Zen Ultrafone 701 HD review – Rs 11,999 beats Micromax Canvas HD

Zen Ultrafone 701 HD review – Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS

As the production cost is decreasing day by day phone manufacturers are now able to provide cheaper options. Zen Ultrafone 701 HD is a 5 inch phone with a quad core processor , 8 MP auto focus camera and a 720p display. What more? Its unbelievably priced @ just 11,999.  Zen Ultrafone easily beats the Micromax canvas HD in respect to price. Its approximately Rs 1300 cheaper than Micromax A116 Canvas HD and also the front camera on Zen Ultrafone is 3.2MP whereas its just 2MP on the canvas.

Zen’s new range of high end smart phones will be called “Ultrafone” .   Under the ‘Ultrafone’ range Zen has announced its flagship phone called ultrafone 701 HD, powered by 1.2 GHZ quad core processor and the latest jelly bean OS 4.2 at an aggressive price of 11,999 to the customer

The features really look impressive on paper but lets see whether is worth the praise in real world.  I received the phone yesterday and took some pictures of the phone and the accessories that came along with it.

1. Warranty Card
2. User Manual
3. Service Center List
4. Phone
5. Extra Back Cover (Color – White)
6. Flip Cover
7. Battery
8. In ear headphones
9. Charger / USB cable

Build Quality and Design

The phone sports a rectangular form factor with rounded corners and is black in color. In the front is a 5-inch display with 3 capacitive keys – Menu, Home and Back key. The front camera is 3.2 MP unlike in Canvas HD which has just 2MP. There is a red notification led at the top. You also get a free pre-installed scratch guard.

At the top there is a  3.5 mm headset jack and a micro USB port. The volume rocker buttons are on the left side of the phone whereas the lock / Shutdown key is located on the right.

The back of the phone has a soft rubberized matte finish. Its gives the phone a rich look and is pleasant to hold. The speaker is located at the bottom whereas the camera is a 8MP Autofocus with LED flash and BSI sensor. The back-cover is removable. Its has two slots for inserting sim card and slot for memory card.

The overall design and feel is good but the Zen and Ultrafone branding in my opinion is awkwardly placed.  The Zen logo should have been at the bottom where the it says Ultrafone.

Camera

The camera does a wonderful job in day light. The pictures taken from the 8MP autofocus camera looks really great. One thing I noticed is that in low light conditions( especially indoor) the pictures don’t come out that well. They look a bit grainy but the outdoor picture quality really impressed me. The below image is shot from the kitchen window (3rd floor). Check the actual image here: http://i.imgur.com/f2XnHp9.jpg

The phone also records HD videos and the quality was great. Its also a feature called ‘EIS’ which minimizes distortion caused by shaking of hands while shooting a video. you can also give effects like squeeze,big eyes, big mouth, big nose, small eyes, sunset, space etc   Below a video that I shot from my shot from the kitchen window. ( Its was really congested, I had to struggle to position the camera :p )

Another quick video shot from my 3rd floor balcony. It was bit dark as the dark clouds had covered the sky and it was raining moderately.

Display

It has a 5-inch IPS HD screen with a resolution of  1280×720 pixels.The text and graphics appear sharp.  The viewing angles are good and visibility under the sun is decent.

Performance

1.2GHz Mediatek MT6589 quad-core processor , 1GB RAM , Power VR SGX 5444MP Chip for processing graphics the phone works like a charm. It didn’t lag at all while  playing games, scrolling, launching apps, browsing etc . It also has a 4GB ROM and upto 32GB expandable storage.

The call quality was good. I did make some test calls and I cannot complain. The phone also supports formats like .mov and .avi. It plays HD videos without any problems. The speaker output of the phone is also good.  The only thing i didn’t like is the in ear head phones, they are of cheap quality but offers decent sound output.

I’m really impressed with the phone because @ Rs 12000 what more can you expect !!!

Battery Life

With a 2000 mAh battery it definitely lasts for a full day. I did make some calls, watched videos, played music, shot some pictures and videos, used whats app and browsed the internet,Just like I use the phone on any other day.

Comparisons with Micromax A116 Canvas HD

The Ultrafone is cheaper  than the canvas.  The secondary camera on the Ultrafone is a 3.2MP which clearly beats Canvas HD’s 2 MP.  The built quality is superior than the Micromax Canvas HD. It also has the latest version of the Android.

My Verdict

Zen Ultrafone is a clear winner and the best buy under the Rs 12000 price bracket. It also defeats the Canvas HD with quite an ease. If  I were to choose between Ultrafone and Canvas HD, I would definitely choose ZEN.

ZEN Ultrafone 701HD – Device Specifications