The Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X is a 5-inch budget smartphone equipped with an 8-megapixel camera and Android 4.2 and comes with a decent Rs. 6,499 price tag.
In the Box
Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X smartphone
Charger
USB cable
User Guide
Headphone
Hardware
The Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X smartphone is 5-inch sturdy smartphone, albeit, it is a bit bulky. It is plastic but smooth to hold and use. You have the choice between a flip cover and a plastic back both of which look good. The phone is a bit on the heavy side.
On the front, we have a 5-inch FWVGA Capacitive Touch screen and above it a 1.3-megapixel camera. You will also find a speaker grill and sensor nearby.
Below the display, you will find 3 capacitive touch buttons. The USB slot and 3.5mm audio jack are located atop the handset while a Microphone is located at the bottom.
While on the left, we can find the Volume rocker, and on the left, you will find the power button.
On the back, rests the stylish 8-megapixel camera and the removable back cover which will give you access to the microSD card slot and the microSIM slot.
Display
Spice has packed in a 5-inch FWVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 480 x 854p display, which felt okay to use, although the resolution seems a tad low for a 5-inch screen.
The touchscreen responsivity could have been a tad better. The sunlight visibility is a bit drab, but the UI makes up for it.
Performance
The Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X smartphone is equipped with a 1.3 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. The processor works fine for a budget phone but one should not expect too much out of it. We did experience some lags here and there.
Software, UI and Storage
The Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X like its predecessor the Spice Smart Flo Mettle 4X comes with Android 4.2 – Jelly Bean OS. Spice has loaded the phone with both third party apps such as Theme Family, Nimbuzz and NQ Mobile Security and its own apps such as Spice World and Spice Cloud.
The Keyboard is stock Android one, but the menu is populated by equisitively big Icons and kind of faces sooftware lags, making the phone feel a little substandard.
The internal memory on the device is 4 GB and MicroSD support extends up to 32 GB.
The UI is similar to usual Android one, except the extra large icons.
Camera
The 8-megapixel rear camera on this phone is a big leap from a 3.2-megapixel one on its predecessor. But, sadly the sensor and lens fail to match up. Photos are mostly pretty noisy.
It is also a little difficult to focus sometimes with the camera. The photos are okay, but the general feeling about the photos is that they are below par.
Samsung Note 3 Vs Spice Smart Flo Mettle 5X photo comparison
Connectivity and battery
The phone, despite boasting of improved features still doesn’t support 3G. Both dual-SIM slots are for 2G only. The phone supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The reception is okay.
The battery life did not leave us complaining, the 1800 mA battery generally fares well.
Conclusion
Priced at Rs. 6,499, this phones fares well unless you are talking about the camera or the software. But it still has good stuff on offer and is worth a peek, if you are in the market for a budget smartphone.
