Samsung Galaxy 3 and 5, LG Optimus GT 540: Android gets affordable in India

Ranjit Yadav,Director Mobile and IT Samsung, with Raima Sen at the launch of Samsung Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5 in Kolkata

A year ago, getting an Android phone in India meant shelling out something in the vicinity of Rs 30,000. The price barrier was brought down a bit late last year with the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Spica which retailed for around Rs 13,000 and this year has seen a number of Android handsets – most notably the Xperia X10 mini and pro- in the vicinity of Rs 15,000. However, the past two days have seen three new Android handsets being released – the most expensive of which is Rs 12,990! We are talking of the two Samsung Galaxy handsets (Galaxy 3 and Galaxy 5) and the new LG Optimus GT 540.

Of the three, we must admit to being swayed by the two Samsung handsets, purely because they run on Android 2.1. The Galaxy 3 comes with a 3.2” WQVGA 16M TFT hi –resolution touch screen,a 3MP auto focus camera and costs Rs 12,300, while the Galaxy 5 comes with a smaller 2.8 inch QVGA TFT screen and a 2MP fixed focus camera, and costs even lesser – Rs 10,300, making it the cheapest Android handset in India.

The LG Optimus GT 540 is the sleekest looking of the trio but loses out on the fact that it runs Android 1.6 (even though the release says it can be updated to 2.1 – though how, we know not). Still it offers a 3 inch TFT touchscreen and a pretty good 3 MP autofocus camera for Rs 12,990. All three devices are pretty well-equipped in terms of connectivity (all three have GPS, Wi-Fi and 3G) and of course, are bound to be wizards at social networking, thanks to Android’s considerable muscle in that department.

Now, whoever said Android cost a bomb? With these devices, we really Android laying siege to Nokia’s lower-mid-segment smartphone market. Just how good this threesome is will be revealed in the coming days when we get our hands on review units. Keep reading.