Xiaomi has been launching killer smartphones in India. With the Mi 3, Xiaomi has shown the Indian market that high-end smartphones can be sold for low prices by cutting margins across the profit. Xiaomi claims that their aim is to provide the user with high-end handsets at low costs, and don’t believe in making massive profits for themselves. They manage to cut down on additional, unwanted costs, which eat up into the profits. These unwanted costs are usually added to the customer’s bill by various other brands.
Xiaomi cuts down on additional costs as stocking, transport, excess manufacturing and waste. They manufacture products based on requirements and dispatch them immediately. This reduces the cost of storage. They don’t believe in mass advertisements, which additionally reduce the price of the handset by a fair amount. However, cutting down on various unwanted costs, Xiaomi manages to sell their products at very low prices, hence benefiting both the customer and the company.
Read: Xiaomi Redmi 1S review: Good performance, great value for money
Xiaomi had unveiled the Redmi 1S in July, which was priced at Rs 6,999. However, before the launch of the sale, they announced cutting down the price of the Redmi 1S by Rs 1,000. Hence the Redmi 1S is presently being sold at a killer price of Rs 5,999.
Amongst the higher brands in the market, Motorola’s Moto E is one of the cheapest Android-based smartphone in India, retailing at Rs 6,999. With a difference of Rs 1,000 between the two, the Redmi 1S and the Moto E, we look at the differences between the two low-budget smartphones to pronounce our verdict of the Best Buy.
Motorola Moto E: The well-known smartphone brand, Motorola, had earlier launched the Moto G, Moto X and the Moto E. With the Moto E being the cheapest, Motorola managed to attract smartphone customers on a low budget. Selling at Rs 6,999, the Motorola does have unique features, which makes it a daily smartphone for the masses.
The Moto E is a dual SIM Android smartphone, which features a 4.3-inch 540x960 pixel display protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield. The handset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset with two processors bussing at 1.2GHz. An Adreno 302 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM help with the performance of the smartphone. The Moto E features 4GB of internal storage with an option to further expand it to 32GB using a micro SD card. The phone has a 5MP rear shooter without a flash, but does not provide a front-facing camera for selfies and video chats. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 1980 mAh non-removable battery and runs on the Android KitKat 4.4.4 operating system. The Moto E weighs 142g and is 12.3mm thick.
The Moto E is marginally waterproof—you cannot use it under water, but the company claims that wetting the phone is standard conditions, such as low rain showers or water splashes won’t harm it. The Moto E is also protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which is tough and scratch-resistant. The chassis is well-built and sturdy enough to take light impacts. The Moto E is a great buy if you are looking for a tough display glass, splash-resistant and tough chassis, latest operating system, and a small form-factor.
Also read: Tips to get a Xiaomi handset at the Flipkart sale
Xiaomi Redmi 1S: The Redmi 1S will start selling in India from September 2. The smartphone price, previously announced at Rs 6,999, has been cut down to Rs 5,999. The new entrant in the budget smartphone category is a product of Xiaomi, which is just a few weeks old in the Indian market, but has made a mark as the fifth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world within four years of its existence.
The Redmi 1S is a dual SIM smartphone featuring a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels and protected by an AGC Dragontrail scratch-resistant glass. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with four processors clocked at 1.6GHz and coupled with an Adreno 305 graphics processor and 1GB of RAM. The internal storage provided is 8GB, expandable to 64GB via a micro SD card. The rear shooter is an 8MP with a single LED flash, while a front-facing 1.6MP camera is also provided. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS and GLONASS. Lastly, the phone is fuelled by a 2050 mAh battery and runs on a custom Android flavour of Jelly Bean v4.3 operating system, MIUI V5. The Redmi 1S weighs 158g and is 9.9mm thick.
The Redmi 1S has a tough and sturdy chassis with an equally smart-looking exterior. Going with the specifications, we have to say that the Redmi 1S offers a better value for money over the Moto G. For a price of Rs 5,999, the Redmi offers superior features over the Moto E. A look back reveals a larger display with a higher resolution, a better camera at 8MP with LED flash, an additional front facing camera, a powerful quad-core SD400 processor over the Moto E’s dual-core SD200 processor, an internal storage of 8 GB in contrast to 4GB on the Moto E and a customisable operating system and user interface.
In our opinion, the Redmi 1S wins hands down over the Moto E in terms of features, performance and price. The only hurdle for now is the purchase of the handset which is available exclusively on Flipkart via the flash sales. So if your budget is Rs 6,000, we would simply say ‘Go for it!’
Read: Xiaomi Redmi 1S review: Good performance, great value for money
