Tech-Com T-21 – Affordable dual SIM, MP4/3GP video champ Review

Tech-Com T-21 – Affordable dual SIM, MP4/3GP video champ Review
VERDICT:

Bundled with features like personal data security, full length movie-playback, LED torch and 3.5mm audio jack, the T-21 makes a strong statement as one of the cheapest dual SIM, value for money cellphones in the market today. At Rs. 1500, it makes a great buy; if you can overlook its shoddy keypad & poor ergonomics.

[RELATED_ARTICLE]The T-21 incorporates a 3.5mm audio jack on the left, a USB power port on the right and the LED torch at the top. The colour coding of T-21 is identical to the Micromax’s X250, which also incorporates black with red colour pattern. Also, the design aesthetics of the navigational control are quite similar to each other. That should not sound like just a coincidence, as both the cellphones are dual SIMs. The only features separating the two are: Bluetooth and the integrated camera which are missing on the T-21.

However, we could forgive the T-21, as it is one of the cheapest dual SIMs available in the market today at Rs. 1500; while the Micromax X250 is priced a little higher at Rs. 2500 (street prices might be much lower). The X250 misses out on the 3.5mm audio jack, while it is the strong point of the T-21 making it a better multimedia cellphone. T-21 is rated to play a full three hour length (200MB) movie without any hiccups, while being the flagship MP4/3GP video player champ in the low budget category (under Rs. 1500).

Techcom T-21

Incorporating hard touch keys, the T-21 looks and feels rugged. However, it results in poor tactile feedback forcing the user to press the keys harder for registering the input successfully. The slow response time to display the user input makes typing even more cumbersome & straining to the fingers. Overall, the shoddy keypad design aesthetics and poor ergonomics happen to be the biggest drawbacks for such a value for money cellphone. However, the menu interface is neat and well organized.

Read on to know the performance, our take, specifications, ratings and performance test results in the next page…

 

Performance

The Techcom T-21 performed quite satisfactorily with unwavering voice clarity & signal reception across zones one and two. Though we did notice a slight drop in voice clarity across zone three, there were no dropped calls during the whole test. The loudspeaker however yielded distorted sounds at volumes higher than 50% and the call clarity was not consistent throughout. The handsfree delivered consistent voice clarity across all the zones, except the audibility was very feeble even at maximum volume. Thus, both the loudspeaker and handsfree defeated the purpose of their use in noisy environments.

[RELATED_ARTICLE]The bundled earphones delivered good bass & treble balance, with excellent lows and mids throughout our music test. However, the loudspeaker produced distorted vocals at medium volumes and the lack of bass boost was very much evident. The display quality is ordinary with limited scope for viewing angles and poor legibility under bright sunshine.

The T-21 lived up to its expectations with crisp and high clarity video & sound playback sans stuttering or pixelation. However, the lagging frame rates indicated a weak processor, which would otherwise justify the flagship tag for this super-value for money cellphone. Forgiving the slightly lagging frame rates, we still consider it the MP4/3GP video player champ in the low budget category! We have reviewed more than a few dozen cellphones in this low budget category and have not witnessed the high clarity video playback before.

Our Take

Bundled with features like personal data security, full length movie-playback, LED torch and 3.5mm audio jack, the T-21 makes a strong statement as one of the cheapest dual SIM and value for money cellphones in the market today. At Rs. 1,500, it makes a great buy; if you can overlook its shoddy keypad & poor ergonomics.

Specifications: SIM (GSM GSM); Display: 1.8-inch; Memory: microSD expandable up to 8GB; Battery: 850 mAh, Talk-time: 2.5 to 3 hours, Standby-time: 150 to 170 hours; Dimensions: 108 x 45 x 13.5 mm; Weight: 76 grams;

Ratings
Features: 6
Performance: 6
Build Quality: 5
Value for money: 7
Overall: 6

Contact: Techcom
Phone: 26428541 / 42
E-mail: techcom@airtelmail.in
Website: www.techcomindia.com
Price: Rs. 1,500

Brand Intex
Model T-21
Features  
Physical Specs  
Form Factor Candy Bar
2G Network Bands GSM 900/1800 / GSM 900/1800
3G Network Bands N/A
Screen Resolution
Screen Size (inches) 1.8
Maximum Screen colours
Touchscreen / Dual Screen (Y/N) N
Battery Rating 850mAh
Dimensions (L x W x H) in mm 108x45x13.5
Weight 76 grams (with battery)
Expandable Memory Type microSD
Hot Swappable (Y/N) N
Available Colours Black with red
Other Features  
Operating System Proprietary
Charging via USB (Y/N) Y
Hardware Keypad (Regular/QWERTY) Regular
Accelerometer (For auto rotate) (Y/N) N
Address Book Capacity 500
No of calls in register 20 dialled, 20 received, 20 missed
Talk Time / Standby Time * 2.5 to 3 hours / 150 to 170 hours
No of Profiles # / Customisable (Y/N) 5/Y
Offline Operability (Y/N) Y
Inbuilt GPS / A-GPS support (Y / N) N
Connectivity  
Browsing (GPRS/EDGE/3G) Y/N/N
EDGE max speed N/A
3G max speed N/A
Connectivity (WiFi/Bluetooth/IR/USB) N/N/N/Y
Bluetooth Version/A2DP support (Y/N) N/A
Accessories  
Bundled Accessories Charger, handsfree headset, USB cable
Size of memory card provided None
Overall Build Quality (So 10) 5
Overall Ergonomics (So 10) 6
Keypad Design (So 10) 5.5
Camera Specs  
Camera Resolution (Mega Pixels) N/A
Video Capture Resolution N/A
Dual Cameras / Auto Focus / Flash (Y/N) N/A
Mirror for self portrait (Y / N) N/A
Camera Settings (So 10) N/A
Zoom (Optical/Digital) N/A
Multimedia  
Music Formats supported MP3, AMR
Video formats supported 3GP, MP4, AVI
FM Radio (Y/N) Y
Performance  
Signal Reception and Voice Clarity (So 10)  
Zone 1 6.5
Zone 2 6
Zone 3 5
Device Earpiece Volume 6.5
Device Loudspeaker clarity 5
Handsfree Clarity 6
Speaker Volume (on call) 7
Bluetooth Transfer Speed (kbps) N/A
WiFi signal strength (Zone 2) N/A
Captured Photo Quality (So 10)  
Captured Photo Colour N/A
Captured Photo Crispness N/A
Captured Video Quality N/A
Loudspeaker Audio Quality 5
Bundled Earphones Quality 7
Display  
Quality of display 6
Viewing angle of display 5
Legibility in bright sunlight 4
Video Playback Quality (So 10) 6.5
Price (MRP, Rs) Rs. 1500

 
* Manufacturer Rated  


Vinod Yalburgi
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