The
ever-expanding screen sizes of smartphones have baffled some people, who want
excellent viewing experience as well as comfort of holding. Pinnacle StylusMi-550 from Indian brand Spice finds the right balance of screen size and
holding comfort. The USP is obvious in the name itself. The product comes with
round headed stylus that makes taking notes a very easy task. In my view,
it's just elegant and sophisticated like Note 2. Let me reveal more on the
product.
Aesthetics
The
phone looks great with a massive display that utilizes the front real estate
smartly. It looks much similar to Samsung Galaxy Note 2. There is no physical button on the front
panel; 3 capacitive buttons are given at the bottom side. Volume control on the
left hand side; 3.5mm audio jack on the top; a microUSB port at the bottom; and
power button on the right hand side. There is a thin silver colored bezel along
the sides that adds to the visual appeal. The stylus can be inserted and pulled
out as and when required from slot given at the bottom of the device. The back
panel has a glossy white finish. An 8MP camera, dual-LED flash and speaker
complete the back panel. The free flip cover that comes in the pack is
extremely attractive. It fits very well to the device, giving access to all
controls. Removing the back panel welcomes a 2500 mAh battery, 2 SIM card
slots, and a microSD card slot.
Unboxing and Hands-on video
Unboxing and Hands-on video
Camera, music and video
The
8MP camera records 1080p HD videos @30fps. In addition, it offers you various
features like Self portrait, Geotagging, Face detection, Self timer, Zero
shutter delay etc to customize and get desired pictures. There is a 2MP camera
on the front panel for video chat. The pictures clicked using the front camera
also looked great. No need to ask anyone to click your self portrait, you can
get a good one using the Pinnacle Stylus front camera. I clicked a few indoor
and outdoor pics using this camera. Really satisfied with the picture quality.
The earbud type headset quality is good, not excellent though. The speakers
delivered loud enough sound; even the quality of music is really good. It plays
HD video.
Call and Data
Pinnacle
Stylus showed consistent 3G data performance. Call quality seemed good with no
call drop and voice cracking. The device does not have native 3G video call
option, but you always can enjoy video calling via 3rd party
applications like Skype and Gtalk.
Display
Trust
me, the 5.5 inch display with HD (1280 x 720px) resolution is just amazing. The
display shows vibrant colors. Images are crisp and sharp. The spaciousness of
the screen also makes it really great for viewing Web pages and multimedia. The
touchscreen is very responsive.
User interface
The
onscreen QWERTY keyboard is good for typing. I have given it to a couple of
friends who accurately typed a sentence with ease. I did not judge the keyboard
myself because; I’m not really good in typing on mobile screens, no matter how
good the keyboard is. The dialer is plain with no adornment. I personally like
a bit colourful or button like look in place of simple digits on the dialer. You
can easily access call logs and contacts from the dialer itself. Quick access
to connectivity settings, display auto-rotation settings and brightness
settings can be opened from the notification bar. The camera interface is neat
and clean.
Processor and memory
The
device comes with 1.2 GHz quad core processor that does seamless multi tasking.
Memory specs encompass 8GB internal memory, 1GB RAM, and 32GB expansion via
microSD card.
Software and apps
The
handset ships with Android v4.2 (Jelly Bean) and comes with a number of
Google's services, like Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Gtalk, and YouTube. Above
all the Google Play store gives you an option to download a number of games and
useful apps. Preloaded apps include NQ Mobile security, Ever Note, Opera Mini,
News & Weather, and Hungama. Spice Note, an app from Spice, helps you take
notes on your phone.
Connectivity
It
offers all the standard connectivity options including dual-SIM, 2G/3G, Wi-Fi,
USB, and GPS. The only option not given is NFC, which any way doesn’t affect
much, as it is not used commonly in India now. It would be icing on the cake if
Spice has given USB OTG feature as well; the first Pinnacle device Mi-530
featured it.
Battery
It
comes with a 2500 mAh battery. The phone was alive for more than a day of
average use – Did gaming, surfing, music playing and calling moderately.
Conclusion
The
big yet gorgeous artefact, with its looks and performance, is expected to grab
the market. A worth buy at a price of Rs 15499. I hope the price to
satisfaction ratio will push its penetration in the market. Good job Spice!!!
