Every smartphone maker is coming up with new dazzling devices especially for the entry-level segment, but Intex?s Cloud FX was a bolt from the blue. With the new Firefox OS and a cost of Rs 1,999?the lowest ever in the country?the Cloud FX took the smartphone sector by a mild surprise. And everyone wanted to know what was under the hood and the performance given the price tag.
At one go, the answer is not bad. With a sleek design and an Apple-looking button function, the FX is sturdy and has a good grip. It is available in two colours (black and white). The power button and headset jack are on the top and the charging port is on the left. The camera lens and speaker holes are at the back panel. The two SIM slots and the microSD card slot are beneath the removable battery. Graphics and logo on the body is simple?an Intex logo and Firefox OS branding.
Coming to the specifications, the FX has such low hardware that people would find it difficult to believe that a full-fledged operating system can run on it. The FX sports a Spreadtrum SC6821 processor with just a meagre 128 MB of RAM. Intex?s spec sheet lists 256 MB of internal storage space, but it?s divided into dedicated areas for apps, documents and the OS itself. Only 46 MB of space is exposed to the user but the FX comes with a memory card slot expandable upto 4 GB. But the Firefox OS runs fast on these specs without any kind of lag.
The FX has a 3.5 inch touchscreen display which is smaller than most smartphones and the screen sports a resolution of 320 x 480-pixel screen. The 2-megapixel camera with no flash is not a stunner but is definitely a value for money. The FX supports connectivity via the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but the biggest disappointment was that there was no 3G connectivity. Intex clarified the 3G bummer saying that they had made the product keeping in mind the residents of tier-II and tier-III cities. The FX has EDGE support so it automatically switches to 2G when not in range of a Wi-Fi .
But the main attraction of the FX is its OS. When it comes to the look and feel, the OS isn?t too much different from Android
or iOS. A familiar grid of app icons welcomes the user via the homescreen .
Among others, there?s a clock, calendar, FM radio, data usage tracker, file manager, audio player, video player, email client, and of course the Firefox browser but there?s no calculator app, voice recorder, note taker or weather app though all of these can be found in the app marketplace. The FX box contains a headphone and a charger along with an USB cable.
In my opinion, both the OS as well as the phone need an improvement but keeping in mind the price tag, the FX is a value for money product.
Estimated street price: Rs 1,999
