Maxx Khamoshhh series was released last month, and we played around with the MX401 for sometime. The MX401 is Dual-SIM with a 2.4″ screen and features SAM noise suppression technology. At under Rs 3000, Maxx has brought noise suppression technology to a low-end device, promising to make your conversations pleasant in between the urban rush. So does the Mx401 live up to the expectations? SAM delivers? Read on for our review of the Maxx Mx401.
Maxx MX401 Specifications:
- 2.4″ colour screen
- 2MP camera with video recording
- 208 MHz processor
- FM Radio / 3.5mm audio out / large speakers
- Fortemedia SAM dual mic noise suppression
- 1500 mAh Battery
- Price INR 2833
Design:
Maxx MX401 is a complete plastic built. You have the volume controls on the left and a micro USB port on the right. The USB port has a soft rubber covering that looks a little weak and is hard to close once opened. The 3.5 mm audio out is right above the USB port. You would also notice a large speaker grill on the back. The entire back cover comes out to reveal the 1500 mAh battery. You would notice the camera glass on the back cover and an open lens below it, as you use this device dust might just find itself settling in over the lens. Below the battery is the SIM slots and MicroSD card slot.
They number keys are on a single piece of plastic in each row and yet it remains pretty usable. Two call buttons (one for each SIM) and one end button are placed on sides of the 5 way D-pad. Two menu keys and one dedicated noise suppression button are also placed under the display. The noise cancellation mic is near the camera and in most cases stays away from our finger when on a call. Perhaps the only thing that hurts us here is the lack of spacing between the D pad and number pad. We ended up pressing the D-pad accidentally when trying to hit a number key.
Video Review – Maxx MX401
Features & Performance:
Maxx Mx401 has a standard dual-SIM operation and both SIMs + microSD card can be accessed after removing the battery, thus not hot-swappable. The phone gives you two separate call logs, one for each SIM, and like most other dual-SIM phones we have seen, at a time you can only use one SIM for making a call (or receiving.) i.e. both SIMs stay on standby, but as one gets active the other is inaccessible. At this price range, the phone features a good display, 2.4″ in size.
The input on Mx401 is weird and we took sometime to figure it out. While we are told this is common for this segment, a simple T9 would have been so much better. Your typing speed on this would be considerably slower and gave that the devices features an organizer with To-Do list and some Internet love, the slow input hurts. Not a deal-breaker, but a drawback of low cost device. This brings us to the www.
The phone is pre-loaded with Opera Mini (hidden under Fun & Games > Java), and we wish we could have put it to test. Like, many other low cost phones in this range we were unable to configure GPRS on the Maxx MX401. We are sure, there must be a way to get it working, but after over 20 mins of struggle, we decided to quit. We don’t expect too many MX401 owners using Internet on this, but if you do plan to go online with this, do lookup ‘how to get GPRS working on Maxx Mx401?”
The loud speaker output on the Maxx MX401 is loud and doesn’t distort much. The earphones are of cheap plasticky make (expected!) and deliver decent sound with a lot of trebles, which might eek you out at times. We test the video playback with a few .MP4 clips, the playback is smooth. Video player doesn’t give you an option to forward or rewind a video, so once you hit play, you better watch till the end. A MicroSD card slot is a handy add-on, the MX401 comes bundled with a 2GB card.
MX401 features FM and a FM recorder. You can record live FM in AMR, WAV or AWB formats and select high or low quality to control the output size. A very handy feature on the MX401 is ‘schedule FM recording’ that lets you set a date, time and FM channel for automatically recording a FM channel of your choice. We tested this and were surprised to see that FM scheduling actually works on the MX401.
MX401: SAM Noise Suppression Test
Maxx Khamoshhh series handsets feature a Fortemedia’s Small Array Microphone (SAM) dual mic technology to suppression background noise. The handsets are promoted with ‘noise suppression’ being the killer feature. It’s good to hear about a fancy new technology being implemented on a low cost phone and we decided to put the SAM noise suppression technology on the MX401 to test.
Below you can see two live calls from the MX401, recorded from the other end. The first is against general traffic on Mumbai roads while the second is with some loud music playing in the background. You can see that the SAM magic works and works well when it comes to eliminating background noise. The only little downside being the deterioration in the voice clarity, it seems as if the output has turned from stereo to mono, the moment you switch on the noise suppression. Overall we are pleased with the noise suppression that Maxx has managed to bundle in a low cost device.
Audio sample 1: Maxx Mx401 SAM 1
Audio sample 2: Maxx Mx401 SAM 2
Camera Sample:
The MX 401 features a basic 2MP camera that gives an acceptable output. Given the processor speed you would wait before the camera is ready to take a consecutive shot or even save a video, but we aren’t complaining. It works. The video output is basic and we find it a little extra shaky. You an see the photo and video samples below.
MX401 Camera Video Sample
Verdict:
At Rs 2800, the MX401 delivers a dual-SIM with camera and also bundles a noise suppression technology. We aren’t sure if the users of this segment are as crazy about audio quality as we are, but a feature that improves the ‘phone’ bit of a mobile-phone is welcome. The MX401 also packs in video recording, FM with an awesome recording scheduler and a decent sized screen with good icons and a usable UI, something we aren’t very used to seeing on too many low end devices. Not being able to use Internet on this hurts us though.
If Dhoni & co’s recent performance doesn’t affect it too much, Maxx has a winner here!
