With the release of the Xiaomi Redmi 2 in India, the battleground for entry-level phones in India has now heated up! And boy we do love it when this happens. So the closest contenders to Redmi 2 are the all-new Moto E and the Lenovo A6000. Just going by the spec sheet, looks, and price; Redmi 2 comes off as a better phone with a stunning camera, 4G support on both SIMs, and other features not to be found on either Moto E or Lenovo A6000. But it all boils down to one’s preferences and requirements about the OS and the design. We will hold off until we get to use the devices for a while before we comment on which device is good for what use cases and patterns. So let’s put all the three in one chart to see how the phones pitch against each other.
Specifications Comparison –
| Redmi 2 | Moto E (2015) 3G | Lenovo A6000 | |
| Display | 4.7 inches IPS 720 x 1280 pixels (~312 ppi) AGC Dragontrail | 4.5 inches IPS 540 x 960 pixels (~245 PPI) Gorilla Glass 3 | 5.0 inches IPS 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 PPI) |
| Form Factor | 9.4 mm thick, 133 gms in weight | 12.3 mm thick, 145 gms in weight | 8.2 mm thick, 128gms in weight |
| Processor | 1.2 GHz Quad-core 64-bit Snapdragon 410 Cortex-A53 | 1.2 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 200 Cortex-A7 | 1.2 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 410 Cortex-A53 |
| OS | MIUI v6 on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat | Vanilla Android 5.0.2 Lollipop | Vibe UI Kitkat |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| Memory | 8GB + 32GB micro SD | 8GB + 32GB micro SD | 8GB + 32GB micro SD |
| Camera | 8MP AF + 2MP | 5MP AF + VGA | 8MP AF + 2MP |
| Battery | 2200mAh | 2390mAh | 2300mAh |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE Cat4, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot | 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot |
| USB | micro USB v2.0, USB Host, USB OTG | micro USB v2.0 | micro USB v2.0 |
| FM Radio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Accelerometer, proximity | Accelerometer, proximity |
| Colors | Black Gray, White, Yellow, Pink, Green | Black, White with color bands | Black |
| Price | Rs. 6,999 | Rs. 6,999 | Rs. 6,999 |
Advantages
Redmi 2:
- 4G supported on BOTH the SIMs
- AGC Dragontrail Glass for the display
- Stunning 8MP autofocus, wide-angle camera
- Quick Charge 1.0 for the Battery
- MIUI v6 though based on KitKat is one of the coolest OS we’ve seen
- Maximum sensors among the three phones
- OTG support
- Highest Pixel Density among the three
Moto E (2015):
- Vanilla Android
- Color Bands options
- Very good battery life (based on our Moto E usage and now stated to be better than that)
- Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- 2 years of Android updates
- Motorola’s ‘Quality’ Promise
Lenovo A6000:
- Highly improved Vibe UI
- Good battery life (based on our tests)
- Lightest among the three
- Bigger screen @ 5″
So is the Redmi 2 smoking out the other two? Before concluding we will wait for us to get a hands-on on the device. I have personally used the Moto E (2014) for a long time and for the last 2 months, have been using the Lenovo A6000 fairly regularly and I was pleasantly surprised as to how good the phone is. We would also like to ring your bell on the following infamous issues we all faced on the Redmi 1S which we will keep a lookout for when we test the Redmi 2:
- Heating up – the 1s heated up like crazy even with normal usage
- Software issues – random boots and lags
- Software updates – 1s is yet to receive the MIUI v6. This being archived and also the entry-level phone, Xiaomi which is always slow in software updates and poor in execution and more often than not failing to keep up promises our skepticism is high and justified
- Overall build quality is low when compared to the other phones – more plasticky
- Xiaomi service post-sales – it’s still not where we all want to be
I also bought Lenovo A6000 plus. Its realy awesome. Moreover in the above comparisio mine was the best so i m happy. Yooooo!