Celkon AR45 Rahman Ishq is a music-centric Android smartphone which comes loaded with hits from music maestro A.R. Rahman. We got a chance to play with the device and here's our review in pictures of its real life performance.

1. Celkon AR45
Rahman Ishq
Review in pictures

2. Solid build and glossy design
• Available in shiny white.
• The glossy back makes the
device slippery after
prolonged usage.
• Prone to fingerprints.
• Other design elements
like buttons and ports are
standard and similar to
Android devices.

3. Passable but reflective display
• The 4.5-inch display offers
crisp text and images.
• However, the screen is
highly reflective, resulting
in poor viewing angles.
• Also affects legibility
under direct sunlight.
• The touchscreen display
features two-point
multitouch, though it
becomes unresponsive at
times.

4. Decent performance
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•
The handset is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor,
which delivers smooth performance.
No lags while playing processor-intensive games like Riptide
GP2 or watching 1080p video, though there are some
occasional stutters and the transitions aren’t smooth.

5. Average camera
•
•
•
•
Features a 5-megapixel
rear camera.
Complemented by LED
flash for shooting in lowlight conditions.
The resultant pictures are
good for casual use and
social sharing, but nothing
more.
A 1.3MP camera at the
front is useful for video
calling needs.

6. Marred by low memory
• The 512MB RAM in the
device fills up quickly if
multiple apps are running.
• A major chunk of the builtin 4GB storage is occupied
by the OS, resulting in less
space available for
installation of heavy apps
or games.
• However, for multimedia
needs, users can add a
microSD card of up to
32GB.

7. Loaded with connectivity features
•
•
•
Dual-SIM support
Offers 3G support in
both SIM slots.
Comes with standard
options for connectivity
such as Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, and
GPS.

8. Music enthusiast's delight
•
•
•
•
Bundled with over-the-ear headphones.
The flexible headphones provide good sound output.
Loud output from the device as well, thanks to stereo
speakers at its back.
The Celkon AR 45 also comes with popular songs by A.R.
Rahman.

9. Mixed taste of Jelly Bean
•
•
•
•
Powered by Android 4.2.2
Jelly Bean.
Heavily customised
interface on top of it right from the home
screen to the dialler and
SMS app.
The app drawer can also
be accessed by swiping up
from the bottom.
The UI seems confusing
sometimes.

10. Software goodies
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•
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Built-in theme support,
offering options to
customise icons,
wallpaper, and lock
screen.
A battery optimisation
app called Power+ helps
in enhancing the battery.
APK installer for installing
apps outside Play Store.
Ability to block messages
and calls.

11. Long-lasting battery
•
•
•
The device runs almost a
day and a half with
moderate usage.
Easily lasts a day with
heavy usage.
Runs more than 7 hours
as per test results for
playback of a 720p video.

12. At a glance
• 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 pixels
• 1.2GHz dual-core
MediaTek MT6572
processor
• 512MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage with
microSD expansion slot
• 5MP rear camera with
flash, 1.3MP front camera
• Android 4.2.2
• 2,000mAh battery
• Dual-SIM 2G/3G, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth and GPS

13. Pros and cons
+
•
•
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Loud speakers
Bundled
headphones
Long-lasting battery
•
•
•
Reflective display
Low memory
Average camera

14. Good for music, but pales in the hardware department
Worthy competitors
Xolo Q500


Quad-core processor
1GB RAM
Karbonn Titanium S1


Quad-core processor
1GB RAM
Notable options in the same price segment
Micromax A88
Canvas Music
Samsung Galaxy
Trend Duos

15. Pricing and verdict
“The Celkon AR45 offers a
delightful music-listening
experience with the bundled
headphones and stereo
speakers, along with decent
specs at an affordable price.”
MRP: Rs 7,999