Aqua i7: A good alternative to most 5-inch smartphones

Indian smartphone makers have been trying hard to come up with products that could stand up to their fancy foreign counterparts.

Intex’s Aqua i7 is one such, a good option for someone looking to get away from Samsung, HTC or any other brand.

The first thing one will notice about the i7 is the packaging.

It comes in a big box, which also includes accessories like the headset, charger and a flip cover.

. . .

In an age where packaging isn’t given much attention, it’s a bit strange to see such elaborate packaging for a phone.

Once you have unwrapped the packaging, you will notice the device is good-looking. Though the i7 looks much like most five-inch smartphones available in the market, there’s a touch of elegance to it.

It has a matte finish back panel and is easy to use.

It is a slim phone and about 143g.

A full HD display, with a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, is certainly one of the stronger points.

. . .

It’s a dual SIM phone, with one micro and one full-size card slot.

The screen is extremely bright and colours rich and vibrant.

Even at different viewing angles, the display manages to hold itself. It’s a phone which, to our surprise, wasn’t a fingerprint magnet.

It runs on the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS and is powered by 1.5-GHz quad core processor with 2GB RAM.

It comes with 32 GB memory, which is not expandable.

The Aqua i7 comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and a five-MP front one.

There are multiple modes: HDR, panorama, magic shot and a professional mode.

. . .

The picture quality is more than decent, but not a standout feature of the phone.

The front camera is just about decent and . . .

On moderate to heavy usage, the phone doesn’t last for more than five-six hours; so, the battery performance is a bit disappointing.

In a market where a new five-inch smartphone is launched every fortnight, the i7 is a good option.

Priced at Rs 21,999, it is competitively priced and is packed with a lot of features.

If you don’t swear by certain brands and are looking to change your phone, the i7 is a good alternative.

It is the most expensive Intex phone in the market, and it is fair to say it lives up to its billing.

. . .

SPECIFICATIONS

• Weight: 143g
• Camera: 13-mp rear + 5-mp front camera
• Display: 5-inch touchscreen
• Storage: 32GB
• Ram: 2GB
• OS/processor: 1.5-Ghz quad core

* Pros: Good design, excellent display quality, quick multitasking
* Cons: Average battery performance, average camera