No hello from the other side: Gadget review of Elite Swipe Note

Despite a good camera and an elegant body, the Elite Swipe Note fails to get the basics right

The phone’s build is sleek and sturdy

Despite a good camera and an elegant body, the Elite Swipe Note fails to get the basics right

Quick specs

What: Swipe Elite Note(16GB)

At a glance: 5.5 HD IPS display, 1.3 GHz Quad Core, 3GB RAM, 3000 mAh battery, 13 MP back and 5 MP front camera

USP: Sturdy, elegant build, long-lasting battery

Best buy: ₹7,999 on flipkart.com

Rating: 2/5

If Adele had sung her recent hit Hello on the Elite Swipe, the answer to her question "Can you hear me?" would have invariably been 'No'. Why? Because the device's receiver speaker is far from ideal. Think talking to your wall on a phone. What if we put in on speaker? Two things wrong with that: one, it's not always advisable to take all your calls on speaker; two: the speakers, too, are average.

Despite its obvious shortcomings, the Swipe Elite Note has redeeming qualities: the build is sleek and sturdy, and it packs in powerful 3GB RAM, a Quad Core processor, and a sharp display.

What's good: For a competitive price, the handset delivers on almost all fronts. The 3GB RAM combined with a 1.3GHz processor enables the phone to run several apps at once, besides heavy games (NFS and Angry Birds 2) without lag. The phone also packs a good battery: it last us for an entire day of heavy use on a single charge. Its biggest plus is the cameras (13MP primary and 5MP in front). The images are sharp even in low light. The handset also checks all the boxes for a user to have an immersive movie-watching experience: the 13.9-cm HD IPS display is bright and sharp.

What's not: The phone fails on the most basic function of a handset: a phone call. The receiver is poor and we experienced what most Skype callers in India experience: one side screaming to the other, asking if they are audible. The handset also heats up after an hour of continuous gaming. It does the same thing if left on charge for just 30 minutes. The phone's size, too, is a hassle: the handset is too big to use with just one hand.

Verdict: For the price, the Elite Swipe Note packs in a lot of impressive features. If you are the kind who doesn't mind carrying an additional basic phone to make the calls, you might want to invest in this phone.