Updated: 1 November 2013.
Note: Here is my list of Best Mobile Phones under Rs. 25 thousand for Year 2016: Best Android Mobile Phones in India (Year 2016)
It is strange, but this budget range have only 2 mobiles which are worth considering.
Ranking:
1. Google Nexus 4.
2. Samsung Galaxy S4 mini.
.
Description:
Best in class speed, best in class performance, fastest android update.. that’s Google Nexus 4 for your. Nexus 4 by LG has very good specifications but that is not what makes it an amazing mobile to buy. The best part is overall UI is all plain vanilla android. The way it should be. Screen is crystal clear, design is really good. There are couple of downsides to this mobile though. One is, there is no FM radio in this mobile. For music buff like me, it is important thing. And the other downside is there is only 16GB memory and no way to increase that. Also, Google Nexus 5 will be available in market in few days @28k. So, it’s close call.
Not a fan of huge screen? want a pocketable mobile without compromising on specifications? Samsung Galaxy S4 mini got you covered. This mobile packs enough punch in small footprint so as to satiate the most demanding of user. Don’t get fooled by flipkart reviews. The reviews are from the time it was priced at exorbident 30k+. For 22k, this mobile is the best money can buy. Oh, and that network problem everyone was writing about, it has been solved in latest firmware update. This firmware update started rolling in last week of october. So, now don’t worry and go for mini.
There is Samsung Galaxy S3 available in this price range. But it looks dated against S4 mini and Nexus 4.
QWERTY Mobile:
Blackberry Q5.
You can also Consider:
HTC One X, the flagship mobile of HTC from last year is still good value for money at 28k. There is LG Optimus G E975 which is clone of Nexus 4. Optimus G has addressed both downsides of Nexus. Optimus G has FM radio and have 32 GB internal memory. It is available for @28.5k. There is also Apple iPhone 4 8GB which costs around 25k, but please don’t. If you must buy iPhone, go for iPhone 4S for 30k. There is also Nokia Lumia 925.
Bottom-line:
Want a pocketable mobile, go for Samsung Galaxy S4 mini. Want bigger screen size, go for Nexus 4.
Before you buy mobile check out this link: http://deals.ebay.in/ebaydeals/list.php?cat=1 you may just be lucky enough to find your favorite mobile for awesome deal.
You can view other ranking and reviews at https://vu2ikl.wordpress.com/category/monthlyrank/
technophilia 
Helo,kapil,thnx 4 rplyng on ma tablet querie’s,once again ur jst epic. awesome man…
Plz help me out dis tym wit smart phones.
1.budget 22-25 k
2.android 4.0,upgradable 2 jb
3.camera atleast 8mp,frnt cam necessary.
4.dual core procesor atleast 1.2 ghz.bst chip set available,gud gpu
5.i want 2 play hi def games,music,surfng,nd net,,,
6.aahh mst thng gud dwnloadng speed
7.trustworty cmpany,no lags,.gud display must
8.m cnfused wit galaxy s2 n xperia s,htc sensatn xe,
9.any latest phönes,cn wait 4 1 mnths,
10.i dnt lyk sony so much,is dere any othr phones available.
Hlp please …
hi souvik,
first of all, do not consider sensation XE. it is very heavy, is not sure of getting JB and most important, htc is now focusing on it’s mobile launched after january 2012.
LG still have not achieved the smoothness in it’s UI, Motorola is winding up operations in India. So we have three heavy-weights Samsung, HTC and Sony.
SGS2 is good and it should be default choice if you don’t get HTC or Sony (IMO).
Sony Xperia S is really really good mobile, and Google has announced that it is releasing AOSP for Xperia S, the only mobile to officially get one outside it’s Nexus series. BUT, if you don’t like Sony, don’t buy it. I personally don’t like Samsung products even if i know they are technically superior and all. it is okey ;)
Now, coming to HTC. HTC One S is perfect choice. There is small catch in buying HTC One S though, One S (international version) uses Qualcomm S4 processor which is better than One S C2 (indian/asian version) which uses Qualcomm S3 version. But giving negative rating (on flipkart) just because of this one fact is utter stupidity. If you compare mobiles you will find that, HTC One S and Xperia SL have same chipset,CPU,GPU. Xperia SL costs 30k!
I would suggest you to buy HTC One S (C2) whether you buy it now or after a month, cause there aren’t any new mobiles coming before January, at-least in this price range.
One S (C2) is better than Xperia S; firstly in terms of processor speed, secondly HTC Sense UI is more polished than Sony UI, thirdly One is more durable than Xperia S, fourthly One S just looks better than Xperia S and most important cause you don’t like Sony so much :)
It costs 27 as of now but keep eye on ebay deals (link is mentioned in blogpost). ASA prices drop to your desired range, buy it..
Wat abt samsung galaxy s advance…?price is 20k.
Dis mobile thng is jst 2 cnfusng.:-/
2.gsm arena has also rated one s c2 poorly dnt know why!!
3.one s(c2) having a problmb of death grip !!
4.it doesnt evnt have a micro sd card slot.though 16 gb memory is enough i gues,bt only 11 gb available 4 user’s. non replacable battery…cn diz b a prob!
5.poor battery lyf…acc 2 user’s opinion.
Too many disadvantages.
Sammy’s gs2 is a gud phone.its old n gets heatd up bt stil performance wise its da bst n evn users are ratng it as a grt phone. bt still dnt know wat 2 do…wat abt u!
Help plz.cz
I thnk 25 k is a huge ammount jst wana invest it 4 da right thng!
Gracias amigo
1. SGS advance is best mobile under 20k. no doubt about that.
2. For the same reason it is rated low on flipkart.
3. it is not cellular death grip but for wifi reception only..that too if only you completely cover upper 1 inch of device with your hand.
4. i am using 8gb card in my mobile..with all songs from last 3 years in my mobile..2gb is unused. but yes..if you are going to put your complete music collection on your mobile i would suggest you to consider mobile with sd card.
I don’t think of any problem with non-replaceable battery, you can hard reset the mobile with key combination. in fact i like non replaceable battery, it occupies less space.
5. some users don’t know how to use their mobile efficiently. This i is not a problem of users but of android system per se. With the kind of question you are asking i think you are not one of those users. ;) don’t worry about it you can get average or above average battery life if you follow some tricks.
Between SGS2 and SGS Advance since the UI is same, compare the specs only and see whether extra 5k is worth better camera more screen size and better chipset. (I think it is!) All mobiles android or iDevices get heated up if you play games and power hungry application. And you will put SGS2 in a case right? you wont feel heat then.
But If I compare specs plus the UI plus the design I would still put HTC One S(C2) above SGS2. Again it is personal opinion cause I find HTC UI much better than touchwiz and HTC build quality plus design much better than sammy.
As I said, let SGS2 be your default choice. Don’t get to confused, if you think you may not be happy with One S, you may be right.
The best way to compare mobile is, comparing them without paying attention price. That way you will buy the mobile which you like more. and will be more happy with it.
Hello Kapil….
Please let me know the best mobile under Rs.25000/- with good screen, 1 GB ram, front camera,if its android then upgradeable to JB,window phone can be considered..
I am bit confused with HTC One S, Nokia Lumia 820, Lg Optimus 9, and Huawei Honor.
Please suggest me best one with a SOLID reason.As i am looking for a Long term phone.
This would be my first smartphone, so plzz…
Thanks in advnace..
I think this blog post is all I have to say.
but yes, since you mentioned the Windows phone.
I hope you know that microsoft have come up with upgrade to their mobile OS.
I would urge you to wait for windows phone 8 instead of buying windows phone 7.5. There is issue of application compatibility and all.
Good morning kapil, I wanted to buy a new smartphone. since I dont use any android phone. plz suggest me best android phone among sony,htc,samsung.
my requirements is
1. 8 mp camera
2. dual core 1 ghz processor
3. 4 inch screen
4. 1 gb ram and good
GPU.
5. Better battery performance
6. no lag
etc.
my budget is around 20-22k
and also tell me the is there is any launch of new phones from htc,samsung and sony ?
also suggest the WINDOWS phone from htc and nokia around my budget(15000 to 23000)
and tell me the diffrance between android and windows? and why android is so popular than windows?
20-22 is very lucrative segment. There is going to be very big technical event in second week of January. Most of companies launch their new mobiles there. So I would suggest you to wait for that. Till 15 January that is.
So plz suggest me the mobile . I wanted to buy as soon as possible
Hi,kapil plz tell me the diffrance between android and windows 8 O.S and which one is better?
Crude difference is, android is based on Linux and windows is… well.. on windows.
They have different UI. As of now, android UI is more functional while that of windows consumes comparatively less battery. But actually it depends from person to person.
Android on plus side has vast number of apps. While I agree that number of apps is just a boasting figure, one cant ignore the fact that android outnumbers the windows platform in terms of number of quality apps as well (as of now).
People love android because you can tweak it however you want. So if you don’t like certain aspect of function you can change it to your liking. and hence more popular.
You will find MS office for mobile installed by default in Windows phone, but you can find many good office application in android app store as well. Unless you are a business person and rely _heavily_ on MS Office, I would suggest android device over windows phone.
First preference Xperia SL. Then HTC One S, if you can stretch a little you can get HTC One X for 25k in ebay deals, that would be *awesome*.
Cheers!
thanks kapil
Hello Kapil….
Please let me know the best mobile under Rs.30000/- with good screen, min 1 GB ram, best camera,no lag,fast processor..
Hi Nikhil,
If possible wait till end of this month. There is huge mobile event taking place by end of this month. 25-28 feb to be precise..
ok i’ll wait,bt suggest me the best A.S.A.P…
hi kapil,
plz sugget a mobile under 25000
see the ranking. I have updated the blog.
I would still buy Sony Xperia SL for 24k. Worth it. Totally.
hiiii kapil plizzz help me i want a best camera mobile and good looking phone ….. i am confused for sony xperia v…xperia s xperia sl and samsung s 2 plus and allso which brand i choussss …and any other phone sugest me plizzzzzzz
Hi roshan, among Xperia V, S, SL and galaxy S2 Plus Xperia V would be best one.
don’t go for SGS2 Plus, even the old SGS2 is better than S2 Plus.
Xperia V is excellent mobile..but you won’t get it in India. also, if you could get it from abroad, it won’t be covered by warranty.
Instead I would suggest you to go for Nexus 4 as first preference and Xperia SP as second preference..
Hello Kapil, Based on real-life reviews and your opinion, which phone should I choose – Sony Xperia SL or Sony Xperia S or HTC One S or Samsung Galaxy S2? My budget is between 20-25 k. I would expect the phone to have flawless net connectivity, reliable camera that can capture quality photos and an enjoyable audio performance. Considering the budget I would expect the phone to durable enough that can be used for a few years. On a few websites, I have found complains about the touch screen button issue of HTC One S. Please help with your final advice as soon as possible. Regards, Sumit
Keep away from HTC One S. HTC said, they won’t give upgrades for One S. So frankly I don’t think it makes sense to go for HTC One S. SGS2 is old mobile now.
Between Xperia S and SL, Xperia SL definitely is best choice. In fact. Of all the mobiles you are thinking, Xperia SL is best.
But, Why are you not considering. Xperia SP. It would be perfect mobile for you (Except it is tad bit heavier).
And of course if you can go for, htc desire 600 or Galaxy S4 Mini. Both these are excellent mobiles. But be told, both are over priced as of now. Either of this mobiles for 25k would be perfect thing.
All in all, I feel Xperia SP would be the best thing and won’t disappoint you.
Thank you for your guidance. Nice weekend. – Sumit
Hello kapil…..i want to ask about a phone with a good processor,camera and range is b/w 15-25k….which brand should i prefer