CREO mark 1– average hardware, possibly great personalized software Another smartphone launch in India, but this one promises latest software upgrades every month
By Rustam Singh
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
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Bangalore- based startup, CREO has launched its maiden smartphone in India – Mark 1. Priced at Rs 19,999, the smartphone is not too reasonable for Indian markets. Its unique selling points include "a new smartphone every month'
or "latest software updates every month'. To promote sales, the company also offers the option to permanently engrave your device, with the first 2,000 users getting it done for free.
The Company
Breaking free from the monotony of finding similar hardware in android phones led a bunch of engineers to give away their corporate jobs and form CREO. In 2014, the company launched its first product, Teewe, a wireless HDMI dongle that converts a regular TV into a smart TV.
The Built
The smartphone is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 on both sides and 2.5D curves. It comes in Gun Metal Black shade with a 5.5" screen and a Quad HD weighing 190 grams. Camera: The phone has a 21MP rear camera and 8MP front camera, especially for selfie lovers.
Storage
Along with 32 GB of inbuilt storage, the phone has an expandable memory of up to 128 GB, enabled with 4G
connectivity.
Key Features
Echo: With an in-built voice mail system, the makers claim that the user will never miss a call. Though this might be a boon for sales people and journalists, for an ordinary user there maybe calls he/she would want wants to miss.
Sense: CREO allows its users to double tap on the home page and search anything.Easy navigation indeed!
Retriever
The phone has a secret message facility to track a thief's new sim number and location once it replaces the
old phone's sim.
Will it stand to its "unique" claim?
From the first hand release, it unfortunately does not look anything as advertised. Sure, it could potentially offer brilliant hardware and software, but minor tit-bits, including smoothing of transitions, animations, durability, crispness and lag-free functionality etc can only be tested by a device over time. With an inbuilt voice mail system, the makers claim that a user
will never miss a call. Though this might be a boon for sales people and journalists, for an ordinary user there maybe calls he/she would want to miss.
(Article first appeared in BIZ Experiences May edition magazine 2016)
