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.

Initial impressions of Karbon Android One

The Karbonn Android One device is not something that it's exceptional in hardware. It is normal. The only thing that may stand out is that there are all the sensors that you would probably find in a mid range phones. What makes this phone different is not the hardware but the software.
 

Android One is directly supported on the software side by Google, and is expected to get all major software updates for about two years. This is the only thing that sets it apart from other offerings. Essentially you should be using this only if you have interest in keeping the system always up to date. If you are just looking for a phone, this is a good to own. But if you are purely looking in terms of hardware then you did be looking somewhere else. This is especially true in terms of display resolution of the current devices : at best they are poor, with very poor text clarity and sharpness. 

And then there is issue of bloatware. There was an impression that android one would be free of these. That however does not seem to be the case. The android one device that I have has a number of apps that I simply do not want,  but there is no way to remove them. About the only thing that you can do is to hide or disable them.
 

There are however good things. You get a very much stock android experience , one that you would typically get on q nexus device. This I includes the google now launcher , feature which are missing in devices like moto e. The camera and photo app is one of the better ones I have used and are really good and easy to use and take good snaps. And then there are a host of other google apps that we have taken for granted: Google maps and gmail being the ones that I use the most.
 

In the end when I compare it with say Firefox phone that launched recently in India, I find that if you are looking for a mobile computing device then it would be better to save up and buy one of the android one devices rather than go for the really cheap Firefox phone. If however you are buying a phone and occasionally would like to be connected then Firefox phone is a good option to have.

Is Android One really free of bloatware?

It is a big NO. Have a review I unit of  Karbonn Sparkle android one phone and it has got a host of pre-installed apps that I cannot simply uninstall. These include: olyx, snapdeal,  saavn, QuickOffice, news and weather, moneycontrol. I am also finding a lot of Google applications to be bloatware : Google + to be specific.

Android One : initial specs are a bit disappointing

The glaring omission in the recently launched Android One devices? No scratch proof glass. The other issue is the paltry 4GB internal storage. Granted that there are a lot of sensors on the device, and is bundled with a range of 'freebies' along with guarantee from Google on software updates for next 2 years. But with other devices available in the same range as 6.5 K with a lot better specs, Android One has lost on opportunity on correct pricing. I think this should have been priced around 5K, a similar feeling I have about Lumia 530.

Android One is here

Sundar Pichai, Android and Chrome SVP @ Google today officially unveiled the Android One (http://officialandroid.blogspot.in/2014/09/for-next-five-billion-android-one.html) along with three Indian partners: Micromax, Spice and Karbonn. All three released three different devices available at three different online stores:

1. Micromax @ Amazon
2. Spice @ Flipkart
3. Karbonn @ Snapdeal

My take? All three have the same specs, but the design of Micromax looks the best. Understandably it is already sold out on Amazon.

Android One phones are coming tomorrow

Android One phones from Micromax, Karbonn and Spice will be revealed tomorrow in an event planned by Google. There is already one leak. The Spice phone will be called Spice Mi-498 Android One. Humm, they should have at least come up with a better name!
(see: http://www.bgr.in/news/spice-android-one-dream-uno-mi-498-listed-on-flipkart-priced-at-rs-6999/). Flipkart has promptly removed the listing and is no longer available.

The week: Google Android One and lightest WP device from XOLO

This week has been great for those of us who look for premium affordable as the way. Google kicked off its Google I/O 2014 with a keynote from Sundar Pichai. I watched the keynote live (I am fortunate enough to have watched the other recent keynotes from Microsoft and Apple), and the one thing that I felt most important was the announcement of Android One. Well yes, there was a smartwatch (every one seem to be wearing one on stage), there  was the next Android - L, home automation and Google fit, but only Android One has ability to impact the next billion people on this planet.

Google Android One

Google announce on stage at Google I/O 2014 that it will partner with Indian OEMs (Micromax, Karbonn and Spice) to launch an all Google supported phone. This program termed Android One, will see Google help build the reference hardware, and provide full software support (including updates) - much like the way the top of the class Google Play devices or Nexus receive the software updates - a good thing in terms of keeping people on current OS.

With the expect price tag of these devices to be around $100, this will probably take over from where the Moto E has accomplished in terms pricing and quality.


XOLO bring the lightest WP smartphone @ only 100g

Yes, the Indian manufacturer today announced their first WP device, it is only 100g and it is no 'low end' device. By specs, the XOLO Win Q900s, is quite decent and is priced very competitively (see https://www.xolo.in/Q900s). And heck, it is 12 grams lighter than iPhone 5s, and costs 1/5 of the price. That is surely what a premium affordable is. I am impressed by what an Indian manufacturer has come up with, though a final judgment is reserved until I can review this unit.