Micromax India 1 is one such device, which has been launched by domestic smartphone manufacturer Micromax in BSNL’s partnership. Will India be able to challenge 1 Jio phone? Does India 1 justify its price right? Let us know the answers to all these questions in the review.
Micromax India 1 Design
Micromax India 1 has a 2.4 -inch display and has a pneumric keypad on the front. The resolution of the display is 240×320 pixels. The viewing angles are not good and the color also looks washed out. The phone has two buttons, a center bun with de-pads, calls and disconnect buttons and number pads. The buttons are made of plastic and come with blue backlight. The button is difficult to use. Loudspeakers also work with earpiece in the phone. The handset has a VGA selfie camera on the front and a 2 megapixel primary camera has been given on the rear.
The rear panel of the phone can be removed. It has a 2000 mAh battery. Battery removal will show two micro SIM slots and a microSD card slot. India 1 has a micro-USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Like the second budget phone, India 1 also has a flashlight at the top. The flashlight can be turned on if the navigation button is held in the middle for a long time.
Micromax has a headset and charger with India 1 in the box that comes with a micro-USB cable. The charger is of 3.5 watt and it has been claimed to charge the phone’s battery in three hours. However, if the company had given a separate micro-USB cable separately, it could have helped transfer the file between the phone and the computer.
Micromax india 1 specification and software
In terms of Rs 2,200, the specification of India 1 looks very good. Micromax India 1 has a dual-core Snapdragon 205 processor and 512 MB RAM. The phone has 4 GB inbuilt storage which has 2.13 GB for the use of the user. It is possible to increase storage through microSD cards up to 128 GB. When connecting to a computer, the phone automatically goes into storage mode by default and it helps to transfer the file easily.
The Jio Phone (Review) has only one SIM slot and apart from this, India 1 has a dual SIM device. It is a dual sim device but only one SIM supports 4G and VoLTE. The second SIM will be limited to 2G or 3G network and there is no way to know what speed you are getting. We noticed that the phone works properly on the SIM card of all networks i.e. it is not lock for any one network.
The handset has Wi-Fi support which can be used to access the Internet in the event of mobile data off. You can setup a Wi-Fi hotspot through the USB port. You can share the file with another device through Bluetooth connectivity. The phone does not have NFC. Shocking is that you get GPS but there is no app for its use.
Micromax told Gadgets 360 that India runs on a customized version of 1 Android. But the company did not give any clear information about this, but we were indicated by using some apps and service and UI that they were designed for Android 4.4 KitKat which is now several years old. The phone does not have any app draw and a tile is a menu. And everything can be exhausted through the menu using the depad. It is easy to navigate through the menu. But there is no shortcut in the four buttons of the depad so that the app can be launched quickly.
WhatsApp and Facebook light icons have already been given in India 1 but it will be necessary to download them first to use them. The T9 tips on the keyboard are already enabled by default but you can switch between various input methods. D-pads can be used as cursors for many apps but it is inconvenient. For example, WhatsApp does not seem completely optimized for such phones. We tried to make a video call on WhatsApp and we could talk without any trouble. Apart from this, there is a link to YouTube website, a web browser, music and video player. The phone also has a file manager and FM radio. Apart from this, there is a fun app from which access to live TV, video and movie is available but this content is very low compared to Jio phone.
WhatsApp and Facebook light icons have already been given in India 1 but it will be necessary to download them first to use them. Micromax has also given a link to YouTube website, a web browser, music and video player. The phone also has a file manager and FM radio. Apart from this, Zeda is a fun app of TV from which access to live TV, video and movie is available but this content is very low compared to Jio phones. Apart from this, the screen is not good to see the content due to screen size and bad viewing angle.
Given that the phone runs on Android, we tried to download some APK. But it seems that Micromax has disabled it. There is no way to enable it, which means that you will not get full fun of Android operating system. Apart from this, there is no voice assistant in it like a Jio phone and you have no option to connect the phone to the TV to see the content. There is no way to download or sideload another Android app in the phone.
Micromax India 1 Performance, Camera and Battery Life
The hardware of Bharat 1 is extremely basic and software also does not act like Android of a smartphone, so we did not have much expectations. The performance of the phone is average. We had trouble while dialing and typing the number. Even while typing any number, the dialer does not register some numbers. Previously installed video players do not support all format but we have played an HD video file that was easily played.
If you have used a touchscreen Android phone, then it can be difficult to use a phone with a keypad. However, the user using smart feature phones for the first time should easily get used to it.
Micromax Bharat 1’s battery life is fine. Even after using a lot of calls and WhatsApp, the phone’s battery lasted more than 2 days. There is no way to install another app in the phone, so we expect to get such a battery life. However, if you use hotspots, battery consumption will be faster. The device can also be charged using USB tethering while sharing data.
The rear camera of India 1 does not have autofocus which is also valid in terms of its price. We found that there is a problem in the viewfinder even in daylight and in low light it works negligible. The app is practice and can be switched between mode and zoom through D-pad. The app can change white balance from the app and the exposure level and timer can be set as needed.
There is an option in the setting list to switch between the rear and selfie cameras, but a tuggle would have been better. Both cameras are working and photos look good only on the small screen of the phone. There is a lack of detailing in the pictures and if you are not stable then most of the photos will be blurred. The selfie camera also has the same problem and we saw Croma Noise in most indoor pictures. VGA (640×480) can record resolution videos from front and rear cameras but the result is less than average.
Our decision
If you want a feature phone in which Facebook and WhatsApp are also found in addition to calling, then Micromax India 1 is a good option. You will have to spend Rs 2,200 and India 1 will be yours. You can use it with any service provider of your choice. If you use Bharat 1 with BSNL, then you will get enlightened calls and data in a recharge of Rs 97.
India 1 is better than Jio phone due to Wi-Fi hotspots, USB tethering capacity and not being locked for any single network. But, in this phone you do not get entertainment content like a live phone. However, Micromax has limited Android features. The phone has no play store nor is there any way to install the app. That is, you will have to work with the apps you get in the phone.
If you are looking for your first smart feature phone or second backup device, then India 1 will not disappoint you.