ET Review: Zen UltraPhone U4

NEW DELHI: Zen’s UltraphoneU4 is the first phone in this price segment with a 4.3-inch touchscreen (most phones at this price have a 4-inch display). However, in terms of features and hardware, the U4 is similar other offerings.


It has a screen resolution of 800 x 480 pixels and runs Android 2.3 on a 1 GHz processor with 512MB RAM. At first glance, the build quality of the device seems good and it's easy to grip.

However, there is a tiny gap between the front glass and the chassis, which attracts dust particles. With just a few days of regular usage, there was a sufficient amount of dust build up.

In terms of performance, the phone is good enough for basic smartphone functions. It works well for calling, simple productivity apps, simple games, social networking, music and low res video playback.

Anything else and it starts getting sluggish. HD videos are a big no no and even games like Temple Run and Angry Birds ran with a low frame rate. The 3MP rear camera takes images good enough only for social networking sites.


Another issue we faced was of connecting the phone with a data cable to the computer. We tried different cables and computers, but the phone was unable to connect in mass storage mode for transferring data.

The 4.3-inch display alone will not redeem the phone. The performance is acceptable for the price, but the older version of Android and the other issues make it best avoided.

For the same price you can consider Lava’s Iris N400: a 4-inch phone with similar hardware and features but better build quality and the newer Android 4.0.

Also see: Lava Iris N400

4-inch (800 x 480 pixels), dual sim, 1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 512MB + microSD, Android 4.0, 5MP/VGA camera,1500 mAh battery

Rs 6,499