Karbonn Sparkle V review: This Android One phone is like a Bollywood masala potboiler

[iSK]

New Delhi: One of the major
differences between marrying a guy
your parents picked out for you
versus dating the college hottie is the
thrill of chase and rebellion. Your
'susheel' husband might not sport 6-
pack abs, or gel his hair with the
precision of television commercials,
but more likely that not, he'll make
you happy in the long run.

The same parallel can be drawn
between the humble Android One
Karbonn Sparkle V (which has been
developed in partnership with
Google) and the dazzling array of
smartphones available in the market.
So without further ado, here's what
we liked and disliked about the
phone:

Look and feel:

If looks could kill, Karbonn Sparkle V
is totally a non-violent phone. With a
severe nondescript look, the phone
does not carry any brand name or
logo on the front - something that a
few companies have adapted in
recent times. A simple rectangular
bar with a screen size of 4.5 inches,
the Karbonn Sparkle V scored a point
with us for being easy to use and
handle with one hand. Given its
price, the phone offers satisfactory
viewing angles. The phone's earpiece
speaker is located exactly on top.

Turn it around and the only contour
on the otherwise flat back is the two
small squares that house the flash
and the back camera. The power
button and the volume buttons are
located on the right side of the
phone, which took me a while getting
used to.

Quite like other phones in this price
segment, this phone too supports a
microSD card for additional storage.
The matte finish at the back adds to
its looks, but is prone to smudges.

Getting to know:

Confession: I have been spoilt by the
pure Android experience of Google
Nexus 4 for over a year. So I had
some reservations - fine, withdrawal
symptoms - while swapping it for
Sparkle V. I was happy to see that
Google brought the similar stock
Android experience (as we have seen
on the Nexus devices and the Google
Play editions of the some flagship
smartphones) to entry-level Android
smartphones. We tried all the usual
apps - Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Gmail, Hangout, Maps and
cough cough Tinder, and the phone
didn't stagger courtesy of its quad-
core processor clocked at 1.3GHz.

The Karbonn Sparkle V, currently,
runs Android 4.4 KitKat, but as the
phone has been jointly developed by
Google, we expect it to soon get the
Android 5.0 Lollipop update. (Google
is expected to globally start the
Android 5.0 Lollipop rollout process
sometime next month.)

Mingling and social interaction:

I was happy to see that the 2
megapixel front camera was very
good for Google Hangout video chats,
and the 5 megapixel rear camera was
good for Instagram-type use, but the
quality of photos seen on the big
screen left something to be desired.
Music streaming sites such as Saavn
and TuneIn work really well; so does
YouTube. With the power and volume
buttons located on the same side, it
was a little cumbsersome to take
screenshots.

Battery and speaker The phone's
speaker located at the back produced
fairly loud and quality sound - even
in noisy environments. Its speaker,
however, is trumped by the Moto E -
in terms of loudness. Even with the
heavy usage, the phone's 1700mAh
battery had enough juice to last for
almost a day.

Verdict:

For a price tag of Rs 5,999 (on
Snapdeal.com), this dual SIM (3G+2G)
phone is like a Bollywood masala
potboiler. The ingredients are all
there and it makes for an action-
packed combination; but the 'wow
factor' is missing. Priced aggressively,
the phone competes with the likes of
Moto E and Xiaomi Redmi 1S. The
phone fared well but we suggest you
to take a look at other available
options in the same price bracket
before making a buying decision.
Rating: 2.75/5

Karbonn Sparkle V review: This Android One phone is like a Bollywood masala potboiler