As speculated earlier, Google has officially kickstarted the Android One smartphone campaign in a media event today. The budget Android market is pegged for exponential growth and the fact that a majority of the population are shifting from the basic handsets to low-end budget smartphones.
The Android One program was announced back in June during the Google I/O 2014 event. The purpose of this program was to provide up-to-date Android software with stock Android UI to budget smartphones under $100 (around Rs 6,000). It was announced that Android One smartphones would be powered by quad-core MediaTek processors to start with and would feature satisfying performance without any compromise.
The first smartphones in the Android One program are the Micromax Canvas A1, Spice Dream Uno and Karbonn Sparkle V. All these devices fall in the Rs 6000 – Rs 7000 price bracket.
Due to Google’s efforts to standardise hardware for Android One program, All these smartphones have similar specifications. They all feature a 4.5-inch WVGA display, 1GB RAM, 4GB onboard storage, Dual SIM card slots, expandable storage, 5MP primary camera with autofocus and LED flash along with 2MP front-facing camera.
Micromax Canvas A1 Specifications
- 4.5-inch IPS LCD display, WVGA (854 x 480 pixels resolution)
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB of RAM
- 4GB ROM, 2.5GB for apps, microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- 5MP primary rear-facing camera, autofocus, LED flash, full HD 1080p video recording
- 2MP front-facing secondary camera
- Dual SIM (GSM + GSM), 21Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS and 3.5mm headphone jack
- Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Gyro Sensor
- 1700 mAh battery, 160 hours stand-by, 6 hours talk-time (3G)
Karbonn Sparkle V Specifications
- 4.5-inch IPS LCD display, WVGA (854 x 480 pixels resolution)
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB of RAM
- 4GB ROM, 2GB for apps, microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
- 5MP primary rear-facing camera, autofocus, LED flash, full HD 1080p video recording
- 2MP front-facing secondary camera
- Dual SIM (GSM + GSM), 21Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS and 3.5mm headphone jack
- Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass, Gyro Sensor
- 1700 mAh battery, 17 hours talk-time (2G), 10 hours talk-time (3G), 113 x 66 x 10.4mm
Spice Dream UNO Specifications
- 4.5-inch IPS LCD display, WVGA (854 x 480 pixels resolution)
- Android 4.4 KitKat
- 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, 1GB of RAM
- 4GB ROM, 2.27GB for apps, microSD card slot (up to 32GB), 10GB storage on Spice Cloud
- 5MP primary rear-facing camera, autofocus, LED flash, full HD 1080p video recording
- 2MP front-facing secondary camera
- Dual SIM (GSM + GSM), 21Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0, A-GPS and 3.5mm headphone jack
- Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Compass, Gyro Sensor
- 1700 mAh battery, 17 hours talk-time (2G), 10 hours talk-time (3G), 67x132x9.15 mm, 107 g
Google has gone an extra mile by partnering with Airtel to provide free Android updates to Android One users along with 200MB of WhatsApp usage for the first six months at no additional cost.
The Spice Dream Uno is available on Flipkart while the Karbonn Sparkle V is available on Snapdeal. Micromax Canvas A1 will be sold exclusively on Amazon. These devices will start retailing post 3:30 PM today and they will be available on traditional brick and mortar physical stores just in time for the festive season of Diwali.
