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Best phones from Chinese brands in 2013 - Gadgets of the Year

China's big brands are finally making a serious bid for the smartphone market in India.

Naina Khedekar|Dec 26, 2013, 16:34:33 IST

The massive smartphone market in India is seeing fiercer competition by the day. To compete with bigwigs like Samsung, Apple and Nokia, Indian manufacturers brought out an arsenal of low-cost smartphones, made in China. Today they are serious competition, but there has been an influx of some Chinese brands too. They pose a serious threat to the existing competition and some of them have managed to make a deep impression in our minds this year. Check out the best smartphones from Chinese brands this year.

Winner: Gionee Elife E7 On the base you have the speaker section with the microUSB port in the middle

Sleek profile of the massive Elife E7

Launched just this week, and with a starting price of Rs 26,999, Gionee’s latest Elife E7 offers a sturdy built and solid features set. The newest 5.5-inch 1080p phablet from Gionee comes with a custom Android-based UI called Amigo. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, it is coupled with 2GB RAM (16GB model) and 3GB RAM (32GB model). Also, the 16GB model priced at Rs 26,999 supports 3G, while the 32GB unit priced at Rs 29,999 supports 4G. Read our hands-on and first impressions of the Elife E7 to know more.

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Take a quick look at some of Elife E7’s highlights:

5.5-inch 1080 x 1920p screen with a pixel density of 401ppi
3G, 4G (for 32GB model), Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, GPS/A-GPS, NFC,
16MP primary camera, 8MP front-facing camera
16GB/32GB storage, not expandable

First Runner-up: Lenovo Vibe X

The display is bright and renders crisp test

The display is bright and renders crisp text

Lenovo’s flagship Vibe X priced at Rs. 25,999 (16GB model) takes the second spot. The 5-inch full-HD phablet comes with a pixel density that goes all the way up to 440ppi. It also gets a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The Vibe X comes powered by the same chipset as the Micromax Turbo, quad-core MediaTek MTK 6589T, clocked at 1.5GHz and coupled with 2GB of RAM. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, with Lenovo's heavy customisation on top. The Vibe X is available only with 16GB onboard storage, and without any expandable slot. Take a look at our hands-on and first impressions of the Vibe X.

Here’s a quick look at the Vibe X’s key specifications:

5-inch 1080p IPS LCD
3G, Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 3.0, GPS with A-GPS
13-megapixel main camera with 5-megapixel front camera
16GB internal storage; no microSD card slot; USB on-the-go

Second Runner-up: Gionee Elife E7 mini

The 13MP swivel camera is a real USP of the Elife E7 Mini

Taking the third spot in our list, Gionee’s surprise package, the Elife E7 mini, isn’t a simply trimmed down version of its elder sibling, but brings a number of firsts to India. At a price point of Rs 18,999. It’s the first sub-Rs 20,000 smartphone to feature an octa-core processor and a 13-megapixel swivel camera, that can be used on the front and back. It is powered by an octa-core Mediatek MTK6592 processor, clocked at 1.7GHz and coupled with 1GB RAM. The Mini has the potential to become a blockbuster at that price and with those specs. Here's our specifications review and hands-on with the Elife E7 mini.

Here’s a quick look at some of the specifications of the Elife E7 mini:

4.7-inch 720p display
Dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS
13-megapixel swivel camera
16 GB onboard storage

By Naina Khedekar

Armed with a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering degree, it is writing where Naina finds her calling. She has got her finger on the pulse of what's new and trending in the world of technology, right from gadgets to innovations. When she isn't hammering away on her keyboard, she is busy looking for figurines to add to her growing collection of Kinder toys. It doesn't get more diverse than that.