Best android smartphones to buy in India: An October 2013 edition

Ever since Apple released two new iPhones, a refreshing design update with iOS 7, Android has been a little out of the limelight. Or so it seems.
However, in a country like India, Android smartphones can never go out of the limelight, irrespective of any software or gadget that is released, mainly due to the sheer amount of phones it offers. Due to this, users are often left wondering about which is the best smartphone they can buy; one which is a perfect mix of the performance and features. Here is a list of the best Android phones one can buy this October.
Samsung Galaxy S4
No Android list is ever complete without a Samsung product; that’s for sure. Especially when it’s S4. Released in April 2013, this is one of Samsung’s most successful models, and for all good reasons. A few are listed here.
CAMERA
This is probably the aspect which has outshone the most, mainly due to the following new and innovative features:
Dual Shot: S4 is probably the only phone currently to have the ability to click photos using both the front and rear facing camera, resulting in extraordinary shots.
Sound & Shot: Ever racked your brains while looking at a photo and wondered what was being said that made you laugh so hard? Rack no more! With this new feature, every photo comes with few seconds of sound so you can remember what was being said, played and heard.
Drama Shot: This enables you to get a sequence of photos and create a collage to tell a story better than any single photo ever could.
Story Album: Say goodbye to the pains of organizing your photos and albums, only to mess them up again later! S4 can organize your photos on its own based on particular events, or customize them the way you want.
SAMSUNG HUB
This helps you to browse and shop through any content which is available from every Samsung Hub. Videos, photos and music are all integrated in one store.
AIR GESTURE
Ever needed to use your phone urgently, but couldn’t due to oily and dirty hands? Not anymore! Air Gesture can control your phone just by the wave of your hand over it without actually touching it. It supports features such as Air move, Air jump, Air call-accept/ call-reject and Quick Glance.
ADAPT DISPLAY AND SOUND
S4 provides the ultimate viewing experience with 7 automatic modes and 4 manual modes. Watch as your videos, photos and games come alive with vibrant colors and amazing quality.
The model also dials music up and down, balances it left and right and customizes the perfect volume and tone for you, based on your hearing.
HTC One
HTC One was released this year in March and has been running successfully with rave reviews. Some primary features that have helped it get a generous reception, all due to the HTC Zoe, are listed below.
STAY UPDATED WITH BLINKFEED
Now watch as all your favorite content is streamed on your home screen in a magazine-like layout. Just pick the events and social feeds with which you want to remain up to date and personalize your HTC One, just how you would like it.
WATCH YOUR GALLERY COME ALIVE
HTC Zoe enables your images to become live photos, by taking a series of photos and a three second video. This tells you the story behind every photo and makes the whole experience come alive.
CREATING A HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
You can now create a short video using your photos and videos and sit back and relax while Zoe Highlights does all the work. Share the movie using HTC Zoe, and go back to share more events of your life with all your loved ones!
REMOVE UNWANTED OBJECTS
Sometimes everything in a photo is absolutely perfect and the only thing getting in the way is a random ugly object in the sky. We have learnt to accept them and move on. But HTC One makes sure you don’t let go that easily! Using Object Removal, you can remove distractions and make sure nothing is ruining the picture anymore.
SYNC MANAGER
Previous iPhone users might relate to this feature most conveniently. Shifting from the iPhone to any other phone is pretty cumbersome due to the heavy responsibility of data management. Sync Manager makes the job easier by simplifying the task of moving all your contacts, messages, camera photos and downloaded apps to your new HTC One.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The much awaited Note 3 was released in last month and has been available since then in Indian and foreign markets. As expected out of all Samsung phones, it was positively received with good reviews. The features that made this work out are listed down below.
THE S PEN
This is probably the feature that gave the Note 3 the maximum points. The S pen is a stylus present within the body of the phone, and is activates the Air Command whenever it’s brought near to the Note 3’s screen. The Air Command has the following tools:
Action Memo: Make memos of just about anything and even take action upon them, viz. calling/ messaging numbers, emailing the mail-id, opening address in maps, etc.
Scrapbook: Organizing the important moments of your life at one place.
S Finder: Search the entire phone’s content and apps with this nifty feature.
Pen Window: Draw a rectangle and perform another task by opening another app on top of the app you might be using.
Screen Write: Annotate on your captured images
THE MULTI WINDOW
By using the Drag and Drop feature on the Multi Window, pictures and words can easily be dragged and dropped from one window to another. This enhances the productivity of the user across different applications.
That’s not all! You can also open the same application in two windows; that is, you can read the news in one browser and surf the web in another or view two YouTube videos at the same time.
5.7’’ FULL HD SCREEN
What’s a Samsung Galaxy Note without the characteristic large screen? Throw in the AMOLED Full HD screen with massive 5.7” size and you have the Note 3, with amazing clarity that makes the viewing experience unlike no other.
Micromax Canvas 4
Micromax is the one mobile company that has grown in admirable proportions over the past few years. It started from scratch and now produces phones comparable to those produced by these global companies. The Canvas 4 is one such phone, released in July 2013 and has seen satisfactory sales since then. The attractive features are listed below.
AMAZING CAMERA QUALITY
Watch all your photos and videos come alive as you shoot them with the 13MP camera, with vivid detail, complemented by the Sony Sensor. Couple it with the 5MP front facing camera and you have crystal clear images that will last you a lifetime.
CONTINUOUS VIDEO VIEWING
Put any video to your screen and watch it continuously while multitasking effortlessly between applications! Swipe your apps on the screen and drag them across it, without missing even a second of you video.
LOOK AWAY FEATURE
This is for all the distracted users out there who often feel the need to look around while viewing the video, but can’t since they don’t want to miss any viewing. There’s good news for you! Your video will automatically pause when you look away, to ensure you don’t miss any of it.
AUTO-CALL WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING
Answer a call simply by bringing the phone close to you ear! And that’s not all. You can also select a contact and then bring it close to the ear, and the Canvas 4 will dial it automatically!
Sony Xperia Z1
The Xperia series have been around for about 2 years now and have been getting positive reviews from most users. Xperia Z1, although an Xperia phone, is however, a class apart from these in terms of many features. It was released in September 2013 and its salient features are listed below.
CAMERA CHARISMA
The camera quality of Z1 remains unmatched at 20.7MP, putting it across as one of the best camera smartphone till date. It is also equipped with Sony’s famous G Lens and intelligent BIONZ as the mobile processing engine. This combination results in images which are superior in sharpness, color and clarity. It also has features such as eliminating blur, the ability to take shots in any light and Superior Auto for perfect photos. There’s more of it with software goodness like Social Live, AR Effect, Timeshift burst and Info-Eye.
DURABLY PACKED
The Xperia Z1 will handle whatever you throw at it. With the tempered glass and the IP55/IP58 rating, the phone is water and dust resistant, making it easier to use in all sorts of environments.
‘ALMOST’ PURE ANDROID EXPERIENCE
One of the biggest grouse with so many Android devices is that they’re full of unnecessary customizations from the respective manufacturers. While some of the features are surely neat and useful, several other simply consumes up the memory space. In contrast, Sony adds few enhancements only such as feature rich lock screen allowing addition of widgets, customizable quick settings which are accessible via notification drawer, and resizable small apps. Sony has explored its multimedia prowess with the Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited stores, and even PlayStation Mobile for gaming enthusiasts.
Spec Showdown
If the aforementioned features fails to impress you, let’s see the hardware configuration of the devices in one handy chart-
So, here’s our list of top Android devices, which device would you be going for?
Thanks for the reading. .
Raghav. .