Friday, April 22, 2016

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW HANDSETS UNDER Rs 15k

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW HANDSETS UNDER Rs 15k


Shopping on a budget?
MEIZU M2
Unlike other Android phones, the Meizu M2 sports a single navigation
button below its display . Tapping this button once lets you go back a
step while pressing it returns you to the home screen. This might take
some time getting used to, especially for a seasoned Android user.
However, the customizations are minimal and the user interface is
very intuitive: The M2 comes with basic gesture control to wake up
the device from standby and a floating “smart touch“ button that lets
you launch the notification bar, go to the home screen and switch
between tasks in a jiffy.
The handset is lightweight, feels sturdy , sports a unibody design and
fits comfortably in the palm of the hand or in the shirt pocket.Its cameras,
which come with HDR and basic photo filter options, are capable of
shooting pictures with a fair amount of detail and balanced colours.
That said, macro photography is not its strong point: results tend to
be rather soft and out of focus.
High-definition videos and 3D games like Asphalt 8 are handled without
any hiccups. Transferring or watching content off a USB OTG drive is
also smooth. Also, the M2 does a good job with music playback. Audio
sounds better than the InFocus Bingo 50 and on a par with the Coolpad
Note 3 Lite.
Overall, this device is responsive and you can expect to get about a day's
worth of work done on a full battery .
SPECS:
5-inch (1280x720px) laminated display
| 1.3GHz MT6735 quad-core processor
| 2GB RAM | 16GB storage, microSD | 13MP (LED flash),
5MP cameras | Dual SIM | 2500mAh battery
PRICE `6,999
RATING 6/10

MI NOTE 3
The Mi Note 3 ticks all the right boxes when it comes to
smartphone capabilities. It handles productivity tasks,
Full HD movies and 3D games without any stutter, while
music playback through headphones is balanced with just
the right amount of lows, mids and highs, and it also gives
you well over a day of battery life on a single charge.
Both its cameras are best in class. You can choose between
three modes of beautification when shooting selfies, while
the rear cam comes with a dozen shooting options,
including panorama, twilight mode, timer, fish eye, tilt
shift for that miniature effect, and even manual that allows
you to choose between white balance settings and ISO
depending on your lighting.Of course, you can also select
from 16 visual filters to create just the right mood for your
snapshots.
As a plus, the Mi Note 3 packs in an IR blaster that lets
you configure it as a universal remote for international
brands of ACs and TVs, a fingerprint sensor that works
spiffily to unlock your device, and it even has a `night'
and `reading' mode that makes its screen's brightness
easier on the eye. Displaywise, it is capable of crisp text,
good visibility in sunlight, and vibrant colours.
The Mi Note 3 packs in the highest capacity of internal
storage (in this review), which can be further expanded
via microSD and USB OTG to store and seamlessly transfer
your music, movies and photos. And, well, all of this is
housed in an 8.6mm slim metal body that's fronted by
a fully laminated screen.
SPECS:
5.5-inch (1920x1080px) display | 1.8GHz Snapdragon
650 PRICE RATING hexa-core processor | 3GB RAM
| 32GB storage, microSD, USB OTG | 16MP (dual LED flash),
5MP cameras | Dual SIM | 4000mAh battery
PRICE `11,999
RATING 8/10

ASUS ZENFONE MAX
The Max packs in a 5000mAh battery gives you over
two day's of use. Addition , which ally, you can use its
battery to charge another device via the USB OTG cable
included in the box.
Build-wise, this handset is a solid allplastic affair, and
its curved back makes it easier to grip and operate.
The Max's display is bright and renders vibrant colours,
though it is not as crisp as the Redmi's Full HD display.
Its rear camera is capable of capturing fair amount of
detail in well-lit environs. However, shots taken in dim
light appear soft due to heavy noise. Photos taken with
the front camera are average and good enough for
sharing on the web only . You also get a bunch of
creative shooting modes that let you create GIF animations,
panoramas, time lapse and slow-motion videos.
On the audio front, the Max delivers clear output to the
earphones. A dedicated graphic equalizer tool lets you
tweak the final sound to your preferences.
You also get a customized user interface, which does
not slow the device down and includes a number of
useful features like a onehanded mode, call recording,
and colour profiles.This phone suits those folk who
need an affordable device for personal entertainment,
with a good battery life.
SPECS:
5.5-inch (1280x720px) laminated display
| 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor
| 2GB RAM | 16GB storage, microSD, USB OTG
| Dual SIM | 13MP (dual LED flash), 5MP cameras
| 5000mAh battery
PRICE `9,999
RATING 6.5/10

COOLPAD NOTE 3 LITE
The Note 3 Lite is a low-price handset, but its solid plastic
build quality , 16GB of internal storage with support for
microSD cards and crisp display belie its budget pricing.
As a plus, you also get a fingerprint sensor for security.
Here, multiple fingerprints can be configured for different
tasks, for instance to click a picture or to activate features
like voice recording and even apps.
On the downside, The Note 3 Lite's USB OTG is a
hit-and-miss affair. In certain instances, the device
recognized when a pen drive was plugged in, but couldn't
read its contents. Hopefully, this is something that will be
fixed with firmware upgrades from Coolpad.
Performance-wise, the Note 3 Lite posts average scores
in benchmark tests, but this is no indicator of its capabilities.
The handset runs Full HD movies and 3D games like
Asphalt 8: Airborne without any problems, and it also
works well as a music player with its balanced sound output.
Its camera app comes with a beauty mode for selfie
photos and videos, a Pro mode where you can manually
adjust exposure, aperture and ISO; a dozen image
filters and an Edit feature that lets you post-process
your snapshots.The Note 3 Lite's rear shooter is capable
of good macro photos, though selfies appear soft and
snapshots in incandescent lighting suffer from grain
and loss of detail. That said, what you get is a device
that gives you about a day's use on a full battery , and
which delivers basic smartphone functionality without
breaking the bank.
SPECS:
5-inch (1280x720px) lami nated display
| 1.3GHz MT6735 quad core processor | 3GB RAM
| 16GB storage, microSD, USB OTG | 13MP (LED flash),
5MP cameras | Dual SIM | 2500mAh battery
PRICE `6,999
RATING 6/10

LENOVO VIBE P1M
The Vibe P1m's body is covered with a hydrophobic
nano-coating to protect against accidental spills and
water splashes. It feels bulkier than the Lava V2 3GB
and Meizu M2, but its rubberized back panel offers
better grip. You also get a vibrant screen with wide
viewing angles.
Like the Asus ZenFone Max, the P1m comes with a
battery that gives you more than a day's worth of work
done on a single charge, as well as the ability to charge
other devices via an OTG cable. You also get a fast charger
that replenishes the battery in a few hours. The P1m sports
a dedicated toggle switch on its side which lets you switch
the phone into a power-saving mode. In this mode, the
handset turns into a feature phone, providing access to
essential functions like phone, dialler, text messenger,
contacts, calculator, etc.
The device handles productivity tasks, Full HD movies,
as well as the odd 3D game. However, there were noticeable
delays in launching resource intensive apps and switching
between multiple tasks.
On the imaging front, the Vibe P1m's cameras are average.
You get 14 preset scene modes (night, sunset, party ,
fireworks...), but the results don't appear sharp. Even
focusing on subjects is a bit slow.
Its speaker is loud, allowing for clear hands-free calls and
music via earphones sounds well-balanced with adequate
bass. All in all, the Vibe P1m is a good alternative to the
year-old Moto E, which also comes with a water resistant
build.
SPECS:
5-inch (1280x720px) display | 1GHz MT6735P quad-core
processor | 2GB RAM | 16GB storage, microSD, USB OTG
| 8MP (LED flash), 5MP cameras | Dual SIM
| 3900mAh battery
PRICE `7,999
RATING 6/10

LAVA V2 3GB
The Lava V2 3GB sports a slim profile like the Meizu M2.
Its glossy back panel and smooth side metal frame makes
it look good, but also slippery to hold. The handset runs
on the latest Android Marshmallow with minimal customization.
You get basic features like a call recorder, Turbo Download
to combine your Wi-Fi speeds with 3G4G for faster
downloads, a smart lock screen, and hassle-free USB
OTG drive support. Its scratch-resistant display is bright,
renders vivid colours and crisp text that is viewable from
wide angles.
The V2 is capable of smoothly running games like Asphalt 8,
Frontline Commando and even high-definition movie content.
That said, its audio output sounds relatively flat and is not
as good as the Asus ZenFone Max. Its battery, which requires
a recharge before the day is done, also failed to impress.
Now while the V2's rear camera is capable of taking good
photographs in well-lit environs, quality takes a hit in low-light:
photos are plagued with excessive grain and softening of
details. That said, it worked well for macro photos. Also,
its selfie camera is accompanied with a front-facing flash,
allowing for better exposure in low light. Indeed, the
Lava V2 3GB's pocketfriendly form factor is its mainstay,
but it could have been a much better phone if not for its
middling battery life.
SPECS: 5-inch (1280x720px)
scratch-resistant display | 1.3GHz MT6735 quad-core processor
| 3GB RAM | 16GB storage, microSD, USB OTG
| 13MP (dual LED flash), 8MP cameras | Dual SIM
| 2500mAh battery
PRICE `10,750
RATING 6/10

INFOCUS BINGO 50
T he Bingo 50 sports a great build quality complete with
a sandstone-finish curved back cover and a solid metal
frame. What you , also get is a device that runs the
newest version of Android: Marshmallow, and a feature
called Turbo Download that allows you to combine your
Wi-Fi connection along with your 3G or 4G networks for
better speeds.
The Bingo 50's screen is crisp, is visible outdoors under
sunlight, and colours are rendered vibrantly . Its camera
app comes with a Normal (with HDR) and Panorama mode ­
and within its settings menu, you can also select
`beautification' for selfies, adjust exposure, white balance,
and even choose between 14 scene modes, including
sunset, party , portrait, night, sports, and fireworks.
Macro images shot with this device are quite sharp
with just the right amount of depth for the background.
Overall, both 8MP cameras shoot pictures that are soft
on detail, but their output is good enough to share on
social networks.
When it comes to performance, the Bingo 50 works just
as well as the Coolpad Note 3 Lite, and while it posts
average scores in benchmark tests, the handset is still
capable of running Full HD movies and games like Asphalt 8.
On the downside, auto-rotation on this handset does not work.
If you change the orientation of the device when watching
a movie, browsing the web or photos, it simply does not
respond. Also, after selecting a numerical lock during setup,
we weren't able to switch to pattern unlock until we reset
the device. This was eventually resolved, but a firmware
upgrade might be required to deal with these niggling issues,
and perhaps to also make the handling of OTG drives simpler
via a better file browsermanager. Lastly, the sound through
headphones and speakers is rather underwhelming.
On paper, the Bingo 50 holds a lot of promise, but doesn't
quite deliver yet.
SPECS:
5-inch (1280x720px) display | 1.3GHz MTK6735
quad-core processor | 3GB RAM | 16GB storage,
microSD, USB OTG | 8MP (LED flash), 8MP cameras
| Dual SIM | 2500mAh battery
PRICE `7,499
RATING 5.5/10

ALSO CONSIDER :
On February 20, Techtonic reviewed the LeEco Le 1s
(Rated 7.5/10,PRICE `10,999), and the Honor 5X
(Rated 6.5/10, PRICE `12,999). Both these devices are still
worth your consideration. Second only to the Mi Note 3 in
performance, the Le 1s promises value for money: it sports
a metal body, looks fantastic, you get 32GB of storage, and
its fingerprint scanner adds an extra layer of security.
This device works smoothly when it comes to productivity,
as well as performance in gaming and multimedia.
The Honor 5X also boasts of a metal body, looks just as
good, and comes with a fingerprint scanner ­ and while it
is not in the same performance class as the Mi Note 3
and the LeEco Le 1s, you get a stellar battery life of
over a day and a half on a single charge.

WHAT THE RATINGS MEAN...
Techtonic uses a detailed rating system that takes into
consideration various criteria such as device build quality
and design, hardware and software features, user experience
and even price when reviewing products.
Points are awarded and sometimes even deducted from
total scores based on this system to arrive at a final score.
Below 5: The product is poor and doesn't offer the experience
it promises.
5 and 6: The device works.
7: It is very good.
8: The product is fantastic; super value for money.
9: The product is exceptional.

Ashutosh Desai and Savio D'Souza


TOI9APR16

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