Android One smartphones are official in India and all three phones are offering the same Hardware+ Software in different packaging. At the launch event, we got to spend some time with Karbonn Sparkle V and since we have already spend some quality time with Spice Dream Uno, we found this one to be essentially the same phone from a different brand.
Karbonn Sparkle V Quick Specs
- Display Size: 4.5 inch IPS LCD capacitive touch screen with 480 x 854 resolution
- Processor: 1.3 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6582
- RAM: 1 Gb
- Software Version: Android 4.4.4 (Kit Kat) OS
- Camera: 5 MP AF camera
- Secondary Camera: 2 MP front-facing camera FF [Fixed Focus]
- Internal Storage: 4 GB with 2.2 GB user available
- External Storage: Expandable up to 64GB
- Battery: 1700 mAh battery Lithium Ion
- Connectivity: 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, aGPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
- Others: OTG Support – Yes, Dual SIM – Yes, LED Indicator – Yes
- Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and magnetic field sensors
Spice Sparkle V Video Hands on Review
Coming soon
Design, Build and Display
The Karbonn Sparkle phone looks similar to Spice Dream Uno with a circular ear piece and same button arrangement. The headphone jack is present on the top edge, while power key and volume rocker are both housed on the right edge. The rear side is again neat with slightly bulging rectangular camera sensor at the top left corner and Android One branding at the bottom. Bezels are bigger than what we like, but overall the build quality won’t be a deal breaker in this price range.
The IPS LCD display is 4.5 Inches in size with 854 X 480 Pixels, amounting to 217 pixels per inches and onscreen navigation keys further reduce the effective display size. The resolution didn’t seem scarce on the display, while viewing angles and color seemed decent enough. The display is good, but not the best that we have seen in this price segment. Also missing is Gorilla Glass protection o and oleophobic smudge resistant coating.
Processor and RAM
The processor used is 1.3 GHz MediaTek coupled with 1 GB RAM and Mali 400 GPU. UI interactions are very fluid. In Spice Dream Uno we got 18,146 on Antutu and 63.5 on Nenamarks and you can expect a similar benchmark score in this phone as well.
On Spice Dream Uno Casual games worked fine. we couldn’t install and play most common games like Front line commando and Blood and Gory. This one too shouldn’t be considered as a gaming smartphone due to limited storage.
Quick Buy Now Android One Phones
Micromax Canvas A1 – http://goo.gl/o3meLL
Karbonn Sparkle V – http://goo.gl/oTtXuA
Spice Dream Uno – http://goo.gl/R58DUP
Camera and Internal Storage
There is a 5 MP AF rear camera which can be rated as an above average performer from our initial time with the device. The rear camera can record 1080p full HD videos while the front 2 MP unit offers 720p HD video recording. The camera app is quite basic.
Internal storage is the downside here. There is only 2 GB internal storage on board and it’s hard to accomplish much with that amount. Since Google is involved, (and Google doesn’t love SD card) we were expecting at least 8 GB internal storage on Android One phones. Apps cannot be transferred to SD card. If you are buying a budget android smartphone, most likely you aren’t much used to living on Cloud either. Nevertheless, Google is offering 35 GB of Google Drive storage bundled with the device.
User Interface and Battery
Software is pure Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, uncontaminated with any kind of bloatware. The software is the highlight of this device as its directly controlled by Google. You can expect timely Android L update (with minimum bugs) which will further improve the performance.
Battery capacity is 1700 mAh, which isn’t very impressive either. We will comment more on the battery backup after we have spent some more time with the device.
Karbonn Sparkle V Photo Gallery
Conclusion
Android One smartphones and Spice Sparkle V isn’t dazzling as far as hardware goes, you can find several other phones with more glittering spec-sheet. Only 2 GB of user available memory is again something which will negatively affect user experience. However, the phone is a celebration of Google’s Stock Android and how it has become resource efficient in later versions. Buy it if you are a basic user excited to use upcoming Android L without spending much.
