Hands-on Review:- Intex Aqua Ace

DISCLAIMER

The opinion of this product is not to discourage the buyers for buying such product.

The opinion is just to state the pros and cons, with some introduction and specifications.

1. Introduction

Intex is a well known brand for affordable computer peripherals but the company does makes phones and televisions as well. However, unlike its peripheral business, it is struggling to achieve a firm ground in the mobile market.

There are a list of phones which the company makes but they are nothing out of the ordinary. However, the new Intex Aqua Ace is different. The Ace has a beautifully inspired design and decent spec-sheet. But, will this be enough to make the phone stand strong amidst big names? I used the phone for over a week and tried to get some answers. Let’s find out how the Intex Aqua Ace fared.

I have been testing and reviewing budget segment smartphones for quite a while now and have grown accustomed to the matte and glossy backs, they generally come with. But, this was new. Intex has outdone all its previous designs. A glass back, rounded edges and a flat design gives the Intex Aqua Ace a look quite similar to the Sony Xperia Z5, which can be best described as "beautiful”.

Other manufacturers have tried similar designs in the past but Intex has managed to do a better job. It would have been more appealing if the phone had a metal shell, to increase the robustness of the slim body.

The slim bondy of the Intex Aqua Ace houses a dual-SIM drawer which is well Integrated and the two physical keys on the left side provide ample travel. However, the placement of the power button is one of the things I didn't like. It sits right in the middle of the left side and every time I picked the phone from a table, I ended up pushing it, in turn calling out the “Power off” menu. Going back to the glass back, it does give the phone it's distinct looks but is prone to scratches and fingerprints. It also makes the phone quite slippery to hold. In all, it's a good looking phone but the looks have little practical function.

The Aqua Trend underwhelmed us, especially considering how many strong alternatives are available at or even below the same price. Intex is well known for selling low-cost products, especially PC peripherals.
 However, a lot of companies have managed to drive prices down in the smartphone industry without compromising on features or materials, and so Intex's classic formula might not do it any good here.

Today, we have a slightly more premium model, the Intex Aqua Ace, in for review. Priced at Rs. 12,999, this phone will find itself going up against some very polished, premium products. We're hoping Intex can impress us and show that it's able to compete in a market very different to the one it has thrived in so far.

The Micro-USB port for data and charging is up on top, next to the standard 3.5mm audio socket. There appear to be two speaker grilles on the bottom, though only one of them is actually a speaker - the other is only for symmetry. The power and volume buttons are on the right, placed slightly lower than we'd have liked. Also on the right is a tray for a microSD card. Mirroring it on the left is another tray which can hold two Micro-SIM cards. At least you don't have to sacrifice one SIM for additional storage, or vice-versa. #Marketing

The front and back are apparently made of Gorilla Glass 3, and we found that the Aqua Ace, much like some of Sony's models, slid around way too easily when lying flat on a table. We were disappointed to see that the plastic rim around the edges started picking up scuffs and scratches within a day of perfectly ordinary usage.

I'd recommend using the bundled snap-on flip cover if it had been a little more attractive. Interestingly, the flip cover has a huge transparent panel which lets you use the touchscreen through it. It's not very smooth, but good enough for picking up calls or quickly checking notifications. It also stays shut with a magnet, and the phone can turn the screen on or off automatically when you flip it open or closed.

2. In my opinion (Read the Disclaimer above before reading the following)

very good looking I have been using this phone for last one week .awesome features. And the most amazing feature is that it has got 3gb ram light weight since I am not facing any problems in this phone. It only slightly heats not that much compared with other smartphones. Battery is also quite good #googleplustips
I am surprised to detect slight stutter in the 720p video files which otherwise play perfectly on pretty much every phone these days. At least one 1080p test video had abnormal artifacts and could not play without tearing.

Intex has gone with a relatively modern quad-core, 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6735 processor. One of the phone's most loudly touted features is that it comes with 3GB of RAM, which is not common at this price level.

The front and back are apparently made of Gorilla Glass 3, and we found that the Aqua Ace, much like some of Sony's models, slid around way too easily when lying flat on a table.

Is this phone has notification light I’m struggling with Intex aqua ace for gyro software issue and one time I have repaired this mobile again i m facing same issue in this mob please I’m suggesting to all kindly do not buy for Intex aqua ace mobile. #googleglass

I bought this aqua ace sometimes this phone cant connect network... more the same issue in my aqua ace. recently problem wifi sometimes disconnecting. but no issue in my samsung its working perfect. why people like desi brand smart phones. all India made product totally waste.

Does it have led notification? Comment

Good step taken by Intex, everything is good in this phone, except its resolution, it’s just 720, it’s worst at that price and other specs, and it lack some sensors, its screen is good enough and protection is also good, but the thing is its resolution, it should be 1020 or more, grow up INTEX

3. Specification

NETWORK
Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands GSM 900 / 1800 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands HSDPA 900 / 2100
4G bands LTE band 3(1800), 5(850), 40(2300)
Speed HSPA, LTE
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes

LAUNCH
Announced2015, October
Status Available. Released 2015, October

BODY
Dimensions 145 x 71.5 x 6.7 mm (5.71 x 2.81 x 0.26 in)
Weight 121.5 g (4.30 oz)
Build Corning Gorilla Glass back panel
SIM Dual SIM

DISPLAY
Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 5.0 inches (~66.5% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass

PLATFORM
OS Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop)
Chipset Mediatek MT6735
CPU Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-T720

MEMORY
Card slot microSD, up to 128 GB
Internal 16 GB, 3 GB RAM

CAMERA
Primary 13 MP, autofocus, LED flash
Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR
Video 1080p@30fps
Secondary 5 MP

SOUND
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes

COMMS
WLAN Yes
Bluetooth Yes
GPS Yes, with A-GPS
Radio FM radio
USB microUSB v2.0

FEATURES
Sensors Accelerometer, proximity
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, IM
Browser HTML5
Java No - DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.264 player
- MP3/WAV/AAC player
- Photo/video editor
- Document viewer

BATTERY Li-Po 2300 mAh battery
Stand-by Up to 250 h
Talk time Up to 10 h

MISC
Colors Black, White

Read previous reviews (click here). 

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