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).

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