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Smartphones from local manufacturers seem to be favoured for their features and cost

There is a flood of new smartphones in the Indian market. Not a surprise really, considering the rate at which technology advances. But the surprise is that a lot of them are from local manufactures, catering to all price points and providing a variety of features. Buyers mainly look for a good processor for smooth functioning of the phone, ease in switching between applications, battery back-up, and a good display, apart from build and camera quality, and storage. Interestingly, a lot of phones provide a 1.2-GHz quad core processor or even an Intel processor, up to 8 MP front camera and 1 GB RAM, and even 1080p displays. A significant advantage of phones by Indian manufacturers is the relatively low pricing — many phones are priced at less than Rs. 10,000 and do not exceed Rs. 20,000, except a few. Graphic designer Archana, who has a Micromax Canvas 2, says she bought the phone because of the features it offered at a price she could afford. Law student Saral is now eyeing a XOLO Q700, which, she says, offers “cool features, software upgradability and good build quality, all for less than Rs. 9,000”. Feature-rich Teenager Aditya, who has had a XOLO Q800 for a couple of months now, says the 1.2-Ghz quad core processor was the main attraction for him. College-goer Shrutanjaya has been using the Micromax Canvas HD for two months and he finds the processor, 720p display and the camera quality especially attractive about the phone. These phones run on Android OS, which makes for easy upgradability, and many are available with dual SIM functionality too. One can find a good assortment of features across brands. The XOLO Play, for instance, claims to especially target heavy gamers. These brands also come out with new features or improved versions of the original. “Phones by Indian manufacturers are for those with plenty of requirement and small wallets,” says Arjun, a techie who analyses phones. However, he feels that though some of the features provided by these brands are amazing, customer care for most of these companies is not up to the mark. The phone works well as long as it’s handled carefully, but if a problem occurs, “it’s an uphill battle” to get it rectified. Geekyranjit of tech2buzz.com, who presents video reviews of phones, says the end-user support offered by these brands is not good and they don’t offer long-term value. So, the purchase is a gamble. While customer care seems to be a concern for some of these brands, the phones definitely seem to be selling, thanks to the features and the price factor.   The Hindu