Intex is currently the second largest home-grown mobile manufacturer in terms of market share and has been flooding the market with devices. Even after launching so many devices, it has tried to differentiate every other device with some USP. As the name implies, Intex Aqua Trend aims to be trendy. Intex Aqua Trend Intex Aqua Trend is basically a budget smartphone, but it tries to outdo its peers with a trendy look. While the phones in this price range almost look identical, Intex’s efforts must be appreciated. But is that all we need? Specs: 5.0-inch (720x1280p, ~294 ppi) LCD display | Quad-core 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6735 processor | 2GB RAM | 16GB storage (expandable up to 32GB) | 13MP rear camera + 5MP front | Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery | Android Lollipop Price: Rs 9,444 What is good? The biggest differentiator of this device is its accelerometer and gyroscope sensors. While playing racing games, the vehicle stays on the track without much of an effort which is primarily because of the sensors. While Intex hasn’t added anything different from competitors, it seems to have got the alignment right. Playing Asphalt 8 on a moving car never worked this smooth on any device under 10k. Shooting Zombies from a moving helicopter in Dead Trigger 2 worked like charm on this phone. The credit goes to good sensors and the Mali-T720 GPU. The champagne colour of this device definitely gives it a classy look. Many people in the Metro took a second look at this phone in my hand than my primary phone. Intex has seriously got the word trendy right here. The battery life of the Intex Aqua Trend is really solid. The huge 3,000mAh battery and minimal hardware specifications, makes it last longer than any other smartphone in this category. For my usage, it lasted me nearly a day and a half with Asphalt 8 at the end of every workday. What is not good? The camera is not trendy on this phone. In fact I would call it the worst I have seen in the last few months of testing. The autofocus is inaccurate and colours are generally washed out. The final result was always worth ignoring than sharing. The display is 720p, but it is not really sharp. The colours on this display looked underwhelming at times. Even smartphones like Panasonic Eluga Icon or Micromax Canvas Xpress 2 (priced even lower) come with a better display. Should you buy? If being trendy is all you want then this one is really a good choice but it comes with some crucial tradeoffs like camera. Intex’s very own Aqua 4G+ comes with a camera better than the one found on this one. At Rs 9,444 Intex is trying to compete against the likes of Lenovo K3 Note and Panasonic Eluga Icon which have scored well in our reviews. Also worth noting that Eluga Icon has a design that looks really from the world of Samsung’s plastic Galaxy and I mean it in the good sense. At this moment, I would suggest skipping this device and see what Intex can do with Aqua Trend 2.
