NOKIA E7
Price: Rs 17,499
Specs: 2.46-inch display; 8 MP camera; 8GB internal storage,expandable to 32 GB; Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G; 133 gm; 1500 mAhbattery.
Bag It Or Junk It? A worthy upgrade if you are a Nokialoyal.
A Worthy Upgrade? If you loved your Nokia E71/72 and werewaiting for a worthy upgrade, your anticipation has finally come to an end.Nokia launched its latest member of the E-Series, the E6. By bringing thecapacitive touch interface and the physical QWERTY keyboard in a candy bardesign, the company has managed a good job. There is a marginal increase in thedisplay size from its predecessor's 2.36 inches to 2.46 inches. Initially, wefaced some difficulty in using the dual interface (touch input at places andpress keys at others) but soon got the hang of it.
This phone operates on Symbian Anna. On the small touchdisplay, Nokia has added up to five customisable home windows where a user canadd shortcuts and active widgets. One thing we liked was the pendingnotifications box at the left bottom that lists missed calls and new messages.The menu remains unchanged, and the E6 sports the traditional folder look butwith round icons. Long press the home key to view the running apps in thebackground, re-launch or close them. Configuring an email account was simple.Nokia has also enhanced the web browser's capabilities. In addition, the E6 hasapps such as Adobe Reader, F-secure, QuickOffice, Zip, Communicator and filemanager.
HTC CHACHA
Price: Rs 15,500
Specs: 2.6-inch display; 5 MP camera; 512 MB RAM,; Memoryexpandable to 32 GB; GPRS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G; 120 gm;1250 mAhbattery.
Bag It Or Junk It? A good messaging phone but sadlyoverpriced
Update Facebook: The company with the tag line 'Quietly Brilliant'has once again hit the bull's eye with its Facebook phone. The HTC ChaCha comeswith a dedicated 'f' key in blue at the bottom. Hitting the key allows you todirectly update the status on their Facebook wall or post images from a galleryor those captured on a camera. You can also post on a friend's wall byselecting the friend's name from the list. By long pressing the 'f' key, youcan check in places on Facebook. For anything else like checking Facebookstream, notifications, chat, etc, you have to go to the dedicated applicationthat comes preinstalled on the phone. Many users would think the phone givesmore bragging rights than utility value.
But the ChaCha is also a smartphone operating on Androidv2.3.3. It is a candy bar phone with touch interface and QWERTY keypad. The2.6-inch capacitive display looks a bit small but HTC has smartly overlaid theSense UI, including a great unlock screen and nohassle launching of four appswithout unlocking the screen. The QWERTY keypad and the four touch sensitivekeys are comfortable to use. Long pressing the fullstop compensates for theshortcut key by launching the camera and even allowing you to click images.
NOKIA C2-00
Price: Rs 2,967
Specs: 1.8-inch display; VGA camera; 64MB RAM; Memoryexpandable up to 32GB; GPRS, Bluetooth; 1020 mAh battery
Bag It Or Junk It? Pick up the Nokia C2 instead of adual-SIM phone from domestic players.
Easy Swap: Cashing in on the growing market for dual SIMphones, Nokia is busy launching a few handsets in this segment. The latest oneis the Nokia C2. While the C2 may look like any other entry level Nokia phone,it is still designed well. The extra small 1.8-inch colour display isaccompanied by an alphanumeric keypad. Usually, in a dual SIM phone, both thecards are placed together. But here the SIM tray 1 is hidden below the batteryand the SIM tray 2 is on the right panel of the phone.
The right navigation key below the displays indicating'SIMs' allows the user to select the preferred SIM for calling, texting orbrowsing the Web. Although both the connections stay active all the time, oneremains blank while accessing a call on the other. The main menu consists of aLife Tools icon that offers information on education, healthcare,entertainment, agriculture. Other
MICROMAX X450
Price: Rs 3,999
Specs: 6.1-cm display; 2 MP camera; Memory expandable up to8 GB; GPRS, Bluetooth; 1000 mAh battery.
Bag It Or Junk It? Ideal for a hassle-free mobile experienceat an affordable price.
Two-In-One: Do you often cup your hand while talking on aphone and wished you had a Bluetooth headset? But remember, that this meansyou'd have to carry it everywhere and charge both the phone and the headsetdaily. Micromax Mobiles has come up with a handset that has a Bluetooth donglefitted smoothly in the back panel of the phone. The lightweight headset waseasy to wear throughout the day but callers complained about the lack ofclarity when talking over the headset. You can select the BT Audio path from"leave in the phone" or "forward to Bluetooth headset".
The headset stands out at the back as it is done in blackgloss while the back panel has matt finish. Other than this feature, the X450in itself is a convenient, candy bar phone with two SIM slots hidden below thedisplay. It has a 2 MP camera at the back with a 3.5 mm audio jack and chargingport on the top. The phone comes with a 1000 mA h battery that lasts rightthrough the day with Bluetooth connectivity.
