It’s cutthroat competition in India’s high smartphone market with the Samsung Galaxy S5, Gionee Elife E7, HTC One M8 and the likes trying very hard to charm you over to their side. If you don’t like the price, there’s an option for you, if you don’t like the brand, there’s an option for you, if you don’t like lack of choice, there are various options for you.
One way or the other, each of these smartphones is going to try and get you to buy it. The Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 have brand recognition, meaning they’re free to charge a bomb for their handsets. The Gionee Elife E7 has some very interesting specs on paper and a tempting price of Rs 26,999 for the 16GB capacity. Just compare that to close to Rs 50,000 you’ll be shelling out for either of its two rivals, won’t you?
Specifications of all three smartphones compared:
All three smartphones arrive with quad core processors from Qualcomm, though the Galaxy S5 has them beat by arriving in India with a octa core chipset. It sports a 5-inch display, while the Elife E7 and One M8 are fitted with 5.5-inch and 5.1-inch panels. You’re getting full HD resolution on each of these screens, as well as Android KitKat aboard.
Of course, only the Samsung S5 offers the ‘pure Android’ experience and the other two are slightly altered with each brand’s very own software. So that’s another win for the Galaxy S5 if you care about this aspect of it. The phones embed 2GB RAM and 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage. Though Gionee has thrown in 3GB RAM for its 32GB variant, it fails miserably on one count.
Both the Galaxy S5 and One M8 kick it in the face with the addition of microSD card slots for those who like stuffing their gadgets with content. What’s more, the expandable memory reads at a massive 128GB, something that China’s Meizu MX3 was famous for having delivered first in a smartphone in November last year. But if 32GB suits your needs just fine, this is not a minus point.
The Gionee Elife E7 has a 16MP camera on the back as well as an 8MP webcam to enchant selfie lovers. The Samsung has only a 2MP front lens accompanying its 16MP main snapper. As we’ve pointed out in a previous post, its rear camera makes the HTC One M8’s lens look quite bad. Well, at least the 5MP sensor above the display on the latter helps take away some of its embarrassment.
Samsung Galaxy S5:
– 2.5GHz quad core Snapdragon processor
– OR 2.1GHz octa core Exynos SoC
– 5.1-inch S-AMOLED FHD screen
– 16MP and 2MP cameras
– Android KitKat 4.4.2 OS
– 2GB RAM, 16GB/32GB internal memory
– Expandable storage up to 128GB
– 2800mAh battery
Gionee Elife E7:
– 2.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 800 processor
– 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p FHD touchscreen
– 16MP main camera, 8MP webcam
– Android Jelly Bean 4.2 with Amigo 2.0
– 2GB RAM, 16GB memory; 3GB RAM, 32GB storage
– No microSD card slot
– 2500mAh power pack
HTC One M8:
– 2.3GHz quad core Snapdragon 801 processor
– 5-inch 1920p x 1080p 441ppi touchscreen
– 4MP UltraPixel camera, 5MP front lens
– Android KitKat 4.4.2 OS with HTC Sense 6
– 2GB of RAM, 16GB/32GB internal storage
– 128GB expandability via microSD card slot
– 2600mAh battery
The best online bargain for the Samsung Galaxy S5 appears to be Flipkart’s price of Rs 49152 for it. This makes it cheaper than the HTC One M8 which is tacked at Rs 49900. But the Gionee Elife E7 really comes through for those on a budget, with its cost amounting to just Rs 26999. What’s your priority – price, specifications, brand reputation or all three?