Intex has launched their latest affordable smartphone the Intex Cloud Crystal 2.5D which comes with decent specifications priced at an affordable Rs. 6,899. The device is an affordable smartphone which is 4G LTE ready and comes with 3GB of RAM which is quite impressive for its price range and some devices like the Coolpad Note 3 Lite have similar RAM in a similar price range. I am doing this review of the Cloud Crystal 2.5D after using the device for a couple of weeks as my secondary device being used to make calls, play some occasional games, listen to music etc.
The Intex Cloud Crystal 2.5D comes with a 5-inch IPS HD display and is powered by 1GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6735P processor and is coupled with 3GB of RAM. and 16GB of inbuilt storage expandable up to 32GB using microSD card. The device also comes with 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front facing camera.
Design and Display:
The Cloud Crystal 2.5D is built to look and feel compact with a 5-inch display. The device on first look looks premium with the rear panel having a textured finish which looks good as well as feels good to hold and does not attract fingerprints. The rear panel has the Camera on top with The sides of the device appears premium with metal like finish given on the plastic borders. The built quality is decent for the price range, the front of the device sports three capacitive touch buttons below the display along with the front camera on the top along with ear piece and sensor. The right side has the volume rockers and power button, the bottom has the micro USB port and the top of the device has a 3.5mm jack.
The 5-inch display is decent and comes with good brightness and contrast, the viewing angles are pretty decent and viewable from pretty wide angles, the display is covered by a 2.5D arc glass which was a fingerprint magnet and required cleaning the display for every 10 minutes of use. The other issue which I faced was with the Touch, the display turns unresponsive all of a sudden and it got fixed on its own, not clear if its a problem with the unit which I received or seen in all devices. Overall the display is good for the price and has good viewing angles and is bright and visible under outdoor conditions as well.
Performance:
The Intex Cloud Crystal 2.5D comes with a 1GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT6735P processor and coupled with 3GB of RAM alongside 16GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB using microSD card. The device performs fine in its price range and can get you through your regular daily use without any problem, with the 3GB RAM out of which you get 2.4GB free helps in keeping multitasking lag free to an extent. As my secondary smartphone, it fared well with occasional calls, regular browsing, songs and viewing videos on Youtube.
But when it comes to gaming its not that great with some of the high-end games like Asphalt 8 but could manage games like Dead Trigger 2 with ease. We cannot expect a lot with this phone owing to the specifications at offer and can say it performs good for its specs. Heating was not exceptional, it was manageable although it gets a little bit hot while playing games for around 30 minutes.
The User Interface is a bit colorful and has the touches of Intex all over it, with a lot of Bloatware like browsers, chatz apps, custom launcher and some other apps which I am sure most of us won’t be using even once. The settings app and the notification drop down are not altered with and are kept stock which is good. The Apps borders are rounded which I personally liked. Overall a decent UI and nothing unique.
Camera:
It comes with an 8MP Autofocus rear camera with LED flash. The device performs well under good lighting conditions like outdoor and well-lit indoor conditions, but when it comes to low light the images are grainy and with flash I felt were a bit over exposed. You get the usual options in Lollipop OS like GPS location, Exposure, Color effect, scene mode, white balance etc. You can record Full HD video recording with the rear camera and it’s the same with Video as well, outdoor or well-lit conditions yield good results compared to low light conditions.
Check Camera Samples: Link
The front camera is a 2MP lens which is decent to take normal selfies under natural light and in the case of selfies under artificial light of low light, you do not get much detail. Do not expect a lot from the camera aspect of this device.
Connectivity and Battery:
The device comes with a 2200mAh battery and is 4G ready with Dual SIM option. The device comes with connectivity features like Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS etc. The 2200mAh battery does a decent job and was lasting through the day when used as a secondary smartphone if you are using it as a primary device you might need to use the battery conservatively. While using it, the Wi-Fi and Mobile network settings were turned on always and the Brightness level was mostly around the half way mark.
Final Verdict – Is the Intex Cloud Crystal 2.5D worth it?
The device is fighting it out in the Budget segment with very stiff competition for other smartphone offering somewhat similar or better specifications. The 3GB of RAM does a bit of justice to the device and lets you get through most of the normal usage with ease. It is not a gaming device and at this price do not expect much.
The display is surely good at looks, but at the same time, you can find some good alternatives like the Coolpad Note 3 Lite, XOLO Era 4K, and Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime in the price range and they are the ones you should give a thought about while trying to finalize your purchase with the budget of Rs. 7000.
