Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus: Good buy for those who love gaming

Karbonn hopes to gain some brownie points with the MediaTek octa core processor in its new Titanium Octane Plus device.

Written by Nandagopal Rajan

New Delhi | July 21, 2014 10:17 AM IST

4 min read

With the launch and the subsequent success of the Moto G there has been a mad scramble among manufacturers to provide the best possible feature at the cheapest possible price point. So at a time the quad core process is becoming standard in the mid segment of smartphones, Karbonn hopes to gain some brownie points with the MediaTek octa core processor in its new Titanium Octane Plus device. We check if this phone has something that sets it apart from the competition.

The phone is also super slim at 7.6 mm and does not feel heavy at all.

Design: This phone from Karbonn has a striking new design. In fact, it is different from most of the phones in the market. The screen seems like it is resting on a tray, which the wraps around the rear flap. The phone is also super slim at 7.6 mm and does not feel heavy at all. The rear flap can be removed even though the phone looks like a unibody design. However, the bezel under the screen is thicker than other phones because you have the regular black bezel for the touch buttons as well as the tray. I am not sure this is a good idea. The buttons would have worked better on the tray itself. The phone also has a slight camera bump, expected when you have 16MP sensor.

Screen: The Full HD screen is good and has decent viewing angles. However, I thought that some of the pre-loaded apps don’t seem to have been made for a Full HD screen and don’t look good on this phone. I have seen this happen before with Indian companies. They should learn to optimise all software for the screen.

Performance: With an octa core processor a phone should be able to do better multi-tasking and be more efficient with its battery. The multi-tasking part does not seem to be an issue with this phone, but then even quad core phones do that bit quite well these days. I played a rather long session of Asphalt 8 on the phone and it did not have any trouble in between. I was impressed that the phone kept its cool throughout. For those who look at benchmarks, this phone is placed amidst the flagships from a couple of year back. However, if decent performance is all that you care for, then this phone is very current.

Memory: The Octane Plus leaves aside about 7.5GB for its 16 for users. This means you will have to invest in a SD card if you want to load this phone with games like Asphalt 8, which alone is about 1.3GB.

Connectivity: There were no issues with connectivity.

Software: The phone is pretty much stock Android. Except for a couple of trial games and some Karbonn stuff there is no bloatware in the phone. However, I suggest using launchers for better effect.

Story continues below this ad

Camera: The 16MP rear camera is among the best things in the phone. It is both sharp and fast and I managed to get some good shots with it in all kinds of light conditions. The phone even has a 8MP front camera and this might make it a favourite of Selfie junkies. However, that camera comes up with flat results and is just better that the rest of the pack.

Battery: The 2000 mAh battery is just decent and will last you till the end of the day, if you are not playing Asphalt 8 that is.

Verdict: The Titanium Octane Plus is a good mid-range device for those who want a sylish camera with performance that tends towards the top. The phone is a good buy for those want a solid camera and some power for gaming.

Price: Rs 16,990

Nandagopal Rajan

Nandagopal Rajan writes on technology, gadgets and everything related. He has worked with the India Today Group and Hindustan Times. He is an alumnus of Calicut University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. ... Read More

Tags:

Karbonn Moto G