BUY IT ON YOUR OWN RISK
When you first see the Aspire A1, it appears to be majestic, sleek and one of the best looking smartphones you might have ever seen (including Apple iPhone 5, Blackberry Z10, Samsung S4 or even HTC One). When you switch on the phone, the colour, contrast and sharpness of the wallpaper (which looks like a picture from the suburbs of Rome) mesmerises you even further and you start to feel that this gadget at Rs15,999 can be a smart buy.
But don’t run to the store yet. Beyond its initial captivating appearance, this one is totally not worth it. Firstly, it doesn’t run on the latest Android version —Jelly Bean OS. Rather, it runs on Android v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system which is coupled with a 1 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor and VRTM SGX531 graphics processor that is completely ancient.
The display features boasts of a 5.3-inch electromagnetic capacitive touch screen with a qHD resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. It also has a multi-touch and the OGS Technology along with the G-Sensor and proximity Sensor. Yet, one has to really use some strength to select applications.
Also, there is some problem with the phone when is synced to your email. None of your contacts will ever appear. Rather all your email contacts will fill up your contact list on the phone. While it is a dual-sim phone, yet, it seems impossible to get your sim out of the phone, once inserted. Additional features like the camera, speakers and connectivity are average.
—Shibaji Roychoudhury