A whooping 19 handsets were launched last month by device makers in different price brackets which includes few feature phones as well. Here is a list of the handsets launched in February.
Samsung Rex 60, 70, 80, 90
To counter Nokia’s Asha series of handsets, Samsung last month announced a new range of feature phones, under the name Rex, in the price range of Rs 4,280 to Rs 6,490. The series of smart feature phones, as it is called by Samsung, includes Rex 90, Rex 80, Rex 70 and Rex 60.
All the four handsets come with 1000 mAh battery and have pre-installed social network applications like Chat On, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and GTalk.
Rex 90 is the costliest handset among the four, with a price tag of Rs 6,490. It comes with an 8.89 cm (3.5 inch) LCD display with capacitive touch and HVGA (480×320 pixels) resolution. It comes with dual SIM with ‘True Hot Swap’ ability.
Rex 80 is cheaper than the Rex 90 and comes with dual SIM but without hot swappable feature that allows switching SIM cards without shutting down the phone. It has a 7.62 cm (3 inch) capacitive touchscreen with QVGA (320×240 pixels) resolution, 3 megapixel rear camera, and WiFi. It has eight home screen options with Touchwiz user interface.
Like the Rex 80, the Rex 70 has a 3 inch capacitive display with QVGA (320×240 pixels) resolution. It has however dual SIM with true hot swappable feature. It too comes with Touchwiz user interface with eight home screen options. Besides, in the Samsung Rex 70, there is a 2 megapixel camera.
Rex 60 has a 7.11 cm (2.8 inch) touchscreen display with QVGA resolution. It is a dual SIM handset as well and comes with Touchwiz user interface, 8 home screens, 1.3 megapixel camera and preloaded applications.
You can read more about these handsets here.
Micromax Canvas HD:
The biggest launch of the month is undoubtedly this handset which comes with a 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek MT6589 processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and 1 GB of RAM.
There is 4 GB of internal storage in the phone which can be expanded to up to 32 through a micro SD card. Besides, 5 inch display screen Micromax Canvas HD has a dual camera including an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front unit. Importantly, it is priced at just Rs 14,000 and thus was sold out within hours of its launch.
You can read its review here.
Swipe MTV Volt
The Swipe MTV Volt is a 6 inch screen bearing phablet that comes with an exclusive inbuilt TV-player offering viewers on-the-go access to the content of MTV. The Swipe MTV Volt offers some nice hardware specifications as well that include a 1 GHz dual core processor based on ARM Cortex architecture. The processor is supported with 512 MB of RAM for faster operations and the Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system. The device’s 6 inch capacitive touch input system based display features a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels; the unconventional size adds utility and portability both to the device.
The phablet has 4 GB of internal storage slot which can be further extended to another 32 GB with the use of an external micro SD memory card. There is an 8 megapixel main camera that supports video recording and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. The Swipe MTV Volt V3 features a 3200 mAh battery pack which comes with a claimed 8-10 hours of battery backup time. Along with that the Swipe MTV Volt also comes in a V4 variant with a 4000 mAh battery pack for longer backup times.
Huawei Ascend Y210D
The Android 2.3 based Ascend Y210D also has a 1700 mAh battery which is made of Huawei’s Power Saving Technology that claims to give up to 30 per cent more battery life. The phone will be available in two colours – ceramic white and phantom black. Huawei Ascend Y210D is claimed to boot up in five seconds, and also features a 2 megapixel camera with CMOS sensor.
It is priced at Rs 4,999
Swipe Fablet F2 and Swipe Fablet F3:
Swipe Fablet F3 comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Dual 3G SIM, 1 GHz dual core processor and 512 MB RAM. It has 4 GB built in memory which is expandable upto 32 GB. It also has a 2200 mAH battery.
The phone weighs 260 grams and boasts a 0.3 megapixel camera in the front and a 5 megapixel rear camera. The Fablet F3 comes with three Free Back Shells (Black, White and Trendy Blue colours) and a free flap cover. Fablet F3 offers Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi and 3G connectivity as well.
The Swipe Fablet F2 has similar specifications as the Fablet F3 except that it comes without 3G connectivity, making it the only 5 inch phone in the market without 3G connectivity.
Swipe Fablet F2 and Fablet F3 are priced at Rs 7,590 and Rs 9,290 respectively.
Videocon A27
The Videocon A27 is a dual SIM smartphone based on Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and costs Rs 5,999. Videocon A27 is powered by a Broadcomm single core processor running at 1 GHz. The device has 512 MB of RAM along with 4 GB of internal storage, of which only around 2.2 GB will be available for users. The storage can further be extended to 32 GB with the help of micro SD memory cards.
Its 4 inch capacitive display comes with 480 x 800 pixel resolution and multi touch support. The smartphone has a 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording videos at 30 frames per second wile its 0.3 megapixel camera in the front can be used for video calling and to record videos as well.
The Videocon A27 has dual SIM GSM connectivity supporting 3.75G networks. It also gets Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS as standard. There is a 1500 mAh battery pack for powering the device that promises a claimed 4 hours of 2G talktime.
Konka:
China based Konka has made its debut in India with two Android smartphones under its Expose series. The phones, called Expose 960 and Expose 970, are priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 14,999 respectively.
The Expose 960 comes with a 4.3 inch display with WVGA (800×480) resolution while the Expose 970 has a 4.5 inch IPS display with qHD resolution of 960×540 pixels. Both the phones come with 8 megapixel camera at the back and 2 megapixel front camera.
Both the phones offer dual SIM connectivity, 1 GHz dual core processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM (inbuilt memory) and are based on Android 4.0 operating system. To know more about these handsets, click here.
Intex Aqua Wonder:
It is a Dual-SIM 3G enabled smartphone is powered by a 1 GHz Dual core processor and 512 MB RAM. The Intex Aqua Wonder comes with a 4.5 inch IPS panel display with qHD (960X540) resolution and a 8 megapixel rear camera with features like Autofocus and Dual LED Flash. The phone also has a 1.3 megapixel front camera for video calling. Intex Aqua Wonder gets 1.93 GB Internal Memory which is expandable upto 32 GB via a micro SD card.
The phone is equipped with light, motion and gravity sensor and offers 3G, WiFi and Bluetoothconnectivity and also has GPS for location based services. The is powered by a 1800 mAH battery with claimed talktime of 3.5 hours and a standby of upto 72 hours.
The phone comes with free 4 GB micro SD card, phone pouch and screen guard. The phone competes with the likes of Spice Stellar Virtuoso Mi-495, Byond B63, Karbonn Smart Titanium 1, and Salora PowerMaxx Z1.
You can read its review here
Lava Iris 351, Iris 454 and Iris 502
Indian handset manufacturer, Lava launched three handsets in the month of February including Iris 351, Iris 454 and Iris 502.
Iris 351, priced at Rs 3,900, is a dual-SIM phone. It is powered by Android Gingerbread operating system, and has 1 GHz processor, which is backed up by a 256 MB RAM. For connectivity, there is GPRS, EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS but it doesn’t have 3G. The Iris 351 has a 3.5 inch HVGA (480×320 pixels) screen. In the camera segment, the mobile has got a 2 megapixel camera on its back panel. The new Lava Iris 351 has FM radio and 16 GB expandable memory as well but it misses out on Proximity sensor.
The smartphone has a 1300 mAh battery with claimed Talk time of 3 hours 30 minutes on a single charge and 9 days backup. Though Lava has not officially announced the phone, it is available across major online retail websites.
Lava Iris 454 comes with an 8 megapixel camera with Auto Focus and LED flash. It also has aVGA (0.3 megapixel) camera in the front. Surprisingly it comes with an HDMI port, which can be used enjoy the content of the phone on a HDMI television.
The phone has 4 GB internal memory and Lava is also offering a 4 GB micro SD card for free with the phone. While the there are several other phones with similar features in the Indian market from players like Salora, Spice, Karbonn, Byond and others, this one is one of the cheapest in the market. It is priced at Rs 8,499,
The Lava Iris 502 comes with dual-SIM configuration and runs on Android Jelly Bean operating system. It has a 1 GHz single core processor and 512 MB RAM. It has a 5 megapixel camera on the back side of the body while a VGA camera is in the front for video chat and self-portrait images. The Lava Iris 502 comes with 2 GB internal storage and one can add upto 32 GB micro SD card to it for added storage space. The device offers Bluetooth and USB connectivity for file transfer. Besides, Lava Iris 502 comes with 2000 mAh battery, FM radio, G-Sensor, proximity sensor, and 32 GB expandable memory.
Celkon A27, A220 and A225
Celkon launched three handsets in the Indian market last month.
The Celkon A225, which is priced at Rs 9,299, has the best feature set among the three such as a 4.7-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) IPS display and Android Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system. The phone sports 4 GB internal memory, 2100 mAh battery, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. The phone also supports up to 32 GB of expandable memory.
The other two phones – Celkon A27 and Celkon A220 – are based on Android 4.0 aka ICS operating system and have 4.63-inch FWVGA display and 4 GB internal memory. The A27, which is the more expensive of the two with a price tag of Rs 8,999, has a bigger 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. It has a slightly smaller 1800 mAH battery though compared to the 2000 mAh battery of Celkon A220 which costs Rs 8,499.
You also get a back cover with a pouch with Celkon A27. The A220 has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 1.3 megapixel front camera.