I had ordered the Karbonn A7 dual SIM android phone from Inifbeam and got the delivery yesterday. I bought this smartphone for Rs. 7,490 with 8 GB free memory card (offer). However in the package I could not find the 8 GB memory card. I have raised the issue with Infibeam and I already got a confirmation an error from their part and they are sending the 8GB soon.
The Karbonn A7 is powered by an 800 MHz processor and also comes with a Qualcomm Adreno 200 GPU. Some sites say it is powered by a 1 GHz processor which is not true. But if you add up the CPU + GPU yes it is 1 GHz. RAM is 512 MB (397 MB for use) and internal storage for apps is 177 MB.
Box Pack
The pack is simple, smart and compact. The box clearly mentions the features on one of the side. The Karbonn A7 MRP mentioned is Rs. 8,990 but you can get it for as low as Rs. 7,500 online. The box pack contains Handset, charger, USB cable, battery, hands free, user manual and warranty card.
Design
The Karbonn A7 handset has got a sleek look and since the display screen is 3.5 inches it occupies most of the area on the front side. There are 4 buttons on the front side , 3 touch sensitive buttons (option, home, back) which is a part of the touchscreen display. Immediately after the touchscreen area there is a center button that is a shortcut to Google search functions. On one side there is the volume rockers button and on top there is the power button along with 3.5 mm jack. The bottom side houses a micro USB port and on the back side you will find the 5 MP camera along with dual LED.
Display
The display screen (8.9 cm – 3.5 inches) is of capacitive technology and as expected was smooth and responsive. The screen resolution of 320 x 480 pixels (DPI=160) gives a very sharp output which is much better as compared with any 240 x 320 resolution handset for example the Micromax A50 Ninja. The icons are clearly visible and the text look smooth (pixels hardly visible). The light sensors will automatically adjust the brightness depending on the surrounding environment. These entire features look impressive especially when you look at the price.
OS and Memory
The Karbonn A7 comes loaded with Android 2.3.6 OS and has 512 MB RAM with micro SD slot that can hold up to 32 GB additional storage card. There are many apps that come preloaded including App2SD, OfficeSuite and Whatsapp. With access to Google Play you can download more apps and even move apps to SD and free up internal memory.
Sensors and GPS
This phone comes with G-Sensor, Light and proximity sensor. I switched on the built in GPS and got a lock in just 11 seconds. The GPS on the Karbonn A7 worked great with Google Maps.
Connectivity
The Karbonn A7 handset can hold 2 SIM cards (Dual SIM with Dual Standby) but 3G is available only via SIM 1. You can surf at high speed of up to 7.2 Mbps (HSDPA). Other options are Wi-Fi with hotspot, USB Tethering and Bluetooth.
Camera
A 5MP camera with dual LED flash on the Karbonn A7 may be the main selling point but the camera is just average better than a 2 MP found on most handsets, but it is with fixed focus. I have taken some picture, so you can judge for yourself. The camera comes with many features 3x digital zoom, front / back camera option, exposure, scene modes and colour effects. There is a front VGA camera for video chats.
Sample camera images taken from A7 (click image for full size)
Multimedia and gaming
The GPU is an added advantage and you will be able to play many games. Interestingly there was no video player installed, so you will need to search for one on Google play and download / install it. The sound quality is good, quite loud and there is built in FM radio for live entertainment. As far as gaming is concerned I will try out some games and post a video on the same.
Other features
The Karbonn A7 handset supports haptic feedback which vibrates when you tap the screen and in certain UI. Even in direct sunlight the screen is perfectly visible. For Input you can use the on screen QWERTY and even XT9 if you prefer that.
The USB cable, the handsfree, power adapter everything is in pure white colour which looks really good just like you see on the iPhones.
Unlike on the Ninja A50, there is no option to personalize the SIMs. But the good thing is that both the SIM options in the form of a button are present when you are making a call or composing a message. This means you can call or send messages from any SIM with ease from a single interface.
Performance
When browsing websites I found that the rendering process was a bit slow, noticeable for about half a second. I found the Karbonn A7 performing a bit slower than the Micromax A50, this could be because of a better quality screen resolution and a slower animation effect. Most of the apps speed was the same but there were few apps that worked a bit faster on Micromax A50.
The Quadrant benchmark score for Karbonn A7 was 1290. AuTuTu score for A7 was 2611 as compared with MM A50 which was 2506. Not much of a difference but with AuTuTu A50 scored better when it came to 2D / 3D graphics.
I was using the A7 with 3G (H) on for about 15 minutes and I could feel it getting warm but that was outdoor, when in the room (which is relatively cool) did not experience the heating issue. The Karbonn A7 feels nice to hold in the hand it has a better grip that A50.
Battery
This Karbonn A7 handset comes with a 1420 mAh li-ion battery which seems to be doing a pretty good job for now. I will be draining the battery completely and then fully re-charge it. I will update the battery results in few days. I connected the phone for charging using the power adapter and then started browsing just to see if the touchscreen is acting weirdly as we saw on the Ninja handset, the A7 worked perfectly well even when connect to the charger the touchscreen was as responsive as before.
Karbonn A7 Battery Life : Can easily last for 1 to 2 days of moderate usage. I fully charged the battery and now its been 2 days and 5 hours with still 32 % battery left (I am not a heavy user, but I occasionally used Wi-Fi, 3G for checking mails and downloading games /apps (angry birds space, Temple Run and iris). If used moderately it will easily last for over a day. For heavy usage probably a day.
Karbonn A7 the price
At Rs. 6,799 this is another handset with better features than the Micromax Ninja. Now this handset came with an 8GB free card offer and if you look at the price of the memory card it is around Rs. 400. The A7 price you can say is at Rs. 7,000 and you will be paying an extra Rs. 2000 (when compared with A50) for a bigger and better screen resolution and 5 MP camera.