A consumer checks out smartphones (Reuters)
A consumer checks out smartphones (Reuters)Reuters

Last week, top MNC brands Lenovo and Sony launched two new feature-rich smartphones A6000 Plus and Xperia E4g in India intensifying competition in the burgeoning Indian budget-smartphone market.

Since the start of the year 2015, more and more brands are flooding the market with handsets in the budget segment, which has become a hot-bed for intense competition among top MNCs against domestic players. All are trying to sway first-time smartphone buyers, who according to a latest survey, account for more than 60% of the Indian population.

In this battle between smartphone makers, consumers are the real winners. They are spoiled for choice; almost every week, two-to-three top branded handsets are launched in the country. Point in case is the launch of two new entry-level smartphones - Lenovo A6000 Plus  and Sony Xperia E4g in India last week.They will be up against the popular Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Motorola Moto E (2 Gen) 4G-LTE.

To provide a better perspective on these phones, we have briefly described the key specifications of Lenovo A6000 Plus, Sony Xperia E4g, Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Motorola Moto E (2 Gen) LTE.

Display:

Xiaomi Redmi 2 sports a 4.7-inch HD display with 312 ppi (pixels per inch) resolution.

Lenovo A6000 and Xperia E4g feature 5.0-inch display, but differ in resolution. The former flaunts HD (1280x720p) resolution, whereas the latter features a sub-apr qHD (960x540p) screen.

On the other hand, Moto E (2 Gen) sports a 4.5-inch TFT qHD (960x450p) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield.

Honorable mention:

The new Moto E comes equipped with gesture-control based Moto Display feature.

For the uninitiated, Moto Display enables the phone to light up when the user pulls the device out of his pocket, or picks up the phone from the desk near him. Select pixels of the display light up to show the time or any pending notifications without having to unlock the phone.

Processor, RAM and Storage capacity:

Three smartphones Redmi 2, Moto E (2 Gen) and Lenovo A6000 Plus ship with the new generation 64-bit class based Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 series quad-core SoC (System on Chip). It also boasts of LTE modem enabling faster download speed close to 150 mbps speed and upload speed up to 50 mbps.

There is one other advantage of owning 64-bit CPU base phone is that the phone's performance and RAM management is optimized so that there will be no lag when user is playing power guzzling games or multi-tasking (using multiple apps at once).

All four devices ship with 8GB inbuilt memory which can be expandable up to 32GB, but Lenovo A6000 Plus device users will have one additional advantage is that the device is backed by 2GB RAM.

[Note: More the RAM, more efficiently the device performs]

We also like to remind our readers that Xiaomi has confirmed to released limited edition Redmi 2 with 2GB RAM and 16GB memory in India in few months time]

Camera:

In this aspect, Xiaomi's Redmi 2 tops over the rivals, as the Xiaomi device comes packed with a feature-rich 8mp camera with full Video-recording ability on the rear and a 2mp snapper on the front.

Lenovo too comes packed with 8mp camera on the rear-side and features a 2mp camera on the front.

Sony Xperia E4g houses 5mp camera and a 2mp camera with HD video recording ability.

On the other hand, Moto E (2 Gen) camera features are very sub-par. It houses 5.0-megapixel camera on the back with no LED flash support and a VGA (0.3 mp) camera on the front.

One appreciable feature of Motorola's budget phone camera is that it boasts 'Quick-Capture' camera launcher feature, where-in the user can activate the camera in a matter of few seconds just by flipping the device twice horizontally.

Mobile operating system:

In this aspect there is no clear winner. Xiaomi Redmi 2 which comes packed with Android 4.4.4 KitKat with MIUI will be liked by people who love customizing the phone like short-cuts or change interface themes quite frequently.

Whereas the Motorola Moto (2 Gen) would be admired by Android purists who like to feel clean interface of Lollipop with no bloat-wares.

Lenovo A6000 Plus and Sony Xperia E4g come with Android OS with respective UI Vibe UI v2.0 and Xperia themes.

[Read more: Microsoft Lumia 640 XL vs Lenovo A7000 vs Honor 4X vs YU Yureka: Specification Comparison]

Price:

Xiaomi Redmi 2 is priced ₹6,999 and is readily available for purchase on Flipkart, Amazon India and Snapdeal.

On the other hand, Moto E (2 Gen) LTE and Lenovo A6000 Plus cost ₹7,999 and ₹7,499 respectively and are expected be released later this month on Flipkart via flash sale.

[Read more: Microsoft Lumia 640 vs Xiaomi Redmi 2 vs Motorola Moto G (2 Gen): Comparison of Specifications]

Sony Xperia E4g comes with a tad-expensive price-tag of ₹13,290 and is said to go on sale by this month end in India.

Key specifications of Motorola Moto E (2 Gen), Xiaomi Redmi 2:

Models Xiaomi Redmi 2 Motorola Moto E (Gen 2) Lenovo A6000 Plus Sony Xperia E4g
Display 4.7-inch HD (1280 x 720p) Sharp/AOC screen with AGC Dragontrail Glass shieldPixel density: 312 ppi (pixel per inch) 4.5-inch TFT qHD (960x450p) screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield 5.0-inch HD (1280x720p) IPS screen 5.0-inch qHD (960x540p) screen and is protected by scratch-resistant glass shield
OS Android 4.4.4 KitKat with MIUI v6.0 Android 5.0 Lollipop Android 4.4.2 KitKat with custom Lenovo Vibe UI v2.0 Android 5.0 Lollipop
Processor 64-bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 series quad-core CPU with Adreno 306 GPU(chipset type:MSM8916) 4G-LTE Model: 64-bit class 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 series quad-core CPU with Adreno 306 GPU)3G Model: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 series Quad-core CPU (with Adreno 302 GPU) 64-bit class 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 CPU [Chipset: MSM8916] with Adreno 306 GPU 1.5GHz MediaTek Cortex A7 quad-core CPU[Type: MT6732]
RAM 1GB LPDDR3 1GB 2GB 1GB
Storage capacity 8GB, expandable up to 32GB 8GB, expandable up to 32GB 16GB, expandable up to 32GB 8GB, expandable up to 32GB
Camera
  • Main: 8.0-megapixel camera (with 5-element lens), f/2.2 aperture, 28 mm wide-angle lens, real-time HDR, full HD (1080p) resolutions
  • Front: 2.0-megapixel camera
  • Main: 5.0-megapixel camera
  • Front: 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera
  • Main: 8.0-megapixel with LED flash
  • Front: 2.0-megapixel
  • Main: 5.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, 4X digital zoom, HDR, full HD video recording, auto-scene recognition
  • Front: 2.0-megapixel camera with HD video recording ability
Battery 2200 mAh 2390 mAh
With Mixed usage, the phone can lasts up to 24 hours
2300 mAh 2300 mAh;
  • Talk time: up to 12 hours 42 minutes
  • Standby time: close to 653 hours
  • Music listening time: up to 64 hours 46 minutes
  • Video playback time: close to 6 hours 57 minutes
Network 2G, 3G & 4G (TDD-LTE (B38 / B39 / B40 / B41: 2555-2655MHz), FDD-LTE (B3 / B7)) 3G & 4G-LTE [Both features in individual optional models 4G 3G & 4G-LTE
Add-ons Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS+ GLONASS, A-GPS, 4G model: single-SIM (Type: micro); 3G model: Dual-SIM slots; Bluetooth v4.0 (with LE), Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), micro-USB v2.0, microSD card slot, FM radio, water-resisting coating Dual-SIM (type: Micro) slots, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, USB port Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi, USB v2.0, Sony 3D Surround Sound technology, Clear Audio+ – Sound improvement software, xLoud™ Experience, A-GPS for navigation, FM Radio with RDS,
Dimensions 134.0 x 67.2 x 9.4 mm 129.9 x 66.8 x 5.2-12.3 mm 141.0 x 70.0 x 8.2 mm 137.0 x 75.0 x 10.5 mm
Weight N/A 145 g 128 g 135 g
Price ₹6,999/-
  • 3G Model: ₹6,999/-
  • 4G Model: ₹7,999
₹7,499/- ₹13,290/-