Philips has entered the smartphone arena in the country and it has launched three devices to start the proceedings. The cheapest of the lot of is the Philips S308 which has been launched for Rs 8,290. The smartphone comes with a modest set of specifications. Let us take a quick review of what the S308 has on offer:
Camera and Internal Storage
At the back of the S308 is a 5MP camera coupled with a LED flash. There is no front camera and the rear camera is not something that will make you want to click more pictures. It will be one of those things which come to the rescue in times of need and that is pretty much it.
The internal memory capacity of the S308 is 4GB and it is expandable by another 32GB with the help of a microSD card. This is the standard in this segment and Philips has not done much to bring something out of the ordinary.
Processor and Battery
At the heart of the device is a 1.2 GHz dual core MediaTek MT6572M processor which can be found in a slew of budget smartphones these days but in the ones that cost around Rs 5,000 and are present in the entry level smartphone arena. For a device costing Rs 8,000, it just does not make any amount of sense.
It comes shod with a paltry 1,400 mAh battery unit and it is no performer either. Yes it has a modest set of specifications but it won’t perform like one that can be trusted to last a day on moderate usage.
Display and Features
The display unit present on the S308 is a 4 inch one which has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. We are not asking for 720p display units but post launch of Moto E, users are starting to expect qHD resolutions in budget devices because the bar has been set so high.
It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean which again is a pretty old operating system to start with and now that more and more companies are launching their budget smartphones with Android 4.4 KitKat on board, we wish it ran on Android KitKat.
Comparison
The sub Rs 10,000 smartphone is heating up pretty fast in the country and we have a slew of value for money devices battling it out for your attention in this arena. The main competitor will be Moto E which will be followed by the likes of Canvas Engage, Canvas Unite 2, Iris 406q and Iris X1.
Key Specs
| Model | Philips S308 |
| Display | 4 Inch WVGA |
| Processor | 1 GHz Dual Core |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Internal Storage | 4 GB, Expandable |
| OS | Android 4.2 |
| Camera | 5 MP/ VGA |
| Battery | 1400 mAh |
| Price | 8,290 INR |
What we like
- Philips’ wide network
- Design
What we don’t like
- Price
- Operating System
- Processor
Price and Conclusion
It has been priced at Rs 8,290 and it seems grossly overpriced to us. The S308 is an entry level smartphone from Philips and it does a decent job of being so too but the pricing is wayward and thus, it comes across as a device that has pretty much value for money and you’d be better off opting for the Moto E instead.
