The price of entry level budget smartphones are getting lower day by day and we are able to grab Android smartphones eve for a low budget these days. Today we will be reviewing a similar entry level budget Android phone with a price of ~Rs. 4,000. Sometime back, we reviewed Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X Mi 504 which was another budget Android smartphone, but a bit costly (approximately Rs. 2,000) than Smart Flo Mettle 4X. This review is based on almost 2 weeks of regular usage of the review device that we received.
Hardware and build
I have always liked the build quality of Spice smartphones. Even though they use plastic at the back and front too, use of a metal frame in the device results in pretty good and durable build for the device. Same is the case with Smart Flo Mettle 4X. In terms of design, it’s almost same as that other models of Spice including Smart Flo Mettle 5X. Even though the device body is of plastic, the build was sturdy enough. The back cover was pretty good with almost half of the portion with fine finish letting you hold the device better. It doesn’t look like a budget smartphone.
In terms of hardware, it doesn’t pack great hardware. But considering the fact that it is priced at ~Rs. 4,000, the hardware that comes with the device looks decent enough. It is powered by Dual core 1.0 GHz processor,even though the CPU make was unspecified. After running CPU-Z, we got to know that its a Mediatech processor.
The device comes with just 256 MB RAM which is almost half of the RAM from devices like Smart Flo Mettle 5X or Lumia 520. The small amount of RAM obviously will not let you play heavy games on the device or run heavy apps. The small amount of RAM also result in slow UI on the device and you may not like the slowness if you have used the better hardware devices which are much more expensive than this one.
The speakers with the device were not loud enough. It was good only if you want to listen to music using speakers from very small distance of maximum 2-3 meters.
Display
It sports a 4 Inch (10.1 cm) WVGA capacitive touch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 Pixels which looks good enough if you consider the price point. The touch response of the device was not that good enough and the UI lagged a bit clearly showing that the device needed more RAM for a smoother UI. Obviously, you should not be comparing it with high end devices with higher price range.
Camera
Even after being a budget device, Spice has managed to put both Primary and Secondary camera even though the quality of camera can be debated on. It comes with a 3.2 MP Primary Camera on the rear along with LED flash, while the front one being the 1.3 MP.
The quality of the main camera is just OK to take pictures for sharing them on with friends on web or social network like facebook or twitter. Obviously you need good lighting condition to click some decent pictures. The front cam of 1.3 MP can be used for video calls or IM clients like Skype or Hangouts, obviously the quality of the images taken are not good but something is better than nothing at the price point.
Storage
The device comes with mere 512 MB of internal storage out of which only 200 MB of space being available to end user. But considering the fact that it supports expandable memory upto 32 GB using MicroSD cards, the end user can easily manage this without worrying much about the space. The only problem being, unless you insert a micro SD card, you cannot use the camera to click pictures or record videos and you cannot install games like Temple run or subway surfers. Hence, if you want to use camera or play games on the device, you must insert a micro Sd card first.
Connectivity
The device comes with dual SIM support (2G+2G – Normal SIM). You read that right. The device doesn’t come with support for any 3G network and hence if you plan to use this device on a 3G network now or in future, then this isn’t for you. Apart from that, it comes with support for WiFi/Edge connectivity, Bluetooth etc.
Battery Life
The device is powered by 1,450 mAh, Li-Ion battery. In our use, the device lasted well above one day with normal usage of the smartphone with moderate use.
Software
The device is powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with UI almost same as stock Android. It comes with default stock Android applications along with few apps from Spice like spice cloud. For browser, the device comes pre-installed with opera mini web browser for Android.
It also comes with support for FM radio which is quite popular and sought after feature for entry level budget sensitive customers in India.
Video Review
Brief Specs:
- 4 Inch (10.1 cm) WVGA capacitive touch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 Pixels
- 1GHz Dual Core Processor with 256 MB RAM
- Android v4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
- 3.2 MP Primary Camera and 1.3 MP Secondary Camera
- 512 MB ROM with expandable Storage Capacity of 32 GB
- Dual Standby SIM (GSM 2G + GSM 2G)
- Wi-Fi / Edge Connectivity
- 1450mAh Li-ion Battery
- FM Radio support
Conclusion
The device is a budget smartphone and is available on online portals for a price of ~Rs. 4,000. If you are a price sensitive customer or on a very tight low budget and can bear with a small amount of lag on the smartphone and don’t plan to use 3G, then this device is pretty good enough. I am yet to see a Android smartphone in this price range or perhaps I haven’t come across any better ones.
