Spice S-1200 12 Megapixel Camera Phone

The camera phone has been steadily evolving and we’re up to 12 megapixels right now with features like face, smile and even blink detection technology putting them almost on the same league as some compact digicams that cost just as much. So far there have been just two 12MP camera phones that have been officially available on the market and Spice’s S-1200 is the third. They’ve managed to beat the competition’s pricing quite drastically but will it live up to their standards? Take a closer look.

Form Factor
The S-1200 is a very generic looking handset in a sort of old fashion bulky way.  From the front it’s hard to tell that this mobile packs a 12 megapixel camera with 3X optical zoom and a xenon flash. There’s no other camera on the Indian market (officially) that has a camera quite like this, not the Sony Ericsson Satio and not the Samsung Pixon12. Micromax had developed a rather large and extremely bulky 8MP camera phone with 3X optical zoom about a year ago, but the S-1200 has managed to keep things sleeker and simpler in comparison and has gone with a traditional mobile look rather than a touchscreen. The handset isn’t heavy enough to complain about (130 g) but like I said, it’s thick enough (16mm in depth) to leave a bulge in your pocket. On the other hand, it's not like the competition is thinner.

A tad bulky

The 2.4-inch TFT LCD sports a 240 x 320 pixel resolution and is sharp enough to read clearly even in bright sunlit conditions. While the navigation system and the buttons around it are okay, the keypad is a little too congested and typing is not easy at all. The bottom of the nav-pad is too close to the ‘2’ key which makes hitting that button a real problem. It’ll take some getting used to. The middle section of keys double up for camera shortcuts as do the top and bottom buttons on the nav-pad (zoom in and out). On one side are the volume keys that can also be used for zooming, followed by the camera activation key that also works as the selector to switch between stills and video, and then the Shutter release. A universal mini USB port is at the bottom and a microSD card slot (supports 32GB cards) is located on the other side. Not incorporating a standardized 3.5 mm hands-free, with so much space available, was a bad idea.

Features and Performance
Interface
The Java UI is relatively the same as the ones that handle Dual SIM handsets. It is however very smooth and fluid with no lag. One of the most annoying things about this UI is typing because the Multi-tap Alphabet settings are not designed well at all. This is a universal concern for handsets without QWERTY keypads. The icons are colourful and navigation is fairly simple with options quite clearly marked out. Even the camera responds quite quickly for activation, processing images etc.

Simple Java based UI

Media
The S-1200 didn’t fare too well when it came to multimedia. The music player, even with a set of presets, an 8 band customizable graphic EQ and Bass enhancement was too low and the overall quality was not well balanced. Higher tones were a little too sharp and even with the enhancements the bass was not resounding well enough via the bundled hands-free. Even the speakerphone was too low to have a decent conversation let alone listen to any music. Video refused to play irrespective of the resolution, the audio from the files seemed to be just fine. The FM radio was not too bad with fairly clear reception in most places but virtually none while commuting even if I sat near the window. The static was way more prevalent than some of the lower budget handsets I’ve tested. The radio comes with a built-in recorder that can also be set to a specific time.

Not too great in the media dept.

For photos, Spice has included a Photo Editor software. A voice recording option is also available but for clear recordings, you’ll have to keep the handset at least a foot away from you. A couple of games that are thrown in and are quite entertaining.

Connectivity
The S-1200 supports EDGE (Class 12) which means you can also download your emails if you have a POP or IMAP account. The modes of connectivity include Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR which also includes A2DP, USB 2.0 and TV out via the USB port for which, cables have been bundled with the packaging. If the native browser is not working for you, Opera Mini is also a preloaded option via Spice’s add-ons. Among the many add-ons are Nimbuzz for social networking, Netcore Solution’s Email2SMS, access to Spice Gang which is a social networking feature for Spice mobile users, a Reuters app for the latest news, ngPay (an Mgugujee link for students), link to Cricket Updates, Ibibo and a job search link as well.

Decent connectivity options

What’s missing is a stand-alone Facebook app that would allow you to easily upload images to the site. Considering the camera is the handset’s main asset this would have helped it sell better.