Is JioPhone 2 worth it at Rs 2,999? Here are your best alternatives for budget 4G smartphone

Disappointed with the new JioPhone 2 not being free like its predecessor? Here are some alternatives to the 4G smartphone costing less than Rs 3,000.

Following the success of JioPhone in India, Reliance Jio launched a successor with upgraded features and a revamped design. The new handset, JioPhone 2, was unveiled at the company's 41^st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on Thursday, July 5.

JioPhone's popularity grew mainly for its effectively free cost, but the JioPhone 2 doesn't follow the same strategy. Reliance Jio launched the JioPhone at Rs 2,999 and said the device will be available across India, starting August 15.

For the price, JioPhone 2 offers a 2.4-inch display with a QWERTY keypad and a 4-way navigation pad. It comes with a 2MP rear camera and a 0.3 VGA front camera. Like its predecessor, JioPhone 2 also runs KaiOS out-of-the-box, has a 2,000mAh battery and supports 4G VoLTE, FM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and NFC.

JioPhone 2 launched at Rs 2,999PR handout

JioPhone 2 offers support for dual SIM cards and can leverage voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) feature. It has a 512MB RAM and boasts 4GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD cards.

Other features include access to JioApps like MyJio, JioMusic, JioTV and more. It also supports Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube, all of which will soon be available to the original JioPhone as well.

But the question is whether JioPhone 2, being a feature phone, is worth Rs 2,999. To put things into perspective, here are a few affordable options for 4G smartphone buyers in India who weren't impressed by JioPhone 2.

Micromax Vdeo 2

Price: Rs 2,999

Display: 4.5-inch WVGA display
Camera: 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera
CPU: 1.3GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC9832
RAM: 1GB
ROM: 8GB (expandable up to 32GB)
Battery: 1,800mAh

Micromax Bharat 2

Price: Rs 2,890

Micromax Bharat 2Micromax

Display: 4-inch WVGA display
Camera: 2MP rear camera, 0.3 VGA front camera
CPU: 1.3GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC9832
RAM: 512MB
ROM: 4GB (expandable up to 32GB)
Battery: 1,300mAh