Zen z77 (`3,300)
Specs: A GSM dual-SIM candybar phone with a 2.2-in TFT colour screen. It has a microSD card slot, 1,200mAH battery, 1.3MP camera, GPRS, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, 3.5mm headphone, e-mail, MP3 player, FM radio with in-built antenna and voice recording.
What’s good: The most affordable QWERTY around, the handset is ‘very Blackberry’ and surprisingly function-rich with both GPRS connectivity and POP mail. The Java based interface is idiot-proof. Good battery life and sharp audio make it a good pick if you want to spend the minimum.
What’s not: Doesn’t seem very sturdy and limited memory affects performance. Video playback is jerky. Longevity of the hardware may be of concern.

Samsung Champ C3300 (`3,990)
Specs: A quad band GSM with GPRS/EDGE, this has 2.4-inch TFT resistive touchscreen and a sensor for auto-rotation, There’s 30MB of memory, microSD card support and 1000 mAh Li-Ion battery. The phone has a 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, web browser, games, social networking integration, MP3/video player, FM radio and a 3.5mm audio-jack.
What’s good: This cute looker is the cheapest branded touchscreen today, it uses a scaled down version of Samsung’s TouchWiz Interface. The accompanying stylus helps mitigate usability issues. Call quality is good as is battery life. Go for this touchscreen if you don’t want to dig too deep into your pocketsaz.
What’s not: The small resistive display disappoints. It’s cute but doesn’t look serious, especially in large hands. The stereo speakers are low on volume and quality. The camera is very basic.

Micromax Q7 Ezpad (`4,800)
Specs: A 100gm GSM/EDGE colour QVGA screen dual SIM phone with a 2MP camera, this has 78MB of memory, a microSD slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, and e-mail capabilities. It can store 1,000 address entries and 1,000 SMSes. The 800mAh Lithium-ion battery is officially rated at 4.5 hours of standby time. A 3.5mm headphone jack, and FM radio complete the feature list.
What’s good: A decent looking QWERTY phone with a good gob of memory and WiFi support at this price point. The preloaded Facebook client, Nimbuzz multi chat and Opera browser give it a value edge.
What’s not: The trackball is not very responsive. The camera is there for the sake of it. Could do with a better battery.

Sony Ericsson Spiro (`4,900)
Specs: A small 90gm GSM slider with a 2.2-inch display, 5MB internal memory, microSD card slot, GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth, microUSB and a 2MP camera. It boasts threaded SMS views, push e-mail, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, a Walkman 4.0 music player with MP3/MP4 compatibility, along with instant messaging, web browsing, Facebook, and Twitter applications.
What’s good: Easy to pocket. Reassuringly robust, the Spiro offers excellent music playback abilities, track recognition and the prowess to download music.
What’s not: Since it is a small handset, the button cluster feels a tad cramped. Only 5 megs of memory is deplorable as is the performance of the camera. The Twitter and Facebook clients are very basic.

Nokia C3 (`5,000)
Specs: A 114gm quad band GSM/GPRS/EDGE QWERTY with a 2.4-inch colour, QVGA landscape display, 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery; 55MB internal memory, microSD and a 2MP camera. There’s WiFi, Bluetooth, microUSB connectivity, push e-mail, IM, Opera browser and social networking integration. You alsoget a music player, video player, FM radio, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
What’s good: Apart from a very solid build, it offers WiFi, push mail as well as a range of social networking abilities. The finger-friendly keypad, a dedicated messaging hub that collates mails, texts and instant messages, and a good battery are commendable.
What’s not: The older Symbian Series 40 user interface looks and feels ancient if you have seen or used Series 60 on other Nokia phones. The camera is marred by the lack of a flash and autofocus.
The writer is a part-time publishing consultant and a full-time devotee of all things tech. Contact him at
ashishone@gmail.com