First Cut: Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus

Karbonn yesterday launched three smartphones - the Titanium Hexa, Titanium Octane, and the Titanium Octane Plus. We have already posted our first hand impression of Titanium Hexa and Titanium Octane. During the launch event we did also spend some time with the Titanium Octane Plus which is an upgraded version of the Karbonn Titanium Octane. Here is our first cut of the Titanium Octane Plus.

Design : The Karbonn Titanium Octane is a much different product than the Titanium Hexa and the Titanium Octane when it comes to the design. To start with, it comes in black colour and not red as the Titanium Octane. Like the Octane, it too has a removable back panel. As compared to Titanium Octane, it is a bit taller (147.3 mm vs 145.7 mm) and even wider (72.6 mm vs 71.2 mm). Also, it is quite slim with a thickness of just 7.6 mm. It comes with broader side panels and not curvy ones as is found in the Titanium Octane.


Display : In the Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus, there is a 5 inch touchscreen. It comes with full HD resolution, unlike HD resolution of Karbonn Titanium Octane. Also note that this is an IPS panel and it has good viewing angles as well. There are three off-screen buttons below the display as well.

Camera and Storage : The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus comes with a 16 megapixel camera at the back with auto focus feature. There is an LED light besides it as well but we have not tested the quality of the flash light during photography. We though managed to capture snaps via the rear camera in default setting which looked good in the first place but we are yet to test its capability in different lighting conditions.


Performance : The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus comes armed with the 1.7 GHz clock speed based Mediatek MT6592 octa core processor. As I said earlier, it has 2 GB RAM. Also, it is based on the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. Though Karbonn has not mentioned the GPU of this handset, we expect it to have the Mali 450 GPU and anyway with 2 GB RAM and the octa core processor, it should give a flawless performance but again we would like to reserve our comment till an in-depth review.

Connectivity and Sensors : The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus too has dual SIM slot like the Titanium Hexa and Octane. Also, this HSPA+">HSPA+ enabled handset has WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, and micro USB port.


Conclusion : The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus is priced at Rs 17,990 and is set to hit the retail market next month. Its chief opponenets, Intex Aqua Octa and Micromax Canvas Knight, are now available for around Rs 19,500. Not only price, but feature wise too the Titanium Octane Plus has a bit of advantage as it has the latest Android KitKat operating system unlike the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean version in the other two.

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Budget Windows Phone devices from Karbonn, Lava will start at Rs 6,000; to launch this June

Domestic handset players Lava and Karbonn will launch Windows-based smartphones in the coming few months. Karbonn’s Windows Phone devices will be in the price range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000, while Lava’s range will start at Rs 6,500.

“We will come out with four devices with Windows-based operating systems by the end of May or starting June in the price range of 6,000-12,000,” Karbonn Managing Director Pradeep Jain told PTI.

Lava International CEO and MD Hari Om Rai said: “A series of Windows-based phones will be launched under the Lava brand by July. These will be priced in the range of Rs 6,500-8,500.” He said the phones would be have Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processors and feature the Windows Phone 8 platform.

“We expect the Windows-based phones to represent 8-10 percent of the volume of Lava smartphones starting July-August” Rai added.

For Xolo brand of phones, the expected timeline of launch is the coming quarter. “We at Xolo believe that Windows OS has certain goodness to offer for a certain market segment and it will help us reach a desired 15 percent share of the smartphone market by end 2014,” a Xolo spokesperson said.


Last month, at the Mobile World Congress Microsoft had announced that it would be working with nine new Windows phone partners, including Foxconn, Gionee, JSR, Karbonn, Lava (Xolo), Lenovo, LG, Longcheer and ZTE. HTC, Huawei, Nokia and Samsung are already making Windows-based devices.

As per the IDC figures of the last quarter of 2013, Android had a 78.1 percent share of global smartphone shipments while the Microsoft Windows Phone platform share stood at 3 percent.

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Karbonn Titanium X review: It's all about the screen

Of late Indian manufacturers have been trying to give high end specs at medium range prices. This is good for people who want the full Android experience. The Karbonn Titanum X is one such device.

Quick Tech Specs: 5 Inch Full HD IPS display | 1.5GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6589 processor | 1GB RAM | 16GB storage | 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Bluetooth 3.0 | 2300mAh battery | Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Design: Despite its very plasticky rear panel, the Titanium X has a decent built quality. A metallic body would have gone better with the overall image and name of the phone. At 143 grams, the device does not feel heavy though it looks a bit bloated. The volume rocker is on the left and the power buttons of the right and this takes some time to get used to. The micro-SIM slot is on top under a flimsy flap and being a unibody design there is no SD card slot. Below the screen is a three-key backlit panel that lights up as you touch it.

Screen: The best thing about this phone is undoubtedly its Full HD screen. This is among the cheapest phones that comes with one. You will realise the quality of the screen as soon as you switch on the device. The one glass technology adds to the value of this screen and prevents it from accumulating fingerprints. However, some of the preloaded games and apps failed to rise to the high standards set by the screen. If you are planning to use this for watching movies, the speaker might be a bit of a problem.

Performance: With 1.5GHz quad-core processor, the phone can easily multi-task and be sprightly when you are using it for gaming. The device came up with decent benchmark results that put is somewhere between the Google Nexus 4 and the Samsung Galaxy S3. The phone can manage graphic heavy games like the Robocop with ease and does not heat up like some of its contemporaries. The browsing is also fast, even with multiple tabs open.


Memory: While most so called top-end phones come with just 4GB of inbuilt memory, half of which is taken by the OS and app, the Titanium X gives about 10GB of free space. Though the company claims 16GB internal memory, we could find only about 14GB on the device of which about 10 is free. With no slots for a micro-SD card, a lot of buyers might look for other options.


Software: The Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system is what you would expect it to be. Karbonn had added some customized apps like Karbonn Zone and Karboon Live, but nothing that you would really want to use.


Camera: The camera is the worst part of this phone. The 13MP camera is anything but good and even the dual flash fails to redeem it in anyway. Pictures lack detail and clarity even in full daylight. Plus, there is a significant shutter lag.

Verdict: At a street price of Rs 16,500, this a decent Android phone with the sort of specs that you can flaunt. The screen is definitely what you are paying the money for. Don’t buy this if you like to take a second look at picture shot with your phone camera.

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Karbonn Mobiles to launch dual-OS smartphones in June

Homegrown mobile phonemaker Karbonn Mobiles is all set to launch dual-OS (operating system) devices, which will support both Android and Windows, by June.

The company has just signed the licence agreement with Microsoft to make Windows-based phones and will put this along with its existing Android system to bring out the dual-OS phones in about six months, the company's chairman Sudhir Hasija said.


This comes soon after Nokia moved out of its Windows-only strategy to launch low-cost smartphones that run on the Android operating system.


"Microsoft has eased the regulations and is opening up its platform for other players. We signed the agreement two days ago and will launch a range of Windows phones in about three months," Hasija said. The dual-OS phones will be out by June, and will target office-going professionals and 'techies', he said. The company is yet to zero in on the price range.

Karbonn, which at present sources all their products from Taiwan and Korea, is actively working on setting up a manufacturing unit in India, with a capacity to make one million phones a month. While local manufacturing will not give any cost benefits, it will help with faster turnaround of new launches in the market, Hasija said. The company is considering Tamil Nadu to set up its factory since the state has access to ports and a precedent in the supply chain for mobile phone manufacturing with the Nokia factory.


New launches apart, the company will also focus on driving up sales using apps that promote augmented reality. On Friday, Karbonn launched a range of mobile and tablet apps that use augmented reality to bring out features and games related to characters from the movie Kochadaiiyaan with Rajinikanth in the lead role.

The company will also soon start making interactive hoardings and newspaper-advertisements where the characters in the hoarding/newspaper will come alive in 3D through the app on the phone.

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Karbonn partners with Vodafone for data plans on Karbonn Titanium S5, Smart A12 purchase

Karbonn, one of India’s leading mobile brands has collaborated with telecom service provider Vodafone to offer special data plan on the purchase of flagship devices – Karbonn Titanium S5 & Karbonn Smart A12.

Karbonn Mobiles is a joint venture between Delhi-based Jaina Group and Bangalore based UTL Group.

The tie-up offers 1GB 3G/2G/EDGE unlimited Internet Plan free for 3 months to Vodafone consumers buying Karbonn Titanium S5.

It also offers first time Vodafone 3G customers using Karbonn A12 500 MB 3G/2G/EDGE Internet Plan free for 2 Months.


The initiative is being seen as an attempt to compete with the another domestic mobile brand Micromax whose Canvas series smartphones have been received well by the customers of late.

Shashin Devsare, Executive Director, Karbonn said “Through our latest offering we seek to engage the consumer base with a power package which allows them to seamlessly navigate the internet with the best of hardware devices – the Karbonn Titanium S5 and Karbonn Smart A12 and the best of Internet network provided by Vodafone.”


Karbonn Titanium S5 runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS platform being seconded by 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor for better overall speed.

 
It comes with a screen size of 5 inches that gives the user good FWVGA display resolution. It comes fitted with an 8MP camera on the back side of the phone a 2MP front camera.

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Karbonn Retina A27 priced at Rs. 9,090, now up for grabs

With a price for the Retina A27 by Karbonn having been announced, the company has put forth surprisingly decent components at Rs. 9,090. Even so, the only online shopping outlet which appears to have stashed it at present is Saholic. Seemingly, this gadget could pose as stiff competition to smartphones such as the Lava Iris 430 and the Acer Liquid E1.

Turning our attention to the specifications of the device, the front panel is dominated by a 4.3-inch LCD display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. The screen employs IPS technology in order to grant users the privilege of viewing from wider angles. 512MB of RAM together with a dual core processor clocked at 1.2GHz has been slipped into the device’s chassis with a view to boost its performance.

Another hardware component residing under the hood is a 1,800mAh battery, using which, owners should be able to derive around 4 hours of talk time. They can moreover expect the handset to function for up to 7 days when left on standby.

Inclusion of the Android Jelly Bean OS speaks in the phone’s favor and this obviously serves as a key to the world of the Google Play store. In terms of inbuilt software, users should look forward to security attributes such as slide, face, pattern, pin and password lock options.


This handset could fall in the wish list of ardent mobile photographers, knowing that it flaunts an 8MP camera on the flip side as well as a 2MP webcam on the front. Utilizing the primary snapper will expose users to features such as auto focus, an LED flash and face detection.

The Karbonn Retina A27 furthermore features dual SIM ports, adding to the pile of recent devices in India which have managed to squeeze in an additional slot. Moreover, there will an onboard storage space of 4GB, while the bulk hoarding capacity can be stretched up to 32GB via a microSD card. Interested folks will spot the handset with the aforementioned e-retailer, radiating the color black.

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Karbonn Smart A111 vs Micromax Canvas II A110

Here is yet another powerful smartphone from Karbonn - the Smart A111 - which is challenging the popular Micromax Canvas II A110. Available for just couple of hundreds more than Rs 10,000, the Karbonn Smart A111 has rich specification. Let's see how the two phones stand with respect to each other.

Display: Both the handsets have 5 inch touchscreen with multi touch capability. The exact resolution of the display of Smart A111 has not been revealed yet but it is expected to be the same as Canvas II's 854 x 480 pixels which is common in most mobile phones in this price range.

The Canvas II has an IPS panel so it offers good viewing angle but that cannot be said for sure in the case of Karbonn Smart A111 due to lack of information at this point of time.

Camera: The Micromax Canvas II has two cameras including an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front unit. On the other hand, the Karbonn Smart A11 has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front unit for video chats.

Figure wise, the Canvas II seems winning but the 8 megapixel camera of the Micromax handset does not exactly performs as per the specification and seems much like that of a 5 megapixel unit. We do not know the performance of Smart A111's camera but we expect it to behave like a proper 5 megapixel camera.

The Canvas II has also the advantage of having dual LED's compared to the single LED flash in the Karbonn smartphone.

Battery: The 2000 mAh battery in Micromax Canvas II said to give a five hours of talktime over 2G network and 180 hours of standby time. The Smart A111 has a slightly better 2100 mAh battery but we do not expect any significant output from this battery as comparison to that of Micromax Canvas II.

Memory: The Smart A111 scores in this section as it has 4 GB internal memory along with 32 expandable storage slot. In comparison, the Micromax Canvas II has only 2 GB internal memory capacity but has 32 GB of expandable memory option. The internal memory is crucial as apps stored internal memory performs better.

Performance: Both the handsets come with 512 MB of RAM as well as dual core processor that too on Qualcomm's chipset. But the Karbonn Smart A111's processor has a clock speed of 1.2 GHz. It could be possible that Karbonn has overclocked a 1 GHz processor to 1.2 GHz. As far as Canvas II's performance is concerned, we had pointed out in our review as well that the phone is capable of running mildly intensive games like Temple Run and Angry Birds.

But since Karbonn Smart A111 too comes with 512 MB of RAM, you should not expect miracles from it.

Conclusion: Many of you may not have much option at this point of time as the Canvas II seems just vanished from the market, as we pointed in our earlier story (Is Micromax's Canvas II dead) too.

But the other hand, it does not seem a very prudent decision on the part of Karbonn as well as it has launched a handset with exact specification against a popular handset that too at similar price point. Not only that Karbonn has also announced a quad core smartphone - the Smart Titanium - that too for Rs 10,990.

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Karbonn opens bookings for quad core Smart Titanium 1 at Rs 10,990

New Delhi: Karbonn Mobiles late Monday announced the launch of bookings for its Karbonn Smart Titanium 1 – India’s first quad-core CPU smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, across the country. The smartphone, which will be priced at Rs. 10,990 has a power efficient quad core processor, a 4.5” IPS qHD display, and runs on Android Jelly Bean.

The Karbonn Smart S1 Titanium is powered by the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core CPU processor, which delivers a superior mobile experience for voice, web browsing, games, user interfaces while its in-built Adreno™ 203 GPU supports higher HD resolution display and other graphics applications. It has a 4.5 inch multi touch screen display, dual SIM capability, digital front camera and 5 MP rear camera with flash. It also has a memory expandable to 32 GB.

“We are extremely proud to be the first brand to bring smartphones enabled by the powerful and power efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core CPU processor into the country. This move reiterates our commitment to enable cutting-edge technological innovations to our consumers and is an endeavour towards providing the best in mobile technology to them,” Shashin Devsare, Executive Director, Karbonn Mobiles said.


“Available across the country, the Karbonn Smart Titanium 1 opens up a new dimension in the Indian mobile market and enables a pioneering stride towards ‘Massifying Technology’ for the consumers”, he added.

The Karbonn Smart Titanium is built to support heavy duty multi-tasking by offering a potent combination of 1GB RAM and a 4GB ROM supported by a 1600mAh battery.


The phone carries a digital front camera for video calling and supports 3G connectivity. Pre-embedded Google apps and access to the ‘Google Play’ store are also available.

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