26 January,2015 07:50 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
The new Android smartphone AP300 from Mitashi, breaks away from the mould with its powerful battery and dedicated keys to smoothen up your experience. But is it enough? the guide finds out
The idea of a smart phone with joystick sounds enticing. And why not? After all, we spend quite some time playing games on our smartphone. Mitashi seems to think likewise and recently launched two gaming phones - AP300 and Thunder.
What we liked
The first is equipped with extra keys to assist in gaming, the latter is a portable gaming console built on the Android platform. Our first pick, AP300, was slightly longer in dimension, and heavier than an average smartphone with a 5-inch screen. It gets several things right including a super-efficient battery (4200mAh), which can easily last two days on single charge, nearly 13GB (available) storage space and a decent 1280 x 720 display. The 1.2GHz quad core MT6589 processor coupled with the in-built graphic processor, the PowerVR SGX 544 Mhz is enough to get you by.
The RAM at 1GB gets the job done but for gaming, it should have been at least 2GB. Still, the AP300 performed well with most games in the market, and that too without any heating issues. The extra keys (though meant for gaming) also double as short keys to specific applications like Whatsapp, Gmail or Browser, and it's customisable.
What we didn't like
However, the AP300 has its shortcomings, which prevents it from becoming the next ideal gaming smartphone. Firstly, both the front and rear cameras fail to capture decent pictures even in daylight. Secondly, the touch seems to falter in the corners, and thirdly, after a point, the weight of the device begins to obstruct the gaming experience. Mitashi says the weight was kept high on purpose, to offer a good grip to its users. However, while it does offer a better grip, after a point, the weight will weigh you down. And longer usage begins to affect the functioning of your thumbs. But then no hand-held device - gaming or otherwise - should be used for a long duration. Also, the device is still using Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, which we feel is a bit outdated if you are planning to buy a new smartphone. Lastly, we found the price tag of '12,990 a bit too steep; this considering that you can get other, more powerful devices (if you are looking for performance) at a lower price. Then again, none have extra keys to smoothen your gaming experience like the AP300.
Price '12,990
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