Reviewing the Datawind Pocketsurfer 3G5

DataWind, popular for its low-cost Aakash tablet and UbiSlate tablets has entered into smartphone market with its new PocketSurfer range – PocketSurfer 3G5. At a price of only Rs.6499, this phone is a an attractive buy at this range.

Package:

Inside the box, you’ll first see the phone itself. Going further inside, you;ll find the accessories; the charger, USB Cable and a pair of earphones along with some documentations.

The packaging by Datawind was quite good and we didn’t find any minus points regarding the packaging. The packaging was simple, but quite sturdy.

Design/ Interface:

The PocketSurfer 3G5 comes with a 4.92”LCD screen with 480x854 resolution.  It comes with Android 4.2 JellyBean out of the box. The phone is powered by a Dual Core MT6572 1.3 GHz ARMv7 Processor along with 512 MB of RAM.

On the left of the phone, you’ll find the power button and to the right, there is only the volume rocker. On the top, there is a slot for charging and data syncing via a USB cable and also the 3.5mm audio jack. At the bottom, there is nothing. The phone has a similar design to that of the Sony Xperia Z1.

On the front there is the earpiece and a tiny VGA Camera above the screen. Below the screen, there are the three hardware buttons; back, home and menu. Going backwards, you’ll see the 5MP camera along with an LED flash which is quite disappointing. There is the speaker beside the camera, which is average

Memory:

The 3G5 comes with 4 GB internal memory which is expandable upto 32 GB via the micro SD card. You also get a bunch of useful pre-installed apps which include educational apps worth Rs.3.5k for free. So that’s a bonus.

Connectivity:

The 3G5 supports up to 2 SIM Cards with GPRS/EDGE/3G W-CDMA.  The phone also comes with GPS, which is widely used these days. Apart from that, there is Bluetooth for file transfer or audio connectivity. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n is also included in this low cost phone. You can also sync files with your PC via a USB cable. The phone doesn’t drop signal quite easily, so it’s good for people who travel often. The microphone is good, the other party was able to hear us loud and clear. Same goes to the earpiece, it’s loud and there are no disturbances.

User Interface:

The User Interface Is quite cool looking on this device with everything white in the background. The icons are also different from other low cost Android phones. The notification panel is also unique and won’t feel like a cheap Android device.

 Performance:

Since this phone packs a dual core processor, it will run almost every app or game available today. The 3G5 score a good score of 2868 in Quadrant, sitting above phones like the Galaxy Nexus and the LG Optimus 2X. Coming to Antutu, this phone gave us a score of 10525 which is a pretty amazing score for a phone which is priced under 7000 bucks. We were able to play Temple Run 2, Riptide GP, Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 4 without any lag. Now that’s a good one, Datawind.

Battery:

This phone comes with a 1600mAh battery which is quite low for a phone with a huge screen. We got around 4 hours of talktime. When it comes to entertainment, the battery lasted for 3 and a half hours until it went empty. The standby time on this phone is around 4 to 4.5 days depending whether you have any data connection on or off. Play an HD game for 3 hours and your battery gets empty. So the battery is somewhat disappointing.

Camera:

The 5 MP camera on this phone is below average. Outdoor pictures are good and bright, but when it comes to indoor photos, the camera sucks big time. Having an LED flash is the same like having no flash. It isn’t bright at all; the torch which comes in Nokia low cost phones seem to be better than this flash.  The VGA camera is also somewhat below average. The colors in both cameras seems washed out. Video recording isn’t that great, but one cannot complain since it is a low cost phone.

Pros:

·         Useful apps installed

·         Smooth UI

·         Performs faster than other phones in it’s price

·         Good build quality

·         Excellent call quality

Cons:

·         Poor camera

·         Battery could have been better

·         Average speaker quality

Conclusion:

At a price of Rs.6500, this phone is a good buy for those who need a good performing phone with a huge screen and those who don’t care about the camera quality. Overall, a good phone going by the complete review. We rate this phone 6.5 out of 10.

That’s it folks. Please leave your opinions about this phone in the comments.