Apples new iPhone,Samsungs S III or the One X from Taiwanese phone maker HTC might be the hottest smartphones today and getting all the attention,but you dont have to break the bank to get the latest gizmo in town. You can easily take home an MTS smartphone that wont burn a hole in your pocket. Sistema Shyam TeleServices that operates its telecom services under the MTS brand has debuted two new Android smartphonesMTS MTag 351 and MTS MTag 352priced at R7,499 and R6,499 respectively. Both the devices have style and speed and are pumped with high-performing hardware and creative software features. However,a few flaws keep them from trampling the competition. The latest launch is in line with MTS strategy to offer a greater choice to CDMA smartphone customers. Recently,both the devices landed on our desk for a product review. The new additions run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and come bundled with unlimited data plans. Strangely,internet access on both the devices was disabled and left me puzzled. I had no other option but to sync the devices with my home Wi-Fi network and check them out. First,the physical appearance. The MTag 351 is apt for the fashionable youth customer and packs a vibrant 8.89 cm 320 x 480 (HVGA) pixel display with capacitive touch. It features a dual camera with flash3 megapixel camera with CMOS sensor at the back,and a VGA camera in front. The phone comes with a 2 GB card in box and memory can be further expanded to upto 32GB to add music,movies,photos etc. It is powered by an advanced 800 Mhz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor,and is based on Android Gingerbread (v2.3). The handset is available in two peppy coloursspicy red and blueish black. The MTag 351 works on the advanced MTS dual channel CDMA network and provides download speeds of upto 3.1 Mbpsfurther enriching the user experience. The smartphone comes pre-bundled with applications like MTS TVallowing its users on the access to Live TV with 100-plus channels; Google Mail,YouTube,Google Maps,Facebook and much more. On its part,the MTag 352 is a stylish and an elegant device. A stylish silver frame sports a large 8.89 cm (3.5-inch) 320 x 480 (HVGA) pixel display with capacitive touch. Much like the MTag 351,this too runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and comes pre-bundled with exciting applications. The smartphone is powered by the advanced 800 MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor and comes with a large 1400 mAh battery. Its camera,wireless capability and memory slot are identical to that of the MTag 351. Away from the statistic specs,what about its real world usage? In my test-run,both these smartphones made surfing and app usage a breeze. The user interface was good and the overall experience was slick and fast and I experienced minimal upset due to performance. However,in both the devices battery life sucks. After 4-5 hours of usage,both the phones needed charging to keep them alive and kicking. There was once a time where the best of the best was limited to the most expensive handsets. To an extent,that is still true of the iPhone,Samsungs high-end phones and BlackBerry devices. However,the open-source background of Googles Android has allowed phone makers to install Android on newer devices and users get a bigger and better phone experience. Take my word,if you are on a budget and want a full Android experience,these MTS phones can be a good option. MTS MTAG 352 Dimensions: 11.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 cm Operating system: Android Gingerbread V2.3 Display: 8.89 cm TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320 x 480 HVGA resolution Camera: 3.0 megapixel Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM,256 MB RAM Memory card: Pre-installed 2GB microSD Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets Internal GPS antenna Estimated street price: Rs 6,499 MTS MTAG 351 Dimensions: 11.6 x 6.2 x 1.2 cm Display: 8.89 cm TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320 x 480 HVGA resolution Operating system: Android Gingerbread V2.3 Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7627 Turbo,800 MHz Camera: 3.0 megapixel with flash (back); VGA (front) Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM,256 MB RAM Memory card: Pre-installed 2GB microSD Estimated street price: Rs 7,499
