A lot of things have happened in the tech industry for the last one year. We are no more paying INR 250 per GB of data with 28 days validity, smartphones are no longer a luxury, as a matter of fact, Indian are the in the top position, in terms of mobile data consumption by beating China and Unites States of America altogether. This article is all about the Airtel smartphone from Karbonn and Vodafone smartphone from Micromax.
Then comes the smartphones, which offers basic specifications at an astonishing lover price tag. Sometimes, the user will get the phone for free (after completing the contract). When Reliance Jio launched JioPhone, other existing competitors will also have to come up with their own strategy to tackle this situation smartly. So, here is the comparison between two smartphones from the well established Indian mobile network providers at an aggressive pricing let us find out, which suits your need and provides great value for money.
First, lets look at the pricing and the plans offered by these players, before going deep into the technical aspects, as finance is the main criterion for everything.
Starting with the Airtel smartphone, which is manufactured by Karbonn, initially, the customer has to pay a total sum of INR 2,899 to receive the device, as a matter of fact, having an Airtel pre-paid sim card is very important. So, after getting the device the customer has to either recharge the device with INR 169 monthly plan which offers up to 512 MB of 4G data per day with free incoming and outgoing call all over the world, however, a user can also go with the recharge of his choice, in this case, one has to recharge at least INR 3,000 for the first 18 months and 3,000 for the next 18 months. So, in either of these cases, the customer will be entitled to receive a cashback of INR 500 for the first 18th month and INR 1000 after 36 months of the total contract. So, totally, one has to pay INR 1399 + INR 6000 = INR 7399 or INR 1399 + INR 6084 = INR 7483 to enjoy data and voice for 3 years with a smartphone.
Coming to the Vodafone smartphone, the device is manufactured by Micromax, which calls it as Micromax Bharat 2 Ultra. Initially, to possess the device one has to pay INR 2,899 to receive the smartphone which is as same as the Airtel portfolio. In this case having a prepaid Vodafone connection is a must. In terms of plans are concerned, Vodafone simply offers INR 150 rupees pre-paid plan, that includes the 0.5 GB of 4G data per day with free calls all over India. If you continue to recharge for the first 18 months, then you are entitled to receive INR 900 rupees cashback and after 36 months one will receive INR 1000 rupees cashback, making it an INR 999 rupees smartphone. In terms of mathematics, one has to spend at least INR 999 + INR 5400 = 6399 only which is less than the Airtel counterpart.
As these are the entry-level smartphones, the main functions of these devices will be to do basic tasks like watching the videos and doing basic internet usage like chatting and using social media.
In terms of display, the Airtel smartphone features a 4.0-inch WVGA IPS LCD display and the Vodafone smartphone offers similar 4.0-inch WVGA display with tempered glass protection on the top. So, with respect to display its a tie-tie.
With respect to the performance, the Airtel smartphone is powered by an unknown 1.3 GHz Quad-core SoC and the Vodafone counterpart is powered by Spreadtrum SC9832 Quad-core SoC. With respect to RAM, the Airtel takes the first lead with 1 GB LPDDR3 RAM and the Vodafone smartphone offers just 512 MB of RAM. So, clearly, the Airtel smartphone will have an edge over the Vodafone due to double the amount of RAM.
In terms of storage is concerned, the Vodafone smartphone is equipped with a 4 GB RAM and the Airtel smartphone offers 8 GB onboard flash storage with a dedicated micro SD card slot with up to 32 GB of external SD card. Having at least 8 GB of onboard storage makes sense, as many Android applications can only be installed in internal storage (Ex: Facebook and Whatsapp) which also consume a lot of space over the time. So, hurray, Airtel still tops the chart.
In terms of camera capability, the Airtel smartphone offers 5 MP rear-facing camera and a 0.3 MP selfie camera and the Vodafone offers 2 MP rear-facing camera and a 0.3 MP front-facing camera. According to basic arithmetic, 5 is greater than 2 so, Airtel smartphone is 3 steps ahead of the Vodafone.
With respect to operating system, the Vodafone smartphone is powered by Android Marshmallow, which is two-year-old operating system and the Airtel smartphone is powered by Android Nougat, which is a year old. So, as these devices are not entitled to receive any OS updates in the near future and one has to use these devices for at least 3 years, Airtel smartphone has once again stepped over the Vodafone smartphone.
Finally, the battery the Airtel smartphone offers a 1500 mAh Li-ion user replaceable battery and the Vodafone smartphone offers slightly smaller 1300 mAh battery, so, even in the final challenge, Airtel smartphone takes the lead by a larger margin.
Considering the conditions of the network coverage, Airtel has a clear edge over the Vodafone. So, if you are not bothered about the additional 1 thousand rupees bill on your 3 years plan, then going Airtel does make sense in all the aspects.
There are two more phones, which are not smartphones but offers 4G connectivity with dual camera. The BSNL feature phone and JioPhone, which are priced a lot less than these devices but misses out on the features like touchscreen and Google Play store.