, if you are indeed interested in snatching a sweet bargain on an old-but-not-dated phone, it should be the terrific Nokia nay Microsoft Lumia 930. Don’t waste a moment when it goes south of Rs 25K! Meanwhile, here are five picks of value for money gadgets till then.

Apple iMac Retina 27-Inch

It might be an act of sacrilege to try and spin an Apple product, that too one that costs Rs 1.6 lakh, as ‘value for money’ but hear us well when we say this. With the way 4K and 5K displays are priced in India, the 27-inch Apple iMac with a 5K (five times Full HD) may well be most cost-effective high-resolution desktop. The uses? Well besides a terrific display that makes anything look good, for any creative professional — video editor, graphic designer, music producer — a high-resolution display totally revolutionises the workflow. Sure we’d install Windows 10 on it before we even let it touch our desks but till Samsung, LG and Dell get their act together, unfortunately an Apple product is beating them to it.

Price: Rs 1.6 lakh

InFocus M680

If you are really on a tight budget and 11K is all you want to spend, you can (nearly) get the specifications of the phones above at couple of thousand bucks less, albeit at a far, far unimpressive and forgettable design, you should consider the M680. The specifications are decent — 1.5 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage and so on. For its price, it performs well — far better than its looks would make you think.

Price: Rs 11,000

Obi Worldphone SF1

Jumping in into the already cramped, but highly sought-after sub 15,000-bracket is the Obi Worldphone SF1. With a 5-inch Full HD display, 1.5 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB Storage, 13 MP rear camera, the phone is promising contender. Unlike the Moto G Turbo’s battery, what takes the cake here is its really good design and build quality. Like a cross between a Lumia and an iPhone, the design is definitely a head-turner and the company definitely more credible than a generic Indo-Chinese brand.

Price: Rs 14,000

Zebronics BT4440

When you think of good speakers, Zebronics may well be the last brand you think of. When you think of anything, Zebronics may be last brand you think of. Disadvantaged by its lacklustre branding, logo, name and product design, the company has been one of those that no snooty brand-conscious brat would ever buy. But as we recently discovered that would be a fail. It turns out Zebronics has been quietly building terrific speakers, unnoticed by the rest of the world. Sure these are no audiophile-grade beat-boxes, but among consumer-range speakers, we are not kidding when we say Zebronics’ offerings like the BT4440 4.1 setup gives speakers from Sony, Phillips and JBL worth twice as much a run for their money. Featuring bluetooth connectivity, FM, USB and SD card support built-in, a thumping bass and crisp highs and mids — the speaker set dishes out fantastic sound at a jaw-dropping price. 

Price: Rs 2,700

Moto G Turbo Edition

Extensively advertised as the phone you can rely on, Moto G Turbo is an upgraded Moto G (3rd Gen), with a faster processor and battery life. The rest of the specifications 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, 5-inch HD display make it a respectable android handset in its range. The centrepiece of the phone is its battery which claims to take in six hours’ juice in just 15 minutes with its proprietary charger. That, coupled with multi-tasking abilities, makes the Moto G Turbo one of the more non-stupid android choices out there.

Price: Rs 15,000