With each passing day, we are flooded with a new Android device from one manufacturer or the other. The competition for Android smartphones is growing too fast in the medium price range category and many devices are trying to capture this category with introduction of new devices. Spice Stellar Pinnacle Pro MI 535 falls in the same category and is a phablet if you can call so. We got access to its review unit for two weeks and the review below is based on that two week experience of ours.
Spice Stellar Pinnacle Pro MI 535 is a dual SIM device (Normal SIM slot, not the micro sim). Our review below is based on using just one SIM card with the device.
Brief Specifications
- Mediatek 1.2GHz Quad Core Processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 5.3″ IPS LCD screen with qHD (960X540) resolution
- 16GB of Internal Space and microSD slot
- Removable 2550mAh Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) Battery
- Dual SIM (Normal SIM, not micro SIM)
- 8MP auto focus Main with dual LED flash and 5MP Front Camera, video recording 720p@30fps
- Dual Mics for Audio Supression while recording
- Android 4.2.1
- WiFi N, Bluetooth 4.0
- 3.5mm headphone jack and FM Radio
- Weight: 196gms
Un-boxing [Video]
Design
The device is quite big and in fact quite heavy. It may annoy some users with its weight of ~200 gms. But if you consider the screen size of 5.3 inch along with a whopping Li-Po 2550 mAh battery, the heavy weight can be justified a bit. But it would have been great if they had managed to lighten the device a bit by at least 25-50 gms.
The back cover feels a lot plastic, but most of the devices these days including Samsung comes with plastic bodies. The body may not feel like a expensive one, but it is durable.
One of the odd things that you may notice is the irregular placement of the Options, Home Key and Back Key from left to right. If you have used a similar device, you will get confused often with the keys.
Hardware and Software
Spice Stellar Pinnacle Pro MI 535 is a dual-SIM device in the Phablet category powered by Android Jelly Bean 4.2 with 1.2 GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM.
During our use, we never felt a lag or any performance issues. Everything was smooth.
The GUI looks same as Android Jelly Bean AOSP or Nexus stock with no additional skin applied on it. Even though the device comes with few additional features as listed below in this review, but everything will look just as an AOSP ROM.
Display
In terms of display, it comes with 5.3 inch IPS LCD Display with a resolution of 960 X 540. This is not a full HD display but a qHD display and if you need a 720p resolution, then you will be disappointed. IT would have been an unbeatable device if it came with a 720p resolution but perhaps compromises like this help reduce the price of the device and make it affordable.
Camera
The device provides an 8MP main auto focus camera with dual LED flash & a whopping 5MP wide angle front camera for video calling.The 8MP camera with Dual LED flash gives you good pictures even with low light. Dual flash gives you enough light to click pictures even in low light. I am not a photographer, so can’t talk about the technical details of how good or bad it is in terms of technical parameters. But for average mobile user, it’s a good enough 8MP camera.
This is the first device that I have came across which comes with a 5MP front camera giving you great video while using the video calls features of using Skype or Google Hangout.
One of the things I wish that they could have integrated the main camera much better with the device. The camera looks like it is not the part of the device. It looks like its protruding out of the device and you can pull it out.
Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, it supports 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and micro USB interface. It also offers support for USB OTG cable straight out of the box giving you the option to connect external devices like Pen drives etc . to the Phone.
Unique features
Apart from the normal features of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean it comes with some additional features like:
- flip to mute,
- dual mic noise suppression,
- intelligent answer,
- direct call,
- pop-up play, and
- boot acceleration.
- USB OTG
Other features include HD video playback and recording, , A-GPS, music player, 16GB built-in memory and 32GB memory expansion capacity.
Full Review [Video]
We are sorry for a bit of focus issue while recording this video during the later half of the review.
Battery
The device is powered by whopping Li-Po 2550 mAh battery giving it good enough power to run it for long hours. When we tested it for almost two weeks, the device lasted for almost a full day or 24 hours with more than moderate use of 3G data.With average and moderate use, it lasted much more than a day in fact almost for one and half days. It makes the device good enough for use without recharging it again. The device hence solves the battery issue which is one of the major issues with most smartphone devices.
Price
Spice Stellar Pinnacle Pro MI 535 is priced well below 15,000 Indian Rupees. On Amazon India you can grab it for just Rs. 13,299 now.
Conclusion
It is a good device to buy if you are looking for a smartphone with big screen >5 inch, quad core processor, good RAM, Dual SIM, big battery under a price range of 12-13 thousand rupees.
But if you are looking for a HD device or need a 720p+ resolution, a lighter device or excellent design then this device is not for you.
