[Hands On] Karbonn Sparkle V Review

Couple of month back Google in partnership with three of its Android One partners (Micromax, Karbonn and Spice) has launched three Android One smartphone’s. Google has announced Android One program back in June at its Google I/O, Android One smartphone comes the with latest software’s and nice set of hardware specs, One of those Android One smartphone is Karbonn Sparkle V which is exclusively available on Snapdeal at Rs. 6,000/-

Inbox Contents of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

When you unbox Karbonn Sparkle V, you will find :-

• Karbonn Sparkle V
• 2-pin wall charger
• Headset with microphone
• 1700 mAh battery
• Warranty card and user manual
• Scratch guard

Build And Design Of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

All Android one devices comes with the same software and hardware, its only there build and design which make them stand out among them. It comes with a 4.5 inch FWGA display screen with a screen resolution of 854 x 480 pixels at a pixel density of about 218 ppi. The Screen gives vibrant colors and good amount of feedback to the user. We tested display under sunlight and it worked very well. We were able to read all text without any issue, as it supports auto brightness which means it can adjust the brightness level accordingly.

It doesn’t come with scratch protected glass which we can see  nowadays in most of the entry level or similar price range smartphone’s like Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Asus Zenfone 4.5, but it comes with a scratch guard in the box. Karbonn Sparkle V has a glossy display screen which invites fingerprints on it, Karbonn Sparkle V does has auto brightness which adjust screen brightness as per the environment.

Just above screen you will find earpiece followed by sensors, front facing 2MP camera and LED notification light. It has on-screen buttons just below display screen and sport huge bezels around the screen.

On the right side of the device you will find power/sleep buttons which have a shiny finish and are easy to reach, these buttons are attached to the back cover of the device.

On top of Karbonn Sparkle V you have 3.5mm audio jack and Micro USB port is present at the bottom of the device. On the left side it has no port or connectivity.

At the back you will find a 5MP rear camera along with LED flash with Karbonn and Android One branding along with speaker mesh just below it, back cover of this device is smooth and slippery instead of having matte finish which we had seen in other Android One smartphones.

Beneath back panel you will find dual SIM card slot which accepts micro SIMs, a 1700mAh removable battery  along with a microSD card slot which allows you to expand memory up to 32GB.

Hardware and Specs Of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

Under the hood Karbonn Sparkle V is powered 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 SoC along with 1GB of RAM, 4.5 inch IPS display with 854×480 resolution. On first boot you will get 580MB of RAM free, if we talk about memory then it comes with 4GB of internal storage which can be expandable up to 32GB via microSD card, but here you need to notice that you wont be able to use camera to snap pictures unless you insert a microSD card, this case is with all Android One smartphone.

As it has limited internal storage, you can move apps to SD card as it supports it, in our test we had played HD games and videos and it went smoothly without any issue at all.

Software of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

In terms of software, it runs on stock Android KitKat just like Nexus devices has, it comes with Google Now as its default launcher and once you swipe from left to right on your home screen you will find your Ok Google cards there. As told earlier this device runs on stock Android OS which makes its UI pretty smooth and simple. In our usage we didnt find any lag in the UI, it responded very well and simply.

It comes with 1GB of RAM and out of it around 580MB of RAM free for you when your phone is idle and only running default apps, in terms of memory it comes with 4GB of internal storage which locked and cant be accessed even from PC, out of 4GB you will get 2.27GB of free storage, this internal storage is locked for app only and you can’t store anything on it, even if you start your camera to snap pictures then it will throw an error and ask you to insert SD card. Its not the case with this device, its the limitation of Android One program from Google.

If you are going to install lots of games and app then don’t worry it does support moving apps to SD card, however there is no options to make SD card as default write disk, however in our test we found that when we install large games it directly went to SD card without any issue.

In terms of update, you dont need to worry about it as Google has promised Android Lollipop 5.0 updates for all Android One devices and Google has also stated that they will push updates for at least 2 years.

If we talk about pre-installed apps then like other Android One devices, apart from Google’s apps Karbonn Sparkle V too comes with some pre-installed apps like Moneycontrol, OLX, Saavn and of course Snapdeal.

Camera Of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

Like other Android One devices, Karbonn Sparkle V comes with a 5MP rear camera which can shoot decent photos in daylight, Google Camera is the default camera app on it and it support Photo Sphere, Lens Blur and Panorama modes. Rear camera can shoot videos at 1080p with 29fps. Images in low light conditions are full of noices, however led flash is there to handle images in low-light conditions. But the problem is that you won’t be able to take pictures unless you insert a microSD card in the devices.

Check out some images sample (click on images to see in full size) :-

Video Sample :-

Performance of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

Karbonn Sparkle V is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor with Mali 400 GPU and 1GB of RAM. Google has very well optimized the software part to match hardware, in our test we didnt faced any major lag, while playing heavy games there are drop of one-two frame but its fine. We played full HD videos, played games, switched between apps and all went smoothly. Check our benchmark test results :-

AnTuTu Benchmark :-

Multi-Touch Points :-

NeNa Mark 2 :-

Battery of Karbonn Sparkle V :-

Karbonn Sparkle V comes with 1700 mAh battery which can survive for one day if you are a moderate users, if you play games, surf internet on 3G and watch videos then dont expect it to last one day.

Final verdict on Karbonn Sparkle V :-

Karbonn Sparkle V is available at the price tag of under Rs. 6K, it doesnt have matt finish at back but instead its smooth. If you can live with average camera and battery then do consider this phone. As all Android One phone comes with the same hardware and software, its device look and after sales service which is going to help you to decide which one to buy, in our personal experience we are satisfied with Karbonn after sales service.

Pros :-

• Stock Android
• Lag free performance
• Good built quality
• Nice after sale service

Cons :-

• Average camera
• Average battery