Nine Windows 8 Phones Under Php10,000

Unlike Android smartphones, Windows Phone 8 handsets that are priced under ten grand are few and far in between. So if you’re in the market for WP8-powered smartphone within the said budget, then this list may be of help.

Smartphones in this list are arranged in descending order based on its SRP when it was first released locally.

1. Nokia Lumia 636 (Php9,100USD 155INR 13,146EUR 148CNY 1,129) – Of all the handsets under the Lumia 63X family, only two are LTE-capable. One of which is the Lumia 636 which, unfortunately, was not officially launched by Nokia in the country, though you can get one through CMK Cellphones.

Specifications:
4.5-inch FWVGA ClearBlack display, 218ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 GPU
512MB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
Single SIM
LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio
5 megapixel rear camera
Windows Phone 8.1 OS
1,830mAh battery
129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2mm (dimensions)
134 grams (weight)

2. Huawei Ascend W1 (Php8,990USD 153INR 12,987EUR 146CNY 1,116) – Back when Windows Phone devices were still expensive, one of the cheapest WP8 smartphones you can get was the Huawei Ascend W1. It’s also one of the few smartphones running on Windows Phone 8 that sports a One Glass Solution (OGS) display panel. Check out our review.

Specifications:
4.0 inch IPS OGS display @ 480×800 pixels, 233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon 1.2GHz dual-core Krait
Adreno 305
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage (microSD card support)
3G/HSDPA 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
5MP rear camera @ 720p
VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS, GLONASS
Li-Ion 1950mAh battery
124.5 x 63.7 x 10.5 mm
130 g
Windows Phone 8
Blue, Red, Black

3. Nokia Lumia 520 (Php7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992) – When Nokia transitioned in to Windows Phone 8, it released the successor of the Lumia 510. Dubbed as the Lumia 520, this 4-inch smartphone filled in the role of the entry-level smartphone under the Lumia lineup. We got to take the Lumia 520 for a spin here.

Specifications:
4? WVGA (480 x 800) IPS LCD, 233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8227 Dual-core 1 GHz
Adreno 305
512MB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD up to 64GB
5MP AF camera
720p video recording at 30fps
HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Li-Ion 1,430mAh battery
119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm
124g
Windows Phone 8

4. Nokia Lumia 630 Dual (Php7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992) – Unlike its predecessor, this mid-ranged WP8 smartphone was priced within the Php8K range when it was announced back in May.

Specifications:
4.5-inch FWVGA ClearBlack display, 218ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 GPU
512MB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio
5 megapixel rear camera
Windows Phone 8.1 OS
1,830mAh battery
129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2mm (dimensions)
134 grams (weight)

5. Nokia Lumia 630 (Php7,800USD 133INR 11,268EUR 127CNY 968) – If you don’t fancy the dual-SIM variant, then you might be interested with the plain old Lumia 630. It has the same specification as the Lumia 630 Dual, sans the extra SIM card slot. We’ve got a quick review of the Lumia 630 here.

Specifications:
4.5-inch FWVGA ClearBlack display, 218ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
Adreno 305 GPU
512MB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
Single SIM
HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
FM Radio
5 megapixel rear camera
Windows Phone 8.1 OS
1,830mAh battery
129.5 x 66.7 x 9.2mm (dimensions)
134 grams (weight)

6. Nokia Lumia 525 (Php6,480USD 110INR 9,361EUR 105CNY 804) – The reign of the Lumia 520 as the cheapest handset in the lineup was short-lived as Nokia released Lumia 525 nine months after the debut of its predecessor. But not only did the Finnish firm make the handset more affordable, they also equipped with 1GB of RAM. We have a quick review of the Lumia 525 here.

Specifications:
4? WVGA (480 x 800) IPS LCD, 233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8227 Dual-core 1 GHz
Adreno 305
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD up to 64GB
5MP AF camera
720p video recording at 30fps
HSDPA, 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Li-Ion 1,430mAh battery
119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm
124g

7. Cherry Mobile Alpha Luxe (Php4,999USD 85INR 7,222EUR 81CNY 620) – Cherry Mobile surprised the local tech scene when it announced that it will be releasing handsets that will run on Windows Phone OS. Leading the charge for the local brand was the CM Alpha Luxe which sports 5-inch HD display complete with Dragontrail protection. We got our hands on the Alpha Luxe and see what we have to say about it.

Specifications:
5-inch HD IPS display, 294ppi
Dragontrail Glass
1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8212 Snapdragon 200 quad-core CPU
Adreno 302 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
up to 32GB via microSD
8 megapixel rear camera
2 megapixel front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
Windows Phone 8.1 OS
2,000mAh battery
145 x 72 x 9 mm
160 g

8. Nokia Lumia 530 Dual (Php 4USD 0.07INR 6EUR 0.06CNY 0.50, 990) – The Nokia Lumia 530 is an entry-level Windows Phone device that rocks a 4-inch display, Snapdragon 200 quad-core CPU, dual-SIM connectivity, Windows Phone 8.1, and a price tag of just almost Php5K. Check out our Lumia 530 Dual review.

Specifications:
4-inch FWVGA TFT display, 245ppi
1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core CPU
Adreno 302 GPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage
up to 128GB via microSD
free 15GB via OneDrive
5 megapixel rear camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
HSPA+, 3G
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0 w/ A2DP
FM Radio
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
1,430mAh battery
Windows Phone 8.1 OS
MS Office, Action Center, Word Flow, Cortana
119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7 mm
129 g
orange, green, white, dark grey

9. Cherry Mobile Alpha Style (Php2,999USD 51INR 4,332EUR 49CNY 372) – CM is known for their competitively-priced smartphones, and when the home-grown company decided to take another shot at Windows Phone, they kept the same game plan which is evident on the CM Alpha Style that has a sub Php3K price tag. Check out our Alpha Style unboxing video.

Specifications:
4-inch WVGA IPS LCD display, 800×480 @233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8212 Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz quad-core processor
Adreno 302 GPU
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage
Supports up to 32GB microSD
5MP rear camera
0.3MP front camera
Dual-SIM, Dual Standby
3G/HSPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
1500mAh removable battery
Windows Phone 8.1

Editor’s note: Carl Lamiel contributed to this post.