As far as the low end phones go, dual SIM based handsets are and will be the next big thing and soon will outnumber the single SIM based devices. Today, many big and small device manufacturers have devices in this segment. Fly – owned by Meridian Mobiles India, is one such brand and has been in the Indian market for a really long time now.
Fly has sometime back came out with a dual SIM handset – the MV 248, which aims to offer more value for money while not sacrificing on the features.
First looks
The MV 248 surely impresses by its bold looks and bright colour combinations – it comes in a carbon graphite coloured body with a choice of highlight in orange and red. Both the colour combinations look great and give it a very youth centric appeal.
While the body has a matte finish, the orange/red highlighted portion comes with a glossy finish, which gives it a stylish look.
Design
The phone’s face has been divided in a 60 – 40 ratio with 60 per cent area being allocated for the display while the rest of the area goes for the keypad. All the keys are placed on the face only making it easier to handle as side keys tend to get accidentally pressed while keeping and taking out the phone from pocket.
Although the phone is slightly bigger than the normal size and a lot thicker but this has been done to accommodate the keypad and the battery which are really big in comparison to most handsets. The edges are curved that add to the overall comfort factor. Also, the corners of the screen have been tapered off to make it easy for the ears for longer communication times without pains.
Display and keypad
The display is a big 2.4 inch TFT- LCD display (non touch) with a QVGA Resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The display reproduces bright and quite colourful images. It has a protective scratch resistant plastic protector as well which is integrated in the outer body of the MV 248 and aims to protect the display from scratches and damages during accidental falls.
The keypad of the MV 248 is great which offers maximum comfort to the users with its spaced out keys and perfect key pitch combination. One thing disliked about the keypad is that the call connect and disconnect keys are kept too close to the numeric keys and may cause problems for speedy typers.
The keypad has a big ‘d pad’ in the center for navigation which is more like a silver/ Chrome ring with a coloured ring in the center of the key which is very easy to use.
Build Quality
Although it’s complete plastic, the device has a good build quality and is sturdy enough to handle quite a few drops and falls. We dropped it on a variety of surfaces from waist’s height and it hardy received any damage.
Also the device seems to be dust resistant as there are not many open cavities or loose spaces between plastic parts on this device but the USB port has no dust cap so it might actually make up for the whole body’s dust accumulation through the cavity.
Call Performance
Being a dual SIM phone, Fly MV 248 can be connected to two cellular networks or two different numbers at any given time. However, it does not feature two-SIM standby feature that allows the other SIM to be active while the first SIM receives a call.
The signal quality of this phone is normal and it works flawlessly in most places. The call sound quality both for the speaker and the receiver are good without any distortion or voice quality loss. The microphone positioning of the phone is towards the bottom of the phone that allows the MV 248 to catch minimal ambience noise as well therby providing a basic level of noise isolation.
Multimedia
The Fly MV 248 has an inbuilt audio video player that supports most popular audio and video formats like MP3, WMA, MP4 and 3GP as well. Plus, the MV 248 comes with a standard mini USB port for transferring files or charging this device from the computer as well.
The MV 248 does not come with a standard 3.5 mm audio connector which is a really big let down from multimedia perspective. It uses the same USB connector for audio connectivity. In terms of music playback, the headset is a big disappointment and even at lower levels the quality goes for a toss. You can try another set of ear plugs but the device has some issues at high volume levels as well.
Just opposite to headsets, the MV 248 has got a big speaker with great sound quality, better than most dual SIM handsets out there in the market.
The MV 248 also features a nice 2 Megapixel camera with flash. The quality of the camera is good in bright light to medium light conditions. In low light, the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to compensate the brightness loss. Ultimately it works as a great camera and when connected to the PC this can also be used as a webcam with inbuilt drivers to work with most Windows based operating systems..
Battery life
One of the biggest advantages of the Fly MV 248 is its big battery that has impressed us to the maximum. The MV 248 has the biggest mobile phone battery ever made in the from of a 2000 mAh, 7.4 Wh rating battery pack. The battery pack powers the device for good 12-14 hours of Talk time along with additional time being spent on music listening too. Overall the MV 248 gives a week long device usage time with moderate usage with between charges.
Finally
The Fly MV 248 is a great bundle of joy for those who want a decent set of features without spending a fortune. For the price it offer multimedia, great battery backup, good looks, and a great build quality.
Though it misses out on a 3.5 mm jack but overall it’s a great deal. Music lovers can easily pair this with a Bluetooth A2DP based headset to enjoy wireless music without worrying about its audio connectivity.
So in a line, the MV 248 offers great set of features and usability by being a good dual SIM based feature phone for a price tag of Rs 2,250 (MRP).