Creo, formerly known as Mango Man Consumer Electronics, of the HDMI streaming dongle Teewe fame, is utilizing its fresh $3Million dollar funding to "make Android better". That's right. That's also what every major Android OEM has been trying to do for the last several years, but now they all acknowledge benefits of being as close to stock Android as possible.
Aesthetically, Android has improved by leaps and bounds with the material design language. Besides, a ROM which retains more elements from stock Android works smoother and can be updated faster. At the same time, Android ecosystem is all about celebrating diversity. Under the banner of "be together, not the same", such third party enhancement are always welcome.
With shorter launch cycles and slimming margins, most domestic manufacturer's aren't willing to invest energy and resources necessary for nurturing custom Android software, and this is where Creo sees opportunity.
The Creo Mark 1 is powered by Fuel OS, which includes features like Eco (an answering machine), sense (a comprehensive search you can use to locate anything on your mark 1), an inbox that segregates spam messages in a different tab, Notification control, Retriever app (An anti-theft App which works without internet and sends alerts whenever a new SIM card is inserted), and more. Aesthetically, the software is very close to stock Android. you can savour material design in iconography, settings menu and notification shade. Creo also promises that new features will be updated every month.
Design-wise, Creo Mark 1 includes a metal side frame between layers of glass. Creo, however, doesn't put an effort to reduce the overall footprint. Its large, its thick and its heavy. The Glass imparts a feel-good factor, but again it accumulates smudges very easily. If you order from official webpage, you can also get a 40 character message engraved on the left edge.
Lowest price of Creo Mark 1 is 19,999 INR, which seems to be a bit expensive coming from a new brand. You can also buy Creo Mark 1 online in India from Flipkart. The best price of Creo Mark 1 is expected to remain same in the near future.
- Sharp display
- Innovative software features
- Capable camera hardware
- No MicroSD card slot
- a bit heavy
- No fingerprint sensor
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