Firefox phones are finally reaching the Indian market and the first one to hit the shelves is the Intex Cloud FX.
Apart from claiming it to be "India's lowest priced smartphone," Intex
also stressed
that the Cloud FX is targeted at those who want a smartphone
experience at the price of a feature phone.
There's no doubt that
entry-level Firefox OS smartphones will be compelling for those who
cannot afford even the most basic Android devices. The aggressive price
of Rs. 1,999 will force Android handset vendors to reduce prices or
launch new ultra-budget handsets.
The Intex Cloud FX is a
frontrunner for the new platform that not just in India, but on the
global stage as well. We spent some time with the new Intex Cloud FX,
and here are our first thoughts.
Design and features
At
first glance, the Intex Cloud FX looks like any budget Android
smartphone, mostly thanks to its plastic body. The handset is designed
to fit easily in a hand. The new Firefox OS smartphone is also pretty
light in weight with just 104 grams.
The 3.5-inch screen on the
front is surrounded by a black bezel. There are no physical buttons on
the front. The rear is textured and includes the rear camera, alongside
Intex and Firefox OS logos. The rear panel is removable, and covers a
battery compartment, below which you'll find the two SIM slots and
microSD card slot.
The Cloud FX features a 3.5-inch HVGA
(320x480-pixel) capacitive touch display - a huge advantage for a device
in this price segment. There is a 2-megapixel rear camera without
flash.
The Intex Cloud FX hits the right notes as far as
appearance goes. Instead there is a circular capacitive touch button
that acts as a home button and also doubles as an app switcher. The
placement of power and volume rocker buttons is like that on any budget
Android handset. The volume rocker is on the left, while the power
button is on the top.
The dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) Intex Cloud FX is powered by a 1GHz Spreadtrum 6821 processor coupled with 128MB of RAM.
There
is a meagre 46MB of storage on the handset, although this can be
expanded by up to 4GB using a microSD card. Connectivity is in the form
of GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, FM radio, and a 3.5mm audio
jack. The Intex Cloud FX does not support 3G connectivity. There is
1250mAh battery powering the device.
The Intex Cloud FX is still
surprisingly slow. Navigation through the homescreen is laggy. Preloaded
apps take some time to launch, and at times we couldn't tell whether
our touches had been registered or not.
Firefox OS
The Intex
Cloud FX is the first smartphone running Firefox OS, which is being
promoted as an alternative to Android by both Mozilla and Intex.
For
regular Android users, Firefox will initially appear as a departure
from the usual setup of homescreens and preloaded apps. The lockscreen
of the Intex Cloud FX offers options to either unlock the device by
sliding right or launch the camera by swiping left on the screen.
The
homescreen comes with a search bar similar to Google Now, which is
being promoted by the company as "Adaptive App Search." The default
homescreen also includes folders called "Smart Collections" divided in
four categories: Social, Games, Music, and Showbiz. For example, the
Music folder includes apps for music, video and FM radio. One can find
also basic apps such as a calendar, a camera, an email client, a photo
gallery, and the settings.
Some of the preloaded apps include Facebook, ConnectA2, YouTube, Data Usage, and Marketplace.
Users
can swipe down to access the notifications, which appears inspired by
Android. The notifications area also has quick shortcuts for toggling
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode, and jumping to the Settings app.
Nothing
about the looks or features of Firefox OS will surprise Android or iOS
users. During our time with the Cloud FX, Firefox OS mostly felt like an
older version of Android with fewer options.
Final words
The
Intex Cloud FX sends a message that smartphones can come at any price
now. However, it is yet to be seen how well the Indian consumers respond
to the new OS, when compared to the likes of Android or even
Microsoft's almost dead Asha platform.
If we consider the price of
the Intex Cloud FX and the features that it offers, it still is a good
deal. Intex's first Firefox handset hits the right notes for first-time
smartphone adopters.
You can expect more detailed observations and
a final verdict on the phone will be reserved for our detailed review,
when the Cloud FX arrives in our lab for testing.
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