Indian manufacturer Lava is known for releasing cheap Android phones for 2014, but that does not mean that these handsets are of low quality. No, not at all. 

According to a recent report by GSM Arena, the manufacturer has just took the wraps off of its midrange Android smartphone. 

Dubbed as the Iris X1, the handset packs some pretty decent specs. The phone boasts a 4.5-inch IPS display with a low-end 854 x 480 resolution, a Broadcom chipset, quad-core CPU running at 1.2GHz, and 1GB of RAM. 

Also on board is an 8-megapixel camera at the back with LED flash, a 2MP front cam, and 4GB of internal memory. There is also a microSD card slot for storage expansion, a 1,800mAh battery, and Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box for smooth smartphone performance. 

The Lava Iris X1 also packs the usual connectivity options such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G and even dual-SIM support. 

So how much does Lava require from customers in order to get this decently-spec'd smartphone? In the report, the Lava Iris X1 only costs INR7,999 or about $136 from Amazon India. 

Indeed, a lot of mobile manufacturers today are becoming more popular and profitable due to their dirt-cheap smartphones. Interestingly, these handsets boast quality features, designs and specs which can rival even the most expensive midrangers in the market today. 

In contrast, the prices of midrange devices from more popular brands range from $300-400, which is also triple the pricing for entry-level companies. For emerging markets who are just beginning to discover the benefits of smartphones, the practical choice is definitely those with a lower price tag. 

That is what happened in the case of Apple, which tried to give the 'more affordable' price tag to its iPhone 5c, but it failed miserably as 'affordable' for Apple is still expensive for its target market, China. 

As for Lava and other Indian manufacturers like Karbonn, their philosophy of choosing affordability is a great ingredient towards their success in the mobile industry.