GADGET GIZMO REVIEW Coolpad Max
Coolpad is popular in the sub Rs 10,000 segment. The company
has managed to get a good foothold in the Indian market with the Coolpad Note 3
and the Coolpad Note 3 Lite - both of these phones offer specs and features
that hit above their respective price segments. The company has now launched
their flagship device, Coolpad Max, in India .
Where the Coolpad Note 3 and Note 3 Lite had a simple, almost generic design, the Coolpad Max is rich on style. It's a bit on the heavier side at 170 grams but is fairly slim - the 7.6mm slim metal unibody design has curved edges - it looks great and feels good to hold.
The back has the centrally placed camera module along with a LED flash towards the top, a circular fingerprint scanner along with two antenna bands on the rear. In usual fashion, the power button is on the right, volume buttons on the left, microUSB port with machine drilled speaker holes at the bottom and a 3.5mm audio jack on the top.
The 2.5D curved glass lightly tapers at the edges, which adds to the overall look of the device. The 5.5-inch display with full HD resolution impresses with its brightness levels and rich colours. Like most midrange devices, the Coolpad Max also has a display that appears to be edge to edge with super slim bezels whereas in reality the display has thick black borders around it - a slight letdown considering the price.
Coolpad Max's most impressive feature is the unique Spaces Management - a function that gives you a private area on the phone which works independently of the main operating system settings.
What this means is that you can have a separate identity in the private space - in the private space, you can install and sign-in to Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts with a different account.
You can even have a separate WhatsApp number configured in the private area i.e., you can now have two WhatsApp numbers running on a single device - a feature that a lot of users want on a dual SIM device. Also, you can capture and store photos in the private mode that no one else will be able to access, though this is not a unique feature.
The issue with Spaces is that it taxes the phone's resources. Since there can be multiple apps running in both spaces, there is a slight lag and sluggishness that is visible while switching modes and launching new apps, even with 4GB RAM. However, if you keep closing background apps before switching between the main and private space, you can minimize lag.
We had no issues with the phone's performance in games or apps thanks to the octa core processor and 4GB RAM. It comes with 64GB storage which is enough for most users, but you can expand it more if required via the hybrid SIM slot. We were able to get one full day of usage from the battery on regular usage, but with heavy usage, it requires charging by the end of the day.
Where the Coolpad Note 3 and Note 3 Lite had a simple, almost generic design, the Coolpad Max is rich on style. It's a bit on the heavier side at 170 grams but is fairly slim - the 7.6mm slim metal unibody design has curved edges - it looks great and feels good to hold.
The back has the centrally placed camera module along with a LED flash towards the top, a circular fingerprint scanner along with two antenna bands on the rear. In usual fashion, the power button is on the right, volume buttons on the left, microUSB port with machine drilled speaker holes at the bottom and a 3.5mm audio jack on the top.
The 2.5D curved glass lightly tapers at the edges, which adds to the overall look of the device. The 5.5-inch display with full HD resolution impresses with its brightness levels and rich colours. Like most midrange devices, the Coolpad Max also has a display that appears to be edge to edge with super slim bezels whereas in reality the display has thick black borders around it - a slight letdown considering the price.
Coolpad Max's most impressive feature is the unique Spaces Management - a function that gives you a private area on the phone which works independently of the main operating system settings.
What this means is that you can have a separate identity in the private space - in the private space, you can install and sign-in to Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts with a different account.
You can even have a separate WhatsApp number configured in the private area i.e., you can now have two WhatsApp numbers running on a single device - a feature that a lot of users want on a dual SIM device. Also, you can capture and store photos in the private mode that no one else will be able to access, though this is not a unique feature.
The issue with Spaces is that it taxes the phone's resources. Since there can be multiple apps running in both spaces, there is a slight lag and sluggishness that is visible while switching modes and launching new apps, even with 4GB RAM. However, if you keep closing background apps before switching between the main and private space, you can minimize lag.
We had no issues with the phone's performance in games or apps thanks to the octa core processor and 4GB RAM. It comes with 64GB storage which is enough for most users, but you can expand it more if required via the hybrid SIM slot. We were able to get one full day of usage from the battery on regular usage, but with heavy usage, it requires charging by the end of the day.
Both the Coolpad Note 3 and Note 3 Lite impressed us with their camera performance and so does the Coolpad Max. Both the 13MP main camera and front 5MP camera manage to take photos with rich colours and good details in daylight as well as indoors. Auto focus speed and shutter speed is also zippy. Lowlight photos suffer from visible noise and lack sharpness - as expected. You get a pro mode with manual controls, night mode, beauty mode, long exposure, panorama and even a refocus mode (change focus of the image after its taken).
Video recording is supported up to 1080p resolution and is great in quality. Overall, the camera is good, but not the best in this price. The circular fingerprint sensor on the rear works very well - it recognised the fingerprint in 9 out of 10 attempts.
Moreover, Coolpad has also provided option to configure each fingerprint to perform a different preset function such as one key dial, quick capture, switch spaces or enter power saving mode. We liked this software enhancement on the Coolpad Max as it enables efficient use of the fingerprint scanner other than the usual unlocking function.
The major issue with the Coolpad Max is its price. At Rs 24,999, it is steeply priced and too close to flagships from other brands like Xiaomi , Lenovo and Asus. The dual account Spaces management system is unique and handy, but it does not justify the price of the phone considering you can get similar specifications, performance and features in the Yu Yunicorn (reviewed on this page) that is about half the Coolpad Max's price.
By Karan Bajaj
ET8JAN16
No comments:
Post a Comment