Buying Guides -> Hardware -> Mobile phones Cheap QWERTYsTeam CHIP | 27 June 2011
Cheap QWERTYs
SMS, social networking and e-mail are now standard mobile phone features, and QWERTY handsets make these services a breeze to use. If you're on a tight budget, here are 18 sub-
Twelve keys should be sufficient in any phone for daily use, be it voice calls, taking photos, browsing or even minimal texting. However, when it comes to text intensive applications like heavy messaging, composing emails, tweeting and chatting, the standard T9 input available on most phones is not fast enough and requires multiple key presses, which becomes quite a repetitive task. It is in such cases that a phone armed with a QWERTY keypad comes in handy. The QWERTY keypad has a layout akin to that of your standard keyboard, and like on any PC, is the preferred mode of text input. QWERTY phones have been around since quite a while now, but had always been restricted to smartphones by the likes of Palm, Blackberry and Nokia. Such phones were deemed to be business-oriented and often carried a hefty price tag. Till date, higher end smartphones with QWERTY keypads have a plethora of features, ranging from Wi-Fi to push mail to even an office suite to view and edit documents and spreadsheets. Just like the manufacturers advertize it, it is truly like having an office in your pocket!
Twitter clients and chat applications for phones, combined with cheaper GPRS and messaging plans have led to an increase in popularity of QWERTY handsets. The successful Nokia E series and the Blackberry Curve series of devices is a standing example of the same. Most of these handsets still come under the high-end and mid-range categories. However, there is an emerging market for budget QWERTY phones. Such phones cannot be expected to perform any of your office tasks or replace your laptop as they are mostly Java-based. These devices are targeted towards the entry-level user and are meant for intensive texting and chatting. Eighteen such QWERTY phones, all priced under Rs 7,000, were pitted against each other and evaluated at the Test Center. Dual SIM card support was a persistent feature, found in almost every phone. Twitter, Facebook, chat and e-mail support are features that add to the utility of the QWERTY keypad and ensure it is used to the fullest. While some phones had cut down on frills like Wi-Fi and EDGE connectivity, others had it all; even a mobile TV, making it quite the attractive package. Do these phones truly provide the promised value for money? Are the added features noteworthy or do they just prove to be marketing gimmicks? Let’s find out.
personal take
In the budget QWERTY phone category, where there’s a flood of phones by various brands and every model offers similar features, narrowing down on one device is a difficult task. Of course, you want good performance and the best of features at an attractive price, but things don’t just end there. The ergonomics play a very important role here. If I were to pick a phone from this roundup, I would go in for the Videocon V1676. It has a good feature set, but more importantly, it scores high on ergonomics and overall performance. The Lava B8 is the most feature-rich phone; I would have gone for it had its keypad been comfortable. The tips of my thumbs used to slip to the top or the bottom corner of the keys while typing. Also composing messages with the T9 dictionary activated was very slow.
ANAND TULIANI anand.tuliani@chip.in
The most important factor to keep in mind when buying a QWERTY phone is the ergonomics. Try using the handset for a while, by using the QWERTY keypad to its fullest. Check if it's convenient and comfortable to type, has spacious and tactile keys, and most importantly, has legible letters. A badly designed keypad can create frustration, leading to sluggish productivity and even fatigue. Once you are satisfied with the keypad, you can move on to the other features it offers. Check for connectivity options (Wi-Fi, EDGE, GPRS or 3G), pre-installed social networking applications, memory capacity and camera and display quality. Last, but not the least, bank on the sturdiness of the phone as the build quality should never be ignored. The Videocon V1676 handset fits most of these criteria quite well. The next best deal is the Lava B8. It offers Wi-Fi connectivity, excellent build, great camera and display quality, but the keypad is a bit uncomfortable.
FRANCIS D'SA
Trouncing the Lava B8 in performance, the Videocon v1676 offers a limited set of features, but performs exceptionally with whatever it has to offer. The body of the phone is sturdy yet sleek, and is quite pleasing to the eye; a breeze of change from the flimsy, plasticky shells of most other phones in this range. Despite the metallic build, at just above 100 grams, the phone is not bulky. A rugged battery panel ensures that it suffers no scratches even when placed on rough surfaces. A solitary mini USB port protected by a flap is on the top side of the phone. However, there is no 3.5 mm jack, which means you can’t plug in your favorite pair of earphones. The v1676 is armed with a modest 2 megapixel snapper, which provides good quality pictures in most conditions. However, there is no flash or autofocus. The handset is provided with a 1000 mAh battery rated for 6.3 hours of talktime, which should last long enough. Yet, should you run out of juice, the phone can charge through USB, so getting it back up shouldn’t be a problem. The speaker may not be the loudest, but it plays back sound very well. The keypad consists of tactile keys with high relief, which are big enough to type without much error. The four-way D-pad makes navigation a breeze. The select button, however, could have been slightly bigger. Characters on keys are legible so typing even from a distance is not difficult, but the backlight could have been brighter. Volume keys are raised, which makes it easy to change volume at the flick of a thumb. They also double up as navigation keys in the menu. There is only one shortcut key, which opens the messaging app. Like most other phones in the roundup, the v1676 is a dual SIM, Java-based phone. The user interface is quick and easy to use. The phone starts up quickly sans annoyingly noisy startup tones. Opera Mini, chat applications and Twitter and Facebook clients are installed by default on the phone, making the phone more social networking-centric. Verdict: A classy looking phone with a brilliant keypad. For: Decent camera, good keypad, great speaker. AGAINST: No 3.5 mm audio jack.
The Audiovox AU201 is a feature-packed phone available for a sub-Rs 3,000 price. Its build quality is decent. The surface has a metallic finish, yet is resistant to mild scratches. The design looks good and is original; this is not one of the cheap Blackberry knockoffs. The body has a 3.5 mm jack at the top and a micro-USB port at the bottom. A flimsy portflap covers the latter. The 2.4-inch screen has 262K colors, looks bright and vivid, but has a poor viewing angle. A speaker at the back plays out inferior quality sound and tends to sound shrill. Memory cards cannot be hot-swapped. The battery is a 1100 mAh unit with a rated talktime of 5 hours, and the phone can be charged via USB. The camera on the AU201 has a resolution of 1.3 megapixels, and delivers subpar performance. The results are blurry, overly saturated images with considerable noise even in well-lit conditions. A tiny LED on the top acts as a torch. Ideally, the LED should have been next to the camera and doubled up as a flash. The keypad consists of sufficiently large keys with high relief, so typing isn’t a problem. However, the backlight of the keypad is too dim. There is no predictive or auto-correct text input. A [Caps Lock] button is in place of the [Shift] button at the bottom left, which makes typing yet more annoying. The four-way D-pad is a tiny ring placed around an oversized center button, making navigation slightly tricky. Wireless connectivity includes only Bluetooth; this phone does not have EDGE, which is a standard feature in almost every phone. The UI is themed well and looks good, though it is slightly sluggish and riddled with poor, translated English. Apps for instant messaging are not preloaded. As an alternative, you can find Web shortcuts to Yahoo and MSN. The email application lets you check webmail, but only supports three services - Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. The accelerometer is a fun gimmick that lets you play motion-based games and change wallpapers and tracks with the flick of a wrist. Verdict: Low in price, high on features, and an unsatisfactory performer. For: Great value for money, USB charging, above average display. AGAINST: No EDGE, no predictive text, poor camera. Add your comments
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