Intex Aqua Star II 8GB
Score
Intex Aqua Star II 8GB Mobile Price in India
Nowadays people want feature rich handsets at a reasonable price range. Home grown companies like Intex are all about offering the same features in their smart phones as their foreign competitors but at an affordable price tag. That is why it evoked a lot of competition in Indian smart phone market, which in term gave birth to lots of new companies like Micromax Mobiles and Rage Mobiles. Intex's freshly launched entry level smart phone Intex Aqua Star II has taken the market by storm because of its richness in latest features. So let's take a quick look at what it has to offer.
Features and Specifications
Intex Aqua Star II is a dual sim smart phone equipped with a large 5" capacitive FWVGA IPS touch screen which boasts flawless video playback. The screen has a resolution of 854 x 480 which is a little lower, but quite good for an entry level smart phone. The IPS screen has a color density of 262 K which provides crisp and better picture. The phone is rigged with a 1.2 GHz Quad core processor with SC7731 chipset along with a Mali - 400 MP2 GPU which makes it easier for the phone to handle high fps games efficiently and play HD videos seamlessly. The phone is loaded with Android v4.4.2 KitKat which is another plus point of this handset. Intex has always been careful about choosing the right camera for their handsets and till now have done a great job equipping its smart phones with great quality camera. Like Intex Aqua Star HD, the Aqua Star II also features an 8MP rear camera with auto-focus. There is an LED flash present beside the camera for assistance in low light photography. The rear camera has the ability to record HD 1080p videos and comes with features like Gesture Capture, Panorama Shot etc. The phone also has a front facing 5 MP camera which has the ability to take good quality selfies and is suitable for video call sessions. The phone is equipped with a 1GB RAM which is enough for running the smart phone smoothly. Along with this it also features an 8 GB internal storage or ROM which is quite impressive in this price range. A microSD card slot is present which gives you the ability to expand the storage space up to 32 GB. A 2000 mAh battery provides the power to run this beast of a phone, which in my opinion will drain out pretty quickly but still considering the price tag Intex Aqua Star II features a better battery than its competitors. The phone also features microUSB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and has the ability to support USB tethering and Wi-Fi hotspot.
Design and Style
The phone comes in the option of two stock colors, black and white. Both of them colors suit the phone very well and compliment its look. The phone is ergonomically designed to give you better grip without tiring your hand. The buttons are also placed efficiently for easier access. The phone is only 8.95 mm thick which gives it a slender look. The dimensions of the phone are 71.5 x 142 x 8.95 mm. The phone only weighs about 160 gm which makes it efficient for everyday use. Because of its shape, the phone can be carried in any pocket regardless of its size. Overall the phone has a sophisticated and sleek look which challenges the design of many expensive smart phones.
OS and Tech
The phone is preloaded with Android v4.4.2 KitKat which is not the latest version of the Android OS, but it does not affect the performance of the device. But is still lacks some more advance features offered by the updated OS. Equipped with a 1.3 GHz Quad core processor and a Mali - 400 MP2 GPU this phone can perform multitasking at ease. The phone also comes with an advance multitasking feature which allows the user to pin any video playback and enjoy it while doing other works. The development team at Intex has implemented a feature in this smart phone which allows you to customize the whole appearance of the phone's splash-screen and menus.
Camera and Multimedia
The phone is equipped with an 8 MP rear camera with auto-focus which is great for taking good quality images. It also features an LED flash which makes low light photography easier. At this price range the phone also offers a front 5 MP camera which is quite impressive. The front camera has the ability to take brilliant selfies and provide great video calling sessions. The advanced features of this phone allows you to take selfies by pressing down the volume control key which is ergonomically placed to take selfies efficiently. The phone lacks a screen with higher resolution, but at this price range an 854 x 480 pixel screen is quite good. The screen promises to deliver razor sharp picture as it is an FWVGA IPS screen. The inbuilt player is loaded with latest codecs to support almost any kind of audios and videos. As always Intex has done its best to provide a true multimedia smart phone.
Battery and Memory
The phone is rigged with a 2000 mAh battery which is not the best in market but is not that bad either considering other companies provide lower capacity batteries at this price range. Intex claims that the device will be able to provide talk time of up to 7 hours and standby time up to 150 hours, all in 2G network mode. But still you will have to charge the phone about 2 times a day. As mentioned earlier the phone has an internal storage space of 8 GB and is expandable up to 32 GB. The phone also features 1 GB RAM which guarantees lightning fast performance, better gameplay, flawless movie playback and great net surfing experience without hanging.
Pros and Cons
Pros
· Ergonomically designed
· Extremely slim and sleek
· Better processor and 1 GB RAM plus GPU
· Features a stable version of Android OS (KitKat)
· Good camera
· IPS Screen
· Affordable price
Cons
· Mid-range battery
Verdict
The Intex Aqua Star II provides a number of best in class features for an affordable price tag. Though it is not the best smart phone in the market, still it has some unique features and qualities which puts it ahead of its competitors like HTC Desire VC, Micromax Canvas Viva A72 and Rage OPS 45Q. So this handset can be your go to smart phone if you have a pretty tight budget, as it offers a lot of advanced features for an entry level smart phone.