NEW DELHI: Android-based phones have ushered in a revolution of sorts in past one year. Even those who could not dream of asmartphone until recently now carry an
Android phone, thanks to a plethora of manufacturers making them at all price points to suit all pockets. To follow up on its pan-India 3G launch, the third largest cellular service provider Idea Cellular launched two entry-level Android handsets in collaboration with two Chinese firms, ZTE and Huawei.
Priced at Rs 7,992 and Rs 5,850, the two phones are good value for money and compete with many other budget smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy Y Series and those from domestic firms Spice Mobiles and Micromax.
And the most pleasant surprise: Despite having been launched by Idea, Blade is not an operator-locked phone. The users of other networks can also use this ZTE phone, launched by Idea. Moreover, Idea Blade sports decent specs for the price tag it carries.
Display
Blade has a 3.5-inch capacitive screen and is encased in a plastic body with external buttons for Menu, Home, Cancel, volume control and power. It has an acceptable screen resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Once you have unlocked the home screen, you see a typical Android user interface (UI) with a Google search bar and then the apps below it.
At the bottom of the screen are the three buttons for call, menu and browser.
And now on to the biggest disappointment of the phone: Despite the phone having a capacitive screen, its touch response is poor and the user may have to swipe a few times to open an app, answer a call, or to perform any other task
OS
It runs on Google's older, second generation Android 2.2 ( Froyo) operating system. Hence, you will encounter the standard, rather dated Android interface as on any other earlier generation Android device. The company has promised an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread but when and weather the phone will support it fully remains to be seen.
Processor and RAM
The handset is powered by a 600 MHz Qualcomm Scorpion processor with 256MB RAM which is just about enough to keep the basic functions running. A bigger problem is that even the basic apps like What'sApp, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox that range from 9MB to 12MB and occupy considerable space on the RAM, cannot be shifted to the SD card.
Though Blade's memory is expandable up to 32GB, adding even a 4 GB card slows down the phone's response to a near still.
Since many downloaded apps go and reside on the on-board memory, it is a big minus for any phone. Google Play Store continuously offers updates to the apps and every update make the apps heavier, so to avoid slowing down of the phone, you must use task manger or app killer to keep sufficient free space on the RAM to save the battery life.
Camera
Idea Blade sports a 3.2 megapixel rear camera which clicks quite decent pictures under test conditions and videos at 10 frames per second (fps), but under low-light conditions the picture gets pixilated and blurred. Though zoom and brightness can be adjusted manually, the difference is very marginal. But unlike its competitors like HTC Explorer which has a 3MP primary rear camera and Samsung Galaxy Y series smartphones which only have a 2MP camera, Idea Blade clicks clearer pictures.
Battery
Blade has a lower 1250mAH Li-ion battery that can last a day only if you are using the phone for making calls or text messages. In case, you are using the phone for listening music, playing games or browsing internet, the battery drains out very quickly. But since it has a mini USB, it can be recharged using any mini USB cable.
Internet and connectivity
The phone has pre-installed Opera Mini and internet browsers. It supports EDGE, 7.2 mbps HSDPA and Wi-Fi. But here's the catch: As a special introductory offer, Idea is offering data services worth Rs 3,500 with Rs 259 plan but users of other telcos cannot use their 3G plans on Idea Blade and for them it works only as a 2G phone. Its Bluetooth, tethering, USB and GPS are other options for connectivity which function fairly well.
Apps and other features
Despite such a frugal RAM, the phone comes pre-installed with Gmail, Opera browser, live TV service called IdeaTV, Gravity sensor, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Places, document reader which reads word documents pretty well, FM radio and a music player that plays most audio files formats. It also has a 3.5mm audio jack.
On the whole, Idea Blade is a good value-for-money Android smartphone. Though it may not be the best at this price (and there are misses too), but considering that all this comes at Rs 7,992, Idea Blade is worth a look-in.
