Tech startup Smartron launched their budget level Smartron srt.phone for the price of Rs 13999 in India in May 2017. At this price point, it took on the likes of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 4, which dominates the segment. However, Smartron latest Flipkart deal which essentially offers the 4GB RAM and 32GB storage device at just Rs 7500 (price varies with time) is worth a deal.
Smartron is not a smartphone manufacturer but describes itself as an IoT company. The name of the phone srt is linked to the company’s brand ambassador and investor Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. While most Indians love the Chinese smartphones in the budget level segment, Smartron srt.phone is perhaps one of the most underrated devices.
The srt.phone stands out of the crowd with its unique design. Though most phone typically supports metallic unibody designs, Smartron has gone with a plastic design with a removable back cover. Though plastic may seem cheap in the age of metal designs, the body offers a sturdy built with unique chamfered sides all around that provides a good grip. The phone also comes with a Type-C USB port at the bottom something which competitors aren’t offering yet.
Coming to performance, the Smartron srt.phone packs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, paired with 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage. There’s no microSD support, but Smartron has promised unlimited storage in the ‘Tron Cloud’ as part of the phone. The phone can perform every day's tasks quietly easily and as well handle many of the graphics intensive games.
The Smartron srt.phone comes with a 5.50-inch Full HD capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels at a PPI of 401 pixels per inch. A Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top prevents scratches. The display has very good brightness levels and offers great colour reproduction, and the device is viewable even under direct sunlight.
As for the cameras, the device packs a 13MP rear sensor and 5MP front-facing camera. As for the entry-level segment, the cameras of the device are quite poor but still on par with other competitors. The srt.phone packs a 3000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 2.0. Smartron claims this phone won’t get hot too easily, and besides the battery last long even after a full day usage.
On the software side of things, Smartron once again stands out with stock Android with some Smartron apps installed. Smartron has promised regular updates and security patches, all of which matter in a phone. The company will release Android 8.0 Oreo update to the srt.phone.
All of these combined, make Smartron srt.phone a great choice when looking for an entry level. It offers the same features as likes Redmi Note 4, but the price difference is what really a great deal of purchasing this smartphone. The phone is priced at around Rs 7500 on Flipkart and Amazon for the 4GB RAM version and 32GB storage version. But the price changes with time, so make sure you purchase the device when the price hits low.