Lenovo Vibe Z

Recently we reviewed Lenovo Vibe X. We found it had a nice design and a very good screen. But we also saw performance issues on it. Overall, we found it to be a step back from K900, Lenovo's flagship phone last year.

Now, we know the reason. Despite its relatively high price, Vibe X is not meant to be a replacement of K900 in the market. This replacement is Vibe Z, a phablet that packs in a screen size of 5.5 inches, similar to that of K900. Unlike Vibe X, Vibe Z comes with top of the line hardware. This is the flagship phone -- or rather phablet  from Lenovo. It looks, feels and is priced like a flagship.

But is it worth getting it over some of the other high-end smartphones sold by companies like Samsung and LG? We tell you ...

Slim, sleek but almost all plastic

Unlike K900, which had a steel body, Vibe Z uses a shell made of plastic. But it is not as bad as it sounds.

Vibe Z looks good, though some may find it a bit too flashy. The back cover, which cannot be removed by a user, is made of plastic but has a faux metal finish. It also has a fine dotted pattern, which makes it look and feel better than the glossy plastic covers used on some other phones. The device has a plastic frame with faux chromium finish. The volume and power buttons are made of metal.

The device has been put together very well. The build quality is good and the finishing is top notch.
Unlike K900, which has a boxy design, Vibe Z has rounded edges. This makes it fit better in hand. Despite having the same screen size, Vibe Z is easier to use and carry compared to K900. The use of plastic also keeps its weight lower. The power button is placed on the top of the phone but volume buttons, which are easier to reach, can also be used to wake and sleep the phone screen. Compared to K900, which weighed around 162 grams, Vibe Z weighs 142 grams.

In terms of design, the only thing we find amiss in Vibe Z is its menu button, which also doubles up as a multitasking button. Under the screen, Vibe Z has three touch-sensitive buttons - home, menu and back.

Unfortunately, while using the device when we long-pressed this button to bring multitasking option, most of the time it also opened the menu inside an app. This is a minor issue but little annoying nonetheless.

Vibe Z is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 processor. It is a quad-core processor running at speed of up to 2.2GHz. The graphics chip is Adreno 330. The device has 2GB RAM. Of this, around 900 is usually free during the use. Vibe Z has a FullHD screen, a 13MP primary camera, a 5MP front camera, 16GB storage (can't be expanded with a microSD card) and 3000 mAh battery.

Android but with some extra goodies

Lenovo is shipping Vibe Z in Indian market with Android 4.3. It is not android 4.4, the latest version of the OS, but at least in this case it doesn't matter much because Lenovo has heavily customized it with its users interface and system-level tweaks.

During our use, we found Vibe Z to be a capable performer. With top notch hardware inside its shell, the phone is fast. The lag that we saw on Vibe X is not visible on Vibe Z. Apps open quickly on this phone. Web browsing is smooth. The performance of GPS is fast and accurate. Vibe Z can play HD and FullHD videos well. And it runs even demanding 3D games like Asphalt 8 at the highest graphics settings without displaying any lag.

Compared to Nexus 5, which is the smoothest Android phone in the market, Vibe Z holds up well. It doesn't feel as responsive as Google's official phone but the difference is subtle. Vibe Z is a flagship phone and feels as fast as other flagship devices like Galaxy S4, Xperia Z1 and LG G2.

However, where Vibe Z feels different is the software. This is both good and bad.



The customized user interface in Vibe Z lacks an app drawer. Instead all apps are installed on the homescreens. This is similar to how apps are installed on iPhone. While it is simple to use, if you have an Android phone and buying Vibe Z, it will take you a few days to get used to it.

Lenovo has changed almost every aspect of stock Android in Vibe Z. The settings panel is different. Notification shade and quick settings options are laid out differently. Unlike the flat icons in stock Android, the default theme on Vibe Z has icons with faux glossy finish. They are also extra colourful and may look garish to some users.

The phone has tens of options to customize the look and feel of user interface. Different themes can be applied. Unlike the sublime and largely minimalistic theme in stock Android user interface, all themes in Vibe X use icons and looks that are too colourful and somewhat cartoonish. Some users will like it, some won't.

Vibe Z also comes with a number of unique software and hardware features. Some of them are useful, some not so much. The utility of features like smart answer - respond to a call just by picking phone up - or smart dial - call a number while reading a message by picking up the phone and holding it against your ear - will vary from person to person. But the features like pocket mode - louder volume when the phone is in pocket - and shake to lock are more useful.

But the two features - multi-window mode and USB-To-Go - are useful. In multi-window mode you can open two apps at the same time and resize them on the screen. Only apps that support Lenovo's multi-window mode work. But most of the common apps, including browsers like Chrome are supported, so it is useful.

The USB-To-Go allows a user to connect any pen drive to Vibe Z and copy or access files. To use USB-To-Go you will need either need a pen drive with microUSB connector or will require a USB-to-microUSB cable, which Lenovo is selling separately.

Vibe Z also comes with a number of apps pre-installed. Some users will find these apps useful but some may find them annoying. For example, it comes with a security app that cannot be disabled. If you think your phone must have a security app, it may not be an issue for you but if you don't want it, you are out of luck. It always runs in the background. Similarly, the phone has a power manager, which too runs in the background.

Share It, an app that can be used to share files between two phones, is useful though. The app comes preinstalled on Lenovo phones but if you want to share files between Vibe Z and a non-Lenovo phone, you can install the app from Android Play store on the non-Lenovo phone.

Similarly CamCard, an app that costs over Rs 600, is pre-installed on Vibe Z. It allows a user to manage business cards in a better way and most people will find it very handy.

Due to all the unique features, options to customize user interface and tweak various settings, Vibe Z offers a lot of options to power users. But for the same reasons, it may also feel a little overwhelming to users who value simplicity and clean user interface.

Good screen, camera and battery life

The Vibe Z screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It is a sharp screen. Text and images look crisp on it. It also shows rich colours and viewing angles are good. Watching high-resolution movies on the device is an enjoyable experience. The level of brightness is adequate during indoor use but under sunlight, the screen feels dim and it is difficult to read on it.

The primary camera in Vibe Z performs well, though we did not find it as good as the one in K900. In the default mode, the pictures that we clicked with Vibe Z in good light came out well. They had ample amount of detail and the focus was sharp. But at the same time, we found the contrast a little low. In low light too, Vibe Z shoots decent images. The amount of noise is low.

The 5MP front camera has wider angle of view compared to what is found on other similarly-priced phones. We found the quality of images taken with front camera to be slightly better than what other devices manage, mostly because of the higher resolution of these images.

Vibe Z shoots videos in up to FullHD resolution. In videos shot with Vibe Z we found that focus was maintained well. But the lack of contrast made them look dull. Vibe Z will capture the footage during your birthday party but devices like LG G2 are better at video.

 

Battery life is a strong point of Vibe Z. When used with a 3G connection, the phone lasts around 15 to 16 hours of use. If you utilize the battery saver modes through the power manager app, you can get even better battery life.

The sound quality during calls was very good on Vibe Z. However, we found the sound output from speakers to be on the lower side.

Should you buy it?

Lenovo Vibe Z has a price tag of RS 35,999.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use, fast and reliable Android phone, in this price range we recommend Nexus 5 with 32GB storage. That will cost Rs 32,999. It is faster than Vibe Z, has more storage, comes with a camera that is slightly better at clicking images (but not videos), runs a more slicker looking version of Android and will get early Android updates.

But if you are looking to get a phone with a bigger screen, better battery life and features like USB-To-Go, Vibe Z is a good option. It works well and offers a number of unique features which are likely to be useful to you, if you do not mind the unique user interface and software customization that Lenovo has put in the phone.

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Gionee Elife S5.5 review: Slim is in

Gionee made headlines when it announced the world's slimmest smartphone, Elife S5.5, during the Mobile World Congress earlier this year. While new slimness records are made and broken every year, this slim warrior also boasts of powerful hardware under the hood, a full-HD display and an attractive price tag. So, is Elife S5.5 a no-compromise phone? We've been using the phone for the last few days and will try to answer this question in our review.

Build & Design

Gionee Elife S5.5 is available in a number of colours, but we got a black coloured one as our review unit. It is certain that when you take Elife S5.5 out of its box, the first thing that strikes you is the phone's super-sleek form factor.

It looks like a bar of chocolate. It's amazing how Gionee has managed to reduce the thickness of the phone to just 5.5mm and squeezed in hardware components further. It sports a unibody design so you can't remove the battery.

The phone doesn't only look sleek but also premium and solidly-built thanks to the use of materials like glass and magnesium alloy. The frame that holds the phone is made of the alloy with inserts for antenna at the edges.

The front features the 5.5-inch display, capacitive touch button for navigation, the front camera and the sensor array.



The shiny, all-glass back has a glossy finish and has a small, raised strip at the top left that features the camera lens and an LED flash. Even the back has Gorilla Glass protection to guard against scratches. However, we feel a matte finish rear would have been more helpful to go with the thinness and for better grip.

There's minimal branding at the back. The right edge sports the volume rocker and power keys that offer good tactile feedback and look nice. The left edge houses the micro-sim card tray. The 3.5mm headset jack is at the bottom edge and the micro-USB port sits at the top.



Display

Gionee S5.5 sports a 5-inch Full-HD Super AMOLED display that offers vivid albeit over-saturated colours. However, the black levels are very good and the display looks gorgeous with black themed apps and wallpapers. It comes with Gorilla Glass Class 3 coating to guard against scratches.

Brightness levels are great and we didn't encounter any problems using the phone in sunlight. Even the viewing angles are pretty good. We'll not hesitate to say that it's one of the most gorgeous displays we've seen recently, if one can ignore the over-saturated colours.

Software
This is one area where the world's slimmest phone loses points. We fail to understand why Gionee doesn't offer the latest release of Android with its new phones. Perhaps the Amigo 2.0 skin that it uses takes time to deploy.



While the UI featured on Elife S5.5 looks slightly different from the previous version of the software, it's still laggy and full of jarring transition effects and animations. It comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, an older version of the OS with Gionee's Amigo UI on top which is very different from stock Android. It also adds support for the double-tap to wake up gesture. For a complete review of Gionee's UI, you can check out our Elife E7 review.

We wish Gionee removes unnecessary visual effects and optimizes the software for the hardware. Of course, you can use an alternative launcher to make things better. We tried using Google Now launcher, but observed considerable amount of lag.

Camera

Gionee Elife S5.5 comes with a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. During our use, we found the camera to be underwhelming particularly compared to Gionee Elife E7 which sports a great camera. Pictures shot in daylight were kind of underexposed and lacked punch. Colour reproduction was reasonably accurate and close-up shots were good.

Pictures taken in less light turned out to be grainy and light sources appear to be distorted. Focusing takes time and is often a little tricky.

Videos recorded with the phone were above average, but we again encountered issues while trying to focus.

The front camera clicks good quality selfies and is great for video chats.

Gionee has included two custom camera apps, Camera and CharmCam. The Camera app is the primary app that lets you switch between a simple mode and a professional mode.



The professional mode features settings for Picture Size, Exposure value, White Balance and ISO, in addition to toggles for self-timer, HDR, Panorama, Face detection, and scene selection that are also included in the simple mode. An interesting inclusion is a level meter that helps in avoiding tilted captures. It also allows you to take burst shots.

The other app, CharmCam, features live filters to apply effects, and various shooting modes, including Face beauty, an Eraser mode for removing objects from photos, and even a PPT mode for capturing slideshows, among others.

Performance

Gionee Elife S5.5 is powered by a MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor and 2GB RAM. The phone boasts of powerful hardware yet its performance was a mixed bag. We noticed minor lag while launching and switching between apps and even while browsing multimedia content in the gallery. The major culprit for underwhelming performance is the software which has not been optimized to take advantage of the hardware.

In synthetic benchmarks, the phone scored 26,573 in Antutu, 14,552 in Quadrant, 2391 in Geekbench 3(Multi-core) and 57.2 in Nenamark 2 benchmark tests. Some of these are less than the ones scored by Micromax Canvas Knight, another MediaTek octa-core smartphones.

But we'd not recommend a phone based solely on benchmarks as real world performance can be different at times.

Another department where the phone disappoints is battery backup. The phone comes with a 2300mAh battery, but hardly sails through a full working day (9-10 hours) with moderate to heavy use.

The phone comes with 16GB storage, but unfortunately, it doesn't sport a microSD card slot. This means you'll need to live with the limited storage capacity of the phone. Elife E7 and E7 mini also don't come with a microSD card slot. Gionee must do something about this if it has to take Indian market seriously.

We were able to play most video and audio files on the phone without encountering problems. The phone offers good call quality and signal reception. It was able to lock to GPS without any hiccups.

The external speaker on the phone offers loud sound output. However, the sound gets muffled when the phone lies on its back, which is a problem with all such designs that place speakers at the back.

Gaming

The phone is able to handle graphics-rich games without any hiccups, but multitasking becomes a bit sluggish if a lot of apps are running in the background due to less RAM. We were able to play games like Danger Dash. Asphalt 8 (with visual details set to 100%) and Riptide GP 2 without encountering any problems. However, we noticed that the phone gets heated up within a few minutes of playing graphics-heavy games.

Verdict

Gionee Elife S5.5 never claims to be a flagship phone (Elife E7 enjoys that status). The phone's headline feature is its slim and sleek form factor and premium fit and finish. It surely lives up to it. It also looks more expensive than what it's priced at. Even in terms of performance, the phone has good potential as evident from its gaming prowess.



However, it is let down by Gionee's Amigo software layer which hampers smooth day-to-day operation. While we appreciate Gionee's efforts in bundling useful apps, we could really do without all the extra visual bells and whistles.

At a price of about Rs 23,000, Gionee Elife S5.5 is a good buy if you're looking for a phone that looks good and gives you a reason to boast about (at least till the time some other phone wins the race to be slimmest).

But if you're primarily looking for a smartphone that performs well, we'd recommend Motorola's Moto X. If you want a big screen phone in the same price range, you can also check out HTC Desire 816, which has an additional advantage of dual-sim (GSM+CDMA) functionality. Among other octa-core smartphones, the Micromax Canvas Knight is also an option that you could consider.

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Moto E review: A smartphone for masses

Let's not beat around the bush. Moto E is a phenomenal smartphone. No, it doesn't dazzle like iPhone 5S or packs in a gazillion features like Galaxy S5. But it doesn't have to. With a price of Rs 7,000, it needs to just provide basic but hassle-free smartphone experience to people who don't want to or can't splurge more than Rs 10,000 on a phone. And Moto E does exactly that. Not only does it offer a good smartphone experience but in some cases does so in a way that puts it ahead of more expensive devices.

Yes, there are a few misses in Moto E. We will tell you where it falls short and where it excels in this review, but if you are in a hurry to get the device, you can go ahead and pull the trigger. Moto E is worth its price.

With this out, let's take a better look at Moto E and what makes it such an appealing deal.

Build and design

Last year when Motorola rebooted its smartphone business with Moto X, a premium phone, it probably decided to use a similar design in all its phones. Moto X had rounded edges, a curved back cover stylishly carved on the top, the primary camera topped with a round glass cover, a metal ring around the camera and the Motorola logo under the camera. Moto G, launched a few months after Moto X, had the same design even though its finish and build quality was more mainstream.

Moto E continues the tradition. It looks similar to Moto X and Moto G. However, Moto E is also an unmistakably budget phone, in both design specifications and build quality.

At its thickest point, Moto E measures 12.3mm, which makes it chubby compared to lean and sleek Moto X and stocky Moto G. It also weighs 142 grams, which is on the heavier side for a phone with 4.3-inch screen. The build quality doesn't match what Moto G or Moto X offer. But see all of it in the context. For its price, Moto E is mighty nice. The plastic back cover, which can be removed to access sim and microSD card slots (but not battery), has matte finish and feels soft to touch. This makes Moto E a better device compared to phones that use cheap glossy plastic.



The overall build quality is a step up from what other companies offer in phones priced below Rs 10,000. The screen on Moto E is covered with tough glass - Gorilla Glass version 3, to be precise - something that is a rarity on mainstream and budget phones. The Gorilla Glass gives the phone a solid feel. Though it is not slim and light, the compact size, curved back cover and rounded edges make Moto E a phone that is easy to handle and use.

Display

Good screens are expensive and companies often put cheap screens in budget phones. Motorola reverses the trend and equips Moto E with a screen that is really good, considering the low price of the device. The 4.3-inch screen in Moto E has resolution of 540x960pixels (540P). It is not as sharp as 720P or 1080P screens in more expensive, but unless you stare at it from close, the text and images on Moto E screen look clear enough. It also displays rich colours and has decent viewing angles. Movies on the device are enjoyable because the image doesn't get distorted much if you tilt or move your head while watching them.



Unless you try to read an article under direct sunlight, you will be satisfied with the brightness of Moto E screen.

Software

Moto E is powered by Android 4.4.2 aka KitKat. This is the latest version of Android. Unlike other companies, Motorola is also promising to update Moto E to the next major version of Android.

Punit Soni, Motorola's vice president for products, told TOI that the company would like to support the device for at least 18 months with software updates. But even if that doesn't happen, he promised, Motorola would update Moto E to the next version of Android.

Since last year, Motorola uses almost an unmodified version of Android in its devices. This makes a Moto device like Moto E similar to a Nexus phone. The launcher and lock screens are more or less same. Google Now, the virtual assistant built into Android, works without any fuss. And so do the Android keyboard and Voice search. The on-screen buttons - Home, Back and Multitasking - work the way they do on Nexus devices.

This is different (in a good way) compared to what other manufacturers offer by modifying the user interface, feature set, navigation buttons and other aspects of Android in their phones.



In terms of extras, Motorola offers just a few unique apps. There is an Alert app, which can "alert" your contacts in case of emergency. Then there is the Assist app, which can monitor your schedule and put the phone in silent mode when you are sleeping or when you are in a meeting.

Camera

While Motorola decided against going with a cheap screen, on camera it probably saved some money in a bid to keep the price of the phone low. Moto E is not a shooter's delight. It lacks a front camera. So, no selfies with Moto E unless you are standing in front of a mirror.

The primary camera can shoot images in 5 megapixels, a decent number for a budget phone. But as we have said earlier, the number of pixels doesn't matter. The camera in Moto E lacks flash as well as auto focus. Fixed focus is not much of an issue when you are shooting portraits or photos of friends, but if you are trying to click close ups, it is a problem. Moto E has a difficulty focussing on close objects. Even when the subject is around a metre away, the camera tends to shoot soft images.

 

Photos shot with Moto E in good light show noise and have colours that look artificially punchy. The camera also doesn't capture details well and tries to compensate by sharpening the image. The end result is not good. Images shot in low light too come out noisy.

Compared to cameras in other similarly priced phones, Moto E does an average job. Most of the time you will be able to click photos that you can share on Facebook or Twitter. But don't expect clear and shiny photos that more expensive smartphones can manage. One good feature of Moto E camera is that you can change the exposure by selecting the area in a scene that you are trying to capture. This helps in low light scenes.

The device shoots 480P videos. The video recording is good. It is possible to shoot clear and usable video footage, albeit in 480P, in good light.

Performance
Moto E uses a dual-core processor running at 1.2GHz. It has 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage (2.2GB user accessible) and support for up to 32GB microSD card. Apart from 1GB RAM, there is nothing striking about Moto E hardware.

However, Motorola has optimized the software well. In daily use, we found Moto E to be a good performer. During browsing we found the pinch-to-zoom gesture on a webpage smooth. While switching between apps we didn't notice any significant lag. When we scrolled in apps like Facebook and Twitter, the performance was smooth.

Yet, Moto E doesn't feel as speedy as Moto G or high-end phones. You may notice a hint of lag from time to time. But this is not the kind of lag that will slow down a user. After clicking on dialer, you won't have to wait for a few seconds before the call log opens. When you are quickly scrolling through the photos in your Gallery app on Moto E, it doesn't freeze for a second or two the way some other budget phones do.

Again putting it in context, Moto E offers performance that is superior to most of the Android phones selling for less than Rs 15,000. Under Rs 10,000, there is no Android phone that offers similar performance.

But more than the performance, the real deal with Moto E is that it does almost everything that a more expensive Android phone can do. It offers very good GPS performance, a rarity in a mainstream phone, and that allows users to utilize apps like Google Maps and Runkeeper. It can play 720P videos and in some cases even 1080P files. It gives users a Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, YouTube experience that is not lacking in any significant way compared to what they can get with more expensive phones.

Moto E supports two sim cards. When we used it with a 3G connection and Wi-Fi, we found the connection speed to be satisfactory.

Moto E has a mono speaker under the screen that is loud enough to fill a small room with sound even though the quality of sound is not particularly rich. Sound quality during music playback through headphones and calls is satisfactory.

Battery life too is good. The device has a 1,980mAh battery. When used with a 3G connection, Moto E lasted around 15 to 16 hours before we had to recharge its battery, ​which was above average.

Gaming
First a number: In 3D Mark, which measure graphics performance, Moto E scores over 3700 points. This is more than what HP Slate 6 and Lenovo Vibe X (both have an MRP of more than Rs 20,000) score. It is also more than what Nexus 7 (2012) scores. For a budget phone, this is a really impressive performance.



In actual use too we found Moto E to be a decent performer. We played Asphalt 8, a demanding game, at high graphics settings on Moto E. However, there was some occasional lag so we switched to medium graphics settings for smoother gameplay. We also played casual games like Angry Birds Go and Temple Run with ease on Moto E.

Key takeaway: Moto E may not be able to run some demanding games that may come out in future but it can handle most of the existing games and you can have lot of fun with it if you are fond of Angry Birds and friends.

Verdict
As we said earlier, Moto E is worth its asking price of Rs 6,999. There is no other Android device in sub-Rs 10,000 that offers comparable value.

There are two competitors to Moto E: Nokia Lumia 520 and Spice MI-515. Both have their own set of issues.

Lumia 520 is not an Android device. It offers comparable performance to Moto E but inferior Gmail/YouTube/browsing/gaming experience. Also, Android devices have access to better apps. Spice MI-515 is a really impressive phone, with performance similar to that of Moto E. But it is almost a year old now, runs an older version of Android, probably won't get any upgrade, and has questionable build quality. Both Lumia 520 and MI-515 also cost around Rs 1,500 more.

Moto E is kind of a total package for people looking to get a smartphone for less than Rs 10,000. Except the camera and low internal storage (it could be an issue if you install many games), the device gets everything else right. Yes, it is not in the league of expensive phones, but if you were waiting for a good budget Android phone before you ditch your feature phone, your wait is over. You can safely go for Moto E. It is the best sub-Rs 10,000 phone in the market right now.

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Micromax Knight A350 review: Best in its class

Micromax is India's second biggest smartphone company. But that is what market research firms say. Over 16% market share of Micromax is a fact. It is not a perception.

In the minds of consumers, Micromax is a local company. Few consumers put it in the league of Sony or LG even though Micromax sells more smartphones than both in India. The perception is that Micromax makes smartphones that are affordable but not necessarily top class.

For over a year now, Micromax is fighting, and fighting hard, to change this perception.

In 2013, Micromax launched Canvas HD, Canvas 4 and Canvas Turbo with an aim to show that it can make and sell phones that match the quality and finish of global products. The company did not hit the home run in its attempt but largely it succeeded. All three Canvas devices were better than anything else it had sold earlier.

Knight A350 is the next flagship Micromax phone. And it continues the company's quest to win the respect that it feels it deserves. This time, in our opinion, it hits the home run.

Build and design

Knight A350 is a phone unlike any other Micromax made earlier. Though when compared to devices sold by companies like Sony and Apple, Knight A350 doesn't look all that different.




The phone uses a glass and metal body. The back cover and the front of the screen is topped with tough - but not of Gorilla variety - glass. Except the protruded camera module on the back, it is all smooth glass. The phone looks similar to Sony's Xperia Z phones, which too use glass and metal body. But there are some differences. Unlike the Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z1 compact, which have rounded edges, Knight A350 has edges that follow the pattern set by iPhone 5.

Knight A350 has chamfered edges, though they are not as shiny as what you get on iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S.
Knight A350 has a slim - and a little tall - profile. The tall profile means it is not as wide as some other 5-inch phones out in the market. The slim and tall profile of Knight A350 makes holding and using the phone quite easy. It is possible to use it with one hand.

Overall, we like the design and build quality of Knight A350. The glass feels tough and while it will inevitably collect scratches - it is glass, after all - it is nice to see Micromax not going for some cheap materials here. The finishing, especially the way glass bonds to the metal frame and how the buttons and edges feel, is also good.

That said, we have two minor complaints. Knight A350 attracts smudges easily and because of shiny glass body, these smudges are very much visible. Also, glass, or for that matter metal back covers, tend to absorb the heat from the processor inside the phone and make the device feel hot to touch, especially if you are playing a game on it. It happens with iPhones and it happens with Knight A350. If you are playing a game or browsing a few websites on Chrome, the back cover on Knight A350, especially under the camera module, gets warm.

Display
Knight A350 has a 5-inch screen with a FullHD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. For a phone that costs less than Rs 20,000, A350 has a very good screen. It shows punchy colours and has good viewing angles, which means colours don't fade or lose contrast when you look at it from a different angle. The high-resolution means it shows sharp text and images. Even the level of brightness is good. Unless you are going to be directly under the sunlight, the screen on A350 remains legible during outdoor use.


Software
A350 is powered by Android 4.2.2. That is an older version of Android - the latest one is Android 4.4 - but in terms of features there is not much difference. Micromax is using a customised version of Android in A350 but there are not many tweaks or user interface changes. The biggest change is the launcher, which uses different icons and theme. The default icons for apps like Phone Dialler and Camera in Knight A350 have square shape. It also has a translucent background in the app drawer, which is available in the stock Android 4.4, but not in stock Android 4.2.

By and large, the changes in the Android user interface in A350 are minimal, which is good. User interface on A350 will feel familiar to anyone who has used an Android phone before.

A350 comes with some third-party apps installed by default. These include BBM, Hike, TrueCaller and Kingsoft etc. While some of these apps will be useful to some users, we prefer phones that don't have third-party apps installed by default. Users who require these apps can always get them from the Android app store. But when they are installed by default, users who don't need them can't uninstall them.

Camera

A350 has a primary camera that shoots 16MP images. We all know that number of mega pixels doesn't 

matter much when it comes to image quality. Thankfully, the camera in A350 is a decent performer. In good light, it clicks images that have lots of details and right amount of contrast.





In low light, the images tend to have some noise but unless you are shooting in really dim light, for example in a restaurant while having dinner, you will get images that are good enough to be shared on a social media site.




What about video? A350 can shoot videos in 1080P aka FullHD resolution. But the video format is 3GP, which is not as nice as MP4 that other smartphones use. The videos we shot with A350 showed that the camera can record footage that is clear and where subjects are in good focus. But it also over processes videos. It bumps up the colours and they look too rich to be real. It also tries to reduce the colour noise very aggressively and that makes objects look smoother than they actually are. That said, given the price of the device we will call video recording in A350 acceptable.

The front camera can snap images in 8MP. But don't get excited about the big number here. The performance of the front camera is just average. It works for occasional selfies and video chats but don't expect it to click stellar 8MP images for you.


Performance

A350 is powered by MediaTek's MT6592T processor. It is an 8-core processor capable of running at 2GHz. However, don't let the 8-core moniker fool you. The processor uses A7 architecture from ARM which is aimed at providing mainstream performance and not high-end performance. While 8 cores matter, they will not be properly utilised unless there is an application that can use all these cores simultaneously.

Currently, no popular app can utilise an 8-core processor properly. More important here is the 2GHz speed. MT6592T is a fast processor, capable of handling the everyday work load with ease. Combined with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, MT6592T provides Knight A350 with good enough hardware to deal with web browsing, multimedia playback of videos in various formats and photo editing etc with ease. While there is some lag from time to time, especially if you are multi-tasking or scrolling through a list quickly, it is barely noticeable and rarely a factor that affects the experience.

GPS in the phone works well and reliably. While making calls we found the call quality to be good and we never had to shout in the phone to make the person on the other hand hear what we were saying.

One area where, Knight A350 really excels is the speaker. While it is a mono speaker, it is very loud. This helps while playing games or watching movies on the device.

The battery life is where Knight A350 stumbles. When used with a 3G connection, the device lasts around 9 to 10 hours. This is 2 hours less than what we typically see in an Android phone.

Gaming

The MT6592T processor in A350 has four core of Mali 450 for graphics processing. While this is not a cutting-edge graphics, it is capable of handling most of the current Android games. During our test, we played casual games like Angry Birds and demanding games with high quality graphics like Asphalt 8 on A350. In both types of games, we had a good experience. In Asphalt 8, we played with graphics quality set to maximum and the game ran without any lag or dropped frame rates.

Verdict

It is easy to like Knight A350. Its design is good, performance satisfactory and screen best in its class. Even camera is decent. We feel Knight A350 is worth Rs 19,999, the MRP Micromax has set for it.

However, if you are looking to buy a smartphone with a budget of less than Rs 20,000, our first recommendation remains Motorola Moto G, which is available for Rs 13,999. Overall, Moto G is a better value for money. It is also slightly faster - though not in games - than A350 and has a much better battery life.

But if you decide to give Moto G a pass, A350 is a very good choice. It has a bigger (and sharper) screen, a better camera, more graphics performance, 2X internal storage, extra 1GB RAM, and a much more attractive design.

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Review: Micromax Canvas Turbo Mini Slim and sleek

Taking a cue from global device makers like Samsung, Sony and HTC, Indian firm Micromax has also launched a compact version of its flagship smartphone, Canvas Turbo. Besides the size, the Turbo Mini also comes with comparatively inferior specifications and a lower price tag. In that context, we tried to find out if Canvas Turbo Mini can still aspire to rank among the best mid-range compact phones available in the Indian market.

Design

Canvas Turbo Mini offers the same design seen in the Canvas Turbo, but in a compact form factor. One of the most striking things about the phone is its light weight. At 110gram, the Canvas Turbo Mini weighs less than most smartphones in the market.

At just 7.8mm, it is also considerably thinner compared to phones in the same price bracket.

Sporting a unibody design, the phone features a plastic front panel surrounded by a chrome frame and a partial metal back panel.

The front panel is dominated by the Canvas Turbo Mini's 4.7-inch display with three capacitive touch buttons for navigation, placed below it. The 5MP front-facing camera and the sensor array sit above the display.

The volume rocker and the power keys are conveniently located on the right edge, while the left edge sports the micro-sim tray. We had a hard time ejecting the micro-sim tray due to alignment issues and poor finishing.

The back features a metal plate surrounded by plastic panels at the top and bottom. The top panel is removable and hides a normal sim slot and microSD card slot. Even here, we felt that the finishing could have been better.

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The rear features the 8MP camera lens and LED flash, in addition to the Micromax branding and product labels.

The top edge houses the micro-USB port and the 3.5mm headset jack.

Display

Micromax Canvas Turbo Mini sports a 4.7-inch IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 720 X 1280p and pixel density of 312ppi. The display offers good viewing angles, decent under-sun legibility and brightness. Text and images look crisp and sharp, colors’ are vivid though the colour temperature is on the cooler side which means that whites tend to look a little blue.

Software

Micromax Canvas Turbi Mini runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and Micromax has customised the interface with its UI skin and custom icons. Unlike stock Android, the entire UI sports a White theme that cannot be altered.

The Phone app, Messaging app, Music and Video player apps have been customized. The video player app can be resized and can float over other apps or the homescreen.

The phone offers smart gestures like flip to silent or receive calls when the phone is in close proximity to your ear.

Other than that, it comes with some preloaded third party apps including BBM, Opera mini, Kingsoft Office, Hike messenger, and Spuul and demo games like Bubble X Slice and Seven Stars.

With access to Google's Play Store, there's no limit to the number of apps that you can download. The phone also includes Micromax's own content and services marketplace, M!Live.

Camera

Canvas Turbo Mini sports an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front-facing camera. Micromax offers its own camera app which features Normal, HDR, Smile detection, Panorama and Scene detection modes.

The app also offers a burst mode, a GIF Animation mode, 3D Panorama and Remove Object modes. Granular settings for exposure, colour effect, ISO and white balance, among others, are also included.



The image quality offered by the rear camera is decent though focusing could be an issue while taking close-ups. Photos captured indoors in less light were grainy. The camera is capable of shooting 1080p videos and did a satisfactory job though the lack of a secondary microphone affects the quality of audio.

The front camera captured decent quality pictures for selfies. It's also good for video chats.

Performance

Canvas Turbo Mini is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MT6582 MediaTek chipset and offers 1GB RAM. We were satisfied with the performance of the phone while navigating across the menu, launching apps, browsing the web and clicking photos. Games like Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2 were running smoothly without any lag or stutter. Even graphics-intensive games like Asphalt 8 and Dead Trigger 2 performed well.

The phone comes with just 4GB of internal storage and only 1.6GB is available to the user which is a big downside as Micromax doesn't supply a microSD card with the phone. You can use your own microSD card of up to 32GB storage capacity though.

In synthetic benchmark tests, the phone's performance was slightly inferior to the Motorola Moto G. The phone scored 16,732 in Antutu, 5,848 in Quadrant and 53.7 in Nenamark 2 benchmark tests.

In terms of multimedia, the phone comes with FM radio capability and the phone's built-in speaker offers decent sound output. The default video player supports a large number of multimedia file formats.

We did not encounter any issues while making calls and were satisfied with the phone's network reception. Voice clarity and loudness levels were also up to the mark. The phone comes with GPS for navigation and maps and was easily able to lock a signal.

Canvas Turbo Mini is backed by an 1800mAh battery with a claimed standby time of up to 180 hours and talk time of up to 6 .5 hours. With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone will just last you a working day, if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and keep 3G turned on. You'll need to charge it by late evening.

Verdict

With a reduced price tag of Rs 12,990, the Micromax Canvas Turbo Mini is one of the better mid-range Android phones available in the market. It's worth pointing out that the phone was launched at Rs 14,490 but Micromax decided to give it a price cut shortly after the launch of the Moto G which starts at Rs 12,499.

Moto G boasts of better build quality and the latest software. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat and comes with the promise of regular software updates.

Indian Smartphone brands don't really have a good track record when it comes to after sales support and OS updates though to the company's credit, Micromax has offered software updates for its other Canvas series phones, in the past.

In terms of performance, the Moto G is ahead of the Canvas Turbo Mini. It even offers better battery backup. However, Turbo Mini offers expandable storage which is missing in Moto G. So in case you like to carry your entire music collection with you, Canvas Turbo Mini is a better buy.

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HTC Desire 700 review: Too little for too much

HTC made a splash in the market last year with the launch of its top-end smartphone, HTC One. However, it failed to translate this into sales. Nevertheless, the company continues undeterred with the launch of a smartphone with a similar design and software features as HTC One - the new Desire 700.

Desire 700 is a dual-sim smartphone with rather modest specs like low-resolution screen, just 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage and 2,100mAh battery - at a price tag of 33,000 in the country. However, the device is available at Rs 23,000.

We tested the new Desire 700 to see whether its performance justifies the price tag of Rs 23,000. Here's the review of the new HTC smartphone... and why it seems exorbitant even at Rs 23,000.

Design

The Desire 700 takes many design cues from its older sibling HTC One. You will find the dual front-facing speakers, curved back panel and rounded edges on both smartphones. The design is pretty good but there is one key difference between the two - HTC One is made of aluminium (a premium material), whereas Desire 700 has plastic construction.

The plastic back of Desire 700 features matt finish, but feels a little rough to the touch. The smartphone feels pretty solid when held in the hand and is compact enough to fit in the palm comfortably despite a 5-inch screen.

Like phones in the one series, Desire 700 has the two button setup (comprising Home and Back keys) under the screen. Press the Home button to go straight to the present home screen, and double tap it to see the multitasking menu.

Hardware configuration

The Achilles heel of Desire 700 is low configuration at a high price point. A look at the spec sheet of the device and you will think this smartphone is straight out of 2011. It has a 5-inch screen with resolution of 960x540p; compare this to the 720p display of Moto G, priced at Rs 12,499!

The resolution looks disappointing on paper, but the colour saturation and display quality are such that you get good colours and won't see any pixilation in most scenarios. It also offers great viewing angles; the phone simply does not lose colour whichever angle you look at it from.

However, Desire 700's display is not without its flaws either; the issue being sunlight legibility. The brightness level of the phone is disappointing; it simply cannot hold its own in *direct* sunlight; we highlight the word 'direct' because otherwise the screen shows pretty good colours.

The phone comes with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM, in a time when 2GB RAM has become staple for any mid-range smartphone. Moreover, the Snapdragon 200 chip is too old. Much cheaper Moto G comes with the newer Snapdragon 400 chipset.

During our usage, the performance of the device was mostly smooth, but every once in a while, we observed lag - a major concern for a smartphone officially priced above Rs 30,000.

Other key specs are: 8GB internal storage, microSD support up to 64GB and connectivity options like 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0.

GSM+CDMA advantage

But before you make a judgement about the Desire 700 going by its configuration and relatively high price tag, remember that it is one of the very few smartphones in the market offering GSM+CDMA functionality.

This means that you can operate both type of sim cards on the smartphone, which is a rarity considering most dual-sim phones in India have GSM+GSM configuration. And this is its key selling point - if you own GSM and CDMA sim cards and don't want to carry multiple smartphones, then Desire 700 is the device for you.

Though the sim slots for CDMA and GSM cards are clearly marked on the smartphone, you can put any one of the cards in either slot and they will work perfectly well. However, you can only use 3G network in the SIM1 slot, while SIM2 slot can only access 2G internet. You can pick the preferred sim slot to make calls, send SMSs and access mobile data in the Settings menu.

When we say that you can put the GSM sim in the CDMA slot, it means that you can use Desire 700 as a GSM+GSM device, not just GSM+CDMA.

Desire 700 comes with dual active functionality. This means that if you are talking on one sim and get a call on the other sim, you will be notified via call waiting so you do not miss any important calls.

Software

Unfortunately, Desire 700 still runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), with HTC's proprietary Sense 5.0 user interface. The three-generation old operating system is well quite old, though you get one of the best custom Android skins available in the market.

The best part of the software is Blinkfeed, which debuted with HTC One and shows news and social media updates right on the home screen. On other smartphones, we use Flipboard app regularly, but using Blinkfeed made us forget about it during the review period.

You also get a *mostly* smooth interface, with several home screen shortcuts that have been around for long. The occasional little lag is not enough to adversely impact the user experience too much; at least, it wasn't during our review period.

Camera

On the back of Desire 700 is an 8MP camera with LED flash, while a 2.1MP camera in placed in the front. Both cameras feature back-lit illuminated sensors, which help capture more light and deliver better low-light photos.

We really like the camera app of new HTC phones, including Desire 700. The app is uncluttered and gives you options that are used most commonly right on the screen, while other features are under the hood (the on-screen Options menu). You get several filters, HDR, panorama etc in the app.

Talking about camera performance, we were a little surprised when we saw how dark the scenes looked on the screen as we were about to click. However, once we tapped on the screen to enable auto-focus, the image turned out fine.

The colours in photos captured by Desire 700 are natural and there is no over-saturation or over-exposure. However, there is a little issue with details, as some images we took outdoors did not have sufficient level of detail.



Low-light performance of the phone's camera - both front and rear - is pretty good. The best part is that noise is kept to a minimum, giving you a pretty good photo even in relatively dark areas.

Performance

The screen, as mentioned above, does deliver a lacklustre performance under direct sunlight, but is good otherwise. The smartphone is not blazing fast and you can get faster Samsung smartphones at lesser prices today.

Most of the time, Desire 700 worked satisfactorily. But gaming was a different cup of tea. While games like Angry Birds, Temple Run and Subway Surfer (which consume little resources) ran smoothly, heavier games like Asphalt 8 and Dead Trigger 2 gave us low frame rates more than once. This clearly shows that the processor of Desire 700 is not up to the challenge when tasked with high-intensity game.



The two front-facing speakers with HTC's BoomSound ​of the Desire 700 deliver above par output, more than enough for a small room. In terms of quality too, the speakers perform well, though it does not offer much bass.

Battery life is yet another flaw of Desire 700. The 2,100mAh battery runs approximately 8 hours with mobile data turned on; you can extend this up to 12 hours if you turn on the battery saver mode. Opting for the battery saver mode means that mobile data will be turned off whenever the phone is not in use, but you will miss out on notifications. So, better charge your phone during office before leaving for the day, else you may keep worrying that the phone can turn off any time.

Rivals

Desire 700 is one of the few smartphones in the market to offer GSM+CDMA configuration, but it is not the only one. Local manufacturer Micromax has got this need covered with the Canvas Duet 2. The device has a 5.3-inch 720p screen, 1.2GHz quad-core Mediatek processor, 1GB RAM, 32GB microSD support, Android 4.1, 8MP rear camera and 2,300mAh battery.

Considering that the screen of Desire 700 is pretty good, the processing capabilities of the two are pretty similar and camera performance is quite nice, we would recommend it over the Micromax phone. However, Canvas Duet 2 costs approximately Rs 14,000, so the choice is eventually yours.

Verdict

But if GSM+CDMA is not your main concern, then you would be better off without Desire 700. Pick any dual-sim smartphone, preferably Moto G, but definitely don't buy Desire 700. It is simply not worth the money.

You can get better dual-sim smartphones, such as Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 and Xolo Q3000, at that price. In our view, the price simply does not justify the features in Desire 700's case.

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Nokia X Sub-par performer with faux Android

Nokia launched its first 'Android' phone, Nokia X, in India to lure buyers with the prospect of Android app support. The smartphone maker believes it will act as a 'feeder' for its Lumia phone range and make the first time smartphone users feel at home before they graduate to high-end alternatives.

But does Nokia X live up to the hype surrounding it, or is it a case of too little, too late from the fabled Finnish firm? We find out in our review.

Build & design
Nokia X takes design cues from both Nokia Lumia 520/525 and Asha 503. It sports the same rectangular design and a colourful polycarbonate shell, which is a bit chunky. As soon as you notice the Asha-like capacitive button with the arrow label at the front, just below the screen, you realize it is not a Windows Phone device. Also, unlike the Lumia 525/520, the edges of the phone are sharp and not rounded. The edges at the front feel rough and lack refinement.

The red colour variant that we used had a neon shade and matte finish.

The front of the phone sports a 4-inch display.

The right edge of the phone features the volume rocker and Power/ Screen lock keys that also sport the same colour as the phone and offer decent tactile feedback. The micro-USB port is placed at the bottom edge, while the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top.

The back of the phone sports a 3MP camera lens and a speaker outlet.

The body shell is removable and hides a battery compartment that houses a removable battery, two slots for sim cards (micro-sim) and a microSD card slot.

Overall, Nokia X exudes a feeling of durability due to the use of good quality plastic materials. Having said that, it sports the same staid design that we've seen in the Asha phones and Nokia has obviously played safe than variate with the looks in the brand new series.

Display
Nokia X sports a 4-inch WVGA LCD display (480 X 800p, 233ppi), which looks better than the displays of Asha phones. One of the reasons you don't notice the low resolution of the display is the phone's user interface which majorly consists of tiles similar to Windows Phone. It offers good viewing angles, but is highly reflective and prone to smudges, reducing outdoor legibility.



Software
Nokia X runs a custom operating system based on AOSP (Android Open Source Project). What this means is that Nokia has taken the free, open source bits from Android (which doesn't include Google's apps and services) and added its own (and Microsoft's) services and apps. Nokia has heavily customised the user interface, adding elements from Windows Phone, Asha OS and Meego Harmattan. The result is a mishmash combining elements from all these platforms and the UI doesn't look anywhere close to stock Android interfaces. The silver lining here is that the phone can run a number of Android apps even as it looks like a.Windows Phone device.

The Nokia X user interface is mainly divided into two homescreens - Fastlane and app launcher. The app launcher borrows its look from the Windows Phone Start screen and features tiles for launching apps. The same screen supports Android widgets as well, but adding widgets makes it messy and inconsistent. Unlike Windows Phone, the tiles are not live tiles, but select native apps such as the Calendar and Gallery app offer more than just static icons.

 

The tiles can be customised to a limited extent. You can select between two sizes for native app tiles, and can also choose between six colours for third party app tiles. You can also move and reposition tiles as per your preference.

As you install more apps, the number of tiles also increase and you'll need to swipe down to browse them unless you choose to make folders and group them.

Swipe to the left or right and you get the Fastlane screen. We had first seen Fastlane in the Nokia Asha. This feature was borrowed from the Nokia N9's Notifications interface, part of the Meego Harmattan OS.

The Fastlane not only displays notifications for alerts, messages, missed calls and events, it also logs how you use the phone. The long vertical list records all call logs, emails, webpages, app installs, pictures taken and music played.

Thankfully, the screen is customizable and the phone lets you choose if you don't want to log events of a certain type, or from a certain app. You can even choose not to display any notification or notifications from certain apps.

However, the Fastlane is also the multi-tasking interface of the phone. Unfortunately, it is the only multi-tasking interface of the phone. This means if you open multiple apps in the background and choose to switch between them, the only way to do so is Fastlane. Unlike conventional Android interfaces or even Windows Phone or iOS, there's no button or gesture that brings all open apps to the front.

The Asha UI also follows the same philosophy, but then those Java apps don't support real time multitasking unlike Android apps.

Since Nokia X features a single capacitive button - the back key and navigation is also problematic. Pressing the back key takes you a step back and to go to the home screen, you need to long press it. This is unintuitive and will confuse people who have used Android or Windows Phone interfaces before.

The phone also lets you enable a 'swipe to right' gesture to go directly to the home screen, but it is available only for select native apps like the Phone, Messaging and People apps. The transition is jerky and there is a considerable lag.

The lock screen also displays notifications for apps. Swiping to the right opens the respective app, while swiping to the left dismisses it.

A slight pull on the app launcher screen brings up universal search just like iOS 7. Swiping down from the top on the same screen brings up a Settings tray that offers toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data and silent mode and a button to go directly to settings. The same tray is usually used for notifications on Android and iOS. We would have preferred the same on Nokia X as it makes accessing notifications easier.

Nokia has included the double tap to wake up and glance screen features of its Lumia Windows Phone on Nokia X. While the glance screen displays time when the phone is locked without drawing more power, the double tap to unlock doesn't work well on the phone. In fact, 9 out of 10 times the phone fails to register a normal tap. You need to tap really hard, or rather hit the screen, for it to work properly.

Coming to apps, Nokia offers some preloaded ones and others via its own app store, Nokia Store. You can also download third party app stores such as the 1Mobile Market, Yandex or Amazon Appstore to install paid apps.

It is worth pointing out that apps which use some kind of Google service, for instance Google Wallet for in-app payments or Maps for location, won't work on the phone unless it is ported to Nokia's store by the developer.

You also have the choice to search for APKs on the web and side load them after enabling installation of apps from unknown sources from the phone's settings. However, we don't recommend this as this could give way to malware-infested apps.

Having said that, Nokia X doesn't come with Google's Play Store and even if you get hold of installation files or APKs of the Play Store and other Google apps (such as YouTube, Maps, Gmail), the phone would not be able to support these.

Nokia pre-loads apps like Twitter, Facebook, WeChat, BBM, Astro File Manager, Opera and a number of demo games, in addition to Here Maps and Nokia MixRadio. You can download offline maps and use them for turn by turn voice-guided navigation.

MixRadio on Nokia X allows you to stream music free and download up to 4 offline mixes (a mix is a playlist based on tracks from similar artists). Unlike the Windows Phone version of the app, you can't search for individual tracks and download them (that requires a Nokia Music subscription though).

If you largely use Google services, you'll be disappointed with this phone. The phone's email client will allow you to access Gmail but won't sync your Google contacts and calendars. It offers this functionality for Microsoft's Outlook though.

The phone's minimalist browser is based on Chromium and is functional at best. You can't install Chrome and since there's no integration with a Google account, your browsing history and bookmarks don't sync.

The default keyboard on the phone doesn't offer a good experience and is not very usable even if you have small fingers.

Of course, there are a number of third party launchers and keyboards available that will bring the phone's UI closer to what most Android phones in the market offer. There are also ways to install Google apps, but you may end up losing your phone's warranty with those. We feel that most users, especially first time smartphone users would not be comfortable rooting their phones, or installing third party launchers.

Camera
Nokia X sports a 3MP fixed focus rear camera and doesn't include an LED flash. The camera is one of the weakest points of this phone. We expected a phone in Nokia X's price range to support auto focus. It is ironic how Nokia has added an app that includes controls for granular settings like ISO, anti-banding, saturation, white balance, contrast and sharpness in a phone with an apology of a camera. It even offers a Panorama mode!

The camera is functional at best and takes very average quality pictures in daylight and grainy, noise-infested pictures in low light conditions and indoors. The lack of an LED flash makes it almost impossible to shoot pictures in dimly lit conditions.

The video camera is capable of shooting up to FWVGA or 480p resolution videos and records average quality videos.
 
In the selfie era, Nokia X misses out on a front-facing camera. This also means you won't be able to use Skype for video calls.

Performance
Nokia X comes with modest hardware under the hood. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512MB RAM. It comes with 4GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.

The phone offers sub-par performance and you'll notice some lag while scrolling up and down the phone's app launcher screen. The phone struggles to multitask efficiently and you'll encounter a black screen with a 'Please wait' message when you want to jump to the home screen from a resource intensive app.

Browsing graphics-heavy websites also takes a toll on the phone's performance and you'll notice stutters and lags.

In synthetic benchmarks, the phone scored 7,422 in Antutu, 2,844 in Quadrant and 27.2 in Nenamark 2 tests.

Nokia X offers Bluetooth, WiFi and A-GPS connectivity options. A-GPS relies on the network for getting location-related information.

Nokia X offers good call quality and signal reception and we did not encounter issues while making calls even in areas where cell signal is relatively weaker. The phone offers dual sim with support for 3G data on the first sim. You'll only be able to use one sim at a time for voice calls.

The external speaker on the phone offers loud sound output but the sound gets muffled when the phone lies on its back, which is an issue.

We were able to play popular video and audio file formats barring full-HD MOV video files, but using a third party video player can fix the issue.

The phone is backed by a 1,500 mAh battery and will last you just half a day (about 7-8 hours) with moderate to heavy use if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and use 3G data all the time. You'll be able to make about 1-2 hours of phone calls, play some casual games and browse the web in this time period. The phone can play video continuously for 4 to 5 hours. We were quite disappointed with the battery backup offered by the phone.

Overall, Nokia X offers underwhelming performance.

Gaming
While playing popular games like Temple Run 2 and Subway Surfers, we noticed considerable lag and frame drops. The games take about 20 seconds to start-up. Games like Tetris, Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds still perform better than the others. But, gaming is clearly not one of the phone's strong points either.

Verdict
At Rs 8,499, we don't recommend buying the phone. It is an entry-level phone that doesn't offer any USP except for compatibility with Android apps (not all of them though). It should have been priced in the Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 bracket replacing high-end Asha phones.

In the same price range, you can get phones like the Xolo Q800, Zen Ultrafone 701 HD or Micromax Canvas 2, all of which offer better performance. These phones come with quad-core processors, bigger screen and 1GB RAM. They offer a full-fledged Android experience and have access to the Google Play Store.

Nokia's own Lumia 520 is a great Windows Phone handset in the same price range.The Lumia 520 is available at a cheaper price ranging between Rs 7,500 - 8,000 unofficially via e-commerce retailers.

It is also worth pointing out that Microsoft has inked a deal to acquire the devices business of Nokia and the deal is expected to close in a few weeks. It's hard to predict if the Redmond giant will continue to offer the phone after taking over.

We don't understand why Nokia needed the X series, especially when the Lumia 520, its entry-level Windows Phone handset, is doing well and Microsoft has managed to populate its app marketplace with apps from Indian and global developers.

Perhaps, the Nokia X is just part of an experiment in the company's R&D lab, and we would, therefore, recommend staying away from it.

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