Spice Dream UNO First Impressions : Android One

After the announcement of Android One at the I/O 2014, Google finally launched the first batch of Android One devices in India out of which cheapest being Spice Dream UNO Mi-498 at Rs.6299/- with several offers. As an Android One device this will get all the updates directly from Google two years ahead since launch and is currently running on stock Android 4.4.4 KitKat. Due to Google’s partnership with Airtel, Airtel users will be able to download all the updates free of cost and will get 200MB additional data for downloading apps from the Google Play Store. 

Users also get 15GB Google Drive storage and 10GB Spice Cloud storage free of cost. Due to no other gimmicky apps pre-installed and no UI customization this device feels premium in hands and the build quality is also very nice. Though the camera and speaker quality which is placed on the rear of the device is not up to the mark but considering the price point this compromise seems fair and just. This device is equipped with 1700 mAh battery which boasts of a talktime upto 17 hours on 2G and 10 hours on 3G but takes slightly more than 3 hours to recharge fully. The screen pixel density is 218 ppi which is nice as compared to some Samsung phones in this range. This device performs quite well in terms of processor and RAM as 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek processor coupled with 1 GB RAM will be able to run normal apps like Temple Run swiftly . Screen is normal with out any Gorilla Glass or DragonTrail glass protection. Light sensor and Proximity sensor works like a charm.

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Although this phone hardly has any competitors other than two Android One devices in case of software updates but it might face hardcore competition in this price bracket from Redmi 1S and Moto E. The detailed specifications of Spice Android One Dream UNO are listed below:

Box Contents: Handset, Headset, Charger, User Manual, Warranty card, USB Cable, Service center list, Battery

SIM Size: Dual-SIM (micro SIM)

Display: 4.5 inch LCD IPS Display(218 ppi), 854 x 450 pixels

Camera: 5 MP rear camera with LED Flash capable of Full HD Recording, 2 MP front camera

Processor: 1.3GHz Quad Core MediaTek

OS: Android 4.4.4 KitKat

Graphics: Mali-400MP

Operating frequency: GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 and UMTS-2100

Battery: 1700 mAh, 17hrs(2G) and 10 hrs(3G)

Memory: 1 GB RAM, 4 GB ROM (expandable upto 32 GB)

Sensors: Gravity, Light, Proximity, Gyro, magnetic Sensor

3G: 21 Mbps HSDPA, 5.7 Mbps HSUPA

Navigation: A-GPS with Google Maps

Others: Edge, WiFi, FM, Bluetooth

To sum-up this is a great budget phone and timely updates from Google are a great plus if one can compromise with camera and speaker quality.