TECH REVIEW ....................Intex Cloud X3 against the Asha 501

TECH REVIEW Intex Cloud X3 against the Asha 501 LOW COST HIGH VALUE The Asha 501 is Nokia’s big hope to target a segment of the audience that wants a budget touchscreen but finds Android too complex. But in the bargain, are they giving up too much functionality? We pitted the Intex Cloud X3 against the Asha 501 NOKIA ASHA 501  LOOK & FEEL This cute little phone takes its design cues from the Lumia series. It’s quite sturdy too, surviving drops without a scratch. But the swappable backshell (available in different colours) allows the phone to be recessed inside when pressed hard, especially at the sides. SCREEN The sunlight legibility of the Asha 501 is as good as top-range smartphones. It’s got good viewing angles too. But the low resolution mars the experience. PLATFORM The new Asha 1.0 smartphone platform is reminiscent of the old Nokia dumb phones. The homescreen has all the installed apps, while swiping on either side will take you to ‘Fast Lane – a quick shortcut to all your recent activities. While it’s simple and unintimidating, Asha 1.0 is quite limited. There’s no multi-tasking, you can’t open email attachments, you can’t watch YouTube videos, most of the apps are a bit ugly, it doesn’t have background sync to notify you of updates on social networks, there’s no Google contact sync. Not only are the available apps and games small in number, they are also low in quality. It doesn’t even have WhatsApp at the moment! PERFORMANCE There’s no multi-tasking, so all the apps run smoothly. That said, it struggles with basic tasks – and at times, completely gives up on them – like opening an email attachment or watching a YouTube video. CAMERA The camera is adequate when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight, but fails to give usable images in other settings. The lack of Instagram-like filters means that you can’t hide the flaws either. MUSIC The music quality leaves a lot to be desired, and we can’t recommend it for someone who likes their tunes. CALL QUALITY As with most Nokias, it has a good antenna for network access, and the voice clarity on both ends is crystal clear. BATTERY On average usage, the battery lasted us for around 30 hours, which is fantastic. BUY IT IF YOU » Want a non-confusing, good-looking, lowcost touchscreen » Want great battery life more than anything else DON’T BUY IT IF YOU » Use plenty of apps, games, Whatsapp, email, social networking » Want good photos or music playback RATING A Little Good, A Little Bad   INTEX CLOUD X3  LOOK & FEEL While it feels sturdy and doesn’t have any build issues, the Cloud X3 has nothing worth taking notice either. It’s yet another ho-hum Android phone with cheap plastic. SCREEN The viewing angles are atrocious. Tilt the phone even slightly and they distort. It’s not that you can’t use the phone at all, but the colours aren’t true and greatly hamper the experience. PLATFORM The Android platform can be difficult initially for first-time smartphone users. And Intex hasn’t optimised it in any way either. So the learning curve is a bit steeper. But the reward is Android 4.2 Jelly Bean that works smoothly, syncs with your Google account beautifully, enables multi-tasking and all the things you would want from a smartphone, and has the Play Store for all your app and game needs. That said, the limited internal memory stops you from installing apps over a certain size, and completely ruins the point of Android. If you’re installing APKs through your memory card, it’s fine; but that’s confusing for most new users. PERFORMANCE For a low-budget phone, the performance of the Cloud X3 with its dual-core CPU is commendable. Even games like Stick Tennis and Subway Surfers ran smoothly. But multi-tasking is where it falters; the basic tasks like calling and messaging are always fine, but other apps take a long time to load for first us-CAMERA The camera is fine when shooting in sunlight, but otherwise falls short. That said, there are filters from apps like Instagram that can smoothen out the flaws. MUSIC The packaged earphones are quite bad, but pair a good quality headset with the Cloud X3 and the audio is good enough for most users. Audiophiles should stay away. CALL QUALITY You can hear people clearly when in a spot with good network, but the antenna isn’t strong enough to always give you full bars. BATTERY On average usage, the battery lasted us for around 40 hours – unheard of in an Android phone! BUY IT IF YOU » Use Whatsapp, email, social networking » Want great battery life more than anything else DON’T BUY IT IF YOU » Want simplicity, whether in using it or  installing apps  » Want good photos or music playback RATING A Little Good, A Little Bad BUYING DECISION Those looking to purchase a phone for around Rs 5,000 have a seemingly difficult decision to make. The Asha 501 offers easy access for first-time smartphone users, but isn’t really a smartphone. The Intex Cloud X3 is a full-fledged smartphone, but Android can be confusing if you’re new to it. And neither offers 3G access.     If touchscreen isn’t a necessity, there are better options like the Nokia Asha 210.     But even for touchscreens, there are plenty of other phones in this range, such as the Samsung Galaxy Star, Karbonn A4+, Micromax A65, iBall Andi 4Di and many more. The Cloud X3 holds the edge with its dual-core processor and lower price, but the screen isn’t as solid.     However, the best phone in this range, at the moment, is the Nokia Lumia 510, which has got a huge price cut. The Windows Phone 7.8 handset offers a UI that is easier than Android, while giving you many more apps than the Asha 1.0 platform – all with a better screen and multimedia performance than most phones in this range. At its current price of around Rs 6,000, this is the most value you will get.     – Mihir Patkar

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