GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Intex iRist



GADGET GIZMO  REVIEW

  Intex iRist

PRICE `9,999 SPECIFICATIONS

1.2Ghz Mediatek dual core, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 1.56-inch square

 touchscreen LCD (240 x 240 pixels), 5MP camera, 3G, BT 4.0, WiFi, A-GPS,

 600mAh battery, 14mm thick, 83 grams Smart design, call recording, full

 Android, easy to use magnetic charging dock, built in micspeaker, adequate

 performance without stuttering Not really a smartwatch, limited storage

 (non expandable), very limited notification feature, screen too small for

many functions, feels delicate hitesh.bhagat@timesgroup.com Intex made

 waves by announcing their own smartwatch. It's a tough market because

there are multiple players and the category isn't setting any sales records.

For most consumers, a smartwatch isn't a worthwhile investment because

 it replicates many phone functions.

So the iRist is not a smartwatch in the traditional sense: it's a watchphone

-many variants of which have been around for a while. Intex has taken a

watchphone, given it a coat of polish, tweaked the software (to enable it to

 talk to your phone) and included a Bluetooth headset.

This is full Android 4.4.2, so you get all the features that you would on any

 Android phone, including access to the Play Store, a slide down notification

 panel, file manager, image gallery, calendar, web browser, music player,

 SMS, email and so on. However, Android isn't made for such small screens.

All this is difficult to manage on a 1.56-inch screen! Typing on an on-screen

 keyboard is an exercise in patience and many items are too small to use on a

 regular basis. Intex gets around some of the issues with a custom launcher:

it is a basic one with 4 icons to a screen and you can scroll leftright. Watch

 faces are handled via a lockscreen and 11 watch faces are built in (but you

can't add your own).

The screen is a conventional LCD (240 x 240 pixels) -we believe it's

erroneously listed as OLED on the official webpage. It's sharp enough and

 offers decent colours and viewing angles. As for the controls, you get the

 touchscreen and two buttons: one for power onoff and one back. The camera

 quality is passable in adequate light and there's way too little storage to do

 anything (although it can playback 720p HD videos ­ we tried). Battery life

 is surprisingly decent: about three days, if you don't use with a SIM.

The notification feature needs the iConnect app to be installed on your

 Android phone ­ it works, but is very basic (does not notify you of most

 things ­ just mirrors call records, SMS, contacts).

The problem with the iRist is that it tries too hard to do too many things

all at once ­ without excelling at any of them. You'd be better off with

Samsung's Gear Live (powered by Android Wear) for the same price.

Although discontinued in favour of Tizen, it's still readily available.