"Cheapest 4G phone" : Lenovo A6000

Lenovo is releasing A6000, dubbed the cheapest 4G phone in India next week (Feb 4), exclusively on Flipkart (see here).

The phone seems pretty well speced, although is not running Android 5.0 and probably does not have a gorilla glass as well. There are other interesting things though: it has got a stereo digital Dolby speaker (not even many flagships have this), 4G dual sim and is light weight at 128 grams. 128 grams is quite light for a 5" display phone.

AUXUS RIST : A short review

Weather you like it or not, weather you want it or not, wearable tech is going mainstream. Of the all wearable tech, the one that is getting most attention is the watch. I am not really a fan of wearing watches. I stopped wearing a watch even before I got my first smartphone. With a smartphone however, I had absolutely no need of even thinking of using a watch. Occasionally, I needed a watch when going on long trips, but then the powerbanks and easy access to power source at commute places essentially solved the problem of depleting battery life of smartphones while traveling.

About six months ago, when Spice released a cheap 'watch phone', I gave it a try. It was great for first few days, then one thing really killed it for me: it was not programmable, apart from doing some rudimentary stuff on the web browser. And more importantly there was no health tracking functionality on the device. Eventually, I stopped using the watch altogether. I thought I would never again wear a watch again. I was not particularly interested in waiting for Apple Watch for two reasons: it is going to be quite expensive, and more importantly, it had to be paired with my phone to be truly useful. Although, I feel, only Apple Watch at present (though not yet released) has the best design and functionality for a smartwatch.

During the GOSF 2014,  eBay announced launching of AUXUS RIST - a fully Android based smartwatch and phone - for under 10K. This got me interested and I ordered one of them. Again, falling in the wearable trap! Two things caught my attention: A full Android system with onboard SIM support and a Water proof device. Here is a short review of the device.

Starting up
Starting the device up is surprisingly complex if you are not a geek. It actually requires you to carefully open the device to insert the SIM and SD card using the provided screwdriver. I think this is the first major hurdle in mass acceptance of the device.

The build
The build quality is solid, but quite bulky. But it depends on how you look at it. In terms of sheer material yes, it is a solidly build device. But if you look at it in terms of a device that is to be worn on your wrist, I think it a miss. It is better than the Spice mobile that I had earlier, but that is an understatement. I could easily give this device a miss and still my appearance would be no different. In fact, with the bulk of the device, I would rather give it a miss on day basis.

Battery Life
At best battery life is moderate, lasts for about 12 hours with 3G, WiFi and GPS on. But this is good, if you consider that it is actually a fully functional phone.

Performance
Since the device has a dual core, and 512MB RAM, performance is not much of a problem if you are using only the Google apps. However, if you start to install a lot of third party apps, it is sure to impact performance as is the case with all other Android systems. I have a "slow watch", would rather be a funny and ironic statement to make!

Launcher
The default launcher is no fuss, usable, but has shortcomings - the biggest one is no integration with Google Now. Even though I don't use Google Now on day basis - I like the way it surfaces information for me. I tried installing the Google Now launcher to replace the built in launcher, it works, albeit with a caveat - icons are suddenly too small.

Apps
All of the Google Play store apps are available. None of the apps I tried (particularly health related) had any issue. Have not tried any games - but then this is not the device to play games.

Conclusions
When I got this device I was quite sure I want such a device, and is quite indispensable for my everyday usage. However, after using it for about 3 weeks now, my views have changed. I really don't need a phone on my wrist. About the only reason I would need a SIM on the device would be to have a data connection independent of my smartphone. Also, although the design of the device is quite decent, it is hardly inspiring to carry around every day the weight on my wrist - let alone the need to charge it every day. I would not recommend it for the average you, only buy this is if you are a geek.

(eBay link: http://www.ebay.in/itm/Auxus-RIST-SMARTWATCH-MOBILE-3G-SIM-GPS-CAMERA-ANDROID-WATERPROOF-iberry-/231385146489?pt=IN_Mobile_Phones&hash=item35dfa12479)

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.

Now quad core smartphone below 5k INR

The below 5K phones with good user experience is soon becoming a reality with Karbonn introducing an Android Kitkat based phone http://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/d/B00NMC7WU4/ for only 4999 INR.

At this price you get pretty decent spec phone with a quad core, 1GB ram, 5mp AF camera, and a VGA front camera, 800x480 - 4.5" screen.

At this price point it would well be the cheapest 3g capable smartphone in India right now. Now we need to wait and see when Windows based phones can hit this price point.

10 Smartphones you can buy under 5K now (via Gizbot)

Gizbot has a compilation of 10 smartphones you can buy under 5K in India right now (see: http://www.gizbot.com/mobile/top-10-smartphones-you-can-buy-india-under-rs-5000-news-018548.html). It is an interesting list. My personal favorite from the list is Karbonn Smart A11 Star.

Moto E : affordable premium smartphone

There are numerous 'cheap' smartphones available in Indian market, but the quality is amiss. You say there is Nokia X, but the software is amiss. You say Lumia 520, yes I would agree, but Moto E undercuts Lumia 520 in price and offers a whole bunch of better features. It may be true, that the camera on Lumia 520 is superior to that of Moto E, but it is a no slouch, and as an overall device, the Moto E turns out to be a clear winner.

I own both these devices, both bought from Flipkart for the same price. The Lumia 520 is being used by my dad, while the Moto E arrived just yesterday. So I will be comparing these here. But before we compare let us meet the Moto E.

(As compared to other tech sites out there, I won't be writing 'review', per say, but rather my experience in using the device. As a result, a product 'review' or experience will be spreading out into multiple posts rather than one post)

The premium-ness of a device is defined, according to me in these terms: The Looks (#1), The Specs (#2), The Performace (#3) and The Overall Experience (#4). We will first have a look at the looks :)

Moto E, the looks

Moto E may be an affordable device, but it looks great, is build great.I have a black version of the device, but I have a feeling that the white version looks better than the black one :)

From left, Lumia 520, Lumia 800, the Moto E and the iPhone 5s. 

The front of Moto E is made of scratch resistant glass with oleo-phobic coating, which is quite similar to the iPhone. Moto E does not sport any buttons on the front, not even capacitive buttons. In fact, it has only two button on the right side of the device: one for sleep/power and other for volume control.

Moto E from the sides. Right of the device is where all the buttons are, the top has a mic and a 3.5 mm headset jack, nothing on the left of the device, while the bottom has the standard micro usb data / charging outlet.

The front also houses the earpiece at the top, and a mono speaker at the bottom. The speaker slot probably also has a mic.

Moto E is not slim. At 12.3 mm (6.2 mm at the edges) this is the thickest of the smartphones I currently have (not that I am using all of these thought). It is also not light weight: at 142 grams it is heavier than even Lumia 800 .. and I thought that would be the heaviest phone I would ever be buying. The weight and thickness is however a personal preference. I travel a lot in public transport, and to me a slightest increase in weight in my jeans pockets is noticeable and causes inconvenience. This is also especially noticeable when I go on long walks.

The back of the Moto E is made up of rubberized plastic, that feels great when holding the device as well as provides a solid grip.

Moto E with the back cover removed. The battery is non-removable. There is a 5MP camera, but not flash on the back side (top - center). 

Moto E, in the box

The Moto E is currently only available via Flipkart in India: Buy Moto E (Black) from Flipkart.com or Buy Moto E (White) from Flipkart.com. Even though, the Moto E may be out of stock on Flipkart, I would recommend against heading on to eBay to get one. It is better to wait a bit than pay up more on eBay.

The Moto E sales package comes with bare minimum: a charger, a headset and printed manuals along with warranty information. Unfortunately there is no data cable, and no complimentary sd card either.

Moto E sales box: 1 phone (battery is non-removable, in-built), 1 charger, 1 headset (with mic), printed manuals and warranty information booklet.

Moto E, the charger and the headset

The Moto E comes with a micro usb charger that fits properly in Indian power outlets. In fact, the charger units has the words "Made in India" printed on it, that made me a bit happy :) The charger cable is fairly long at about 1.5 m, which is good. The charger takes almost 3 hours to fully charge the Moto E, but then probably you may not need to charge it every day.

Moto E charger, the Indian edition is made in India.

Moto E also comes with a descent headset with integrated mic and a call receive/end button.

The only gripe I have is that all the accessories are full which when the phone is full black. I should have either ordered a black one or Motorola should provide matching color accessories with the device ;)

(Up next: Moto E specs, compare with similar priced phones)