Earlier this month Spice invited us to the bloggers meet followed by the launch of Spice MI-350n and finally on yesterday, we got the review sample for the hands on. I was getting quite a few requests for a full review and comparison of Spice MI-350n vs Micromax Superfone A75 lite. The review goes as below, I will publish the comparison in a separate story.
Spice MI-350n review
Spice MI-350n is the upgraded version of earlier released Spice MI-350. Although its an entry level Android phone which costs around 7.5k, in terms of look and size it won’t let you down in front of its costlier friends. Lets see what all it packs and where it lacks:
The Goods:
- 3.5 inch 480 x 320 px 262 K TFT Capacitive touch screen
- Android 2.3
- Dual Sim
- 3.2 Mega Pixel Camera with Auto focus
- VGA front camera for Video calling
- 1400 mAH battery
- 650 Mhz CPU, Adreno 200 GPU
- Internal Storage – 230MB, expandable up to 32GB
The bads:
- No LED Flash for camera
- Average camera performance
Other details
In the box:
- Mobile Handset
- Travel Charger
- Stereo Headset
- USB Data Cable
- 1400 mAH battery
- User manual & after sales service list
Display, Build Quality and Hardware
Spice MI-350n comes with 3.5 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 320×480 px and double touch support. While the resolution and screen size are decent enough, colors on screen are limited to 262k against 16m of mid-range Android phones. Pixel density of 165 ppi is also considered as a bit low. Since it’s a budget android mobile and packs some decent features, I really don’t have any complaint with this.
It has a sturdy build quality with the combo of Plastic shell (for body) and metal (for battery cover). This black and grey combo gives it an average but decent look. As I said earlier, the look won’t let you down anywhere against HTC or Samsung’s mid-range Android phones.
On the back it has a 3.2 Megapixel camera (without any flash) and the speaker. In the front it has 3 hardware buttons (not capacitive) for Menu, home and back. Other hardware buttons are placed as usually on other touchscreen devices. All of them worked without any glitches.
User Interface
The UI is similar to most of the other android phones in this price range. However the company has taken care of some small issues like replacing stock Android keyboard with the bigger one, including some useful apps by default etc.
As I said UI is very similar to other similar devices, hence there is nothing much mentionable about it. There is no sluggishness (except in the browser) as the 650 Mhz processor does it work well. However I felt a bit glitch while using the pinch and zoom feature in the internet browser. For a better idea of user interface I recommend you viewing the Spice MI-350n review Video and how the angry birds played on it.
Since the phone is not licensed by Google, the Android market isn’t upgradable by default. However its not a big issue as there are loads of apps to perform this.
Camera and Multimedia
Spice MI-350n comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and no LED flash. The overall camera performance is average and the autofocus does it work well (you will feel it focusing). The camera UI has all the standard options.
Spice Mi350n camera picture samples (compressed):
Get the Spice MI350n Video camera sample here.
In terms of Multimedia, this phone doesn’t lack anywhere. The 3.5 inch screen is great to view videos and the Audio output (without headphones) is great. The 3.5mm headset connector gives you an option to connect your favorite handset with it. If you are planning to watch a full movie on it, you won’t be disappointed. Watching YouTube videos is a pleasure on it if you have a speed internet connection.
Connectivity, Call quality and battery backup
Spice MI 350n has almost all the connectivity options. However a mentionable thing is that the 3G works only on the first SIM. Call quality is excellent with no call drops and the battery lasted more than a full day with average usage. If you are a heavy user, you will need to charge it at least once a day.
Final Words:
The Spice MI-350n does excellent in terms of value for money. It does all the jobs perfectly its made for. The camera performance is average but the good thing is that it has an auto focus and you can use it occasionally for casual photography. It performs good in terms of multimedia as well. Overall there’s no major deal breaker with this. So if you are planning to buy this phone, I recommend, grab it.
Since it’s a rare combo of (at this point of time at least) dual sim dual camera Android 3G mobile, it won’t face a stiff competition. Micromax Superfone A75 lite, which comes with a fixed focus camera, is the only head to head competitor against this phone.
Spice MI 350n video review:
Hello ashwini, thanx for review. Will you plz tell how was ur experience while watching videos on it. I want a phone so that I can watch films on it. I had a nokia 5233 and it was good for that purpose.
Watching films are pleasure on it due to the 3.5 inch screen. However you might not get the Nokia kinda experience since it has only 262k colors on screen against 16m colors of Nokias… its great otherwise
i too want a dual sim 3g android ph. but i want more features then this like led flash,3-5 mega pixel camera n budget is upto 10000. pls suggest.
Thanks for the review. Would you have any information on the SAR value of this phone?
hi Ashwini
I want 2 buy new ANDROID mobile in the range of 13000-15000/-. My requirements are followoing:.
1)processor must be around 1GHZ so i can get good speed and hence I can play HD games faster.
2)inbuilt memory must be enough 2 install as many apps as possible and if it gets full then there should be option to install apps in external memory(memory card)
3)high quality camera with flash
4)as I m goin 2 use 3G so I want best video streaming results
5)Battery should not be heated up very early….this is high priority requiremnt.
6) sound ability should be best.
7 internal memory should be sufficient
and mobile should support “wi-fi” facility
plzz reply as early as possible bcoz I m in very hurry to buy mobile.
Ashwini my decision is 100% depends on u…so whatever u will recommend 2 me, I will buy that mobile without any regrets..thnx in advance
go for sony ericsson live with walkman….. you may also think about SE Ray or Neo v if you can increase ur budget a bit (or wait till price drop)
@ Ashwini Sah…thanx for ur best reply
now I think I would buy “sony ericsson live with walkman” but I heard that accessories of sony ericsson are not good…is that true? and also suggest me the online store for buying this phone.
thanxxx
i too want a 3g dual sim android but i want some more features than that.budget-upto 10000. pls suggest.
Hi, Ashvini, I want to root My Spice MI 350 to remove add on apps by SPICE which connects Net like Spicegang etc. How can I do it? Is there any updates in system from 2.3.3?
dear sir,
i purchase one mi 350n i need a pc suit for this mobile for connect with my laptab…kindly send the my mail id…
What do you mean by “Android market isn’t upgradable by default”?
hi,
i just wanna know tht whether it supports live wallpaper…coz in some pics there is the google nexus live wallpaper..??
thank you
P.S. your review is great
i heard tat flipkart will sell all lokal items can u pls say it dude
say which online shopping website is good for bying spice mi 350n
hey Ashwini
Saholic.com is better for buying Spice product……
Link— http://www.saholic.com/search?q=Spice+Mi-350n&category=10000