Spice has released two new Android devices, a dual core tablet and a dual core Smartphone. In this guide, we will compare Spice’s new Mi-495 dual core Android smartphone with previously released iBall Andi 4.5h smartphone.

Spice Mi-495 Stellar Virtuoso

Spice has only just launched their Mi-495. This smartphone is a part of the new breed of smartphones which pack 4.5 inch qHD (960*540) displays. There are already a few handsets of such design, most notably the iBall Andi 4.5h and the Karbonn A21. Let’s have a look at the specifications.

Spice Mi-495 Full Specifications

1GHz Dual-core Processor
512MB of RAM
4.5″ qHD (960*540 px) LCD
One-glass solution (OGS) IPS display
Dual SIM (GSM+GSM) with dual standby
8MP Rear Camera, auto focus and LED flash
1.3MP Front facing Camera
4GB of Internal Storage
expandable storage via microSD card slot
3G HSPA, Wi-Fi , USB 2.0 , A-GPS
9.4 mm thickness, 150 grams weight
1,700mAh battery
Android 4.0 ICS

At first glance, you have an amazing smartphone with a slick design as well. The smartphone however packs the aged Android 4.0 ICS. Another dampening feature is 512 MB of RAM. Why we are complaining now, we’ll let you know soon. The phone does pack all it’s frills in a neat 9.4 mm thickness body. Weight is slightly on the higher side at 150 grams.

Spice Mi-495 Price In India

The Spice Mi-495 Stellar Virtuoso is priced at Rs. 10,499 which makes it quite an affordable smartphone for it’s design, specifications and looks.

Spice Mi-495 Buy in India Online

Spice Mi-495 Stellar Virtuoso @ Rs. 10,499 – Saholic

The Spice M-495 is listed on Saholic for the aforementioned price of Rs. 10,499.

iBall Andi 4.5h

The iBall Andi 4.5h is a part of the first wave of Android smartphones by new entrant into the Indian market iBall (new entrant only in the Indian market for smartphones). And this smartphone does really well in the way that it finally addresses one big flaw all other smartphones in this price range have.

iBall Andi 4.5h Full Specifications

Mediatek MTK6577 dual core chipset
1 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A9 CPU
PowerVR SGX531 GPU
1 GB of RAM
4.5″ qHD (960*540) IPS capacitive display
Dual SIM (GSM+GSM) with dual standby
8 MP rear camera, auto focus and LED flash
720p video recording @ 30 fps
VGA front facing camera
4 GB of internal storage
expandable upto 32 GB via micro SD card
1,600 mAh battery
Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

As you can see, the device packs very similar specifications to the Spice Mi-495. However, the one defining feature for this smartphone is the 1 GB of RAM. That alone puts this smartphone two steps above the other two in this comparison. The design of the phone is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done. It’s sad that the device doesn’t pack a larger battery or Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. We must tell you, these two features and this phone would definitely become the most recommended in it’s entire price bracket.

iBall Andi 4.5h Gaming Performance

iBall Andi 4.5h Price in India

The iBall Andi 4.5h has a price tag of Rs. 12,490. The phone however does justify it’s price tag with it’s loaded feature set.

iBall Andi 4.5h Buy in India Online

iBall Andi 4.5h @ Rs. 12,490 – Snapdeal

You can buy the iBall Andi 4.5h via Snapdeal for the aforementioned price of Rs. 12,490.

Karbonn A21

The Karbonn A21 was the first entrant to this market segment with these set of specifications. The phone does it differently in that it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play dual core based on the ARM Cortex A5 processor instead of the dual core Mediatek MTK6577 chipsets that pack the faster (but more power hungry) ARM Cortex A9 processors. The GPU on the two, namely Adreno 203 and PowerVR SGX531 are evenly matched.

Karbonn A21 Full Specifications

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play chipset
1.2 GHz dual core ARM Cortex A5 CPU
Adreno 203 GPU
512 MB of RAM
4.5″ qHD (960*540) IPS capacitive display
Dual SIM (GSM+GSM) with dual standby
5 MP rear camera, auto focus and LED flash
1.3 MP front facing camera
4 GB of internal storage
expandable upto 32 GB via micro SD card
1,800 mAh battery
Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

Although the dual cores on this phone are clocked at 1.2 GHz, thanks to architectural differences the processor is slower than the Spice Mi-495 and the iBall Andi 4.5h as well. The camera doesn’t support 720p video recording. The battery is slightly better at 1,800 mAh. That combined with the more power efficient processor promises of better battery life on this smartphone.

Karbonn A21 Price In India

The lowest price for the Karbonn A21 in India is just Rs. 9,107 which makes it the most attractive deal among all three smartphones.

Karbonn A21 Buy In India Online

Karbonn A21 @ Rs. 9,107 – Infibeam

You can purchase the Karbonn A21 for the aforementioned price of just Rs. 9,107 from Infibeam.

Spice Mi-495 v/s iBall Andi 4.5h v/s Karbonn A21: Conclusion

For those who can spend…

…we recommend the iBall Andi 4.5h. The extra 2 grand is worth it if you’re looking for great gaming performance with multi-tasking (thanks to the 1 GB of RAM).

For those who want the looks…

…we recommend the Spice Mi-495 for it’s excellent design and 9.4 mm slim body. The phone will look great in your hands and will be handy for show-off too.

For those who want the cheapest deal…

…we recommend the Karbonn A21. Being the cheapest of the lot by a handsome margin, the Karbonn A21 gives the highest value for money, aka bang for buck.

Hope this guide helps you decide between the 3 smartphones.

Preetam

Preetam Nath actively follows mobile technology. He has been following computer hardware keenly since 2007, only to start digging more into mobiles ever since the smartphone revolution. Studying his Engineering at MIT Manipal, Preetam devotes most of his time to update himself with the latest happenings in the technology sphere.

Posted By
Preetam

4 January, 2013