[Dry Ice]

Almost a month with Android and heres what I have on my cell right now.

Phone: Samsung Galaxy Ace

Games
Air Control Lite: Addictive game. Am tempted to get the full version.
Airport Mania: Balance planes around the airport, land, unload, load, repair, refuel etc.. Time pass.
aWorld Citizen: Very nice game, good for GK. Identify a country by flag, capital, currency etc.
Angry Birds: Have to say, didn't live up to the hype!
Math Workout: Again a pretty good app. Sharpen your mind maths, do quick calculations and build up a high score.
Traffic Jam: Guide out a stuck car from the parking lot. Engaging and not so easy as it seems.
Steamy Window: Depicts a foggy window/mirror over the screen. You can write your name of whatever! Blow in the mic to fog it up again! Kept some hyper active kids busy

Applications
Advanced Task Killer: Nifty tool to close apps running in bg. Auto Kill option too.
Number Plates: Downloaded on recommendation of a fellow member here.
GoChat: Facebook chat, light and good UI
Dolphin Browser Mini: Fast, much better than stock browser.
FxCamera: Offers a number of effects such as Toy cam, Polaroid, Fish eye, Symmetric cam etc and also a normal mode. Better PQ than stock cam.

SMS Lock: Friends asking for phone constantly to try out the games? Install this. Draw a pattern on screen to unlock messges.
A bug: You can open messages from the notification bar if a new messgae comes. Doesn't ask for the pattern.

Speed Test: Check you 3G speed, SpeedTest.net app
Rock Player: Plays pretty much everything you throw at it. Performs better in 'Hardware decoding mode' on my phone.
Mr. Number: Block unwanted calls/messges. Perfect to stop the annoying tele marketers' messages.
Sound Meter: Displays the ambient db level.
Tube Mate: Download/play videos from you tube

Widgets
Battery Life: Displays remaining battery in % (color changes, green-orange-red), battery temp, charge(mv) and type(Li-ion)
Brightness Level: Control the screen brightness. Very easy to use. Saves battery!
ExtDateWidget: Displays todays date/day. Clean.
Phono: Displays operator name, your number, signal strength, roaming - yes/no, data - on/off.
WMD-Weather Lite: Displays weather info with tomorrow's forecast. Liked the display.

Note: All are FREE.

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by Sprucegoose

The front facing camera has one sole purpose. That's for video calling.....

How about self portraits? Possible in the stock version of all android fones with a front camera? or do you need a third party app for it? IIRC, even my 4 year old N series fone had this basic feature that doubles up your front facing camera as a mirror with memory

[e1t1bet]

Inc-S doesnt have video calling at the moment, because Froyo has issues with multiple cameras and video calling. 2.3 update should fix that.

[kailashnj]

Originally Posted by fine69

What android phones should I be considering if the budget is <15k and the requirements are:
1. Android OS (v2.1 at least) (Is upgradable to 2.2 a good thing? how so?)
Galaxy Mini S is a good android to start with - but you can get the full fledge Galaxy SL at 19k
2. GPS that works even without a SIM once Sygic Mobile Maps (mapmyindia v6.0) are loaded on to the mobile, is it called Standalone GPS? My nokia E72 has it.
GPS like Sygic works without SIM.

3. At least 3.2" screen as I wish to mount the phone on car dash to use mobile maps on my trips outside city
Galaxy Mini is a very good phone and retails around 14k should be a good budget phone.

4. A fast processor (is 1GHz processor possible in my budget?) basically I don't want a phone that gets sluggish with heavy app usage
Max you can get is the 800 mhz processors but even that is more than enuf and also with a slower processor means more battery life.

5. Capable of running Flash videos (least important on my list though)
You will be able to play all types of videos as you can download players from market for free.

My answers to your question are within the quotes, kindly read them

Originally Posted by e1t1bet

Inc-S doesnt have video calling at the moment, because Froyo has issues with multiple cameras and video calling. 2.3 update should fix that.

I don't think that is a true statement. Galaxy S has 2.2 and has both cams working fine same is the case with Galaxy Tab

[e1t1bet]

No, I am not wrong. On the galaxy, it's an external layer. Gingerbread is going to be the first android that'll support multiple cams out of the box.

Read the video calling section

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by fine69

What android phones should I be considering if the budget is <15k and the requirements are

Within 15k there are quite a few options now, Samsung Galaxy Ace/Pop/fit, LG Optimus one.
1. Most of the 'newer' launches are coming with 2.2
2. You can install BrutMaps and cache the map(Google maps) over wifi and use it on the road without data connection, should work fine without a sim too. Although it will take longer to get a lock on sats. No idea about Sygic Maps.
3. Most have a 3.2'' screen.
4. You can get 1ghz if you stretch a little. Moto Defy @ 18k odd.
5. None of the <15k models support flash. Defy does.

[Sowmya]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

4. You can get 1ghz if you stretch a little. Moto Defy @ 18k odd.
5. None of the <15k models support flash. Defy does.

Defy has 800MHz proc with 512MB RAM. You can purchase this on line @ <16K Reliable one. It also has DLNA support.

[phamilyman]

Samurai,

You are wasting ur time with the x10 mini pro. less RAM, horrible SAR (ditto for defy though), less battery.

try the ace or the defy. btw no qwerty is decent, except the desire Z (too out of my budget to be bothered with). the galaxy SL has the best of all worlds if u can buy it at letsbuy (17.9k with coupon). its perfromance as per quadrant is bit lesser than defy but if u're looking at x10 mini pro then its much better anyway.

and once you've rooted/overclocked it etc then sky is the limit!

[fine69]

Originally Posted by kailashnj

My answers to your question are within the quotes, kindly read them

I wasn't able to locate Samsung Mini on the Samsung India website. It was listed on the main Samsung website though. I think almost all the features are comparable to galaxy pop. What's different in this phone?

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Within 15k there are quite a few options now, Samsung Galaxy Ace/Pop/fit, LG Optimus one.

Galaxy Ace seems to be the perfect one at 15k. Pop & Fit are fine too (except camera & processor speed) but I'm doubtful of how the processor speed is going to impact game-play and mainly during GPS navigation. Even HTC's wildfire has less speed when compared to Ace.

Does 800MHz processor phone have significant difference when compared to 600MHz processor phones while playing games, accessing apps, browsing facebook, running Gtalk and last but not the least, GPS performance.

EDIT: Any other phone comparable to Ace at 15k or less with 800MHz processor? Can live with a bad camera/video.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

You are wasting ur time with the x10 mini pro. less RAM, horrible SAR (ditto for defy though), less battery.

try the ace or the defy. btw no qwerty is decent, except the desire Z (too out of my budget to be bothered with).

I am looking for a small package, preferably below 110mm in length. Next needs are Android 2.x with 3G and capacitive touchscreen. I was feeling iPhone itself was big, so I am not looking for phones bigger than iPhone.

I am not a power user when it comes to phone. I might occasionally use browser or Facebook on the phone. It should be easily pocket-able, and co-exist with my car keys. It must have a very reliable loud alarm, that is a must.

That is how zeroed in on Defy and X10 mini pro. If you have similar suggestion let me know. I can live with 320x240 display if everything else meets my need. The budget is strictly within 20k.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I am looking for a small package, preferably below 110mm in length. Next needs are Android 2.x with 3G and capacitive touchscreen. I was feeling iPhone itself was big, so I am not looking for phones bigger than iPhone.

I am not a power user when it comes to phone. I might occasionally use browser or Facebook on the phone. It should be easily pocket-able, and co-exist with my car keys. It must have a very reliable loud alarm, that is a must.

That is how zeroed in on Defy and X10 mini pro. If you have similar suggestion let me know. I can live with 320x240 display if everything else meets my need. The budget is strictly within 20k.

Do you really need an Android for your usage? IMO Samsung android phones like Pop and Galaxy 3 are small and lightweight (relatively) if that's your main focus. They also come with 2.2 which is pretty decent. Browsing and facebook apps are available on non-android phones as well ( at least that's what I get from the ads). Androids, due to their processor and apps power consumption typically have a lesser battery life compared to non android phones ( except iphones though). If you are not going to use those features, may be you can look at other options.

[Lightening-Fast]

@Samurai, according to me the best android phones within 20K today would be Samsung galaxy Ace which is priced at 15K and Samsung Galaxy S LCD that is about 19K. Latter one is a 4inch and the first one is a 3.5inch.

[Lightening-Fast]

Originally Posted by fine69

What android phones should I be considering if the budget is <15k and the requirements are:
1. Android OS (v2.1 at least) (Is upgradable to 2.2 a good thing? how so?)
2. GPS that works even without a SIM once Sygic Mobile Maps (mapmyindia v6.0) are loaded on to the mobile, is it called Standalone GPS? My nokia E72 has it.
3. At least 3.2" screen as I wish to mount the phone on car dash to use mobile maps on my trips outside city
4. A fast processor (is 1GHz processor possible in my budget?) basically I don't want a phone that gets sluggish with heavy app usage
5. Capable of running Flash videos (least important on my list though)

I would have suggested Samsung Galaxy Ace. However its low on RAM and if i am not wrong there is no navigation application. In LG Optimus one, which is now available at 10K, Ndrive is the application software and comes preinstalled with India maps. Works like a charm and i have been using it. Does not require you to use GPS and the satellite lock is generally within a minute

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

Do you really need an Android for your usage? IMO Samsung android phones like Pop and Galaxy 3 are small and lightweight (relatively) if that's your main focus. They also come with 2.2 which is pretty decent.

Thanks for pointing out these phones. The Samsung Galaxy Fit looks pretty good too.

May be I should wait until Wildfire S is released? That one is small.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 appears to be a really small package. Any feedback on that? The camera is a really bad.

[vivekiny2k]

I bought x10 mini for my wife, smaller than a credit card and I have not seen any performance issues. She is not a power user either, she does use it for reading books on google books or kindle for android once in a while.

camera is decent too.