Spice Mobiles launched the cheapest Android Mobile phone in India, Spice MI300. Here is a review of Spice MI300 by Tech Expert Mayank Sehgal
Overview
The Phone seems to have sparked an Android revolution in India. I finally was able to get a device for review and how I feel about the phone is expressed here. I was joined by a Retail outlet seller and courtsey him, we got the first handset in the market.
On the beginning the phone couldn’t have been better, the price, the features, touch screen, Android, 5 MP Camera, E- compass and lots and lots more. The buyer couldn’t ask for more features in a phone at that value.
The phone comes in a yellow packaging which is indicative of the company’s colors. In the Box you get
- The Spice MI 300
- Battery
- User Manual
- Service Center List
- Warranty Card
- Headset
- 2 Gb Memory Card
- Charger and Data Cable
- Android 2.1
- WIFI
- Bluetooth
- AGps
- HSDPA 3.5G
- 170 Mb onboard memory + 2gb card – upgradable to 32GB
- 5 MP Camera with autofocus and flash
- Video at 30 FPS
- 600 MHZ processor
- 3.2” 480 x 320 HVGA Capacitive touch screen
- Android and Spice Marketplace
- 1250Mah Battery
Display
The Spice MI 300 comes with a brilliant Touch screen LCD display, which is fully capacitive and a 3.2 inch display is quite large and looks nice on the device. The MI 300 also sports a native HVGA Resolution which is 480 x 320 p. The Display has a very high resolution and there is hardly (or close to none) pixelation on the screen.
That being said, the negative aspect of the screen is that it is only 262k color, so, what does that means? The answer is fairly simple; the depth of color of the screen is much lower on the Spice MI 300 compared to other higher end models and some in the similar price range. Although, this difference is not easily visible to the average consumer but those with better experience will see the low depth of color.
The other thing to note about the MI 300′s Display is the fact that it is ultra glossy, which may appeal to some people, and is definitely a hit with the ladies, and there is no gloss that a cheap Rs.200. Anti – Glare protector wont solve. (I wish Spice would have included one though)
The Keys
The keys on the Spice MI 300 consist of 4 touch sensitive buttons below the screen and several hardware keys
Including
- Send and End Keys
- Trackball with center button
- Volume rocker
- Power and Lock key
- Camera / custom key
The hardware keys are nice, But, the software keys require a bit of getting used to, especially since they are not backlit, It may cause some people problems in dark or low lit places.
The Camera
The Camera on the Spice MI 300 comes with an awesome spec-sheet
- 5 Mega Pixel
- AutoFocus
- Led Flash
- Video Recording
But, I was truly disappointed with the performance of the camera. The camera failed to focus on several occasions, and when I did find focus on the ultra glossy screen, the camera was too slow for our shaky hands to get a good picture, in most cases we ended up getting blurry or pixelated shots.
The Camera Hardware seems alright, maybe, a better implementation of the software could improve this (lets hope this happens)
The Camera Hardware seems alright, maybe, a better implementation of the software could improve this (lets hope this happens)
The Sound
The sound quality of the MI 300 is average or a little better, except that the headsets provided with the phone seem cheap, to look at, but, have decent quality sound. A 3.5 mm audio jack gives you the expandability and flexibility of using any headphones in the market or even connecting to car or home stereo via an AUX cable.
The earpiece speaker produces good sound, and the mic captures all of your voice with ease due to the convenient location, which is just under the send key.
The Loudspeaker on the phone is at the back so it gives a subdued sound when on a soft surface like the bed or in a Pocket. Otherwise, produced nice sound and the phone also come with some good ringtone.
The earpiece speaker produces good sound, and the mic captures all of your voice with ease due to the convenient location, which is just under the send key.
The Loudspeaker on the phone is at the back so it gives a subdued sound when on a soft surface like the bed or in a Pocket. Otherwise, produced nice sound and the phone also come with some good ringtone.
The Internals
The Spice MI 300 comes with some features that most phones, which are much more expensive, tend to leave out. The most notable hardware qualities of the MI 300 are
- The E-Compass
- AGPS chip
- Wi-Fi
- Capacitive HVGA Screen
- 600 MHZ CPU
- Accelerometer
- Proximity sensors
Out of the above the most impressive are the capacitive touch screen, the E- compass and AGPS,
The Maps application located me faster than any phone that I have tested and the E- compass was accurate in pointing me in the right direction.
The Accelerometer also performs surprisingly quickly and did not disappoint in delivering correct orientation while using the device.
The Maps application located me faster than any phone that I have tested and the E- compass was accurate in pointing me in the right direction.
The Accelerometer also performs surprisingly quickly and did not disappoint in delivering correct orientation while using the device.
The Operating System
Android is the most sought after OS in the mobile phone industry today. Android brings together the sheer usability a user needs, and the open source system that a developer needs, to form a perfect union of both on the Mobile Phone. The Android market place gives you access to the huge collection of apps including games, productivity apps, language tools, audio video apps, and an endless number of things that you could possibly ever need on your phone.
The Android Os on the MI 300 is still in the pre mature form of Donut(1.6) which lacks the sheer user friendliness and customizability of the newer 2.1 Eclair Build, Spice promises an update soon.
Some things that work exceptionally well, software wise,
The Android Os on the MI 300 is still in the pre mature form of Donut(1.6) which lacks the sheer user friendliness and customizability of the newer 2.1 Eclair Build, Spice promises an update soon.
Some things that work exceptionally well, software wise,
- Maps- It’s the best implementation of the Maps app on a Android device in this price range, with the help of some navigation software, the MI 300 could replace the GPS in your car.
- Browser – the web browser is fast and snappy and supports kinetic scrolling and pinch to zoom (which is not up to the mark, but, works none – the – less)
- Youtube- if you are one of those people who watches a lot of youtube videos, the MI 300 will not disappoint.
The operating system, works and operates very smoothly, and the processor has no problem supporting the several applications and multitasking (which is not properly available yet on the 1.6) But, will work exceptionally well with the 2.1 update.
VERDICT
Its time for the result,
The Display - 7/10
Nice Capacitive display, with large 3.2 inch screen and good resolution, lacks the color depth and the glossy screen is a problem outdoors. But, with an antiglare screen protector, we were able to get beautiful, results and thus the screen is impressive.
Keys – 7/10
The hardware keys are nice, but the software keys lack backlight, which makes it a problem in the night. Once, used to the location of the keys, we found ourselves, using them without a problem.
Android OS – 9/10
The best thing that could have happened for the Spice MI 300 is the Android OS, looks and works great.
Camera – 4/10
The Camera is bad, pictures are pixelated and lack focus in most cases, video is only in recorded in VGA mode.
The Sound – 7/10
The sound quality is good, the on board earpiece is nice and loud, mic works well and the headphones can be replaced with better ones thanks to the 3.5 mm Jack
Build quality – 6/10
The Phone is very plasticy, the top screen is only the nice looking aspect, and the built quality leaves a lot to be desired. But, at this price you cant really complain, the phone feels good in the hand and at the end, that’s what matters.
Battery – 6/10
Battery on the phone lasts for about a day with everything turned off (wifi/bluetooth etc) which is not the best battery life for a phone like this, But, most battery issues are due to the Donut build and will be improved as the 2.1 is rolled out, Also, if you don’t use wifi and Gps a lot, you shouldn’t be bothered with battery life.
HARDWARE – 8/10
The kind of equipment the MI300 has is hard to find in most phones, that gives the MI 300 a direct advantage over the others.
Usability and Price – 8/10
The device is highly user friendly, and since it posses Android, is very customizable. The Price can’t be beat at 9990 INR.
Network – 7 / 10
The spice MI 300 supports 3G so its future ready in India and wifi is an added plus in the equation.
A Total Score of 69 / 100
Or a 3.5 / 5.0 which make this phone a very good Buy.
Hey, Spice… You got a Market Here….!!
Review by Mayank Sehgal
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