Spice Mi-280

Overview

Spice Mi280: Basic Android Phone

Overview of Spice Mi280

Spice Mi280 is a dual-SIM Android v2.3 Gingerbread phone which was launched by Spice Communications Limited. Spice Mi-280 is a light weight bar-style touch phone by Spice. It is a sleek and light weight phone having dimension of 105.5 x 57 x 12.9 mm and weighs 96 g. It features a 2.8 inches TFT LCD Capacitive Touch screen Display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The internal memory comprises of 134 MB Storage, 512MB Nand Flash ROM and 256MB RAM. T-flash card would allow an external memory of up to 32 GB.

It features a 1000 mAh battery that allows a talk time of up to 3 hours and a standby time of up to 144 hours. It sports a 3.2MP camera having image resolution of 2048x1536 pixels with geo-tagging and VGA front camera. This model comes with 5-way key and touch navigation button. This model features FM Radio, Multi-format Music Player (MP3, AAC, WAV, MIDI, AMR) and Video Player (MP4, 3GP) and 3.5 mm audio jack. Spice Mi-280 supports GPRS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EDGE and 3G connectivity. It runs on a 600MHz Processor + GPU which bring about the advanced internet applications. Loaded with an Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread) it is indeed an impressive and graceful make of smart phone by Spice.

Spice Mi280 Design and Build Quality

Silver and black coating offers no style points. It is extremely lightweight but the plastic that encases most of the device does not give it a high build quality. There are four capacitive buttons that include a call, end, and directional keypad. There is also a volume rocker on the left side, a 3.5mm headphone slot, and a microUSB connector.

User Interface and Comfort to Use Spice Mi280

Running on Android 2.3.4, the device navigates well for a device with a 600 MHz processor. A default Facebook and Twitter application makes social networking integration a part of the Mi-280. The task manager will come in handy when there are a lot of applications running that cause the device to slow done. There is also a drop down notification menu that allows you to toggle profiles, power, and connectivity.

Messaging and Emails

You will have access to threaded SMS messages which will make your text messages look more like a conversations. Email access is easy to setup due to the device's Android operating system.

Gallery, Photo Viewer and Video Player

A low resolution screen will allow you to access the photos on your device though it will not look the greatest. It is a generic Android photo gallery that will let you look through your pictures and manage between different albums.

Spice Mi280 Music Player and FM Radio

There is an FM radio that will allow you to have access to radio stations. A music player will enable you to listen to your own music via a microSD card. Audio quality sounds a bit tiny off the speakers. You will have a better experience via a set of headphones.

Spice Mi280 Camera and Image Quality

You have multiple options with the camera including brightness level, night vision, photo CLI, wide screen video, and multi-shot. This is all available via a 3.2 MP camera and front-facing 0.3MP VGA camera. There is not going to be quality photos taken from this device.

Video Camera and Video Quality

Video quality will not par much better on the Mi-280. The resolution on the screen and low MP camera is simply not a good combo for these multimedia purposes.

Spice Mi280 Connectivity Options

This dual SIM is available on GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 bands. There is also Bluetooth, Wi-fi and USB connectivity.

Web Browser and Applications

A WAP 2.0 xHTML browser will give you the ability to access the internet. You have access to applications via the Android market. You have Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, RSS Feed, YouTube, Word Press, Blogger, MySpace, and Picasa all integrated into the Spice Mi-280.

Google Maps and GPS

GPS support is available with A-GPS.

Value for Money and Verdict

There are no remarkable features or distinctions that the Spice Mi-280 has to offer. The battery life is less than stellar, at a 3 hour talk time capability. The internal storage on the device is very low that makes it difficult to hold a lot of applications. There are other devices that would be a better fit for this price range and category.