Design: Compact but back is too glossy
The Eluga Turbo is a compact smartphone with a glass finish on the back and metal frame on the sides. The glass panel gives it a nice look but it smudges a lot with finger prints and dust particles. The back also feels too slippery in the hand, if you are not careful. At 145g and 6.9mm, the Eluga Turbo is on par with most 5-inch screen phones in terms of weight and thickness, and fits rather snugly in the hand.
Display: Small but colourful
The smartphone’s 5-inch display has a screen resolution of 1280x720p. The resolution is not very high but it doesn’t feel inferior to a full HD screen in terms of sharpness and how the content looks on the display. The viewing angles are brilliant and it can handle reflections and visibility in bright light very well, without compromising comfort of use. The glass above the screen tends to catch finger prints a bit too easily, and you’ll have to clean quite often.
Software: Runs old Android with a unique touch
The phone runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) out of the box with a uniquely designed custom interface. Unlike the plain Android interface seen in the Moto G, the app drawer shows as a small window overlay on the home page itself and not as a separate part of the navigation. This is indeed rather unique, and takes some getting used to, and is definitely a good thing for people who do not have long fingers. You can arrange the apps in alphabetical order, or in the order of the most used. The rest of the elements such as settings, notification and multi-tasking window look like plain Android.
Performance: Smooth with day to day tasks
Powered by MT6753 octa-core processor with 3GB of RAM, the phone is powerful enough to handle most mainstream chores smoothly. Switching between apps, even with about 8 to 10 apps running in the background, is smooth. The phone can handle HD movie playback and games such as Smash Hit and Temple Run without any niggles, but struggles with heavy games such as FIFA 16. The device offers about 32GB of internal storage which is impressive for a budget smartphone. Most of the budget smartphones still offer 16GB of storage at most. It is a dual SIM phone and supports 4G networks as well. The phone’s 2,350mAh battery will last for a day at most if you are a moderate user.
Camera: Good for daylight use
The phone’s 13-megapixel camera is a mixed bag. It processes images fast but the slightest of shakes can affect the focus and the picture quality. This is mainly because the camera lacks optical image stabilisation. Outdoor shots look satisfying since the colours look realistic and the detailing is good enough for sharing on social media. Low-light shots are poor and often blurred if you don’t have extremely stable hands. The phone’s 5-megapixel front camera works best in bright light and is good for taking group selfies and for video calls.
Verdict
The new Eluga Turbo has some strong points, which includes the snug design, the good screen and consistent performance. Its immediate rivals include the Moto G 3rd Gen (Rs.10,999) which has a water resistant body and runs a clean Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system.
