Google is all set to change the face of budget Android market, yet again. The company has finally announced a trio of phones under the Android One initiative in India in the form of the Spice Dream UNO Mi-498, Karbonn Sparkle V and Micromax Canvas A1.
Under Android One, devices will come with automatic backup on Google Drive, two-year software support from Google, carrier billing and some other additional feature such as Google Now integration for IRCTC train reservations, updated sports cards. Though, they will ship with Android KitKat 4.4.4 one can expect Android L when it is released officially. And because they are launching in India, the first devices will have support for seven Indian languages including Hindi.
Spice Dream UNO Mi-498 – Rs 6,299
First among the trio Spice’s Dream Uno sports a 4.5-inch screen with FWVGA (854 x 480 Pixels) IPS LCD display. The Spice UNO Mi-498 will come with entry level specifications. The phone will be powered by a MediaTek SoC with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and Mali 400 GPU paired with 1GB of RAM. The rear camera will be a 5MP shooter complete with an LED flash unit and ability to shoot full HD videos. The front camera is a 2MP one. It will come with 4GB internal storage with the option of adding a microSD card of upto 32GB capacity. The phone will be powered by a 1700mAh Li-ion battery. Spice claims the battery will offer 10 hours of talk time and 160 hours of standby time. The device will be available in white and back colours.
Karbonn Sparkle V – Rs 6,399
With a similar set of specs, the next in line is Karbonn’s Android One device. The Sparkle V sports a 4.5-inch display featuring 480 x 854 pixels of resolution. The device is powered by the same MediaTek chipset, and also includes 1GB of RAM. As Sundar Pichai had mentioned at Google I/O, Android One phones will come with a dual-SIM configuration. On the camera front, expect a 5MP rear snapper and a 2MP frontfacing camera for those selfies and video conferencing. When it comes to conectivity, the devices cover it all from Wi-Fi and 3G to GPS and Bluetooth. The 4GB internal memory is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card slot. All of this is fuelled by a 1700 mAh battery. It is already listed on Snapdeal and comes in Magnum Blue, Mild Grey, Wild Red and Pearl White, and bundles an 8GB microSD card for free.
Micromax Canvas A1 – Rs 6,499
Completing the triumvirate, the Micromax Canvas A1 sings a similar tune in terms of specs, with a 4.5-inch display featuring 480 x 854 pixels of resolution. It is powered by a quad-core MediatTek chipset with the CPU clocked at 1.3GHz coupled with 1GB of RAM. The 4GB onboard storage is expandable up to 32GB via microSD. It has a 5MP rear snapper and a 2MP front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat and is upgradeable to Android L. The connectivity options are also same as the other two Android one-based devices. The 1700mAh battery finally completes the overall package of the Micromax Android one device. It will available exclusively on Amazon.in in white and black options.
As you clearly see, all three device carry almost the same specs, so there’s isn’t anything exclusive about any of these devices as far as the hardware goes. Now, it all boils down to the build quality, and the design choices made by the companies. And of course, there’s the question of after-sales service, which will be handled by the brand itself and not Google. So which one do you think looks the best of the lot?
