Price is not the same as value. The most expensive product isn’t always the best value for your money. This section highlights the least expensive model in a product category. If price is of no consequence, check out the most expensive model
OUR PICK
Model – Nokia 1200
Price – Rs 1,499
Features – Dual band, monochrome 96x68 pixels display, up to 420 min talk time, 4 MB memory, handsfree speaker, alarm, polyphonic ringtone, internal vibrating alert, call records—20 dialled, received and missed calls, 200 entries in the phonebook, SMS, games, calendar, calculator.
For: Those who use the mobile as just a phone, frequent handset losers or those keeping a second basic phone.
SECOND TIER
Model – LG – KG 200
Price – Rs 4,950
Features – Tri band, 1.3 MP camera, video recorder, 60 MB memory (extendable), USB connector, GPRS,WAP 2.0, music player, radio, SMS and MMS, inbuilt dictaphone
For: Feature hungry but shallow pockets
TOP OF LEAGUE
Model – Nokia E90
Price – Rs 36,000
Features – Flip phone, QWERTY keyboard,16 million colours 4-inch inner display, 2-inch external display, 128 MB memory expandable up to 2 GB, 3.2 MP camera, secondary QCIF videocall camera, stereo FM radio,music player, real player (streaming audio and MP4 video files), S60 platform, Symbian OS 9.2, RIM Blackberry Connect v2.1, Quickoffice,Adobe Acrobat reader, text-to-speech message reader, built-in GPS receiver,VoIP 2.1, WLAN, Bluetooth,WAP 2.0, 3G, EDGE
For: Those who must have most features, all best of class
PURCHASING POWER
Oilseeds are fuelling the wholesale price inflation. Their prices were 16% higher in November this year, compared to the level last year. Milk prices have again witnessed a small spike. But thankfully, other food articles have shown a marginal decline
| HIGHEST INFLATION RATE | LOWEST INFLATION RATES |
| Oil seeds 16.3% | Other food articles -6.1% |
| Fibres 16.1% | Mineral Oils -6.0% |
| Non-food articles 10.5% | Condiments & Spices-1.9% |
| Milk 10.2% | Electricity -1.7% |
| Non-metallic food 8.6% | Other minerals -1.4% |
| Figures are percentage annual rise in wholesale price index for the week ending 1 December 2007 | |
| HOME LOAN RATES | |||
| Banks | Fixed rates | Floating rates | Processing charges* |
| UCO Bank | 11% | 10.50% | 0.5% |
| Bank of Baroda | 11.5% | 10.25% | 0.35% |
| SBI | 12.75% | 10.25% | 0.25% |
| HDFC | 13.25% | 10.25% | 0.25% |
| IDBI Bank | 13.25% | 10.50.% | 1% |
| Source: Bank websites. Loan term for 15 years. *As of loan amount ^Fixed for five years. | |||
| • There is a bigger variation in fixed rates of different banks than in floating rates | |||
| • There is a spread of 0.5-2.5 percentage point between floating and fixed rate | |||
| • Opt for a 10-year tenure on a home loan to have the most optimum cost on it | |||
