Spice Dream Uno H : 'First Hindi Smartphone'

Smartphone has launched the second iteration of its Android One range in partnership with Google: the Dream Uno H, touted as the first smartphone with out of box Hindi support. This is a good move, and opens up a new market for a lot of people, whose first language is Hindi. The phone is available online via Snapdeal (http://www.snapdeal.com/product/spice-dream-uno-h-mi498h/951598044) and also offline stores.

What is the processor inside Spice Mi smartwatch?

In all probability, it is a MT2502 (http://armdevices.net/2014/07/12/mediatek-linkit-aster-mt2502-new-soc-for-entry-level-smartwatches/). Although, right now, there is not way for me to verify this other than opening it up. The sad part is that the software stack is not really open source on this platform.

Which premium affordable to buy?

Here are my recommendations:

1) Android : Look no further than Micromax Yureka. Even without trying this phone my self I can recommend this. Costs 8990/-, available via Amazon India.

2) Windows: Lumia 535. This is your best bet if you are looking for a premium but affordable windows phone. Available at 9100/-, but with exchange offers you could get this for around 6K.

3) iOS: iPhone 5c. Yes, I would recommend this anytime over iPhone 4s. 

Micromax Yureka : the Cynogenmod premium affordable

There has been a bit of drama going on with Cynogenmod, Micromax and One Plus One. What ever the end results may be, but today Micromax has launched Yureaka, to be elusively sold via Amazon India (see http://www.amazon.in/b/ref=amb_link_185154967_2?ie=UTF8&node=5606984031&pf_rd_m=A1VBAL9TL5WCBF&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0CESP2691CJ5EY08Z9M1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=570214267&pf_rd_i=1320006031), from second week of January, 2015.

The specs are pretty good (is a 64-bit octa core processor, 13MP rear - 5MP front camera, 4G dual SIM, 2GB RAM, 16 GB internal - expandable with up to 32GB, 2500 mAh battery, 5.5" 720p IPS display with corning gorilla glass 3 protection), and I think this device is going to be a hit. Two reasons:
1. Cynogenmod: very customizable, and ability to root the device
2. Sold elusively on Amazon with a very attractive price tag of 8999/- 

Lumia 530 : now available at lower prices

Well it has been quite a while, but now Lumia 530 is available with online retailers like Flipkart for a reduced price of 5.5K. I still feel it should be just below 5K, though.

 

Which mobile OS is right for me?

The short answer is: the one that works best for you, and the one that you would like to use daily. Here are some of my views:

1. Firefox OS: I really love this OS. The OS is very lightweight as are its apps. The adaptable search is great and makes you feel that you have a new phone each time you do a search.  The truly open source OS is great as a daily driver phone if your only app needs are : email, whatsapp, travel apps and literary every thing that is a web app. However, don't expect to find video editing or document / spread sheet processing or VOIP apps on this platform, at least not yet. Another issue is that the only devices running Firefox OS and available in India (as of this writing) are severely underpowered. Otherwise, this is the best choice as compared to Android and even lower cost Windows phones.

2. Windows Phone:  This was the OS that I used for more than 2 years on a daily driver phone, after I got really frustrated with constant issues with my Android phone. The OS takes a fresh new approach to UI design, with the beautiful live tiles. But then the usability ends there. It frequently comes in the way of what you want to do - poor app collection, even the big name apps which are present are seldom updated, and the most disliked "Resuming ..." screen when switching between apps. If you get past this however, the OS is super smooth, it never lags. Even after using the device regularly for 2 years, with lots of apps and data stored, the device never slowed down - it was as fast as it was on day 1. With many low cost (sub 5K) devices running Windows phone coming to the market, this might be just the right OS for you - if you don't care about the apps i.e.

3. Android: For some strange reason I never liked Android. At first I didn't like it because it adopted Java instead of other more open and 'easy' programming languages like Python. Then I didn't like it because it more or less was controlled by Google, rather than being truly open source. Then I hated it as Samsung never updated the OS on my phone even as it was capable - I had to go the cyanogenmod way to get the latest. In the end I got frustrated enough to dump this as my daily driver OS. The introduction of Android One had rekindled my interest in Android, but after using it for a few weeks - it was clear that the frustrations of using  Android are still there - random slowdowns, random freezes, and if you are not careful spywares. Even so, Android appears to be the de-facto choice for many. Devices running the OS simply give people the best value for money as of now.

4. iOS: If you want to have the best of every OS, then this is the OS for you. If you want to carry a 'true' computer in your pocket - this the OS for you. If you want to have the latest and the greatest apps - this is the OS for you. If you don't want to fiddle much with the device and want it to just work for you - this is the OS for you. I had switched to using an iOS device as my daily driver nearly an year ago for these exact reasons. There is no denying that this is the best mobile OS currently available, albeit with some 'restrictions'.  Also, there are only limited choices of devices you can buy running this OS - only one company makes it : Apple. The best value for money for and iOS device you can get is an iPod touch - but that is not a phone and cannot be actually your daily driver device. The next best is iPhone 5c - this is a better choice than 4s and it has got better and newer hardware - even though some of you may not like a plastic casing device from Apple.

5. Others: And there are others. Blackberry OS - I never used this one my daily driver OS - but people say it a dedicated email machine, not every one uses email these days. Jolla OS - this one is too late to the party - it will have some takers, but I think this is not the future. Ubuntu OS - this one never seems to come - is it year end yet?


 

AUXUS RIST: another smartwatch

AUXUS is planning to release a smartwatch called RIST on 8th Dec (see: http://iberry.asia/auxus_rist.php), the specs look interesting, though priced higher. About the only thing that is not clear is the software. Will have to wait a bit to get the whole picture of the RIST (pun intended!).

(EBay link to buy: http://www.ebay.in/itm/231385146489)

Update: After doing a bit of searching on Youtube, I found the following video, seems the same SKU

 

Windows phones are getting better specs at lower end

Lava recently launched Lava Iris Win1 on Flipkart (Buy Lava Iris Win1 from Flipkart.com), another Windows phone priced below 5K. But then this one is special, it is probably the only smartphone (even taking Android into picture) in this range that comes with 8GB internal storage and 1GB RAM. This is good news for Windows phone fans, I would recommend this if you are a first time smartphone buyer looking for a phone at about 5K INR.

Celkon Win 400: Another low cost Windows Phone

Celkon has launched (http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/celkon-launches-windows-smartphone-at-rs-4-979-114120101170_1.html), another low cost Windows Phone device. This would be the second Windows phone device below 5K. Another one being Karbonn Titanium Wind 4, my experience of this device has not really been good. To be fair I found the device to perform extremely well on all aspects except the phone!