I got Rs. 20000, what phone can I buy? 20K is a great budget for a smartphone. In fact, it is the best budget. 20K is such a figure that you won’t have way too many options which makes your choice very difficult and it doesn’t have too few options which makes you settle for something. 20K is a perfect budget right now.
For Rs. 20000 we have three good phones available in the market – iPhone 3G S, Samsung Google Nexus S and LG Optimus Black. Of course, an iPad is available too but that’s a different discussion. The obvious question on everyone’s mind is why iPhone 3G S? Isn’t it launched two years ago. Yes iPhone 3G S was available from Jan 2010. When it was launched it attracted a price of Rs. 39,000. At its current price of Rs. 19,900, it still is one of the better smartphones available out there. But it’s not the best. Thanks to the surge of Android phones, LG Optimus Black and Samsung Google Nexus S provide compelling alternatives. Let’s see how each phone fares.
Screen size, type and resolution
There is a debate around right sizing the smartphone screen. If 3 inches is too small, 5 inches is too big. Sweet spot is somewhere in between. Unsurprisingly, almost all the smartphones launched have screen sizes ranging from 3 inch to 4.3 inches. 5-inch screen of Dell Streak being an exception. Both Nexus S and LG Optimus Black have a screen size of 4-inches. iPhone 3G S has a screen size of 3.5 inches. iPhone’s screen size is a little low for extended browsing, though 4-inch screen feels little big in hands, it is the right size for a smart phone.
Nexus S and LG Optimus Black both have a screen resolution of 480×800, while iPhone 3G has a 480×320 screen resolution. LG Optimus Black has a Nova display which is bright and yet saves up to 50% of battery when compared to a AMOLED screen. LG Optimus Black has a distinct advantage in the screen department.
Processor, RAM and memory
All three phones are powered by ARM Cortex processors. Nexus S and Optimus Black have 1 GHz processor and iPhone 3G S has a 600 MHz processor. All the three phones have a GPU of Power VR with slightly different configurations, Nexus S having a slightly advanced version.
iPhone 3G S has 256 MB RAM. Nexus and Optimus Black have 512 MB RAM. Both iPhone 3G S and Nexus come with a fixed memory of 16GB and 32 GB.
LG Optimus Black comes with a 2 GB in-built memory and has a micro SD slot which can read up to 32 GB. Nexus S has a fixed memory of 16 GB with no slot for SD card. Nexus S is particularly at disadvantage in this section as there is no 32GB version available too while iPhone 3G S has a 32 GB version available. LG Optimus Black has a clear lead in the processor and memory requirements.
Camera, music and video
Nexus S and Optimus Black have a 5 megapixel rear camera and iPhone 3G S has a 3 megapixel camera. Though it is not the megapixels that count for picture quality, it still is a big let down for iPhone 3G S. LG Optimus Black has a 2 megapixel front-facing camera and Nexus S has a VGA camera. Music is almost a default in smartphones. All three phones can record videos up to 30 fps.
LG Optimus Black has FM radio and the other two phones don’t have it.
LG Optimus Black wins in here too.
Battery, talk time and Others
Optimus Black is one of the sleekest phones available in the market. With a thickness of just 9.2 mm it is really feels good in your hands. The weight of Optimus Black is 109 gms the lowest among the three. iPhone 3G S weighs 135 gms.
Optimus Black provides a talk time of 16 hours on 2G network, iPhone 3G S provides 12 hours and Nexus S gives a talk time of just 5 hours. Optimus Black has a standby time of 19 days, iPhone 3G S has a standby time of 12.5 days and Nexus has 9 days.
Optimus Black and Nexus S can act as WiFi hotspots. And Optimus Black is the only phone to support wireless transfers.
Finally
LG Optimus Black is a clear winner in all the sections. There is no question about the fact that LG Optimus Black is the best phone to buy in the 18K-20K range. If you want some Google love of upgrades, then you might prefer Samsung Google Nexus S. But if you don’t mind being on your own a little and explore, then don’t look beyond LG Optimus Black. If you are a Apple fanboy, then I assume you already have a iPhone 4G. If you don’t have it but looking for a good phone, then LG Optimus Black is just for you.
Read a hands-on review of LG Optimus Black here.
Complete spec comparison chart here :
| Model | Samsung Google Nexus S | iPhone 3G S | LG Optimus Black |
| Screen size (inch) | 4 | 3.5 | 4 |
| Screen Type | Super LCD | TFT | Nova display |
| Resolution | 480×800 | 480×320 | 480×800 |
| Capacitive | Capacitive | Capacitive | Capacitive |
| OS | Android | iOS | Android |
| Version | 2.3 | 3 | 2.2 (upgradeable to 2.3) |
| Processor | 1 GHz | 600MHz | 1 GHz |
| GPU | Power VR SGX540 | Power VR SGX535 | Power VR GSX530 |
| Processor Type | ARM Cortex A8 | ARM Cortex A8 | ARM Cortex A8 |
| Inbuilt Memory | 16GB | 8 GB | 1 GB |
| Expandable | 16GB (1 GB internal storage, 15GB usb storage) | 32GB | 32 GB |
| RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Camera | 5 MP | 3 MP | 5 Mp |
| Front-camera | VGA | 2 MP | |
| Video Recording | WVGA @30fps | VGA @30fps | 720p @30fps |
| Talk time 2G | 5 hrs | 12 hrs | 16 hrs |
| Talktime 3G | 6.2 hrs | 5 hrs | |
| Standby Time | 9 days | 12.5 days | 19 days |
| Music Player | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video Player | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FM Radio | No | No | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SIMs | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Image credit
![Top 8 Best 6 GB RAM Mobile Phones [2017]](https://thegadgetfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Vernee-Apollo.jpg)
![Top 15 Mobiles With Longest Battery Life [12 hours +]](https://thegadgetfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/increase-battery-backup-tgf.png)
11 Comments
Yash
Cool! Whihc local store did you buy it from? Please post the number and address of the store so people in/near Pune can benefit.
Sriram Vadlamani
You referring to the Optimus Black Yash?
kuldeep
hello,
iam thinking of buying lg optimus p970 black but iam a little confused between optimus and 'samsung galaxy sl i9003'…..so a little is appreciated…thnx
The Gadget Fan
abhijeet shinde says
iphone had expandable memmory ????
abhijeet shinde
iphone 3gs expandable memmory 32 gb??? 😀 😀
Sriram Vadlamani
It's not expandable. There is a 32 GB version available.
Anand
Dude,
iPhone doesn't need Th heavy ram or CPU..iOS is much lighter..besides u r assured of atleast 1yr more of updates..(androids r becoming dual core powered & outdated 1 after other) iPhone 3GS is supported in Th upcoming iOS 5..besides iOS apps r better made..
Regards,
Anand
Ps:I seriously doubt u could buy an unlocked 3GS 32 gb fr 20k.. It's discontinued..Th one available fr 20k is Th 8gb model..
Deepak
I'm sorry i could not help but see the flaws in your argument.
iOS is not nor will it ever be better than android OS.
The release of android made the reigning iOS 4 look like crap and completely shattered the un-backed hype behind it.
Lets get a few things straight:
1. Android is better than iOS
2. AMOLED is better than Retina Display let alone the LCD screen used by the 3GS
3. Any updates that Apple releases will be countered and destroyed by Google.
But the app store is something i'll let you enjoy. The Android market is in its infancy but will surely come up with its growing popularity
The Gadget Fan
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The Gadget Fan
geoge says
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Deepak
You've made a mistake in terms of battery capacity in your article.
The quoted talk and stand by time in the above article is only for 3g communication.
However the battery life for 2g communication is as follows:
Talk time: 14 hrs
Stand-by time: 713 hrs.
Overlooking this might have cost you a certain amount of happiness but none the less you've picked a decent phone although i myself have opted to pursue the nexus S because lets face it, we cannot rely on the manufacturer's overly optimistic statements.
You called the un-expandable memory a problem but there are a lot of people who struggle to utilize even half their 8gb mem chips. There's a lot to rethink and re write