• MVL G81: Push-mail Phone

    MVL G81: Push-mail Phone

    Rohan Naravane, Aug 11, 2010 1710 hrs IST

    A cheap QWERTY phone, but how does it compare with the Nokia E-series or BlackBerrys?

    Dual SIM, Decent QWERTY tactility, good screen clarity, decent optical trackpad, push mail support, wallet-friendly price

    Odd symbol placement on keyboard, certain elements in UI are downright stupid, no support for hyperlinks or HTML in mail client

    Check specifications
    Write Review
    Expert Rating :
    Rating
    Latest Mobile Prices
    mail share

Expert Review

    next


Push mail, a few years ago, was the proverbial Hattori Hanzo sword with which BlackBerry was able to slice up other QWERY keyboard wielding smartphones. That's not the case anymore today; Google's Android phones do it, Nokia's Symbian phones do it, and now this once-premium service is even seen in a few sub-Rs. 5,000 'uber-china' phones, as I like to personally call them.

Yes, I'm referring to phones from brands like Micromax, Karbonn, Lava etc. that are flashed on TV these days in India. MVL is one such player in this league, and their prime focus currently is on the G81 model -- more popularly known as the 'Push email' phone. It is an affordable, dual-SIM supporting, QWERTY keyboard equipped phone. But is it actually worth buying the G81 instead of going for a much more expensive Nokia or BlackBerry? Let's figure out.


Design and Build

The MVL G81 is a typical candy bar QWERTY shaped phone. It does not look 'cheap' in any sense, thanks to the glossy materials used and that metallic rim wrapping the edges. The phone felt quite light in the hand and the build quality seemed pretty fair too. The keyboard is very much "inspired" from the Blackberry Curve series (especially the 8310 model). The buttons are shaped and even curved the same way as the Blackberry.





The typing experience is also similar; the keys have good tactility and despite their apparent small size, they are pretty decent to type on. Above the keys lies an optical trackpad, which is similar to the BlackBerry Curve 8520. There is no D-pad surrounding the trackpad, like the Nokia E72, so usage is entirely dependent on it. Thankfully, the second usage related stumble has been bridged successfully too. The trackpad is fairly accurate to use and "swipes" across menus swiftly. We kept the sensitivity at 50 percent, which gave us a fine balance between speed and accuracy.

Follow Techtree on Twitter

    next

Do you agree with this Review?
YesNo

Up

25

Down

3

Related Links
Acer Smartphone Coming in Mid February
Nokia N97 mini [Review] (Updated!)
Sony Ericsson P1i
Tag keywords
MVL G81 Push-mail Phone mobile phone MVL review INQ Chat 3G Symbian smartphone Nokia E63 G81



Discussion Board
(5) Comments
kittu
,Kanpur, on May 31, 2011 01:27 PM
ye bhi hai
Report abuse
prashanthq
,bangalore, on Dec 19, 2010 07:01 PM
i think its not good so bcoz in market many mobiles are rocking
Report abuse
Anku Paliwal
,delji, on Oct 01, 2010 05:57 PM
hey cant we update any software i.e opera,nimbuzz or snaptu on this phone??????..Can we install applications based on java platform form get jar or any other site on this phone?????,Please help me with it.. cheers.
Report abuse
Hiren Shukla
,Mumbai, on Aug 23, 2010 02:17 PM
in the review of INQ Chat 3G the price is not Rs.2500 its mentioned "The INQ Chat 3G is priced at Rs. 7,990 athough you can buy it for around Rs. 7,300. "
Report abuse
Rohan
,TechTree, on Aug 24, 2010 02:26 PM
Dear sir, you overlooked the word "Rs. 2500 MORE than the MVL phone".... :)
Report abuse

Opinion Poll