Dual SIM mobile phones today not only offer benefits of two SIMs but have also undergone drastic changes becoming sleek and stylish handsets. Colors X5 is another such dual SIM handset that we got for review at our test center.
Colors Tele Tech has been in the Indian market from quite some time now and in the past we have seen some great products coming for this brand as well. The company has launched the Colors X5 handset to mark its 2nd anniversary. So how well does it stack up against the real world situations let’s find out.
The Colors X5 seems inspired from a couple of mobile phones that we have seen in the past but resembles none. The looks of this mobile are great with a full glossy body and the colour choices offered by the company do justice to the design and makes this device look classy. The body, as we mentioned earlier, also has a glossy finish that adds a few more points to its looks but at the same time is a bit difficult to maintain or keep clean as we live in a sub tropical climate.
The device has a bold size and with a thickness of 12.4 mm, this device gives sure grip to the user and the confidence to talk freely. The edges of the phone are rounded and smoothened which adds a little more comfort in holding and while talking on the phone as well.
The company has spent some good amount of time in designing this phone and by far this has turned out to be a good looking phone and is definitely one of the USP’s of this device.
Keypad and Display
The X5 has a standard Alpha numeric multi tap keypad which settles just below the big silver colored Dpad along with the function keys. The keys are transparent while at the base they carry the same colour as the device’s body giving it a neat look. All the keys except the Dpad are of the same size but are spaced out well so that the user does not feel any discomfort while using them even for longer durations. Also the Dpad and the center key are quite comfortably placed and the Dpad is raised slightly above than the rest of the keys which enhances usability.
The display is powered by a 2.4 inch QVGA 320 x 240 pixel resolution based TFT LCD screen but with a higher Pixel density than the displays featured on most dual SIM based devices out there. The display is quite vibrant and the colour reproduction is quite accurate. The display although small is good for viewing pictures and video watchers will also not be disappointed by it.
Build Quality
Despite having a plastic body, the build quality of the device is good. The Colors X5 can withstand the jitters of daily use easily with a few occasional drops added to it as well. The display is protected by a protective plastic shell but be careful as it get scratched very easily.
Also the glossy finish of the device is prone to scratches but good thing that the company has provided a protective soft case with the device to keep it safe and protected in case of drops and falls.
Call performance
The Colors X5 gives good call connectivity between different cellular strength areas and even with 1-2 bars worth of network, the call quality is good. Being a dual SIM device means that it can be connected to two cellular networks at the same time but it has a single SIM standby mode which means it can be connected to only one SIM in one go.
In terms of earpiece loudness and clarity, the Colors X5 again fairs well but the microphone could have been better especially considering that most of the times we people deal with noisy conditions. Bluetooth connectivity is standard with A2DP so you can connect any hand free and stereo hands-free as well.
Operating system and Multimedia
The user interface of the Colors X5 is a custom built interface and has no resemblance any other phone provided by any other mobile phone company and possibly is the only one to offer language options in Hindi and Marathi after English. The menu has a grid type layout with bold icons making it easily accessible for the user. Accessing the menu is easier and as the name a lot of colours have been added to the menu and interface as well.
On multimedia front, the X5 is a decent performer. The phone supports up to 8 GB of external storage, though the company did not bundle any Memory card with this device. The X5 has an inbuilt audio video player that supports most popular audio and video formats like MP3, WMA, MP4 and 3GP as well. Besides, the X5 comes with a standard Micro USB port so no compatibility issues will be faced by the users also.
The 3.5 mm Audio Jack connectivity allows it to connect to any audio device very easily. In terms of music playback, the device’s loudspeaker is great but the headset works good from low to medium volume levels and at high levels the quality goes for a toss. You can also try plugging in another or a better set of ear plugs but the device itself has some issues with playback at high volume levels.
The Colors X5 also features a 1.3 Megapixel fixed focus camera at the rear with no built in flash. But there is a flash light provided on the top of the phone. The camera does a good job by clicking decent visuals even in low light conditions as well but it’s useless without the flash for night photography.
Battery backup
The device features a 1250 mAh battery pack that is capable of powering this device for up to 3-4 days of standard usage that includes up to 1 hour of calling and music usage per day. But the battery backup will differ from usage of one person to other. The bottom-line here is that the battery backup is good and acceptable as the X5 won’t let you down.
Finally
To sum it up, the Colors X5 is a nice effort by an Indian mobile phone player to present something stylish to the market and it packs in enough features and looks to be liked by many on the first look itself.
It impresses with its performance and decent multimedia capabilities but surely with a price tag of Rs 2,149, the Colors X5 becomes a good value for money offering that you won’t regret even after months of usage.