Micromax A50 Superfone Ninja review

Micromax is known for launching affordable devices. This time too, it has launched a sub Rs.5,000 dual-SIM Android device - A50 Superfone Ninja. The differentiating factor for this handset is that it comes with Siri-like voice assistant dubbed "AISHA", which stands for Artificial Intelligence Speech Handset Assistant. Here's our take on this device.

Hardware/ Looks
Micromax A50 Superfone Ninja is not one of the best looking Android handsets around but this all white handset with glossy finish may find acceptance amongst its target group - the budget conscious buyers. Though we are not too fond of the glossy finish, we still feel that its clean looks give it a slight edge.

Most of the front of the smartphone is taken up by the 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen and three protruding physical Android buttons - menu, home and back. The top panel houses the 3.5 mm jack and power button, while the left panel has a charging/Micro-USB port and volume rocker. The back panel has a 2.0 MP camera and the loudspeaker.

Overall, the build quality of the smartphone is just-ok.

Display
Micromax A50 comes with 3.1-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 240x320p resolution and we found the display quality to be sub-par. The viewing angles are poor and under-sunlight visibility is minimal.

Camera
Another downside for this handset is its camera. Micromax A50 comes with a 2 MP camera on board. The image quality was tad bit grainy even if the shots were taken in good light conditions.

The camera app on the smartphone has decent feature set and includes options to alter white balance, picture quality, and colour effects. A50 also comes something called burst shot that was recently seen in high-end Android smartphones like HTC One X and Lava XOLO X900.

The camera offers an option to click 4 or 8 images in burst shots, which worked as expected although it is a tad slow. There is no front camera in this smartphone.

Software/ Interface
Micromax A50 is running on Android 2.3.6 with company's own skin at top. The addition of the custom-skin doesn't seem to add much value to the performance of this handset. There is no but there's no word whether Micromax will be offering an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich for this handset.

The handset comes in with just the standard Android apps and no extra apps were pre-installed, apart from AISHA.

Performance/ Battery life
With just a 650 MHz processor on board, one cannot expect too much in terms of performance for this handset. Micromax A50 is a decent performer, but if you are planning to play games or for that matter even multitask, then you should be looking for better alternatives.

The handset comes with just 135 MB of internal storage but one can expand the memory through microSD card to up to 32GB.

In terms of connectivity, this handset supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G. However, the 3G support is restricted only for SIM 1.

AISHA
The highlight of this handset is clearly its voice assistant AISHA. This is first budget handset that has made an attempt to provide an interactive speech recognition application. In our testing, we found that AISHA was able to deliver a good performance. It seemed more accustomed to understanding the Indian accent than Apple's SIRI.

Additionally, Micromax has allied with multiple content partners like Q&A site ChaCha, Wolfram Alpha and Indian websites like SimplyMarry and Magicbricks to provide relevant results via AISHA. We asked AISHA to performs tasks such as locating nearby eating joints, composing a SMS et al and it was able to do the same quite efficiently.

On the downside, we found that Aisha's voice was tad bit harsh and one may not want to use it often enough!

The audio quality produced through speakers as well as headphones is satisfactory. Browsing experience over Wi-Fi was decent but the handset does not support Adobe Flash. Also its lacklustre screen will further dampen your video or picture viewing experience.

The Micromax A50 comes with a 1200mAh battery that would last just about a day for moderate useage on a single charge.

Verdict
If you're looking for an Android smartphone on a budget, the Micromax A50 Ninja offers you something different in terms of AISHA, which works rather well.

Don't forget to checkout for images of Micromax A50 Superfone Ninja and Things AISHA says in our picture gallery.

Pros
Comes with a voice assistant
Supports dual-SIM

Cons
2 MP camera
Low screen resolution
Low internal memory

Price: Rs.4,999

Ratings (out of 5)

Design: 3
Display: 2
Camera: 2
Performance: 3
Software: 3
Ecosystem: 3.5
Battery Life: 3
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 3

Sony Xperia sola review

Sony Ericsson released some nice mid-range Android smartphones last year in the form of Xperia neo, Xperia Ray and neo V and now Sony (sans Ericsson) is trying to achieve the same this year.

The Japanese manufacturer launched three mid-range devices this year at Mobile World Congress to cater to almost every consumer in the price-segment.

Sony Xperia sola is one of the three devices to be launched in India recently. Priced at Rs 20,449, it brings 1GHz dual-core processor, 3.7-inch Floating Touch display (more on this later), 5MP camera and Android 2.3 to the table, but is this enough to make the consumers go for it over the competition in the market? We will find out in this review.

Hardware
Sony has followed a fixed design style for all of its 2012 smartphone launches apart from Xperia sola, which offers a distinct basic design that might not win design awards but is pretty decent.

There is no transparent bar or curved back, but Xperia sola comes with an all square design. Another differentiating factor is the thin bottom, which is a change from Xperia NXT series, but doesn't really add anything and is more of a design decision from the company.

For those, who don't like huge smartphones and prefer the pocketable ones, Xperia sola is perfect. It offers 3.7-inch display, which is in no way small, a sufficiently thin body at 9.9mm and weighs just 107 grams.

Overall, Sony Xperia sola features a plastic body with soft touch finish applied to the better cover. The phone feels nice in hand and gives the premium feel.

Talking about the hardware specifications, Xperia sola has a trio of capacitive buttons located below the display, and they work fine. There is a volume rocker, two-stage dedicated camera and Micro-USB port on the right and the power button on the left. The top and bottom are pretty much clean apart from the 3.5mm audio jack on the top.

All buttons are usable and offer no issues apart from two-stage dedicated camera button, which required more than normal effort to click an image.

The back of the smartphone houses a 5MP camera, LED flash, Xperia branding and speaker. Remove the battery cover and consumers will find the microSD card and SIM card slots. The battery is not users-replaceable, which might be a bit of let down for some.

Display
Sony has gone for a 3.7-inch display for Xperia sola with 854x480p resolution. The display size is perfect for basic web-browsing, playing casual games and other daily chores, but multimedia junkies and heavy gamers might find it a little small for their taste.

Xperia sola comes with a decent PPI count, thus you will hardly notice any individual pixels. The colour reproduction is fine, but white and black colours are a little dull. The smartphone also offers decent viewing angles and visibility under sunlight.

Camera
As we've come to expect from Sony smartphones, the Xperia sola's 5MP camera performs quite well. Thanks to the dedicated camera button, you don't even have to unlock the device to click an image.

While the outdoor and indoor shots with proper lighting taken with the smartphone's camera lived up to our expectations, we were disappointed with the shots taken using the smartphone's built-in flash. The shots were washed out and had a white layer on them.

Another downside for the smartphone is the missing front camera. Secondary camera has increasingly become a standard for smartphones and even the entry-level models have started coming with one, and we are not sure why Sony has decided to give it a miss in Xperia sola.

The smartphone camera supports up to 720p video recording and the results were fairly decent.

The camera app on the smartphone isn't very comprehensive but gives decent number of options to play around. You can choose scene, white balance, exposure value, ISO, Metering or the focus mode.

Software/ Interface
Sony is shipping Xperia sola with Gingerbread on-board, which isn't surprising because company is yet to release an Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) smartphone. Company has also included its custom interface on top of the Android 2.3, similar to other 2012 Sony launches; it is minimal and does not hog much processing power.

The interface is beautiful with subtle animations and effects.

The smartphone also comes with ability to create folders and take screenshots, both of which were introduced in Ice Cream Sandwich release, giving you some respite before the actual update reaches the smartphone.

In terms of the pre-loaded apps, company has included Timescape, which is like a hub of your social network feeds, along with TrackID, Timer, Stop Watch, Recommender, World Clock, WisePilot, Neo Reader, and Office Suite apps. Most of the pre-loaded apps actually add value to the consumer experience.

Floating Touch
Xperia sola is the first smartphone to come with Sony's all new Floating Touch technology, which allows you to browse the web by hovering your finger above the screen so it acts like a moving curser, without actually having to touch the display. Floating Touch works as advertised but there is hardly any actual usability of the feature right now. However, the company plans release its API to developers and we can anticipate some cool uses of Floating Touch after that.

Performance/ Battery Life
In the world of smartphones filled with Qualcomm and NVIDIA chips, Sony Xperia sola runs on ST-Ericsson NovaThor U8500 dual-core processor. Don't worry, it performs quite well, and we did not experience any hiccups during our time with the smartphone.

The dual-core processor ensures smooth functioning of the phone and there is no lag in switching homescreens, multitasking or even playing casual games.

Games like Temple Run, BackStab, Deer Hunter Pro ran without any problems.

On the connectivity front, Xperia sola includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, and DLNA. Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work as expected, but NFC isn't much use right now apart from when you try Smart Tags from the company. The NFC functionality should be improved after the ICS update. The call quality is decent and so is the network reception.

In terms of the multimedia usage, the smartphone played 720p videos flawlessly, however stock player wasn't so great with 1080p videos. It also includes a fancy music player on-board, which worked quite nicely and when clubbed with the xLoud feature gave decent audio output.

After the pricing, battery life is increasingly becoming a key deciding factor in smartphone purchases, and traditionally Androids are not the champions in the category. Xperia sola includes a 1,320mAh battery, which is non-user-removable.

The battery backup is just ok and we would have surely liked a bigger battery. Moderate users will able to get through the day without charging, but heavy users won't be so lucky.

Verdict
Sony had some nice mid-rangers last year and Xperia sola isn't different. The Japanese manufacturer has continued to impress us with a stable and value for money Xperia sola. However, it is important to point out that absence of ICS and front camera surely goes against the smartphone. An Xperia sola with pre-loaded ICS and front camera would have been a no-brainer.

If you want Android 4.0 today, you might want to look at HTC One V, which although misses the dual-core power but offers better camera and ICS at a slightly less price.



Price: Rs. 20,499

Pros
Decent performance
Solid build
Dual-core processor

Cons
No front camera
No Ice Cream Sandwich

Ratings (Out of 5)

Design: 3.5

Display: 3.5

Camera: 3

Performance: 3.5

Software: 3

Battery Life: 3

Value for Money: 3.5

Ecosystem: 4

Overall: 3.5

Spice M-5600 FLO TV review

Spice Mobile is known to bring in affordable and user-friendly handsets in the market. Working on their existing strengths, Spice has now launched their dual-SIM Spice M-5600 FLO TV. The handset is also referred as FLO TV and uses Spice mobile's existing Flo Touch technology while incorporating a relatively different concept of an inbuilt Analog TV.

With Android based budget phones stealing the market, do feature phones such as these still stand a chance? Let's take a look.

Hardware/ Design
Weighing just 110 grams, the Spice M-5600 is light and easy to hold. It has a standby button, Micro-USB port and a 3.5 mm head phone jack on the top. The 3.2-inch QVGA touchscreen display takes most of the space on the front and below the same are three back-lit touch buttons.

The right hand corner button acts as a toggle button to switch between main menu and home screen. The positioning of this button is extremely convenient when it comes to user comfort. The back has a 1.3 MP camera on the top-left corner and a speaker down at the bottom.

Right at the corner, is an extendible antenna that is visible only when you examine the handset very closely.

The Spice M-5600 offers dual-SIM functionality with dual-standby. It also comes with a microSD slot that enables users to expand the storage up to 8GB.

Display
The 3.2 inch display is big enough to do your day to day activities. While it is comfortable to use indoors, it is almost impossible to use this handset in broad daylight. You would perhaps need to look for shaded areas when outdoors.

Camera
The phone has a 1.3 MP rear camera that enables you to click photographs as well as shoot videos. The image quality is decent for sharing but the video quality at 12 fps is pretty basic. The absence of flash makes it difficult to click pictures in low lighting conditions. The camera interface also offers features such as effects and white balance options to aid photography.


Software/ Interface
The phone comes loaded with widgets and multimedia applications. Bold icons adorn the application menu and contain many pre-loaded apps including Facebook, Yahoo! Messenger, Bluetooth messenger, News applications, Privacy Lock and Yahoo! Weather. It also has an Ebook app that allows you to read .txt files on your phone. In addition to these, it also has S Apps Planet, which acts as an Application portal.

We tried reading on the Ebook app, and it indeed had some interesting features. The text size is comfortable to read and an auto scroll feature eliminates the need for you to keep scrolling through the long texts.

However, the Bluetooth Messenger and its purpose seemed pointless. All this messenger does is send text file to any phone via Bluetooth. Even if it can be used to share texts, the whole idea of a "Messenger" is misleading with the other person having no method to reply back.

Performance/Battery life
Though Spice is touting this phone as a multimedia feature phone; this is exactly where we faced the maximum performance issues.

The Analog TV application, which is a special feature in this phone, gives you free access to terrestrial channels like Doordarshan and DD News. Being an analog service, the picture quality might not be crystal clear but yet it is a feature that not many phones have.

To use this feature, one needs to pull out the antenna and go outdoors. Yes, the TV signal is a problem for your FLO TV when indoors. You need to be outside the comfort of your home to watch news on the device. The same problem exists with the FM. Even to listen to the radio, you need to extend the antenna that you used for the Analog TV. The FM application offers a function to record FM.

The 1200 mAh battery is sufficient to last you a full day with a single charge but that is if you are not viewing the Analog TV all day long. You can get online via GPRS.

Verdict
For the amount that you pay, the device is definitely worth the money. The features given are diverse and well supported by the battery backup. The elegant and lightweight white body is a positive as well. Though it has added an Analog TV app, the signal reception for the same is a problem and the antenna that needs to be extended to view TV. Moreover, in the current context, antennas have become outdated, so the idea of an antenna phone may not appeal to certain consumer groups.

Price: Rs 3,099

Pros
Price
Design


Cons
Bad signal reception for FM Radio and Analog TV
Poor display


Ratings (Out of 5)

Design 3

Display: 2

Camera: 2

Performance: 3

Features: 3

Battery life: 4

Value for Money: 4

Overall: 3

Samsung Galaxy S III review

Samsung's rise in the mobile phone arena in the last few years has been phenomenal. The company has truly come a long way and the success of its last two flagship smartphones played a huge role. It is in this backdrop that Samsung's latest flagship phone becomes so important to the company.

When JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung, was standing on the podium on May 3, 2012, stakes were high and everyone was anticipating a smartphone that would leave the competition behind. It was going to be the third iteration of company's much successful Galaxy S smartphone. He did unveil something that was extraordinary and full of exciting features and industry leading specifications, but will this new smartphone be able to leave the competition behind and prove powerful enough to take on Apple's upcoming iPhone and HTC's flagship One X? We will find out in this review.

Hardware
Smartphone after smartphone, Samsung has showcased that it continues to put more emphasis on the display of the smartphone and same is visible in S III. The 4.8-inch display on the phone is the single main highlight of the phone. It almost takes the whole of the front, leaving little space for the buttons, front camera and sensors. We don't mind that because by limiting the bezel and removing any unwanted space, Samsung has been able to fit the huge display in much smaller device, which is easier to hold and operate. But, you still have to adjust your grip at times and use both hands while operating the phone at many occasions.

There is nothing extraordinary about Galaxy S III design apart from the fact that it houses so much in such a thin body. Company has played safe and conservative, while the direct competitor to the phone One X is a result of HTC's attempt to do something different, which actually works quite well.

We are not saying that the Galaxy S III design is bad but it is definitely uninspired. However, it is quite functional and well-built. The no frills design borrows quite a few elements from company's last two Galaxy S models. The home button makes an appearance once again, coupled with same Android button arrangements, and familiar speaker/ ear-piece grill.

Similar to other flagships, a single sheet of glass carefully covers the front; the only bumps are home button and ear-piece grill on the top. As we are on the topic of the home button, it is important to point out that home button was actually a little disappointment for us. In the attempt to fit everything in smaller case, Samsung has reduced the size of home button considerably. We would've preferred a capacitive touch button instead of this small physical home button.

Back to the build of the smartphone, thanks to the plastic body and the usual paper thin battery cover, company has been able to keep the smartphone weight to just 133 grams, which is just 3 grams more than HTC One X.

It is interesting to note here is that Samsung has been able to pack a 2100 mAh user- removable battery in just 8.6mm thick body along with microSD card slot. So, rather than paying more for a bigger internal memory version of the phone, you can actually just pop in a card when required.

It also packs a Micro-USB port at the bottom, which is also used for charging, data transfer via PC and to connect to HDMI devices.

Overall, with all the glossy finish and rounded corners, the build quality is quite decent. Despite being plastic, the smartphone feels nice in hand and is very well put together.

Display
The huge 4.8-inch display on Galaxy S III is obviously the first feature that you will notice on the smartphone and it won't let you down. S III comes with a Super AMOLED HD display, which has the same underlying technology as Galaxy Nexus but has been improved a lot during the time period between both the launches. However, HTC's One X is still able to score over Galaxy S III in the display category; the LCD on One X has great viewing angles, best in the class clarity and colour balance. On the other hand, the bluish tinge is present on Galaxy S III display and the automatic brightness doesn't work as expected.

We won't go in Pentile vs non-Pentile debate here, as that doesn't really matter in the real-life usage of the smartphone. Overall, the colours are vivid, text is clean, readable and viewing angles are great.

Camera
HTC has set a high bar for smartphone cameras with its One X but Samsung has been able to best it with Galaxy S III. The image quality of the smartphone is simply outstanding. The images are sharp and clear, and even the full resolution images are pretty neat.

The 8MP camera on-board provides a holistic imaging experience and removes any need to carry multiple devices for basic photo needs.

Company has also included burst mode in smartphone camera, which allows consumers to capture 20 shots in one go with around 6 shots per second.

The camera software is pretty similar to what you might have seen on Galaxy S II; it is simple and easy to use. Most of the settings and controls are present on the left and the video/photo mode toggle along with capture button is on the right. It might not be as intuitive as One X's camera app, but the quality of images taken from camera fills up that gap.

Samsung has added HDR mode to Galaxy S III, which takes multi shots at various exposure values and combines them to create a single image. HDR helps you in situations where two parts of your photo frame have very different lighting condition.

The 1.9MP front camera on the smartphone is pretty neat and gives decent output. As the smartphone comes with built in video call support over telecom network, you will find using it quite often.

Moving on to the video recording, thanks to the ultra-fast processor inside the device, recording video worked as expected, auto-focus is slightly spotty but rest works fine. Galaxy S III also allows tap-to-focus in video recording, thus helping you in capturing even better videos.

The only missing part is on the optical side, Galaxy S III only supports a maximum aperture of f/2.6, which is well behind than f/2.0 on HTC One X. It means, Galaxy S III will be slightly worse in low-lighting conditions.

Software/ Interface

Samsung Galaxy S III runs on Android 4.0.4, but if you remember Ice Cream Sandwich from its stock looks, then you won't be able to recognise it on the smartphone. Samsung has gone all out to skin the hell out of ICS on S III.

There is hardly any part of the smartphone that looks like ICS on Galaxy Nexus. But, then it is expected from the Korean manufacturer to help it differentiate the device in such a competitive market.

Do these customisation work or are they just adding bloat to refreshing Ice Cream Sandwich? Well, up to a large extent, they do work.

One of major part of Samsung's Galaxy S III announcement was dedicated to the several software customisations that company has made in this smartphone. Several new features that have been added to it are not present in any other Android smartphone even from Samsung.

Samsung has not only added these features but has also decided to stay away from Android buttons introduced in ICS ( Home, Back and Multitasking) and has chosen to use good old Gingerbread style buttons - Home, Back and Menu (no multitasking button here and it can be managed by long pressing the home button).

Apart from home screen, the first customisation to be noticed on Galaxy S III is the set of quick toggles present in notification bar. Other such improvements include trash icon shortcut in Gallery app, and quick access of detailed volume control.

Many of the old Touchwiz features are still present in S III, like swiping the contact name left or right to message or call. Lock screen has been customised as well to include app shortcuts, which can further be altered as per your preferences.

The additions are not just limited to these little tweaks; company has made some big feature additions as well. One of our favourites from these features is "Pop up Play," the ability to play video anywhere on your screen simultaneously while doing other tasks. S-Beam is another enhancement from the company that has been made over Android beam, which is present by default in ICS. Samsung has actually combined the functionalities of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct in S-Beam, thus allowing you to transfer not only small packets of information but also big amount of data. S-Beam currently works with Galaxy S III only, so the functionality is limited right now.

Coming to the Samsung's answer to Apple's voice assistant Siri, S-Voice, we must say that it is just a big gimmick and adds no value whatsoever. Even in terms of gimmick quotient, the functionality of S-Voice is very limited when compared to Siri. S-Voice only responds to typical command, there is no personality to it at all, so if you were planning to ask some random question, stop right there, it won't answer.

It works well with commands and we are not sure how much of use would that be to you. After looking at the next version of Siri at WWDC, S-Voice is now looking even more inferior. One positive with S-Voice over Siri is that the former understands the Indian accent better.

Other such features include Smart Stay, Direct Call, Social Tag, Buddy Photo Share, and All Share Play/Cast. During our time with Galaxy S III, the Direct Call functionality that allows you to directly call a person whom you are sending a text by simply picking up the phone and putting it next to your ear, worked perfectly. However, we are disappointed by Smart Stay; it did not work as advertised by the company. The results were irregular, only working sometimes. You can read more about them in our detailed article on these features.

If you are wondering about the stock ICS features, under the Samsung's nature inspired UI, all of the additions that were made by Google in ICS are also present on the phone including Face Lock, detailed data info, and battery usage charts.

Well, not everything is hunky-dory here. Some of the Samsung's tweaks to Android 4.0 actually fall flat and the method of creating folders is one of them. The dragging and dropping an app on another to create folder doesn't actually work in Galaxy S III. To make a folder, you will have to open app drawer select one app and then drag that to create folder icon, which will then be placed on the home-screen. Another such fail is the removal to Play Store shortcut from top right corner of app drawer screen; Samsung has replaced that with a link to downloaded apps.

Performance/ Battery Life
No surprises here. The 1.4GHz Exynos Quad powered Galaxy S III is really a powerhouse and it is clearly visible in every single action on the smartphone. If you liked using Tegra 3 powered tablet or even One X, you will like the S III even more.

We won't go into any technical jargon or benchmarks here, although they agree, but in real-world usage, the Galaxy S III performs brilliantly and does everything that you throw at it without showing any strain.

Whether you are working on image heavy documents, opening huge webpages or watching 1080p clips, there is no lag at all. The performance is simple unsurpassed. We can't wait for the apps that fully exploit the S III's power.

Call quality and network reception are both superior and you will not face any issues.

Performance review cannot be completed without actually talking about the battery life of the smartphone and the Galaxy S III packs in a big 2100 mAh battery, which is also user-replaceable (do need to keep in mind that stock battery also houses NFC chip).

Despite the big HD display and quad-core processor on board, Samsung Galaxy S III will not give you a battery low warning in a day's judicious use, but heavy users might not be so lucky. Because of the presence of a big battery, Galaxy S III also takes around three hours to get fully charged.

Verdict
Consumer expectations were very high after Galaxy S II and Galaxy Nexus, and Samsung has been able to beat them by presenting a technological marvel in the form Galaxy S III. The camera, processor, and the software customisations, all are best in the class right now. It might not have the looks of One X, but it scores in almost everything else.

In the end, it all comes down to one thing - the pricing is, somewhat surprisingly, on the upside. Priced at Rs. 43,180, it is way more than HTC One X's Rs. 37,899 maximum retail price. Street price might be a little lower, but looking at the current pricing, HTC One X is the better deal however Galaxy S III is a better phone. So, if price is no barrier to you, go for it.


Pros
Great performance
Excellent camera

Cons
S-Voice is of limited utility
Pricing

Ratings (Out of 5)
Design: 4
Display: 4
Camera: 4.5
Performance: 5
Software: 4.5
Battery Life: 4
Value for Money: 3.5
Overall: 4

Spice Stellar Mi-425 review

Spice Stellar Mi-425 is one of three Android powered dual-SIM smartphones from Spice, part of the new Stellar series. The phone sports a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm. Powered by Gingerbread (Android 2.3.6) and sporting a 5 MP camera, here's our take on the handset.

Design/ Hardware
The phone has curved edges and a matte-finish and pearl white body. The screen of the Spice Mi-425 is surrounded by a thin chrome strip, which is further outlined by a thicker aluminium strip. There are two speakers, one in the front just above the display and one adjacent to the camera.

The back panel feels plasticky but the phone is comfortable to hold. That said, the white finish of the cover at the back is okay, but isn't great. We would have preferred a grey-ish finish, or anything darker for that matter, as it would have highlighted the red tint of the speakers.

There is no doubt the phone is heavier than other phones its size. The reason for that is the large battery present with a purpose of giving longer battery life to the product.

The phone sports four capacitive touch buttons in the front - Home, Menu, Return and Search. There are two ports - a Micro-USB unit at the bottom right hand side and a 3.5mm jack at the top on the extreme left. The power button rests in the top right corner. The volume rocker is located on the left of the handset.

Examining the inside, the Spice Mi-425 has a dual-SIM slot and a microSD card slot, which are placed adjacent to each other just above the battery. The battery needs to be removed in order to access the SIMs and microSD card.

Display
This Spice handset has a 4-inch capacitive touch display supporting a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The brightness indoors is fine but when taken outside, even at maximum brightness levels, the display is difficult to discern.

Camera
The Spice Mi-425 has a 5 MP rear camera with autofocus and digital zoom. The camera enables you to click images with a maximum resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. It also features a 0.3 MP front-facing VGA camera. The camera supports features like LED flash and Geo-tagging. During our testing we found the camera was satisfactory but not stunning.

With phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Y Pro Duos (Rs. 9500) which has a 3.5 MP camera and the Galaxy Pocket (Rs. 8150) which has a 2 MP camera, the Spice Mi-425 scores better in terms of number of megapixels. But when compared with a ViewSonic ViewPhone 3 (Rs. 9990), which also has a 5 MP camera, the stills are better for the Mi-425. That said, images do appear blurred on slight movements. Video recording also lacks sharpness and is blurred even when shot indoors.

Software/ Interface
This phone comes pre-installed with stock Android version 2.3.6. Spice claims that an update to Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich will be available for this handset by July end.

There are five home screens, where you can add shortcut icons of applications and widgets as per your liking. The icon sizes are decent and the main menu icons (of which there are 16 on each screen) are labeled for further ease and selection. The home screen has a nice little tweak by Spice, which shows a 3D cube like interface as you scroll between these screens, which appear more comprehensive.

The phone also comes with pre-installed apps like Spice Gang, Rail Yatra, Max Bupa, BSE/NSE Stocks, Live Aarti and YouTube.

Security
One of the USP's of the phone is the presence of Netqin Anti-virus which is free to users for the first six months from the date of purchase. The app not just provides anti-virus protection, but also offers anti-theft and a vault feature to keep your private photos, videos, call logs and docs safe in case your handset lands in the wrong hands.

Added to this, the Netqin app allows you to track your own data usage and track how much data you have consumed along with an ability to cap usage.

The anti-virus continues to work after an expiry of six months but the database does not get updated until you have purchased a licensed version. No anti-spam filter is a disappointment.

Performance/ Battery Life
The Spice Mi-425 comes with a 2000 mAh Lithium ion battery which is bigger than most smartphones in the class. This gives a standby time of 192 hours and a talk time of 6 hours. Unfortunately, the huge battery has also increased the weight of the Mi-425, making it bulky to use. Standard usage with an hour of gaming will make this handset last a day on a single charge.

The device has 512 MB RAM, 140 MB internal memory, which is expandable to 32 GB via microSD. The 1 GHz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm is a pleasant surprise as most phones around this price range sport processors ranging between 650 and 800 MHz, like the ViewSonic ViewPhone 3 (800 MHz).

The device is responsive and doesn't seem to show a lag while shifting between screen views. On testing games like Angry Birds Space, Temple Run, Fruit Ninja etc., the phone supported them without any issues.

The Spice Mi-425 has a multi-format audio and video player, along with FM radio. It supports both 2G and 3G networks. The phone also has Wi-Fi & Bluetooth connectivity. The Wi-Fi, however, gets disconnected when the phone is locked.

Verdict
The Spice Mi-425 is competitively priced at Rs. 9,990 and is a strong contender in the entry level segment because of its looks. Though it is larger and heavier than most phones and has an average battery life considering its 2000 mAh battery, it is still a very good buy for a user who wants a not-so-expensive, good-looking Android smartphone.



Pros
Attractive design
1 GHz processor
Competitive price
Cons
A bit on the heavy side
Low angle of viewing
Disappointing camera
Ratings (Out of 5)
Design: 3
Display: 2.5
Camera: 2.5
Performance: 3
Value for Money: 4
Overall: 3

Sony Xperia U review

Post a separation from Ericsson, Sony seems to be eyeing the smartphone market with a new vigour and enthusiasm. Sony has recently launched three mid-range Android devices in the Indian market - Sony Xperia P, Sony Xperia Sola and Sony Xperia U. Price at Rs. 17,399, Sony Xperia U may be the cheapest of the three handsets but when compared to other similarly priced smartphones, will it be able to make a mark or fizzle out? We will find in this review.


Hardware/ Design
In terms of the design, Sony Xperia U looks quite similar to Sony Xperia P and Sony Xperia S but draws more resemblance to the latter. It sports a 3.5-inch screen with 854x480p resolution. Just below the screen are the three standard Android touch buttons for back, home and menu.

What stands out in terms of the design of Sony Xperia U is that there is the illuminated transparent strip at the bottom. This strip can light up in various colours such white, blue, green, red, purple or yellow, depending on the theme that you choose. The colours in this strip also change automatically when you are browsing pictures or listening to music in accordance with the mood. Additionally, Sony Xperia U also comes with interchangeable bottom caps that can be set in black, pink, or yellow colours.

The smartphone looks sturdy despite being made up of plastic. It also features rubberised finish on the back. Coming to the specifics, the Micro-USB cum charging port is on the right panel, while the left panel houses the power button, which also doubles as the screen lock/unlock button, the volume rocker and the two-stage camera button. The 3.5mm audio jack is placed at the top panel while the back panel houses the 5MP camera.

The colourful bottom caps do add a dash of freshness in the overall design of the handset but they aren't much of an eye-catcher.

Display
Sony Xperia U sports a 3.5-inch Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine, which is quite bright, even outdoors. It also provides good viewing angles. Display has a resolution of 480x854 pixels and offers a decent pixel density of 280ppi. Another plus for the screen is that it is scratch-resistant.

The only disappointment is the width of the display and we would have preferred a slightly wider one to avoid the cramped keyboard in portrait mode or the hardly visible text on webpages in zoomed-out view.

Camera
The smartphone comes packed with a 5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash. Pictures taken in broad daylight were quite sharp but the shots were grainy and washed out in low light.

The camera comes with a dedicated camera button, which is placed on the right panel. However, taking photographs with the help of this button needs some getting used to as it comes with a two-stage shutter button. Also zooming in and out on pictures via the volume rocker was a bit jerky.

In nutshell, this is not one of the best 5 MP camera that we have seen on a smartphone.

There is also a VGA front camera that works decently and will help in video chats.

Sony Xperia U is capable of recording 720p videos with 30fps, and the quality of videos captured is substandard, leaving a lot to be desired.

Software/ Interface
Sony has not been able to roll out Ice Cream Sandwich on any of its 2012 models as of now and the same is also true for Sony Xperia U. It runs on Android 2.3 and is expected to get an update in the coming months.

Sony has also added its own UI atop Gingerbread in the smartphone, which is quite light and is easy to use.

In terms of the pre-installed apps, Sony had some interesting additions such as Timescape, TrackID, Wisepilot, Liveware Manager, PlayNow, Neo Reader and Office Suite.

Timescape app stacks up email messages, Twitter and Facebook updates in one place and is certainly an interesting addition to the smartphone. TrackID is just like Shazam or SoundHound, an app that identifies the track being played.

Sony also has its own app store - PlayNow on board, which houses some interesting games, music and apps.

Performance/ Battery Life
With 1GHz dual-core NovaThor U8500 chipset powering this smartphone, Xperia U, is very snappy and responsive. Even while multi-tasking the handset does not cringe.

The browsing experience on this handset was good. The pages did open up quickly and the good display (small width aside) of this smartphone further enhanced the browsing experience.

The biggest drawback of Sony Xperia U is that does not have an expandable memory slot. This handset comes with an internal memory of 8GB, of which only 4GB is user accessible. Though, Sony is promising 50GB of cloud space with this handset but that is not really compensation for not having a microSD slot.

Like most phones from Sony, the audio quality for both voice calls and audio playback was quite good. Too bad you can't stock up your music collection on the Xperia U, thanks to the absence of the microSD slot

Sony Xperia U comes with a 1320 mAh battery and it gives a great battery performance. A moderate user can easily get a day/ day and half with a single charge.

Verdict
To wrap things off, Sony Xperia U is an interesting handset especially at Rs. 17, 399. If you can live with 8GB of memory with no expansion, this is a good Android smartphone to look out for. However, the competition around is quite tough and you might want to consider HTC One V for ICS goodness before you actually zero in on Xperia U.


Pros
Good display
Snappy and responsive

Cons
Limited storage
Not one of the best 5 MP cameras

Price: Rs. 17,399

Ratings (out of 5)

Design: 3

Display: 3.5

Camera: 2.5

Performance: 3.5

Software: 3.5

Ecosystem: 4

Battery Life: 4

Value for Money: 3.5

Overall: 3.5

Karbonn KT-21 review

Karbonn is known to introduce feature rich, affordable handsets and they have tried to do the same with their latest offering Karbonn KT21. Karbonn KT21 is a dual-SIM touch and type phone that comes with the promise of various multimedia and utility features. With an emerging set of affordable touch and type devices, will this handset be able to stand out? We figure out in this review.

Hardware/ Design
At the first glance, we found the Karbonn KT21 to be a good-looking handset at the price it's being offered. It's light and comfortable to hold. Unlike most touch and type phones, Karbonn KT-21 sports a big 2.8-inch display.


The back has a 3.2 MP camera and a speaker. In the front is a physical keypad with a dedicated key for Push Mail/ Smart Mail and three capacitive touch buttons below the touch screen. The top has a micro-USB port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Overall, the handset features good finishing and the silver side casing adds to the entire 'look' of the device.

Display
Karbonn KT21 has a 2.8-inch display, and for a touch and type phone the display seems to be well sized and is comfortable to use. Brightness levels are decent and work well for regular use. In sunlight though, it turns out to be a little dim. When compared to any regular phone with a physical keypad, this handset's big screen gives it a slight edge in terms of viewing photos and videos.

Camera
The phone comes with a 3.2 MP camera, which can also be used for video recording. The best part about the camera on the device is the interface of the camera app. It comes with various features including burst shot selection that allows you to pick the best image out of five captured images.

Other features include smile detection, panorama, white balance controls and the ability to add frames. All these features are put together in a very camera like interface where you have gears that rotate similar to a normal physical selection dial in a camera. Software aside, the picture quality is about average and not something to talk much about.

Software/ User Interface
The K21 runs on Karbonn's own proprietary software and the company has tried to customise it rather well. The lock screen has nice animations. Three options adorn the screen - Call, Unlock and Message. To select one of these all you need to do is to choose the desired option all the way up. Also, many animated wallpapers come pre-loaded with the device.

The phone comes pre-loaded with social networking and Internet based applications like Facebook, YouTube, Mobile TV, Newshunt, Yahoo Messenger, Y! Weather, Y! Finance and Y! News. It also comes with Karbonn Instant Messenger a.k.a KIM that offers gTalk like functionality.

On the games front, it supports Java applications and had games like Cut The Rope and Fruit Ninja pre-installed. With some lag in the performance, the gaming experience is not one that you would like to remember.

For an entry-level device, the phone has decent utility features like Airplane mode/ Flight mode, scheduled power on/off and also, auto quick end that ends every call after a desired duration saved in the settings. That is surely some help to save you battery power and money, if you don't mind your calls getting interrupted in the middle!

Utility applications like Calender, World Clock, Notes, Task Planner and Ebook Reader come installed in the phone as well. All apps are pretty usable and not just placeholders like most entry-level phones have.

Performance/ Battery life
The major problem with the device was the signal reception. In a room where we were getting near about full signal strength in other devices, Karbonn KT21 was showing poor signal strength. Call quality and clarity was about average. Additionally, due to problems with the signal reception outgoing messages often failed.

The combination of a touch-screen and a physical keypad comes with its own functionalities and limitations. Forsending texts and emails, big touch screens have always had an edge with the presence of full QWERTY keyboards on the screen. But for other day to day activities like making calls, a physical keypad is generally more convenient. But on the KT-21, while typing on the touch screen keyboard is a bit difficult given the size of the screen, the keys of the physical keypad are comfortable. The keyboard on the device feels cramped. Also, the touch is not that responsive and suffers from lags from time to time.

Karbonn has been marketing the phone for its 'Smart Mail' feature. The phone also has a dedicated Smart Mail key. We tried setting up an account in Smart mail via GPRS and due to the poor signal reception had several errors while doing so. The device gives the option to set up Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, Windows Live or custom email accounts.

As far as the smartness of Smart Mail is concerned, the notifications are quick and the refresh time is decent. Push mail works as expected. The phone uses minimal packet data and downloads only part of a long email. The rest of the email can be downloaded upon request. The 1000 mAh battery gave a decent battery backup and was able to last one-two days on a single charge.

Verdict
The strength of the device is the user interface and the features that it offers for its price. On the downside, the proprietary OS means a lack of apps. Another major drawback is that the signal reception in this handset is not very good and for any user this could be a major deterrent for purchasing this handset. The UI adds to the whole experience of using the phone. For someone who has been using a non-touchscreen phone, this device might help make the shift.

Pros
Big display
User Interface


Cons
Poor signal reception
Poor touch response

Ratings (out of 5)

Design: 3
Display: 3
Camera: 2.5
Performance: 2.5
Features: 3.5
Battery life: 4
Value for Money: 3
Overall: 2.5

HTC One S review

Taiwanese manufacturer HTC may have skipped the Consumer Electronics Show this year, but it was certainly back with a bang for the Mobile World Congress. The company showcased three very important smartphones as part of its One series at the event - its flagship One X, mid-range One V and it's thinnest smartphone till date, the One S.

Despite being just 7.8mm thick, the HTC One S packs in some power. It comes with a 1.7GHz Qualcomm S3 processor and 1GB RAM. Will this sleek smartphone be able to catch the fancy of Indian consumers? We will find out in this review.

Hardware
The HTC One S is one of the few phones that grab your attention instantly. It looks fresh and quite different from HTC's yesteryear phones. The company seems to have put in quite a bit of thought in the making of this smartphone - the aluminium unibody shell is now much thinner and the speaker grills have been micro-drilled, similar to the One X.

The top and bottom parts of the back are still plastic and the top comes off to reveal the micro-SIM card slot. Similar to the One X, the battery of the device remains inaccessible.

Thanks to the not-so-huge 4.3-inch display and thin profile, the One S fits nicely in the hand and feels right.

Coming to the specifics, the sides of the One S are pretty clean apart from the Micro-USB port on the left and volume rocker on the right. The primary mic is present at the bottom, while the top houses the secondary mic, power button and 3.5mm headset jack.

Overall, the smartphone's industrial design is a nice departure from company's smartphones till now.

Display
The HTC One S features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with qHD resolution (960x540), which might not be as crispy as an HD display but is definitely decent. It offers great viewing angles and rich colour reproduction. However, the AMOLED's blue tinge is also present on the phone.

While, the screen looks bright and vibrant, it has its own set of issues because of the underlying technology - Super AMOLED and the PenTile pixel arrangement that makes some colours look grainy on careful observation.

Camera
The smartphone shares the same camera system as the HTC One X, which performed very well in our review. The One S features the same 8MP sensor, with f/2.0 aperture coupled with dedicated ImageChip processor.

The camera is very responsive and provides a great imaging experience. You can capture both still and video concurrently and also choose from a varied range of filters available on the smartphone.

Similar to the One X, One S also features a revamped camera interface, which can be easily termed as the best camera UI available in an Android smartphone. To further sweeten the deal, it also comes with several manual settings like ISO, white balance and exposure level that you can play with.

The stills captured with One S are decent under good lighting conditions; however you will find noise and graininess in low-light shots. The One S supports 1080p video recording and the results were quite good in our testing.

Software/ UI

HTC was the first manufacturer to launch Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones in the country in the form of the One X and One V. Now, the One S also offers the goodness of Android 4.0 to users coupled with company's user interface Sense 4.0.

Thanks to Sense, you will hardly notice the stock ICS look anywhere on the phone, not that it is a good thing. Rather than going for a refreshing Android 4.0 interface, the company has decided to stick with its own UI, which has also been revamped and toned down compared to earlier versions.

Despite the company's noticeable efforts, Sense is still not an asset, but we are not completely disappointed with it either. Though Sense still hogs a lot of RAM, the 1GB RAM inside makes lags on the device hardly noticeable.

The updated Sense 4.0 also hosts less bloatware than previous versions and there are only a few apps pre-loaded on the smartphone. Some of them are actually pretty useful. The pre-installed apps include 7-digital (a music store), HTC Hub (app store), PDF Viewer, Polaris Office, SoundHound, TuneIn Radio, Stocks, FriendStream and Teeter (game).

Similar to other One series smartphones, the One S also comes with Dropbox integration and 25GB of free cloud space for two years. Along with all the Sense features, HTC One S also includes ICS features like Face Unlock, Resizable widgets, home-screen folders and swipe to dismiss notifications.

Performance/ Battery Life
When HTC announced the One S at the Mobile World Congress this year, the smartphone was said to be sporting the 1.5GHz Qualcomm S4 Krait processor. But due to a supply crunch, the company had to launch the One S with a generation old S3 processor in some markets. Unfortunately, India is one of those countries, where the One S features a 1.7GHz Qualcomm S3 processor.

It is the same processor present in smartphones like the HTC Sensation. However, real-life performance of the smartphone does not seem to have been impacted. The overall operation is still fluid and there is no lag whatsoever.

Whether you are opening image-heavy webpages or browsing through apps, you will notice no hiccups and the performance is at par with other smartphones in the similar price-bracket.

Coming to the battery performance, the 1650 mAh battery inside the smartphone provides enough juice to last through the day for moderate users; however photo enthusiasts and heavy users won't be so lucky. As the battery is not user-replaceable, any hopes for a larger battery are also ill-fated.

The call-quality, network reception and data connectivity, all were above average and gave no problems in our testing.

The device comes with 16GB of internal storage but unfortunately there is no option for expansion. The 25GB free Dropbox storage provided by the company is your only respite to store data.

Verdict

Sporting a thin and attractive profile, a fairly decent processor and Android 4.0, HTC One S looks like an instant winner, but pricing is the main issue here. At Rs. 33,590, HTC One S is certainly over-priced. There is no HD display or quad-core processor here to justify such a high price.

The absence of the S4 processor from the Indian version is also going to hurt the One S, as it is likely to delay future software updates, as the company will now be releasing two different update builds, one targeted for the S4 version while the other for the S3 version.

At the end, it all comes down to whether you are willing to spend extra cash for the killer looks and a slightly overclocked processor or would you rather like to shell out much less and settle for the Samsung Galaxy S II, which has similar features.


Pros
Great looks
Camera performs well

Cons
Price

Price: Rs 33,590

Ratings
Design: 4.5
Display: 3.5
Camera: 4
Performance: 4
Software: 4
Battery Life: 3.5
Value for Money: 3
Overall: 3.5

HTC One V review

HTC made a big splash at the Mobile World Congress this year when it showcased three new devices under its HTC One umbrella, namely the One X, One S and One V. The One V is the second device in the series to be launched in the country. Priced at Rs. 19,399, the smartphone draws attention thanks to its protruding chin design, which is reminiscent of the HTC Legend. Unlike its elder siblings the One S and the One X, the device sports a comparably smaller 3.7-inch display, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But is the device worthy of all the attention? We take a look.


Hardware/ Design
The HTC One V has a unibody aluminium chassis that gives it a premium look. The curved back edges make the device quite conformable to hold. Drawing on inspirations from the HTC Legend, a prominent design feature is its kinked chin bottom that certainly differentiates it from the rest in its category.


With a 3.7-inch Gorilla Glass display, the One V is about the same size as the iPhone 4. It sports a slender design at 9.2mm thick and is reasonably light at 115g.


Following suit of its One branded siblings, the One V limits physical buttons to a power/wake button on top and a volume rocker on the right. The 3.5mm headphone jack rests on the top with a notification LED that flashes every time you get missed calls, messages and indicates the phone's charging state.


Just above the silver HTC logo on the front, one can find a row of tiny holes for the earpiece. Since the top of the glass is cut at this section, the sharp edges can get uncomfortable when held up to the ear. The bottom has three capacitive buttons for back, multi-tasking and home. The left panel houses the Micro-USB port for charging and data transfers.


The back features a 5MP camera with LED flash at the top while the bottom has a plastic cover that conceals the mic and speakers. When removed, one can find slots for a full-sized SIM and a microSD card. The battery however is non-user replaceable.


Display
The HTC One V comes with a 3.7-inch capacitive touch display covered with Corning's Gorilla Glass. It supports a resolution of 800x480, giving it a pixel density of about 252ppi. For a mid-range Android handset, the display is bright, sharp and vibrant with no pixilation visible to the naked eye. It won't be wrong to say that the LCD offering stacks up well against other AMOLED and S-LCD smartphones available in this budget. The phone has great viewing angles and text appears sharp even under the sun.


Camera
The One V comes with a 5MP rear camera on board, compared to the 8-megapixel shooter found in the One X as well as the One S. But what it does inherit from the One family is ImageSense, which claims to provide continuous shooting, ability to capture stills while shooting videos and no shutter lag.


The burst shot mode is the best feature drawing its power from the ImageChip processor allowing you to capture several images per second. You can press the on-screen shutter button for as long as you need and then select the best from the stills captured.


Images look decent even under low light but it is advisable to shoot with the Flash turned off. It tends to burn out images and leave them unsaturated as well. The camera's autofocus performs decent enough and seems reliable.


You can also add multiple effects to your pictures both before and after shooting. Despite being HD capable, video recording quality might come as a disappointment. The device is unable to switch between different lighting conditions while recording. The built-in digital zoom only adds to the poor performance of the smartphone's recording capabilities.


Software/ Interface
The device comes with Android 4.0 straight out of the box but is layered with HTC's latest Sense 4.0 UI. The interface felt pretty smooth with no lags absolutely whatsoever. The unlock ring gives you access to a range of shortcuts to applications on your home screen. You can also use exclusive Android 4.0 Google Apps such as Chrome Beta and a highly improved version of Gmail.

Sense 4.0 makes the phone extremely user-friendly with multiple features allowing for smooth navigation through various lists and menu options. And considering its Ice Cream Sandwich, closing applications is just a swipe away.


HTC has put quite an effort when it comes to pre-installed apps on the device. Third-party apps that ship with the smartphone include Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Polaris Office, 7Digital (a music downloading service, and TuneIn Radio (on-line streaming player).

What also comes along is HTC Hub, the company's own app store and Task Manager. Speaking of Dropbox, the Taiwanese company is providing 25GB of free cloud storage for two years with every purchase.


Performance
Courtesy the single-core 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the One V produces fairly decent results. Games like Temple Run and Fruit Ninja worked fine with no lags at all. There are occasional hiccups when running multiple applications or just loading them up. YouTube videos play out well with no pixilation and look crisp on the 3.7-inch display.



One area where the device didn't disappoint is battery life.The 1500mAh battery did more than what was expected lasting an entire day on a single charge before completely draining out. Daily users will be satisfied with the battery life of the device. This was while making/receiving calls, texting, playing a few levels of Angry Birds in between and so on.

Call quality was great too with virtually zero call drops. Typing on the device feels a bit cramped in portrait mode and you can't help but switch to landscape orientation for a more comfortable typing experience.


The One V boasts impressive connectivity on both Wi-Fi and 3G networks. The browsing experience was a breeze with pages loading rather fast and giving no trouble at all. Speaking of browsing, there are a couple of new ICS features that the One V can show off when compared to its Android 2.3 companions.


One may notice In-page searching in the form of the 'Find on page' option. Further additions include tabbed browsing along with the convenience of foregoing mobile sites and heading over to the desktop version. Another welcome feature is a dedicated Forward button for easy navigation. All these features are easily accessible through the Menu option on the right hand corner of the screen.


Audio quality on the device isn't perfect either. The Beats Audio integration only enhances the sound which works alright when listening to certain type of music but might get frustrating with others, especially with the earphones. If you choose to listen to music on the audio speakers in a smaller, less noisy environment, you may be satisfied. But take the phone into a crowd and it's no good.



The smartphone comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB via microSD.


Verdict
Does the HTC One V live up to the One family tradition? It's bit of a mixed bag. The device boasts impressive specs for a mid-range smartphone, not to mention its unique design. Although it's not perfect enough, the 1GHz single core processor does keep up the pace with minor lag issues when switching between apps and menus.


It has a strong form factor that is sturdy and aesthetically pleasing, which separates it from other candybar plastic-backed offerings currently available. ICS on-board combined with the latest Sense UI is a worthwhile experience on the device. Overall, the One V is premium in looks, as well as feel.


Talking of dislikes, the audio is a bit disappointing. Probably a bundled pair of Beat headphones would work well with the Beats Audio integration. Video recording is a letdown too with the built-in digital zoom only making things worse.


If you're looking for a device with better processing capabilities then the Xperia sola (Rs. 20,449) might be an option worth considering. The device is powered by a dual-core processor and comes with a host of connectivity options including NFC and DLNA support. The downside is that it runs on Android 2.3 but an ICS update is on the cards.


Nonetheless, if you're looking for simplicity blended with excellence when it comes to getting more than just the basics right, then the HTC One V could be the Ice Cream Sandwich phone you desire.


Pros
Differentiable and sturdy design
Display
ICS out of the box

Cons
Sloppy video recording capabilities


Price: Rs. 19,399


Ratings (Out of 5)
Design: 3.5
Display: 3.5
Performance: 3.5
Software: 3.5
Battery Life: 3.5
Value for Money: 3
Camera: 3
Overall: 3.5

Nokia 808 PureView review: The 41-megapixel monster

Nokia 808 PureView announced itself with a bang at this year's Mobile World Congress at Barcelona. The phone's 41-megapixel drew attention from industry watchers as well as casual observers.

Nokia did its bit in building the excitement - from teaser images, to sample videos clicked with the 808, and the multi-legged roadshow that previewed the phone all over. The phone generated plenty of buzz, with PureView technology drawing lots of early praise.

With everything in place, Nokia fans and impartial observers alike were looking forward to the release of the phone, hoping against hope that the Nokia 808 would signal awakening of the sleeping Finnish giant.

Does the Nokia 808 force you to wake up and take notice, or would you be tempted to hit the snooze button? Let's find out.

Hardware/ Design
There's nothing spectacular about the front of the Nokia 808. The display takes the bulk of the space on the front, with the earpiece grill and the front-camera just above the Nokia branding on the top.

Just below the screen are three buttons, with no physical separation, such that they appear as one long button instead. The left-most button is (Green) Call/ Answer, the middle-button is Menu, while the right-most is the (Red) Power/ End Call button.

The back of the Nokia 808 PureView has the 41-megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics, a Xenon flash and the loudspeaker, in a casing that rises well above the back.



The left side of the Nokia 808 is completely bare, while the right side features the volume rocker, the slider that can be used to lock/ unlock the phone and the dedicated camera key. The curved corners lead to the mini-HDMI, Micro-USB, mic and 3.5mm jack on the top, and the second microphone plus a lanyard/ wrist strap hole at the bottom.

The curves on the 808 are much needed, as they make the task of holding what is a rather bulky phone, a little bit easier. But the curves can only do so much, and the Nokia 808 feels like a relic from another era. Throw in an external antenna, and the 808 will be right at home in the 1990s.

The weight of the phone does nothing to change that impression. The phone looks and feels heavy, and wherever we went, the weight (169 grams) was almost always the first thing people talked about.

The phone measures 17.95mm thick at the camera - that's the closest a phone has coming to touch the 2-centimetre mark in recent times. We're not sure that's the crown Nokia should be gunning for. That's the price you pay for carrying 41 megapixels in your pocket. But even at its thinnest, the Nokia 808 is 13.95mm.



Contrast this with the Samsung Galaxy S III, which is just 8.6mm at its slimmest. The HTC One X and the iPhone 4S, at 8.9mm and 9.3mm are not too far away either.

The build quality is solid, with high-quality, matte-finish plastic used throughout.

The Nokia 808 PureView is powered by a 1.3GHz, single-core ARM11 processor. It comes with 512MB RAM and 16GB internal storage. Is that enough in today's world of multi-core processors? Read the performance section.

The removable battery (1400 mAh Nokia BV-4D) hides the microSD and Micro-SIM slots.

Display
The Nokia 808 features a 4-inch display with 640x360 resolution. For a phone that aims to compete at the premium end of the segment, that simply isn't good enough.

While the display size is adequate, it is crying out for more pixels - wish we could borrow some from the camera and give them to the display! If you set the disappointing resolution aside, the display is more than adequate.

The colour reproduction is accurate and the screen is bright, even outdoors.

Camera
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the main attraction of the Nokia 808 is the 41-megapixel camera combined with the PureView technology, that Nokia claims offers stunning results. So does it deliver? In short, yes!

The Nokia 808 PureView camera operates in two different modes. The first one is the full-resolution mode, where you can click 38-megapixel (4:3) or 34-megapixel (16:9) photographs. Don't go looking for a 41-megapixel mode, because it does not exist.

This WikiPedia image explains why the 41-megpaixel sensor is limited to 38 and 34-megapixel shooting modes.


The Nokia 808 can also click photographs in 2-megapixel (16:9), 3-megapixel (4:3), 5-megapixel and 8-megapixel effective resolutions. This is where the PureView technology earns its money.

The PureView technique involves taking a full image and oversampling it to the effective resolution you've selected. In 16:9 mode, the full image corresponds to 7728x4354 pixels, while 4:3 aspect ration means a 7152x5368 resolution.

Oversampling an image means combining adjacent pixels into one. The more pixels you combine, the more accurately the resultant pixel represents real-world information. With PureView, Nokia seems to have perfected this technology. The resultant images are crisp, with more details and lesser noise.

The optical zoom on Nokia 808 PureView works better than other mobiles or even point-and-shoots. The large sensor means the 808 implements optical zoom by simply cropping the relevant bit, which means there is no upscaling involved, which, in turn, results in better pictures.

Clicking photographs in full-resolution mode is unlike anything you may be used to. There's no zoom at all. If you want to click a distant object, point the camera in the general direction and click away. The 41-megapixel sensor means details or objects not visible to the naked eye will show up in the photograph just fine. Use crop to achieve the same result you would've got with a zoom lens.

Where's the Lotus Temple? A zoom and crop later, there it is.


But the results aren't always what you may expect. While the camera supports tap to focus, focusing on objects in the distance - ones that you can't even see on the screen - doesn't always work. A large sensor cannot be a replacement of a zoom lens with manual focus, and the results are proof. But that's just nit picking - no one's looking at the 808 to be a DSLR replacement. Not yet, anyways!

Clicked at full-resolution, the image on the right is an Actual Size zoomed and cropped version of the one of the left.


The software is excellent, offering enough pre and post processing adjustments/ options to keep you satisfied.

The camera supports full-HD video recording as well as 720p at up to 30fps. The videos, much like the images, are sharp with excellent audio-quality thanks purportedly to Nokia's Rich Recording technology. Nokia claims distortion-free audio at up to 145dB, but we weren't even tempted to put that claim to test.

Overall, the Nokia 808 beats the pants out of any other camera phone and could easily replace your entry-level point-and-shoot cameras as well, for both still as well as video imaging.

Software/ UI
The 808 runs on Nokia Belle (Symbian OS 10.1) One thing you can say about the Symbian's overall look and feel is that other than adding a few new icons and a dash of colour, it hasn't changed much over the years.

While Belle brings new features like a notification bar and free-resizable home widgets, Symbian is not an Operating System designed for touch-devices, and incremental upgrades are not going to change that. We almost forgot - with Nokia Belle, you get six home-screens instead of three. Big whoop.

The browsing experience is average, but inferior to other phones in the similar price-bracket. In terms of apps, the Nokia 808 comes bundled with almost everything you would need - from Twitter to Facebook (both are really just wrappers to Nokia's own Social app), YouTube to Adobe Reader, Shazam to Quickoffice and Mobile Office. Also bundled is a free version of JoikuSpot, which provides mobile hotspot functionality.

You may think all bases are covered, but while the apps are present in name, the functionality available is pretty basic compared to iOS/ Android counterparts. The Twitter app, for example, lacks conversation view, ability to view images inline, and a built-in browser.

Installing new apps isn't a great experience either. Some apps download in the background, but get stuck in a modal "preparing installation" for a few seconds, during which you can't do any other activity!

Our version of 808 PureView let us download 3 paid apps for free, courtesy Nokia. These apps were Angry Birds, Camera Lover Pack and National Geographic Photo Tips.

The highlight of the Nokia 808, camera aside, is the Drive app. Once you move past the question "Why are Maps and Drive two different apps?", this application promises nothing but bundles of joy.

The built-in Drive app offers turn-by-turn navigation in what is perhaps the most complete, easy to use package across all platforms. It offers all the features you expect, in an intuitive interface, with some nice touches thrown in for free.

The counter that displays (in real-time) the amount of data the app has used will help keep those 3G bills in check. Route Overview is pretty convenient, and the intelligent swipe, which scrolls in the general direction where you are headed, is the most practical implementation we've seen.

You can also download maps onto the Nokia 808 and use them without an Internet connection. The Maps are pretty detailed (at least for Delhi), and include important landmarks, commercial establishments etc.

Another interesting app is the one we encountered right at the start. Upon first boot, the Phone switch app offered to import contacts, messages and other data from another Nokia. We were skeptical at first, but the within seconds, the 808 was using Bluetooth to download data from our trusted old Nokia E61.

Contacts, Photos, Notes, Bookmarks, SMS messages (all 626 of them) and, amazingly, 303 recent calls went from the old phone to the new, just like that. This ensured the most painless experience we've ever had while switching phones.

The Phone switch app works with select Nokia phones only.

Performance/ Battery Life
The Nokia 808, unfortunately, is no mean machine. It stutters; gasping for breath often, like an old man climbing stairs he once galloped two at a time. The new shirt hides a body in tatters. Physically, he's worn down by the passage of time, mentally, by his own refusal to move on.

If you'd we rather spell it in black and white, the performance of the Nokia 808 ranges from satisfactory at best, to poor, when compared to the likes of HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III. The apps take some time to open, the processor can barely keep up with the CPU intensive PureView technology, and lags aren't that uncommon.

The touch response is average, unlikely to win awards for performance, but not the kind you would struggle with either. As noted earlier, the browsing experience is just about satisfactory. Another frustrating aspect of the Nokia 808 is its refusal to join known Wi-Fi networks automatically. We had to manually select the Wi-Fi network every time we switched locations.



The in-built keyboard is frustrating and even after two weeks of using the phone as our primary device, we couldn't type with any kind of speed. Swype, an alternative keyboard, is available in the Nokia Store as a free download, but, if anything, it performs worse than the built-in keyboard. Swype for Symbian seems to be a poor cousin of its Android counterpart.

The call reception and call quality are excellent, like most Nokia phones. Battery life is another area where the Nokia 808 does well. Even though the battery is rated at a modest1400 mAh, you shouldn't have any trouble getting through an entire day on a single charge. Not least because you are unlikely to find any apps that keep you engaged enough!

Verdict
Let's come out and state what everyone's thinking. What if the Nokia 808 was powered by a dual-core processor, had a gig of RAM, and ran Windows Phone 8?

Sadly, a review is not the place to be playing the what-if game. One needs to restrict to what's presented, and the harsh reality, the one that wouldn't please Nokia or its (rapidly thinning) legion of fans one bit, is that this phone is no contender for the smartphone crown.

If you're looking for a camera that can make calls, buy the Nokia 808, because those are the two things it does very well. However, if you're looking for a good email/ browsing/ social/ gaming experience, move on, because Symbian isn't the answer.

Looking beyond the 808, Nokia has promised that the PureView technology will find its way on to other devices, and we look forward to phones that pack in better hardware and OS to back the great camera.

Check out our gallery for more pictures of the Nokia 808 PureView.


Price: Rs. 33,899

Pros
Camera
Battery Life

Cons
Symbian
Underpowered
Display resolution

Ratings (out of 5)
Design: 3.5
Display: 3
Camera: 5
Performance: 2.5
Software: 2.5
Battery Life: 4
Value for Money: 2.5
Overall: 3