Bling

It looks better than it performs. So, take it to a party but find something else for the office.

Micromax started out as a company which no one was willing to take seriously. But last year, in many surveys, it stood at number three in the Indian mobile handset market. Its latest model, Q55 or the Iifa Bling (it was launched at the Iifa awards this year) is really Bling Bling.

When I showed it around to a few of my friends—correction, women friends—they were charmed by its Swarovski crystal-studded design. Its pearl white finish, with a vanity mirror on the rear and a big qwerty keyboard just added to its charm.

For all its charm, it is a very basic phone. It is dual Sim (GSM+GSM), with dedicated keys to answer phones on either connection. Nimbuzz chat and Opera Mobile browser come bundled with it, but the phone does not support Wi-Fi or 3G functions and so you may not use it too often.

The screen is a healthy 2.4 inches, and the phone looks like a vanity compact and rotates to become a phone. Its internal memory is only 20 MB but you upgrade it to 8 GB with a micro SD card. Since this is not a smart phone, the phone book is limited to 1,000 entries, and only 300 SMSes can be saved.

Features such as FM radio, e-book reader, mp3 player and voice recorder are standard. Overall, this is a very feminine phone, so men may not want to pick it up. But diamonds are their best friends. And for Rs 6,000, you won’t mind Swarovski crystals, would you, girl?

About The Author

Gagandeep Singh Sapra