XOLO launches two Omega smartphones under Rs. 10,000

Thirty minutes into a hotly-anticipated event that unfolded on Twitter, XOLO, the Noida-based maker of smartphones, finally announced what fans had long been clamouring for: two high-end devices, both priced under ₹ 10,000.

The phones, named the Omega 5.0 and the Omega 5.5 - the numbers refer to their screen sizes - feature shiny metallic rims and curved backs made of glossy plastic. They both run HIVE, XOLO's proprietary operating system based on Android 4.4, which is a generation older than Android 5.0, the latest version of Android. And although the company has promised to update users to the latest version of Android, it hasn't specified a time frame yet.

The Omega 5.0 and 5.5 will be priced at ₹ 8,999 and ₹ 9,999 respectively, but XOLO has sweetened the pot by tying up with Vodafone. Omega 5.0 customers will get 500 MB of free data and unrestricted access to Vodafone Music, the carrier's music streaming offering, for two months. Those who spring for the larger phone will get 1 GB of free data in addition to access to Vodafone Music.

'I think the Omega 5.5 is a better value for money overall, since it has a better camera, and a bigger display and battery,' says Raju PP, who runs the TechPP technology blog. 'It isn't too different from the 5.0 and is only a thousand rupees more.' Raju adds that the recently released Xiaomi Redmi Note and the Asus Zenfone 5 are the only phones in this price range that come close to beating these XOLO devices.

XOLO says that the Omega 5.0 will be available in the 'top ten' Indian cities on December 10. The 5.5 will be available on December 20. If you're nerdy for the specs, here they are:

Omega 5.0:

1.4GHz octa-core MediaTek processor.
1 GB RAM.
8 GB built-in storage (expandable via microSD card upto 32 GB).
5-inch 720x1280 IPS display with a pixel density of 294 ppi.
8 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera.
2100 mAH battery.

Omega 5.5:

1.4GHz octa-core MediaTek processor.
1 GB RAM.
8 GB built-in storage (expandable via microSD card upto 32 GB).
5.5-inch 720x1280 IPS display with a pixel density of 294 ppi.
13 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera.
2600 mAh battery.