The Karbonn A15 is here with a 1GHz computing power, 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage running on the ICS Android 4.0 OS with a 4 inch WVGA screen for under Rs. 6,000. Specification wise it clearly beats the Micromax Ninja 4.
The A15 box
Even though the handset is of a smaller size the box seems a little bigger. Inside the box you will find the A15 handset, earphones, micro USB to USB data cable, power adapter, user manual, service center booklet and a free scratch guard.
Design
The handset looks pretty decent, its all black. This time it seems Karbonn has given more emphasis on the back model instead of the white, as black is easily available. The front side panel surrounding the touch screen is glossy black and the rear side is black matte finish.
The handset is comfortable to hold. There are 4 dedicated touch buttons on front side, power button on top, the volume rockers on the left and the micro USB slot on the left side. On the rear you will find the 3MP camera (without LED flash), karbonn logo and speaker out. There is light, proximity and G-sensors. There is no front facing or secondary camera.
Inside the Hood
The Karbonn A15 is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM7627A (Snapdragon S1) ARMv7 Cortex A5 processor with Adreno 200 GPU. The RAM is 512MB and 4GB internal storage. There is 581MB storage assigned for apps (of which about 503MB is available) and 2.56GB for user storage. Of the 512MB RAM users get over 200MB to 225MB free.
There is 3G with HSDPA support of up to 7.2 Mbps, 2G, Wifi, GPS with A-GPS and Bluetooth. Wifi direct, hotspot is supported. USB and bluetooth tethering is also supported. The handset runs on Android ICS and supports Dual SIM with standby mode.
The display screen is 4 inches supporting resolution of 800×480 pixels with 2 point multitouch. The battery is of a decent 1420 mAh capacity.
A15 Performance
No doubt the handset performs much better than the Micromax Ninja 3 as well as the Ninja 4. Thanks to the 512MB memory and a good 503 MB storage space there is plenty of room for more action on the Karbonn A15.
The touch is smooth and responsive, website text rendering is pretty good with a mild lag. I installed many apps most of them were the benchmark tools and a few games and all of those worked pretty well, no lags.
There is an option to choose the SD card as default install location for new apps. However only a few apps are actually installed directly on the (External) SD card and for most apps it will install on the phone memory (503MB space) and you will need to move it to SD if you see that option.
For a price for under Rs. 6,000 with a impressive WVGA resolution and ICS OS this is the best you can get, for now.
Benchmark scores
Quadrant – 1924 ~ 1871.
AnTuTu – 4125 ~ 4152.
NenaMark2 – 20.4fps.
LinPack – Single (37) – Multi (35).
Camera
The is no front camera and the rear camera is of 3MP resolution without flash. It is a fixed focus camera that can also record videos in VGA resolution.
You can check some of the sample image here http://www.flickr.com/photos/gogirana/sets/72157632152281398/
Entertainment
This handset comes preloaded with DSPManager app to enhance the sound output on headset, loudspeaker and even bluetooth headset.
You cannot play 720p movies on this handset. I tried it with MX player but was not at all smooth. However you will be able to watch low resolution movies (not more than 640×480 pixels resolution), you can also convert the movie files to supported format.
Games
Many of the common games will work on this handset. I tried Andry birds and Temple Run both worked pretty well. You may also be able to play certain HD games, but don’t expect too much.
GPS
I tried the GPS, started Google maps and got a fix it less than 5 seconds. The GPS is without A-GPS support. However there is an option when checked will use the Wi-Fi and mobile networks for approximate location in case GPS satellite signal fails.
1420mAh Battery
The battery seems pretty good and I have not charged it since I started the review. I believe it can easily last for over a day with moderate usage.
Karbonn A15 review
Instead of buying the Micromax Ninja 3 or the Ninja 4, better go for the karbonn A15. For normal users this is the best option, they can installed many apps and games without any issues. The 3MP camera output is not that great but good enough for sharing with social contacts. The only disappointment is that you cannot video chat as there is no front camera.
The FM radio is good, works better when you in the open just like on many handsets. And you need to connect the earphones for it to work. When composing messages you can use the keyboard only in portrait mode.
For under Rs. 6,000 this is a good buy, go for it!
Image Gallery
Karbonn A15 Unboxing and review video
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