It’s finally happened, folks — Micromax’s Yu brand has launched its first smartphone. It’s called Yureka, and it’s based on CyanogenMod. The duo have an exclusive agreement for Indian distribution, meaning this will be the only smartphone loaded with CyanogenMod that you can get in those parts of the world (OnePlus has even had to halt sales of their Cyanogen-based smartphone in that region due to a regulatory ban).
So what’s this awesome, exciting new phone? Well, it’s not new at all — it’s a CoolPad F2 with Yu’s logo and a CyanogenMod ROM loaded up. The device is literally a carbon copy, with everything from the look and feel right down to its spec sheet being identical in every way imaginable. Here’s what’s inside:
- 5.5-inch 720p display
- 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 64-bit
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB of internal storage, microSD slot up to 32GB
- 13 megapixel Sony Exmor sensor
- 2,500mAh battery
- CyanogenMod 11 w/ Android 4.4.4 KitKat (5.0 promised down the line)
That said, it’s still a phone that has to capture your attention if you’re living in India and in the market for a new phone. The cost of admission for that bit of kit is Rs. 8,999 (or about $142), so it definitely is one of the better values Indian consumers will see. More importantly than hardware specs, though, you have to put a lot of weight behind CyanogenMod’s backing and the unmatched software support sure to come with that.
Cyanogen did do something a little extra for Yureka’s ROM, including a nice set of themes to choose from and support for Nextbit Baton, a software sync platform that allows you to backup your apps and app settings, and even seamlessly transfer the state of an app from one device to another. That means you could be in Facebook on your tablet looking at a photo, and have the option of opening Facebook and being jumped straight to that same photo.
Folks interested in the Yureka can get their order in exclusively from Amazon starting December 19th, though there’s no word when the actual launch date is. Stay tuned for all those details and more in the days and weeks to come.
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