Hey Guys! Phreview is back, we will be taking a look at the phones which just fall short of a flagship. These are phones which were designed to do it all with adequate hardware minus the bells and whistles to make it a flagship. Yes, the midrange phones priced between INR 15 - 20k can do it too, but these phones do a little more than the mid rangers and most importantly they do it in style...!!
Here we go....
Android
Motorola Atrix 2
Enter INR 20K, enter dual-core....!! Here is Moto's latest offering in India, the Atrix 2. The Atrix 2 comes with a 1 GHz dual-core processors(2 cores, each running @ 1GHz), 1GB RAM, a 4.3" LCD display with a superfine qHD resolution (256 ppi), a 8 MP autofocus camera capable of 1080p HD video capture, a front facing VGA cam, 8GB inbuilt storage, a 1785 mAh battery, 3G/WiFi/GPS and is also covered by Gorilla glass.
Motorola has priced it @ INR 22,290/- and is definetly a killer phone for it's specs on offer. Compare it with the Android top dog - Samsung Galaxy S2 and you can easily see that the Atrix doesn't fall short in specs but does come a lot cheaper, saving yourself around INR 6 to 7k.
The S2 has got a faster processor(1.2GHz dual-core), and the SAMOLED Plus display to it's advantage. The SAMOLED Plus display, sure has better viewing angles and crisp colors with deep blacks, but the Atrix 2 has got decent viewing angles with whitter whites and is also better when it comes to the displaying text as it has got more pixels, 256ppi Vs. 217ppi. However, when it comes to sunlight legibility, the Samsung's SAMOLED Plus display is just awesome when compared to the washed out colors on the Atrix 2's LCD.
Currently, there is no competition for the Atrix 2 in this segment when it comes to dual core Androids. The only other dual core offering at this price segment was the Samsung Galaxy R which was a runaway hit and Samsung has ran out of stocks all over the country. But the dual core Samsung Galaxy S Advance announced by Samsung at the MWC 2012 should be launching here soon, until then it is the Motorola Atrix 2 all the way.
The Atrix 2 comes with the MotoBLUR UI on top of Android Gingerbread out of the box and a promised upgrade to Android ICS.
Windows Phone
Nokia Lumia 800
This infact is Nokia's flagship WP7 device. The Lumia 800 comes with a 1.4GHz single core processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 MP camera with dual LED flash, 3.7" AMOLED display with Nokia ClearBlack technology, 16 GB inbuilt memory, a 1450 mAh battery and is also covered by Gorilla glass.
All these numbers here don't tell you the real story, the Samsung Omnia W comes with almost the same specs plus a front facing camera at a lot lesser price(INR 15k). But it is not just the dual core processors or the bigger Megapixels which make a phone better, it is this....
Nokia has constructed the Lumia 800 with a single mould of polycarbonate which results in a rock solid unibody construction and a non-removable battery. The polycarbonate on the 800 means that the material is either cyan/black/magenta/white by birth and is not colored like the plastic on the other phones. Hence any deep scratches on the phone, it will still be the same.
The AMOLED display is covered by Gorilla glass, which is curved outwards for smooth touch/swipe gestures on the phone. The 8 MP Autofocus camera on the 800 has one of the biggest sensors(F2.2) and widest angle(28mm) for a mobile phone camera which enables the camera to take in more light and covers wider areas resulting in a better picture quality and quality pics in low lit conditions too.
It is true that the Lumia 800 had issues with the battery, the battery on the phone was not fully utilized and was said to be using much less than the full 1450 mAh available. This has now been fixed by Nokia in the form of a firmware update, this recent firmware update from Nokia resolves the battery issue and also addresses the low bass output when connected to the headphones.
The Nokia Lumia 800 can be purchased at INR 22,590 and ships with Windows phone 7.5 Mango out of the box.
The Motorola Atrix 2 and the Nokia Lumia 800 are Phreview's recommedations for now until Samsung, LG and Sony launch their recently announced phones @ MWC 2012.
Check out Phreview's other posts for the best smartphones in the other price ranges.
See you all next time...!! Cheers!
* There are two other phones which are almost extinct(mysteriously) but worth trying, the Samsung Galaxy R and the LG Optimus 2X.
Here we go....
Android
Motorola Atrix 2
Enter INR 20K, enter dual-core....!! Here is Moto's latest offering in India, the Atrix 2. The Atrix 2 comes with a 1 GHz dual-core processors(2 cores, each running @ 1GHz), 1GB RAM, a 4.3" LCD display with a superfine qHD resolution (256 ppi), a 8 MP autofocus camera capable of 1080p HD video capture, a front facing VGA cam, 8GB inbuilt storage, a 1785 mAh battery, 3G/WiFi/GPS and is also covered by Gorilla glass.
Motorola has priced it @ INR 22,290/- and is definetly a killer phone for it's specs on offer. Compare it with the Android top dog - Samsung Galaxy S2 and you can easily see that the Atrix doesn't fall short in specs but does come a lot cheaper, saving yourself around INR 6 to 7k.
The S2 has got a faster processor(1.2GHz dual-core), and the SAMOLED Plus display to it's advantage. The SAMOLED Plus display, sure has better viewing angles and crisp colors with deep blacks, but the Atrix 2 has got decent viewing angles with whitter whites and is also better when it comes to the displaying text as it has got more pixels, 256ppi Vs. 217ppi. However, when it comes to sunlight legibility, the Samsung's SAMOLED Plus display is just awesome when compared to the washed out colors on the Atrix 2's LCD.
Currently, there is no competition for the Atrix 2 in this segment when it comes to dual core Androids. The only other dual core offering at this price segment was the Samsung Galaxy R which was a runaway hit and Samsung has ran out of stocks all over the country. But the dual core Samsung Galaxy S Advance announced by Samsung at the MWC 2012 should be launching here soon, until then it is the Motorola Atrix 2 all the way.
The Atrix 2 comes with the MotoBLUR UI on top of Android Gingerbread out of the box and a promised upgrade to Android ICS.
Windows Phone
Nokia Lumia 800
This infact is Nokia's flagship WP7 device. The Lumia 800 comes with a 1.4GHz single core processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 MP camera with dual LED flash, 3.7" AMOLED display with Nokia ClearBlack technology, 16 GB inbuilt memory, a 1450 mAh battery and is also covered by Gorilla glass.
All these numbers here don't tell you the real story, the Samsung Omnia W comes with almost the same specs plus a front facing camera at a lot lesser price(INR 15k). But it is not just the dual core processors or the bigger Megapixels which make a phone better, it is this....
Nokia has constructed the Lumia 800 with a single mould of polycarbonate which results in a rock solid unibody construction and a non-removable battery. The polycarbonate on the 800 means that the material is either cyan/black/magenta/white by birth and is not colored like the plastic on the other phones. Hence any deep scratches on the phone, it will still be the same.
The AMOLED display is covered by Gorilla glass, which is curved outwards for smooth touch/swipe gestures on the phone. The 8 MP Autofocus camera on the 800 has one of the biggest sensors(F2.2) and widest angle(28mm) for a mobile phone camera which enables the camera to take in more light and covers wider areas resulting in a better picture quality and quality pics in low lit conditions too.
It is true that the Lumia 800 had issues with the battery, the battery on the phone was not fully utilized and was said to be using much less than the full 1450 mAh available. This has now been fixed by Nokia in the form of a firmware update, this recent firmware update from Nokia resolves the battery issue and also addresses the low bass output when connected to the headphones.
The Nokia Lumia 800 can be purchased at INR 22,590 and ships with Windows phone 7.5 Mango out of the box.
The Motorola Atrix 2 and the Nokia Lumia 800 are Phreview's recommedations for now until Samsung, LG and Sony launch their recently announced phones @ MWC 2012.
Check out Phreview's other posts for the best smartphones in the other price ranges.
See you all next time...!! Cheers!
* There are two other phones which are almost extinct(mysteriously) but worth trying, the Samsung Galaxy R and the LG Optimus 2X.
