BUDGET PHABLETS REVIEW
5-inch
phone-tablet hybrids – with dual-core processors
1.
1. Micromax
A110 Superfone Canvas 2
What we like
The IPS screen delivers good viewing angles and clear visibility in sunlight, making this the budget phone to buy if you want a large screen to read or browse on commutes. You can see a faint grid at certain angles, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
The Canvas 2 feels like a premium phone. The build quality is quite good, it’s surprisingly light, and the curved edges and textured back make it easier to hold such a large phone. However, we fear the flimsy buttons might not last.
The A110 will get you through a day without needing to recharge. It lasted about 14 hours of 3G gaming, a couple of YouTube videos, mild GPS usage, some phone calls, lots of reading and browsing, and two hours of music.
The camera is decent, although auto mode is not its strong point. Choose the camera mode yourself and it’s a better snapper than most budget phones.
What we don’t like
Despite a dual-core processor, the A110 has a sluggish interface. Even games such as Subway Surfer, which ran fine on other phones with the same processor, struggled on this one. The phone stutters while multi-tasking between several heavy apps. The antenna is quite weak, dropping calls frequently and failing to latch on to 3G in places where other phones fared well. The audio is deplorable. Whether you are talking on the phone or listening to music, the volume is too low and the sound quality is quite bad. Plus, the bundled earphones are one of the worst we have used on a smartphone. The camera juts out at the back of the phone, so the lens is susceptible to scratches. Also, this means the phone never lies down flat and so has an irritating wobble every time it vibrates.
What we like
The IPS screen delivers good viewing angles and clear visibility in sunlight, making this the budget phone to buy if you want a large screen to read or browse on commutes. You can see a faint grid at certain angles, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
The Canvas 2 feels like a premium phone. The build quality is quite good, it’s surprisingly light, and the curved edges and textured back make it easier to hold such a large phone. However, we fear the flimsy buttons might not last.
The A110 will get you through a day without needing to recharge. It lasted about 14 hours of 3G gaming, a couple of YouTube videos, mild GPS usage, some phone calls, lots of reading and browsing, and two hours of music.
The camera is decent, although auto mode is not its strong point. Choose the camera mode yourself and it’s a better snapper than most budget phones.
What we don’t like
Despite a dual-core processor, the A110 has a sluggish interface. Even games such as Subway Surfer, which ran fine on other phones with the same processor, struggled on this one. The phone stutters while multi-tasking between several heavy apps. The antenna is quite weak, dropping calls frequently and failing to latch on to 3G in places where other phones fared well. The audio is deplorable. Whether you are talking on the phone or listening to music, the volume is too low and the sound quality is quite bad. Plus, the bundled earphones are one of the worst we have used on a smartphone. The camera juts out at the back of the phone, so the lens is susceptible to scratches. Also, this means the phone never lies down flat and so has an irritating wobble every time it vibrates.
2.
2. Wicked
Leak Wammy Note
What we like
The Wammy Note is the only phablet to come with Android v4.1. The interface is smoother, and the notification bar includes features like returning a missed call.
Although it runs the same processor as the others, the Wammy Note fares better in benchmark tests, which translates to real world performance when playing games like Dead Trigger and Subway Surfers.
The battery life of the Wammy Note is good, giving about 15 hours when used with lots of 3G gaming and Wi-Fi usage, browsing and reading, and plenty of phone calls. But what really sold it to us is that the package includes a second 2500mAh battery, making sure you will never run out of juice.
What we don’t like
The screen is a disaster: It’s a fingerprint magnet, has washed-out colours, and is just dull overall. Also, it wasn’t very responsive, with touches not registering many times. The phone heats up quite quickly. It’s also heavier than the other phablets, making it inconvenient to use at times. Seems like someone forgot the ‘phone’ part of this smartphone, as the antenna is really bad at latching on to signals and the call quality – both for talking and listening – is among the worst we have seen on handsets. There are small glitches throughout, which piled up to make for an annoying experience. For instance, when on a phone call, the red button to hang up is nowhere to be found. Then there’s the built-in analog TV antenna that doesn’t seem to catch any channel here in India; and they don’t come tuned out of the box. The camera is pretty much useless, delivering useable images only in direct sunlight. All other photos are grainy, don’t capture the right colours, and are out of focus often.
What we like
The Wammy Note is the only phablet to come with Android v4.1. The interface is smoother, and the notification bar includes features like returning a missed call.
Although it runs the same processor as the others, the Wammy Note fares better in benchmark tests, which translates to real world performance when playing games like Dead Trigger and Subway Surfers.
The battery life of the Wammy Note is good, giving about 15 hours when used with lots of 3G gaming and Wi-Fi usage, browsing and reading, and plenty of phone calls. But what really sold it to us is that the package includes a second 2500mAh battery, making sure you will never run out of juice.
What we don’t like
The screen is a disaster: It’s a fingerprint magnet, has washed-out colours, and is just dull overall. Also, it wasn’t very responsive, with touches not registering many times. The phone heats up quite quickly. It’s also heavier than the other phablets, making it inconvenient to use at times. Seems like someone forgot the ‘phone’ part of this smartphone, as the antenna is really bad at latching on to signals and the call quality – both for talking and listening – is among the worst we have seen on handsets. There are small glitches throughout, which piled up to make for an annoying experience. For instance, when on a phone call, the red button to hang up is nowhere to be found. Then there’s the built-in analog TV antenna that doesn’t seem to catch any channel here in India; and they don’t come tuned out of the box. The camera is pretty much useless, delivering useable images only in direct sunlight. All other photos are grainy, don’t capture the right colours, and are out of focus often.
3.
3. Spice
Stellar Horizon Mi-500
What we like
The Stellar Horizon borrows liberally from the iPhone’s design, complete with a metal band on the edges. In fact, the full-white phone drew more glances even when placed to phones that cost twice as much. And this is coupled with sturdy build quality.
The Mi-500 offers the best battery life among all these phablets by a fair distance. The battery still had some juice left at 1 in the night after starting at 8 in the morning – and this included lots of 3G gaming, an hour of music playback, plenty of browsing and reading, about an hour of phone calls, mild GPS use, and general usage.
Much like its name, the performance was stellar. Every app ran really well, and even multi-tasking was surprisingly good given its limited RAM. The Stellar Horizon is the only budget phablet to come with in-earphones; and they are pretty good quality too, although not amazing.
What we don’t like
The screen is the main part of a phablet and the Stellar Horizon is a letdown. The colours look washed, the blacks aren’t deep enough, and visibility in sunlight is poor. And like the Micromax A110, you can see a faint grid line in some angles.
The camera is quite dissapointing. Unless shot in bright sunlight, photos are almost always grainy. Videos are poor, especially in audio capture.
The GPS takes ages to lock on, and isn’t very accurate. But switch A-GPS on and it improves dramatically. Still, that means you have to be in an area with good network connectivity for the GPS to work well.
The phone tends to heat up when used extensively outdoors. Combine this with its large size and heft and it becomes a bit uncomfortable to hold.
What we like
The Stellar Horizon borrows liberally from the iPhone’s design, complete with a metal band on the edges. In fact, the full-white phone drew more glances even when placed to phones that cost twice as much. And this is coupled with sturdy build quality.
The Mi-500 offers the best battery life among all these phablets by a fair distance. The battery still had some juice left at 1 in the night after starting at 8 in the morning – and this included lots of 3G gaming, an hour of music playback, plenty of browsing and reading, about an hour of phone calls, mild GPS use, and general usage.
Much like its name, the performance was stellar. Every app ran really well, and even multi-tasking was surprisingly good given its limited RAM. The Stellar Horizon is the only budget phablet to come with in-earphones; and they are pretty good quality too, although not amazing.
What we don’t like
The screen is the main part of a phablet and the Stellar Horizon is a letdown. The colours look washed, the blacks aren’t deep enough, and visibility in sunlight is poor. And like the Micromax A110, you can see a faint grid line in some angles.
The camera is quite dissapointing. Unless shot in bright sunlight, photos are almost always grainy. Videos are poor, especially in audio capture.
The GPS takes ages to lock on, and isn’t very accurate. But switch A-GPS on and it improves dramatically. Still, that means you have to be in an area with good network connectivity for the GPS to work well.
The phone tends to heat up when used extensively outdoors. Combine this with its large size and heft and it becomes a bit uncomfortable to hold.
4. 4.Intex Aqua
5.0
What we like
Straight off the bat, if you’re looking for a phablet for music playback, then this has got to be it. Bass is rendered with a distinct thump, and music sounds fantastically clear and loud. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that it is the best sound that we’ve heard from a smartphone in a long time.
The Aqua also boasts of good build quality with a pearl-white back plate and a nice metallic silvery trim around the edges. It feels substantial to hold and definitely seems to be worth more than its asking price.
Its touchscreen is responsive to taps and swipes and we faced no issues during our marathon sessions of Temple Run and Angry Granny. The antenna latches to networks better than what we’ve seen on most phones. And that definitely makes for better web browsing during commutes when you’re moving from one tower to the next. Battery life is good, and a full charge lasted for 15 hours with Wi-Fi use, gaming, some GPS, web browsing and phone calls.
What we don’t like
The display is depressingly dull and colours look so washed out that it’s almost a deal-breaker. Legibility in sunlight takes a beating, and viewing angles are not that great either. While calls sound clear, they suffer from low volume. The Aqua’s sharp-edged design, devoid of ergonomic curves, makes it slightly unwieldy to use. People with smaller hands might find this device uncomfortable to handle. HD videos play smoothly (except when you might have too many apps open all at once), but we did see distinct stutters at times when playing FullHD videos. Users might want to look out for this issue if they swear by 1080p content.
What we like
Straight off the bat, if you’re looking for a phablet for music playback, then this has got to be it. Bass is rendered with a distinct thump, and music sounds fantastically clear and loud. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that it is the best sound that we’ve heard from a smartphone in a long time.
The Aqua also boasts of good build quality with a pearl-white back plate and a nice metallic silvery trim around the edges. It feels substantial to hold and definitely seems to be worth more than its asking price.
Its touchscreen is responsive to taps and swipes and we faced no issues during our marathon sessions of Temple Run and Angry Granny. The antenna latches to networks better than what we’ve seen on most phones. And that definitely makes for better web browsing during commutes when you’re moving from one tower to the next. Battery life is good, and a full charge lasted for 15 hours with Wi-Fi use, gaming, some GPS, web browsing and phone calls.
What we don’t like
The display is depressingly dull and colours look so washed out that it’s almost a deal-breaker. Legibility in sunlight takes a beating, and viewing angles are not that great either. While calls sound clear, they suffer from low volume. The Aqua’s sharp-edged design, devoid of ergonomic curves, makes it slightly unwieldy to use. People with smaller hands might find this device uncomfortable to handle. HD videos play smoothly (except when you might have too many apps open all at once), but we did see distinct stutters at times when playing FullHD videos. Users might want to look out for this issue if they swear by 1080p content.
– Reviews by Mihir Patkar & Savio D’Souza TECH TONIC STOI 121230
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