The major Indian carrier – Idea Cellular have today unveiled two dual SIM smartphones – the ID 920 and the Aurus III. Both phones are successors to previously released phones. The ID 920 succeeds the ID 918 while the Aurus III succeeds the Aurus II which was launched earlier. The phones are priced at 4950 INR and 6990 INR respectively.
Speaking of the hardware, the Idea ID 920 comes with a 3.5 inch touch screen which supports an HVGA resolution of 320×480 pixels. The preinstalled OS will be Android version 2.3 Gingerbread, which is really out-dated by now, Idea could have done much better in this department, as this might be a deal-breaker for many. The ID 920 will sport a 1GHz single-core processor, coupled with 256MB of RAM. There will be only 512MB of in built storage, but with an option to use microSD cards of up to 32GB in size. The device will also come with a 2MP rear camera for your photography needs, and there will be no front camera. The device will support 3G at a maximum of 7.2Mbps, and will also have WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS radios built in. A 1,400mAh battery will be powering up the phone, which is quite small compared to todays standards.
These specifications would hardly lure anyone to buy this phone, given that many better options are available from Micromax and Karbonn. As mentioned earlier, the ID 920 will come with a price tag of 4950 INR. We think Idea could have done better and priced the phone at around 3,500 INR, after all no one buys a phone without doing research these days.
To speak of the other release, the Aurus III, it looks like a much better option than the ID 920. The Aurus III comes with a 4 inch WVGA capacitive touch screen, the same 1GHz single core processor, but coupled with double amount of RAM, ie 512MB. There will also be 4GB of on boards storage which is much better when compared to 512MB on the ID 920. As mentioned earlier, the Aurus III will also be a dual SIM device supporting GSM networks on both SIMs. There will also be an option to use 3G on one of the SIM slots. On the camera front, there will be a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front camera for video calling and casual photography.
The Aurus III will also have the same 1,400mAh battery which is very small for a 4 inch phone. The phone will come loaded with connectivity options such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS. The price tag the Aurus III would carry would be 6990 INR.
Idea have also come up with a data subscription scheme to lure buyers. With a recharge of 261 INR, users will get 1GB and 1.6GB data on the ID 920 and Aurus III respectively. It will also come with a free subscription of Idea TV for the first 3 months. These phones can be bought from online retailers, as well as Idea outlets across the country.
