Philips W6610

Review in pictures

A plus-sized model with curvy edges

• The Philips W6610 is quite bulky, measuring 11.4mm in thickness and weighing 200g

• The back panel is fixed but there’s a metal strip that can be removed to access two full-size SIM slots and a microSD card slot

• The device also features a dedicated button to activate the Power Saving mode

Low on pixels, but fluid to the touch

• The 5-inch IPS display offers an average qHD (960 x 540 pixels) resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 220ppi

• The resolution could be a tad low, but on the plus side, the display is bright, with good sunlight legibility and responsiveness

• It also offers a Glove Mode

8-megger cam can churn out decent results

• The phone features an 8MP primary camera with LED flash, and a 2MP front-facing shooter

• The camera app offers the usual scene modes, HDR, Panorama, face detection and timer functions

• There’s a dedicated button for various colour effects

• Voice Capture is also available

Good in daylight, blurry in low light

• The primary camera is decent, churning out good daylight images

• In low light images are grainy and but usable

• The front shooter is fine for selfies in bright lighting, but it’s a fixed focus camera so images aren’t always sharp

• There’s also a Face Beauty mode to give you a fair and lovely makeover, if that’s your thing

No frills Android Jelly Bean

• The W6610 runs an outdated Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, with no indication of a KitKat update in the offing

• There are barely any software tweaks or customisations

• The notification bar has a separate tab for quick settings

• Pre-loaded apps include Chrome, and utilities like an FM radio, torch and notes

• The app drawer displays the wallpaper in the background

Power Saving for never-ending battery life

• Power Saving is the only app added by Philips, which lets you extend battery life even further

• There’s a Default mode which retains calls and SMS but turns off data and Wi-Fi

• The Customised mode lets you specify brightness and timeout parameters, decide whether to disable Wi-Fi, data, Bluetooth, GPS, and clean running apps

Capable daily driver that’s low on storage

• The device is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 chipset, paired with 1GB of RAM and a Mali 400 MP2 GPU

• Performance was zippy, with no lags or app closes• It can even handle heavy games like Riptide GP2 with ease• There’s only 4GB of internal storage, out of which around 2.7GB is

available to the user

Monster battery that never dies

• The phone’s mammoth 5,300mAh is definitely its highlight

• It easily lasted us three-four days with regular use, and heavy users won’t need to charge it more than once in two days

• It blew away the competition in our video loop test, running for 23 hours straight before dying out

At a glance

• 5-inch, 960 x 540 pixels, 220ppi

• 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor

• Mali 400 MP2 GPU• 1GB RAM• 4GB built in storage with

microSD slot• 8MP primary, 2MP front

camera• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean• 5,300mAh battery• Dual-SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi,

Bluetooth, GPS

-• Bulky dimensions• Just 4GB of storage• Outdated operating

system• Average screen

resolution• Overpriced

Pros and cons

+• Unbeatable battery life• Responsive display• Solid build quality• Good primary camera• Almost stock Android

with no bloatware

Rs 16,999 (online price)

Pricing and verdict

“The Philips W6610 is obviously a niche product, targeted at those who require a smartphone but don’t want to be plagued by battery issues. Unfortunately, its low storage, average display resolution, outdated OS and high price don’t bode well, given the competition in the form of the Gionee M2 and Micromax Canvas Power. But given that it’s now selling for significantly less than its MRP, the W6610 could be a palatable proposition, as long as you’re willing to make a few compromises.