Swipe Elite 2 – The Cheapest 4G mobile – Review
Swipe Elite 2 is a basic smart phone from Indian based startup called Swipe Technologies. Swipe Elite was launched earlier this year and it was lauded for its Freedom OS. It lacked 4G connectivity and the second generation Swipe Elite 2 is a 4G enabled device. It is priced at Rs 4666 and that makes it the cheapest 4G enabled mobile in the country. It is a basic mobile and if you are looking for blazing gaming performance or uber awesome camera performance, stop reading and head over to our reviews, devices or recommendation section for other options.
Swipe Elite 2
-
CPU:
-
RAM:
-
Storage:
-
Display:
-
Camera:
-
OS:
Swipe Elite 2 is a basic smartphone from Indian based startup called Swipe Technologies. Swipe Elite was launched earlier this year and it was lauded for its Freedom OS. It lacked 4G connectivity and the second generation Swipe Elite 2 is a 4G enabled device. It is priced at Rs 4666 and that makes it the cheapest 4G enabled mobile in the country.
Specs
General
| Price | Rs 4999 |
| Status | Available |
Display
| Display Type <strong>Display Technology => </strong> A number of display technologies and types used in mobile phones => TFT (Thin Film Transistor), IPS (In-Place Switching), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode), Super AMOLED (an even advanced version of AMOLED), Resistive Touchscreen (Resistive touchscreens contain two layer of conductive material with a very small gap between them which acts as a resistance), Capacitive Touchsceen (Capacitive touchscreen technology consists of a layer of glass coated with a transparent conductor) | IPS Display |
| Size | 4.5 inch |
| Resolution | Quarter HD, 960 x 540 Pixels |
| Display Protection <strong>Display Protection => </strong> Gorilla Glass is a special alkali-aluminosilicate glass shield with exceptional damage resistance that helps protect mobile displays from scratches, drops, and bumps of everyday use, It is always better to go for a smartphone with Gorilla Glass for that added protection and peace of mind. | None |
| Secondary Display | No |
Hardware
| CPU <strong>CPU</strong> (Central Processing Unit) mostly known as processors, CPU processes instructions in order to carry out certain functions that make your device operate properly. Processors are often described as the brain of computers, smartphones and tablets, Smartphones and tablets rely on processors to carry out their every task, Processors are an incredibly important factor in selecting any type of computing device, including your smartphone. | 64 Bit 1.3 GHz Quad Core Processor |
| RAM (Memory) <strong>RAM</strong> (Random Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computer systems, smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices. | 1 GB |
| Internal Storage <strong>Internal Storage</strong> is a data storage space (flash memory) mostly used in smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices where operating system, apps, music, photos, videos, files and other user data Is stored. | 8 GB |
| Card Slot <strong>Memory Card Slot</strong> is a special slot for inserting a memory card. Memory cards allow you to expand the phone's built-in memory, A memory card (sometimes called a flash memory card or a storage card) is a small storage medium used to store data such as text, pictures, audio, and video, for use on small, portable or remote computing devices such as mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras. | Yes, upto 32 GB |
Battery
| Battery Type <strong>Battery Type => </strong> Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries => Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. | Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) |
| Capacity <strong>Battery Capacity</strong> is a measure (typically in Amp-hr) of the charge stored by the battery, and is determined by the mass of active material contained in the battery. The battery capacity represents the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery under certain conditions. | 1900 mAh |
Camera
| Primary <strong>Camera</strong> is able to capture photographs and usually videos, The most important characteristics of a camera are the resolution (measured in megapixels), lens focus type (fixed or automatic), higher megapixel cameras are known to capture higher quality photos, but not always a good measurement of the photos quality. | 8 MP |
| Camera Features | Auto Focus, Digital zoom |
| Secondary | 5 MP |
| Video | Yes, 1280 x 720 |
| Flash <strong>Flash Light => </strong> There is commonly two types of flash lights are used in camera mobile phones, LED Flash (LED flash offers lower power consumption with drive circuitry that takes up very little room, LEDs can be strobed faster than any other light source), Xenon Flash (xenon flash produces an extremely intense full-spectrum white light for a very short duration) | LED |
Design
| Type <strong>Design Type</strong> called form factor refers to a mobile phone's size, shape, and style as well as the layout and position of major components of phone. There are three major form factors seen in mobile phones => bar phones, folding phones and sliding phones. | Bar |
| Dimensions | 66.4x135x8.5 mm |
| Weight | 66.4x135x8.5 mm |
| Colors | Matte Black |
Network
| SIM <strong>SIM</strong> (Subscriber Identity Module) is a small card that contains mobile network subscriber's account information. This allows the phone using the card to attach to a mobile network. The SIM card is most commonly associated with GSM and UMTS mobile networks. Moving a SIM card from one phone to another allows a subscriber to switch mobile phones without having to contact their mobile network carrier. SIM cards can also be used by a phone to store limited amounts of data, such as phone numbers and text messages. | Micro SIM |
| Dual SIM | Yes but at a time, only one SIM can be activated |
| 2G Network | GSM - 900, 1800 |
| 3G Network | WCDMA - 2100 |
| 4G Network | LTE- Band 3, Band 40 |
Software
| Operating System <strong>OS => </strong> Every computer system run on a base software called Operating System (OS). Operating System controls all basic operations of the computer (such as smartphone, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices). The Operating System allows the user to install and run third party applications (apps), apps are used to add new functionality to the device. | Android v5.1 (Lollipop) OS |
| User Interface <strong>UI</strong> or user interface of a device is the look and feel of the on-screen menu system. How it works, its color scheme, how it responds to button presses, all of these things are part of the user interface. | Freedom OS 1.1 |
Connectivity
| Bluetooth <strong>Bluetooth</strong> is a wireless communications technology for exchanging data between mobile phones, headsets, computers and other network devices over short distances without wires, Bluetooth technology was primarily designed to support simple wireless networking of personal consumer devices. | Yes |
| Infrared <strong>Infrared</strong> connectivity is an old wireless technology used to connect two electronic devices. It uses a beam of infrared light to transmit information and so requires direct line of sight and operates only at close range. | |
| Wi-fi <strong>Wi-Fi</strong> is a popular wireless networking technology using radio waves to provide high-speed network connections that allows devices to communicate without cords or cables, Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming the preferred mode of internet connectivity all over the world. | Yes |
| USB | Yes |
| GPS <strong>GPS</strong> The Global Positioning System is a satellite-based radio navigation system, GPS permits users to determine their position, velocity and the time 24 hours a day, in all weather, anywhere in the world, In order to locate your position, your device or GPS receiver must have a clear view of the sky. | Yes |
| NFC <strong>NFC</strong> (Near field communication) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish peer-to-peer radio communications with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than a few inches. |
Benchmarks
Reviews
-
waste phone
This phone is waste phone it doesn't have proper service centers and spare parts not available in market even we don't get help from company. don't buy this mobiles.
Design
The Mobile is a 4.5 inch device. It has a matte finish at the back and smooth rounded corners. It is very comfortable to hold. It is made of plastic and it does not spell premium when it comes to build quality. It does not feel cheap either. The back panel is removable and though it is flimsy, when it is fitted back in the mobile, it fits snugly. The right side has volume and power button made of plastic. The top has the 3.5mm audio socket and a microUSB socket. The mic is at the bottom. The 8 MP camera is at the back assisted by a single LED flash. The 4.5 inch display takes over most of the front apart from the 5MP selfie camera, sensors, earpiece and non-backlit android keys. Overall, the build quality is decent and the design is very minimal. It feels very good to hold in the hand because of its size and it is comfortable to operate as well.
Swipe has included a flexible clear back cover along with the device. It is becoming increasingly common for manufacturers to include back covers with mobile. The case protects the mobile from all side and has cut outs as needed.
Display
Elite 2 has a 4.5 inch IPS display which supports quarter HD resolution. The display is bright and it suits the needs of a handy smart phone. It has optimal brightness, saturation and color reproduction. The viewing angles are decent and has average sunlight legibility. Frankly there is nothing to complain for the price you have paid with respect to the display.
Screen protector film is pre-applied on the mobile. It is a clear film and protects the display to an extent. Otherwise the display is not protected by any branded glass protection.
Hardware and Performance
The Swipe Elite 2 is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor clocked at 1.3 Ghz. It has 1 GB of RAM and an internal storage of 8 GB and expandable by upto 32 GB with microSD card. It supports USB OTG. It has a 8 MP camera at the back and a 5 MP camera on the front. It has WiFi and supports dual SIM cards. But only one SIM can be active at a time. Elite 2 supports 4G network. I faced WiFi connectivity issues with my review unit. The WiFi gets disconnected when the screen gets locked. I have set the WiFi to be always on under setting, but still the issue was persistent. I had to disable and enable WiFi to get back the connectivity. But with 4G connection, there was no issues and I got decent speeds with Airtel 4G in Bangalore.
I also had an issue with storage. Images clicked from the camera never got stored and I realized that the data was not getting written on the ROM or SD card. I had to restart and the issue was resolved. This is not a consistent issue, but something that can frustrate you easily. Both these issues can be resolved with OTA updates and with my interaction with Mr Shripal Gandhi, the founder of Swipe, I can tell that Swipe is committed to give you frequent updates to resolve any issue and improve stability.
The device handles UI smoothly and there was no issue with apps and games as well. The sound out of the speakers are not loud enough, but it is clear. The audio quality on the headphones were decent and provided that the device has FM radio, it offers good music experience.
Camera
The Swipe Elite 2 has a 8 MP sensor at the back and its assisted by a single LED flash. The camera is also capable of recording video at 1080p resolution with 30 fps. The front facing camera is a5 MP sensor. The image quality from the rear facing camera is decent. The color reproduction is natural. The focusing is slow but locks on fairly accurately. Also new to the Elite 2 is focus tracking which tracks the focus on a subject even when it is moving. The images are good on ample daylight. But the camera is almost useless on low light. The flash is not of much help either. The HDR shots are good, but bit over sharpened and the exposure interlacing in uneven. Again, the HDR images come handy only on ample light conditions. The front facing camera is decent for fairly pleasing self portraits. The camera application is straight forward and is easy to use.
Check out these sample shots.
Software
Swipe Elite 2 runs on Android 5.1 with Freedom OS UI skinned on top. The Freedom OS is rightly optimized for a basic mobile like the Elite 2. The UI is snappy and provides a bunch of handy features. The pure Android experience is still retained. Freedom OS rightly compliments the Swipe Elite 2.
Battery
The device is powered by a 1900 mAh battery and the small display and freedom OS optimization helps the device to last for over 1.5 days on a single charge. All the while during my review period I was on 4G network and I check whatsapp and Facebook frequently. I clicked a few pictures now and then and listen to FM radio from the mobile, on speaker while commuting to office. Even with such heavy usage, the device lasted for more than a day on a single charge.
Verdict
Swipe Elite 2 is a very compact and economic smart phone. Build quality is good and the camera is decent. Freedom OS offers a lot of features but it needs to fix the WiFi and memory issues. The Swipe Elite is one of the best options available at this price bracket. Check out the other options compared below
| Phicomm Enegry 653 | Lenovo A2010 | Swipe Elite 2 | |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 (1.1GHz, Quad Core) | MediaTek MT6735m 64-bit Quad-Core 1.0GHz | 64 Bit MediaTek Processor 1.3 GHx |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Display Size | 5 inch | 4.5 inch | 4.5 inch |
| Display resolution | 1280×720 pixels | 480 x 854 Pixels | 960 x 540 Pixels |
| Battery | 2230 mAh | 2000 mAh | 1900 mAh |
| Dimensions | 144 x 7.0 x 8.0 mm | 131.5 x 66.5 x 9.9 mm | 66.4x135x8.5 mm |
| Weight | 125 g | 137 g | 84 |
| Rear Camera | 8.1 MP | 8 MP | 8 |
| FM Radio | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3.5mm Headphone Jack | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internal Memory | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory Slot | Yes upto 64 GB | Yes upto 32 GB | Yes upto 32 GB |
| Operating System | Android 5.1 | Android 5.1 | Android 5.1 |
The Phicomm Energy 653 is a good option, but Swipe Elite 2 is compact and the Freedom OS on the Swipe Elite is stable and functional. I would pick Swipe Elite 2 when compared to the 3 options if I am tasked to pick up a 4G enabled mobile under Rs 5000.
