Google’s Android One, after some initial PR-built hype, failed drastically. And the failure was so drastic, that it forced the company to rethink and hence re-launch (under the ‘next-gen’ banner of course) Android One, with focus now shifted from budget segment to mid-tier buyers.
The first smartphone under the ‘next-gen Android One’ tag was launched by Google today, in collaboration with Indian smartphone manufacturer Lava — the Lava Pixel V1. The phone,as touted by Google is the “newer generation model” of that failure called the Android One initiative.
So what does new-gen or next-gen or whatever it is that Google is calling this new phone means ? In terms of Google, it means larger screen and soem already available, cheap better hardware.
The sole rejoicing fact for this new phone’s buyers could be that it already runs the latest version of Android operating system – i.e. Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and will be among the first to receive future updates, along with Nexus devices. And thats it.
As for the rest of specs, the phone supports Dual SIM 3G connectivity along with the usual set of connectivity options. It packs 2560 mAh battery.
The Lava Pixel V1 comes with a 5.5-inch HD IPS display (1280 x 720 pixels) with Asahi Dragon Trail Glass protection to guard the display from “minor” scratches. The phone is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core processor MT6582 (yes, MediaTek) with 2GB of RAM.
It comes with 32GB of internal memory and has a microSD card slot which can expand the storage further up to 32GB. As of the camera, the phone features a 13 MP camera on rear and an 8 MP shooter at front.
When compared with previous generation models, they had a 4.5 inch display with 1.3GHz quad core processor, 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front facing camera, 1 GB RAM and 4 GB internal storage. So basically, you almost triple-quadruple everything to get the next-gen Android One.
Learning from its previous debacle, Google is taking shorter steps this time. As a result, the company has partnered with only one brand this time — Lava for the new generation of Android One smartphones. Last time, it partnered with three different companies for three different phones with exact same specifications. The only differentiating thing being the designs of those phones.
Unlike last time, the Lava Pixel V1 will be sold across multiple channels, including online and offline from the beginning. Again, something which could have saved Android one from that disaster earlier. The phone has been priced at Rs. 11,349, almost twice the price of previous generation phones.
