Creo Mark 1 Preview

Its another day , and we have another smartphone on our hands, and this time its from India !!
Christened, the Mark 1, the first offering from Bangalore based startup CREO is something of a dream come true for anyone who was looking for a community (or fan base ) driven smartphone. I say this because , even though the device comes loaded with some top notch flagship grade specifications, the main focus, according to the company, is the software inside. Based on the latest Android offering, the Fuel OS software inside the CREO Mark 1 will be treated to a software upgrade every month, bringing in new functionality to the fore, thus giving the users ” A new phone every month “. Whats interesting though, is that the functionalities that will be bundled inside every update will be based on feedback and requests made by the users on the dedicated forum. See why I said Community driven before ?

Among the truck load of features on the Fuel OS, we have –

• SENSE – A universal search engine , which will literally find anything present on your device in a flash. Just Double tap the Home button, and the Sense bar will open up. Its that simple.

 

• ECHO – This is basically a voicemail service, that works with any carrier. I believe it lets you record a message in your voice, that will play to the caller on the other end if you fail to pick up the call.

 

• RETRIEVER – This feature sends you an email if there is a change of SIM card on your CREO Mark 1 device. Really nifty in case your device has been nicked.

 

• SMART FORWARDING – This automatically forwards the call from one sim to the other , in case the one in question is unreachable. Ofcourse though, you will need two Sim Cards in operation for this feature to do anything.

So basically, you can see that CREO has done its very best in covering all bases before launching this device, and as  far as the software is concerned, I give this device a big Thumbs UP.

Coming to the hardware, the CREO Mark 1 features a metal frame in a gunmetal black shade, with Gorilla Glass 3 protection on the front and back. The display is a 5.5 inch QHD display, while the whole package is powered by the Mediatek Helio X10 chipset with 3 GB of on board RAM and a decent 3100 mAh battery.
We also  a 21 MP Sony IMX230 sensor on the back , with 4K video recording and slo-mo capture at 120 fps. On the front, we have an 8MP selfie snapper which also features 3D photos, Live Photo Mode and Beautify.
Personally, I would have loved to see the Snapdragon 820 chipset powering this device, as it would have taken the CREO mark 1 to the very top of its potential. Otherwise, the device is a sheer monster.

Coming to the logistics, CREO has set up a countrywide service network of 106 centers in 96 cities (set to increase to around 300 centers in 150 cities in the coming months) and pick up and drop service in 15 cities. You can also chat with the customer service by typing “CREO Support” in the aforementioned Sense app.

All in all, the CREO Mark 1 looks poised to take on the market, and bring about a much needed change to the smartphone market. These are early days, but with smart thinking, I believe CREO will go a long way.

Do check out the CREO website for more details on the device. The phone will launch at a reasonable price of INR 19,999 and will be available to purchase on the official CREO website, or Flipkart.