The recent wave of phones with QWERTY keypads from the likes of Micromax, Samsung and LG, have made us wonder if one really needs a smartphone. If that sounds ridiculous, just consider the facts. The Micromax Facebook phone comes with a good QWERTY keypad and a decent screen, ability to access mail and social networks, browse the Internet, chat away merrily, and a reasonable, if not exceptional camera, topped off with storage of up to 8 GB. And all for less than Rs. 5,000! Similarly, the relatively more expensive high-end Corby throws in a touchscreen and a QWERTY, with Wi-Fi and GPS and a decent camera for around Rs 11,000.
Both these devices are much cheaper than smartphones with similar features (the cheapest Nokia E series starts at Rs 10,500 and you will struggle to get a proper BlackBerry for under Rs 15,000, unless you go for an older model, and neither has the features that the Corby Pro offers) and let one do pretty much what one could on a smartphone. Yes, the apps available will be lesser and stuff like multi-tasking will be more difficult, but on the other hand, these phones work a lot faster and have better battery life. What’s more, they look pretty good too. The Micromax Facebook phone looks like something out of Nokia’s E Series until one gets really close and we just love the colourful Corby series!
Call us cynical, but we are beginning to wonder if buying smartphones is really worth it for the user who wants to do nothing more than just check his or her mail, browse the Net and tweak their Facebook account and tweet a bit!
