<p> <i> 21.12 pm </i> Karbonn Titanium Mach One S310 Review: Good option at Rs 6,990

In an attempt to strengthen its foothold in the budget Android smartphone, Karbonn recently launched its Titanium Mach One smartphone. Brands like Xiaomi, Asus, Lenovo and Motorola have disrupted the budget smartphone market which was once ruled by mostly Indian brands. With the Mach One, Karbonn is trying to take these brands heads on with a decent deal at least on paper.

Thankfully, the Titanium Mach One is not just another run-of-the-mill budget Android KitKat smartphone. Karbonn has paid attention much-needed attention to the design, which is inspired by the iPhone 6, and the build quality. The device which runs on stock Android KitKat (v 4.4.2) includes some useful tweaks and most importantly supports gestures.

For selfie-holics the Mach One offers a 5MP front camera with LED flash. Overall, Karbonn has manage to deliver a competitive product with- good design, front camera flash and gesture support.

The smartphone is available in White-Silver, White-Gold and Deep Blue colour options. Note that the device gets dirty very easily and attracts a lot of fingerprints.

Price: Rs 6,990

Specs: 4.7-inch IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels) | Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS | 1.3Ghz quad core CPU | 1GB RAM | 8GB internal storage (up to 32GB expandable), dual SIM (regular) | 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera with Flash | 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth | 1,800mAh battery

What is good about the device?

While brands like Xiaomi, Asus, Lenovo and Motorola opted to sell their budget handsets online only, the Karbonn Titanium Mach One will be available in stores as well. This is a good news for those who have failed to beat the rush online to buy a decent budget Android smartphone.

The phone looks and feels good to hold. The build quality is good. The battery life of the device is better compared to other handsets in the same price range and comes with no bloatwares.

The Mach One tries to differ with gesture support. You can double tape to wake up the screen or draw gestures to open apps (users can assign up to 8 patterns- c, o, w, e, v, m, s, z- to the desired app). The device also supports multi-point gestures (two or three fingers). For example, you can slide up on the homescreen with three fingertips to open camera.

Lastly, Karbonn has promised Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the smartphone in future.

What is bad about the device?

The display of the device could have been better. I always kept it full brightness as it looked dull otherwise. The viewing angles are not the best. I witness a few lags, especially while using gestures, which Karbonn could have improved.

What about performance?

The device scored 19,151 on AnTuTu Benchmark (v5.6.1). For average day-to-day functions, the device will easily satisfy. Overall, the device responds quickly but be prepared to witness some lags.

The camera of the smartphone is nothing exceptional. The picture quality of the rear camera in good lighting conditions is okay, however, images appear grainy is moderate to low light situations. Also, the camera is not fast, so, you need to be still while clicking pictures. The front flash just adds some light to selfies. The quality of selfies is doable. Overall, the budget users can live with it given the price point. Multimedia experience on the device is decent.

The device comes with two regular SIM card slots. Call quality and other connectivity features were flawless.

Should you buy it?

The overall experience with the device is good and people who cannot go beyond Rs 7,000 can consider the Karbonn Titanium Mach One.</p>