The last couple of months have seen a proliferation of smartphones in the sub-10,000 price range. We take a pick of the Top 5 in the sub-Rs 10,000 range...

The last couple of months have seen a proliferation of smartphones in the sub-10,000 price range. Earlier this range was dominated by cheaper Chinese phones marketed by Indian brands such as Lava, Micromax, Karbonn and others, but with the commoditisation of hardware and more importantly the appeal of a burgeoning Indian market many international brands have launched products to compete in this budget. We take a pick of the Top 5 in the sub-Rs 10,000 range. As expected all of them cost above Rs 8,000 as we found that dropping below this meant making huge compromises in terms of quality and experience. Like every countdown let us begin with the last on the list Number 5 –  Sony Xperia E Dual  Price – Rs 9,799 Dual-SIM smartphone with good built quality This dual-SIM phone by the Japanese phone maker was launched at Rs 11,490 but has seen a price drop and is now available for Rs 9,799. The good build-quality, compact design and dual-SIM support make this phone a worthy candidate. However, the single-core processor means you can do only so much. Add to that a small 3.5-inch display at a beggarly resolution of 320 x 480 and you realise how Sony managed to keep the cost so low. It is also the reason why the phone just about scrapes into the list. Here's a look at the Xperia E Dual's complete specifications. Verdict – Go for this phone only if you can't be seen without a recognisable brand. Number 4 – Karbonn Titanium S1 Price – Rs 9,990 Jelly Bean powered Titanium S1 One of the three phones from our list to sport a 4.5-inch display, the Karbonn Titanium S1 promises much with its quad-core processor, but fails to deliver. Currently avaiable for a tenner short of Rs 10,000 the Titanium S1 is decidedly an ugly phone. The highly reflective back panel is also a pain to maintain. What works in favour of the phone is the hardware. The 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM makes sure that the Jelly Bean powered Titanium S1 chugs along fine. Here are the complete specifications of the Karbonn Titanium S1. Verdict – The S1 packs a fairly decent feature set but the poor battery-life and glossy body may make you want to move to our number 3. Number 3 – Micromax Canvas Music A88 Price – Rs 8,499 Micromax Canvas Music comes with a free JBL headset