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Business News/ News / Business Of Life/  On a new path
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On a new path

HTC offers a new, affordable phablet; and a novel OS tests your ability to learn quickly

HTC Desire 816G.Premium
HTC Desire 816G.

NEW DELHI :

Big-screen phones have been popular with consumers who prefer extra screen space. HTC has been quite focused on this area, and the latest Desire device is testament to that.

And, if you thought you had seen everything with the smartphone operating system (OS), think again. Jolla’s Sailfish OS has a steep learning curve; you will have to remember a new set of smartphone usage gestures.

HTC Desire 816G

18,990

Car manufacturers tend to use the same platform (engine, chassis, transmission, etc.) for multiple models in their line-up, and smartphone makers seem to be following their cue. HTC has taken this seriously, with its latest affordable phablet, the Desire 816G. On the outside, the 816G and the 816 (launched in May) look similar because of the same outer shell. That is not a bad thing, because the phone feels well built; clearly no corners have been cut as far as the quality of materials used is concerned. While the dimensions are the same, the 816G is 7g lighter. Available in blue and white, the bezels around the screen get a soft-feel finish, while the back panel has the shiny enamel look.

In terms of the specifications, there are three major differences: While the 816 supported 4G networks, the 816G only has 3G hardware; the 816 was powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, but HTC has swapped this with a MediaTek quad-core CPU clocking at 1.3 GHz; and RAM has been reduced to 1 GB from 1.5 GB.

Performance is, even with the slightly cut-down specifications, still good. The interface navigation is fluid, and five apps can be open simultaneously before any sluggishness shows up. For a mid-range smartphone, this pretty much gets the job done, as long as you aren’t expecting a multitasking workhorse.

The 13-megapixel camera captures good amount of detailing without losing out on clarity. There is a hint of noise reduction in post processing, but not aggressive enough to make the photographs look less sharp. We did notice the “tap to focus" didn’t work when clicking in landscape mode, but that could be an isolated issue with our test device.

A price comparison of the Desire 816G and the Desire 816 ( 24,000) is when the hardware tweaks make sense. The idea is to have a phone available to consumers at more affordable price points. And without any perceptible performance degradation, we would say this effort has been largely successful.

Jolla smartphone

16,499

With four major OS—Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS, BlackBerry 10 and Microsoft’s Windows Phone—already available the Indian market, it is clear that Jolla’s Sailfish OS will have a tough time making a space for itself. And based on our experience with the smartphone (also called Jolla, thus making the name Jolla Jolla), things don’t look bright.

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Jolla is a Finnish start-up, formed by former Nokia employees. The company is using the MeeGo software as a base for its OS. Incidentally, the MeeGo platform was created jointly by Nokia and Intel in 2010-11, but was put on the back-burner soon after. The Jolla smartphone is currently the only phone that the company makes. It is clear that the success of Gionee and Xiaomi didn’t go unnoticed, motivating Jolla to make a rather belated entry in the Indian market.

Jolla packs in fairly decent specifications—the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor also seen in most mid-range phones, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage, an 8-megapixel camera and a fairly big 2100 mAh battery. The 4.5-inch in-plane switching (IPS) screen is vivid, but the 960x540 pixel resolution isn’t enough.

There are no issues with the performance in general. The problem lies with the OS.

The bezel around the screen is touch sensitive, which enables the plethora of gestures that Sailfish relies on. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the notifications. When an app is open, swipe down from the top to minimize it. In the dialler app, swipe down to select whether you want to punch in a number or choose a contact to call. While all these gestures work consistently well, it is a massive learning curve for every single user, no matter how proficient with the latest technology.

The phone’s design isn’t very sleek. At 9.9mm, it is thicker than almost all the other smartphones available in the same price bracket.

We aren’t really sure why anyone would want to switch to the Sailfish OS. It doesn’t offer any visible advantages over its rivals, and if you really want the swipe gestures, consider the BlackBerry 10 phones—they are much easier to get a hang of.

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Published: 28 Oct 2014, 09:30 PM IST
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