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Analog TV on phones was ones a rage, especially in the part of the world where Spice operates in — India. A decade or so back, everyone wanted one of those massive Chinese phones that could play TV on the go. Although this was restricted only to free-to-air channels like Doordarshan, it was still something back then. Spice feels there’s still a market for that, and has introduced the Stellar 440 smartphone in India today. There’s hardly much to talk about this phone, but yet, let’s go ahead.
The phone comes with a price tag of 5,249 INR ($82), but is available in India for 4,199 INR ($66). The display on the Stellar 440 is a 800 x 480 pixel 4-inch panel, which might just be a little too small to enjoy television on the go. Besides that, the phone has a 1GHz dual-core processor and just 512MB of RAM, which makes it clear that analog TV indeed is the USP of the device.
Other specifications of the device include 4GB of on-board storage, which is expandable via microSD by another 32GB. A 3.2-megapixel camera sits on the rear, while a 1.3-megapixel snapper is found on the front of the Stellar 440. The device runs Android KitKat, which in itself is a bit of a surprise considering the specifications. Keeping in mind the target audience the device is looking at, I’d be surprised if Spice even talk about an upgrade to Lollipop. In other words, Lollipop seems extremely far-fetched at the moment for the Stellar 440.
Dual-SIM is another feature that’s quite a hit in this part of the world, and Spice has made sure the Stellar 440 doesn’t miss out on that. The phone also has support for 3G data, which I assume will be available on either of the two SIM networks, but not both. Another surprising addition are dual front-facing speakers, something we don’t usually get to see in phones as affordable as this one. Users of the Stellar 440 will be able to enjoy their TV and music via these front facing speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack, which will also be used as the antenna for the FM radio function. The device can be ordered via popular online store Saholic.