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Isn’t it strange that you’re literally driven into the welcoming arms of the ‘Chinese’ mobiles if you’re looking for a dual SIM phone? All that’s set to change with Intex, the desi IT peripherals giant, launching their dual SIM phone range. And the IN 6622 and the iSmart are but a taste of things to come from them.
Now, while Intex phones may not be Chinese clones, their muses are very apparent. The iSmart is clearly gunning for the BlackBerry look, with design inspirations from the previous gen Curve, right down to the trackball and the QWERTY keyboard layout. Which is not half bad, given that it is light and easy to pocket, but the bright blue trackball really messes with the otherwise good looks. Switch it on, and the unabashed Blackberry-isms continue with the user interface as well, except that this time around, the user interface is rather sluggish and unpredictable. Expect to spend some time figuring out the user interface with this one. Where it does score is the dual SIM (GSM + GSM) functionality — it’s very clear when you’re making/ receiving calls or sending messages which SIM you’re using, and the UI is tweaked to make this feature work well.
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The rest of the phone has pretty basic features — you get WAP/GPRS but no Wi-Fi, FM and MP3 playback but below average camera, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo but poor battery performance. All in all, you get a phone that had potential to do so much more, but you eventually get what you paid for. For its price, I’d almost call it a fair tradeoff, but the performance issues niggle.
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The IN 6622 is the budget touchscreen handset in the dual SIM family, and while features are largely similar to the iSmart, the IN 6622 has a slightly larger (2.8-inch) QVGA touch display. A touch display at this price essentially means you get the less sensitive resistive display which is a bit touch-and-go when it comes to registering your on-screen jabs. The trackball is quite unlike the iSmart’s, and functions more like an OK button, which is rather confusing at first. I did, however, like the ‘SIM Lock’ feature, which locks your phone to the SIM with a password. Steal the phone, and the phone is pretty much useless with any other SIM.
At Rs 4,800, the 6622 is a stylish, affordable phone, and shows you just how affordable a hitherto premium technology (touch) has become. Goes to prove that at either ends of the budget spectrum, times can only get more exciting!
Intex IN 6622
• Rating: 7/10
• Price: Rs. 4,800
Intex iSmart
• Rating: 6/10
• Price: Rs. 4,600
• URL: http://intexmobile.in/
