Good Smartphones That Can Be Bought Hassle-Free

Almost every week a mail pops up in my inbox telling me how many units of XYZ phone got sold in how many minutes. Or in fact seconds. It has come to a point where companies gloat about these numbers — “this device sold out in 1.2 seconds” while that “in 1.3 secs”. In those seconds, a fixed number of units put on sale. This number is always much lower than the demand or registrations. Of course for the lucky ones it is a good thing but what about the ones who miss out week after week. Tired of waiting for a phone? Like, it’s just a phone and there are tons of them out there. So why fuss over that one product that is extremely tough to get your hands on? Rather go in for these ones.

Note: We tried hard to put in phones that sell both online and offline but we can’t recommend some phones that sell in stores. Still, even if the ones chosen are online exclusives, in our observation they are easily available most of the time.

HTC Desire 826

The Desire 820 is one of the most popular phones in the sub Rs. 25,000 bracket, as per our analysis. But it had one critical flaw, the low-resolution 720p display on a big 5.5-inch screen. HTC has practically fixed that with the Desire 826. Now with a 1080p display on the same 5.5-inches screen, the screen is much crisper at 401 pixels-per-inch. It also has an upgraded 13 megapixel front-facing camera sensor, so if taking selfies is on your wishlist, the high resolution will help. Everything apart from this is exactly like the Desire 820, including the 2600mAh battery (so expect a dent in battery life). Available for about Rs. 25,000, it’s not the best value for money when pitted against the OnePlus One. But if you’re not that fussy about buying a phone with the best hardware for the money, then the Desire 826 ain’t so bad.

Gionee Elife S7

The Gionee S7 is a newly launched phone. It’s shipped with Android Lollipop (5.0), has a full HD display and a good battery and camera. Gionee is one company that truly believes in selling offline. None of their devices sell exclusively on the internet. That explains why the company sells in big numbers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of the country. If you were to compare spec-to-spec, the OnePlus One or the Xiaomi Mi4 may seem more advantageous. But if you don’t want to beg for invites or try your luck in flash sales, then the Elife S7 is a decent alternative.

Asus Zenfone 5

The Asus Zenfone 5 is one of the most popular phones on our site and why not. The phone sports an HD display comes with 2GB RAM and has a fast Intel processor. All this for just Rs. 10,000. The phone used to sell online only, but a few retailers now have them in stores. So, why struggle for the Yu Yureka? Buy this instead.

Moto G 2nd Gen

The Moto G has been the most selling Motorola phone ever. At launch, the device was one of the most value for money products under the Rs. 15,000 range. The phone used to go out of stock when it was just launched, but Motorola was quick to refill inventory. Hence, you’ll mostly find it easy to just place an order and get it in a few days.

Micromax Canvas Nitro A311

While the Yu Yureka made by the same parent company is difficult to get, the default Micromax branded phones are available almost everywhere, online or offline. The Canvas Nitro is a decent phone. It has a 720p display, is packed with 2GB RAM and runs on an Octa Core processor. As of now Flipkart has a good ongoing deal for the phone. So if you want it then this is your chance.

Samsung Galaxy A5

For long Samsung has faced criticism for making phones that didn’t look or feel worthy of their price tag. But it seems that the company has taken note of this as their new phones sport better materials. Samsung promoted the A series as that for the style conscious consumers. The phone has decent specs and looks good. Samsung has also toned down their Touchwiz in most of their recent devices. So for under Rs. 20,000, this phone is worth the buck.

Moto E 2nd Gen

The 2nd Gen of the fast selling Moto E may not beat its competitors like the Xiaomi Redmi 2 and the Lenovo A7000 on paper. But those phones go on sale only once a week. Also, the Moto E 2nd Gen is not a bad device. Motorola’s known for good build quality phones, and this smartphone is no different. The minimalistic software tweaks also ensures that the phone gets updates faster. It is already running near-stock Android Lollipop. The 2390mAh battery paired with modest hardware also ends up delivering a good uptime. Although the cameras aren’t great, if you want a basic smartphone, the Moto E 2nd Gen is a decent option that’s easy to get.

Spice Dream Uno

The Spice Dream Uno is a part of the Android One program that Google initiated. The program has a set of rules that a manufacturer needs to follow when making a phone. The device runs on stock Android and Google has promised to give it software updates for the next two years. In fact the phone is running on Android 5.1, while many devices in its price range are yet to receive the update.

Brands may have their reasons for selling online only. It saves them the cost of distribution benefits of which get passed on to the customer. It also helps retain a buzz for a product for a long time. But that does not justify the pain customers have to go through to buy one, for instance making people play contests, like pages, etc. We hope this list gives you clarity in choosing your next phone, and get it before your hair turns grey!