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莽an铆This week I had the opportunity to make a review of the LED projector that has sent to us the company Chinavasion.The sample sent one of their LED Projectors, wifi enabled and which can be used to play locally (with USB or SD card) or play via Wifi using or PC, Mac or mobile device, their software supports almos all the systems.First of all, lets see its specifications:TI DL TechnologyResolution: 640 x 360 (nHD)Focus: ManualBrightness: 50 LumensAudio output: speaker and jack 3,5″Audio power: 1WWifi: Dongle 802.11b/g/nWifi Modes: AP and ClientSD slot: yes, MicroSD upto 64 GBBattery:鑱 2500 mAh ( 90 minutes )Charger: MicroUSB 1,5ARemote control: yesDimensions: 146 x 74 x 17 mm.Weight: 265 g.In the beginning, when you open the projector, you feel that is well finished and little bit heavy, this is due the battery that allows work for around 90 minutes without any power plug. I decide to record the unboxing:melhor aposta莽an铆[templatic_msg_box type=”info”] This is a GizChina reader review by Hamsteyr. If you would like to post a review of your own, article, how-to or video then please feel free to get in touch. Contact GizChina.com [/templatic_msg_box]Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽IntroductionSo I finally made the step and got down to purchasing my first ever Chinese built mobile phone. There was a lot of decision making that went into the process, things like processors, understanding the MediaTek processors, their limitations, the MTK6589 and its Cortex A7 Architecture. I wanted a phone that would of course be able to match up to today鈥檚 modern smartphones, while maybe not in the benchmark sense, but in the user experience sector. More importantly, it had to be somewhat better than my current device, the Galaxy Note 2.In the end, I settled with the Zopo ZP980 Ultimate Edition, and so I looked online for ways to get the device. While, I contemplated getting it off websites I already know, and that are published all the time in GizChina, in the end, I went for something I already knew and had experience with, AliExpress, and got my phone shipped for 330 USD including DHL express shipping which meant that the phone arrived in 4 days to Malaysia. Pretty good time!Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽UnboxingPopping open the box, you find the usual stash of things together with a few extras. My package came with the following:Zopo ZP980 mobile phone (Well of course!)Zopo ZP980 flip case2x Original Zopo ZP980 BatteriesUser ManualMicro USB CableEarphones (For calling and receiving calls as well)EU Plug USB Wall Charger @ 5.0v, 1 AI found the contents of the box to be very nicely packed together, and not to mention quite securely, even though the side of my retail box had mild damages, I鈥檓 almost certain that none of the contents got damaged at all in the process.Notice that the box notes that the specs are of the lower end 1GB RAM with 16GB internal memory version. I鈥檝e checked the phone since then and confirmed that it IS the 2GB with 32GB internal memory version.So let鈥檚 move on to the device shall we? The ZP980 Ultimate is probably known all over GizChina by now, but to rehash our memories, let鈥檚 go through its specifications.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate Specifications:OS: Android 4.2 JellybeanProcessor: Mediatek MT6589T Quad Core Cortex A7 @ 1.5GhzGPU: PowerVR SGX544 (Single Core)RAM: 2GBInternal Memory: 32GBCamera: 13.1 MP rear camera with LED flash, 3MP front CameraDisplay: 5.0鈥 IPS TFT LCD Display @ 1920×1080 (440 ppi)Connectivity: WiFi802.11a/b/g/n o, Bluetooth4.0, GPSBattery: 2000mAhDimensions: 143.3mm x 70mm x 8.5mmWeight: 150gWalk around the deviceFront of the phone, you get to see the beautiful 5鈥 1080p panel, supposedly made by Sharp, looking real fly. The panel is an OGS panel, which means that the touch sensitive glass and the LCD sit on the same layer, meaning that you don鈥檛 have that ugly gap in between the touch screen and the LCD.The panel is an IPS panel as well, so viewing angles and colours are great.You鈥檒l also find the supposed 3MP front facing camera, but if you follow the video down below as well, you鈥檒l see that I discover it to be an 8MP camera instead. Not a bad discovery!Another not so bad discovery is the fact that the phone in itself came with a screen protector installed. Minus for the bubbles that can be fixed, that鈥檚 not too bad either!You have your 3 capacitive buttons up front, in options-home-back respectively. They DO light up, but don鈥檛 expect them to blind you, rather the only other time you鈥檇 be able to see them is probably at night, which sort of makes sense in a way.You have the logo and a speaker grill up back, all in a visually textured checker back. I say visually textured because it just feels like a matte surface, which isn鈥檛 a bad thing at all. Doesn鈥檛 seem to gather any fingerprints upon usage. The speaker is not the loudest of them all, but it鈥檚 not exactly soft either.You鈥檒l also find the 13.1MP camera. I realized that even though Antutu shows it as 12.6MP, the built in camera still recognizes it as a 13 MP camera. Sample photos down below.Looking on the right means you鈥檒l find the power button with a small print that shows the power icon. It pops up nicely and is easy to press, unlike some other phones I鈥檝e had before, mainly HTC devices.Up top you鈥檒l find the 3.5mm headphone jack, which hooks in quite firmly, and doesn鈥檛 move around. Plus points for build quality.The provided earphones feel quite cheap in build quality in comparison to the phone, and they only seem to have one button, which allows for answering calls, where some other headsets have the ability to play/pause, prev track and next track. The connection point to the earphones themselves are also quite flimsy. The sound quality of the earphones isn鈥檛 TOO bad, but you can certainly get better by providing your own. Bass is clearly lacking, though there seems to be quite a bit of mid. Treble isn鈥檛 as clear as I鈥檇 like it either. Things become much better after hooking in a pair of proper headphones (Tested with my pair of Philips O鈥橬eill The Stretch).On the left you鈥檒l find the volume rocker, that like the power button, also had a nice press to it and feels nice and solid, and doesn鈥檛 move or bump around.And finally on the bottom, you鈥檒l find the micro USB port, for your data and charging etc etc needs. USB port clicks in quite nicely and doesn鈥檛 wobble. You get the choice of USB Storage, MTP, PTP or Charging only or Connecting it as a CD- ROM to install additional software when you hook it into a PC. Always nice to have extra options.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramOverall, I鈥檓 really happy with the build quality of the device. It鈥檚 put together quite solidly, though there is that issue with the flexing that Andi here in GizChina has brought up before. Just don鈥檛 put it into your back pockets, problem solved!Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽Hands on and BenchmarksBenchmarks are great, and the system runs really nice and fast, as expected from a quad core with 2GB of ram anyway. Battery life so far from usage is great, despite only having 2000 mAH under the hood, and running all the benchmarks and tests. It should be noted that you鈥檙e unable to copy apk files into your internal system (didn鈥檛 allow me to copy apk files in device from my local server into the phone), however, as a fun fact, somehow hooking up the phone into my computer, and running adb commands, my computer recognized it as 鈥淢y HTC鈥? Odd.GPU Performance is impressive as the system pulls a good 51fps on Unreal鈥檚 Epic Citadel. Strangely enough, I noticed that there was some sort of FPS cap at 51fps however, though I can鈥檛 be too sure of that. While not the smoothest in 3d Mark, it did manage to pull above 10fps on the normal test, though it dipped lower when set to extreme. Strangely though, it didn鈥檛 manage to finish the test without 3D Mark crashing.It should be noted that the options in Developer Options seem to be quite limited, as I鈥檓 unable to turn on the usual animations that come with Android 4.2.1, but no matter. Not a big deal. Vibrations on the phone seem to be on the weak side though, as I would have liked it a tad stronger, for… feedback purposes. Just don鈥檛 expect it to do a lot of rumbling. The Galaxy Note 2 in that sense is a lot stronger.Running a multi touch point test, I realized that the ZP980 only registers up to 5 touches at any given time, a short far cry of the 10 of my Note 2. Still, one shouldn鈥檛 need to have that many fingers on screen I guess, but it would have been a nice thing to have.USB OTG Seems to work fine as I hooked in the microUSB cable and began typing away with a physical keyboard to reply messages.A nice addition to have, as you can do plenty with these.To wrap up this section, the phone comes installed with the usual google package, Play Store, Google drive, Gmail, Youtube, Maps, without any Chinese applications really seen in sight. Always nice for them to have this for international customers.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽CameraThe camera app that comes with the Zopo ZP980 isn鈥檛 too bad at all. The focus time is fast enough, and the photo quality seems good enough, but don鈥檛 rely on any astounding low light performance to blow you away. In the end, it鈥檚 just a really capable smart phone that takes pretty good pictures.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ConnectivityThe one thing that the Zopo ZP980 really delivers on in my opinion, is in signal strength in connectivity.In the WiFi department, almost all the times, the ZP980 has better range and pickup vs my Note 2. At 5m away from the AP, the signal strength can be up to 5 dBm better, but moving close to the edges of the WiFi range, almost 20-25 meters away, the difference between the ZP980 and the Note 2 is up to 15 dBm, with the Zopo ZP980 leading! That鈥檚 a VERY big difference!Moving on to the mobile signal department is almost the same story, except maybe less pronounced, still a very good difference. Signal strength pickup is about 5dbm or so better than the Note 2, meaning that for the most part, I get more signal bars vs the Note 2! Nice improvements.The ZP980 supports HSPA+ as well, so surfing is really fast and snappy, and a real pleasure to deal with.GPS as well connects fast and locks on relatively fast, with pretty damn good accuracy.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ExtrasI was given a custom cover case as well with a flip cover by my sellerAs far as I鈥檓 concerned, it looks like a Zopo original part. It snaps into place nicely, if not more tighter than the default back, and has a textured feel to it, that makes it pleasant to touch. Like its default counterpart, it also doesn鈥檛 collect a lot of fingerprints, so that鈥檚 always a plus point, and it鈥檚 slightly glossy which gives it quite a more premium look, arguably better than the default back.The front cover is made really well with no signs of cheap manufacturing, and has a very nice tactile feel to it up back, a leathery look and feel, with the other side (facing the phone) being of a black felt-ish material.Me likey.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ConclusionI think that even though this may not be the cheapest Chinese made phone out there, it鈥檚 certainly one of the better ones. Sure you pay a bit of a premium for it, in comparison to other Chinese made phones, but the advantages could be evidently clear, with really top notch build quality and connectivity backing you up, as well as the aesthetics to boot. Not many phones can cost this much and look this good after all. At 330, delivered with 4 day delivery, I think it鈥檚 a pretty good buy, considering you鈥檙e given quite a few extras as well.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate ProsExcellent build quality, solid feel and nice buttonsNice classy looking aesthetics (Not looking like a Samsung Kirf is always a plus point in my books)Great 1080P OGS DisplayFast Quad Core PerformanceGreat 3D PerformanceUnbloated, i.e. doesn鈥檛 come preinstalled with a lot of nonsense.Great flip cover if you ever get it. Adds to the value of the device8MP front facing camera if you ever need to get your duck-face on.GREAT connectivity, fast GPSZopo ZP980 Ultimate ConsWeak capacitive backlight, could be brighterWeak vibration, could be strongerSub-par earphonesSpeakers, while not entirely soft, could be somewhat louder2000 mAh battery. At least 2500 would have been nice, but it鈥檚 not that bad since I have two.Metallic looking plastic trim around the body could have actually been made out of aluminium, boosting rigidity.Camera, while not bad, could have its colours a bit more balanced for a more natural lookLacking on the developer options, can鈥檛 have access to extended controls.Price point, though I would say it鈥檚 really worth it.plinko baixar

莽an铆[templatic_msg_box type=”info”] This is a GizChina reader review by Hamsteyr. If you would like to post a review of your own, article, how-to or video then please feel free to get in touch. Contact GizChina.com [/templatic_msg_box]Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽IntroductionSo I finally made the step and got down to purchasing my first ever Chinese built mobile phone. There was a lot of decision making that went into the process, things like processors, understanding the MediaTek processors, their limitations, the MTK6589 and its Cortex A7 Architecture. I wanted a phone that would of course be able to match up to today鈥檚 modern smartphones, while maybe not in the benchmark sense, but in the user experience sector. More importantly, it had to be somewhat better than my current device, the Galaxy Note 2.In the end, I settled with the Zopo ZP980 Ultimate Edition, and so I looked online for ways to get the device. While, I contemplated getting it off websites I already know, and that are published all the time in GizChina, in the end, I went for something I already knew and had experience with, AliExpress, and got my phone shipped for 330 USD including DHL express shipping which meant that the phone arrived in 4 days to Malaysia. Pretty good time!Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽UnboxingPopping open the box, you find the usual stash of things together with a few extras. My package came with the following:Zopo ZP980 mobile phone (Well of course!)Zopo ZP980 flip case2x Original Zopo ZP980 BatteriesUser ManualMicro USB CableEarphones (For calling and receiving calls as well)EU Plug USB Wall Charger @ 5.0v, 1 AI found the contents of the box to be very nicely packed together, and not to mention quite securely, even though the side of my retail box had mild damages, I鈥檓 almost certain that none of the contents got damaged at all in the process.Notice that the box notes that the specs are of the lower end 1GB RAM with 16GB internal memory version. I鈥檝e checked the phone since then and confirmed that it IS the 2GB with 32GB internal memory version.So let鈥檚 move on to the device shall we? The ZP980 Ultimate is probably known all over GizChina by now, but to rehash our memories, let鈥檚 go through its specifications.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate Specifications:OS: Android 4.2 JellybeanProcessor: Mediatek MT6589T Quad Core Cortex A7 @ 1.5GhzGPU: PowerVR SGX544 (Single Core)RAM: 2GBInternal Memory: 32GBCamera: 13.1 MP rear camera with LED flash, 3MP front CameraDisplay: 5.0鈥 IPS TFT LCD Display @ 1920×1080 (440 ppi)Connectivity: WiFi802.11a/b/g/n o, Bluetooth4.0, GPSBattery: 2000mAhDimensions: 143.3mm x 70mm x 8.5mmWeight: 150gWalk around the deviceFront of the phone, you get to see the beautiful 5鈥 1080p panel, supposedly made by Sharp, looking real fly. The panel is an OGS panel, which means that the touch sensitive glass and the LCD sit on the same layer, meaning that you don鈥檛 have that ugly gap in between the touch screen and the LCD.The panel is an IPS panel as well, so viewing angles and colours are great.You鈥檒l also find the supposed 3MP front facing camera, but if you follow the video down below as well, you鈥檒l see that I discover it to be an 8MP camera instead. Not a bad discovery!Another not so bad discovery is the fact that the phone in itself came with a screen protector installed. Minus for the bubbles that can be fixed, that鈥檚 not too bad either!You have your 3 capacitive buttons up front, in options-home-back respectively. They DO light up, but don鈥檛 expect them to blind you, rather the only other time you鈥檇 be able to see them is probably at night, which sort of makes sense in a way.You have the logo and a speaker grill up back, all in a visually textured checker back. I say visually textured because it just feels like a matte surface, which isn鈥檛 a bad thing at all. Doesn鈥檛 seem to gather any fingerprints upon usage. The speaker is not the loudest of them all, but it鈥檚 not exactly soft either.You鈥檒l also find the 13.1MP camera. I realized that even though Antutu shows it as 12.6MP, the built in camera still recognizes it as a 13 MP camera. Sample photos down below.Looking on the right means you鈥檒l find the power button with a small print that shows the power icon. It pops up nicely and is easy to press, unlike some other phones I鈥檝e had before, mainly HTC devices.Up top you鈥檒l find the 3.5mm headphone jack, which hooks in quite firmly, and doesn鈥檛 move around. Plus points for build quality.The provided earphones feel quite cheap in build quality in comparison to the phone, and they only seem to have one button, which allows for answering calls, where some other headsets have the ability to play/pause, prev track and next track. The connection point to the earphones themselves are also quite flimsy. The sound quality of the earphones isn鈥檛 TOO bad, but you can certainly get better by providing your own. Bass is clearly lacking, though there seems to be quite a bit of mid. Treble isn鈥檛 as clear as I鈥檇 like it either. Things become much better after hooking in a pair of proper headphones (Tested with my pair of Philips O鈥橬eill The Stretch).On the left you鈥檒l find the volume rocker, that like the power button, also had a nice press to it and feels nice and solid, and doesn鈥檛 move or bump around.And finally on the bottom, you鈥檒l find the micro USB port, for your data and charging etc etc needs. USB port clicks in quite nicely and doesn鈥檛 wobble. You get the choice of USB Storage, MTP, PTP or Charging only or Connecting it as a CD- ROM to install additional software when you hook it into a PC. Always nice to have extra options.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramOverall, I鈥檓 really happy with the build quality of the device. It鈥檚 put together quite solidly, though there is that issue with the flexing that Andi here in GizChina has brought up before. Just don鈥檛 put it into your back pockets, problem solved!Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽Hands on and BenchmarksBenchmarks are great, and the system runs really nice and fast, as expected from a quad core with 2GB of ram anyway. Battery life so far from usage is great, despite only having 2000 mAH under the hood, and running all the benchmarks and tests. It should be noted that you鈥檙e unable to copy apk files into your internal system (didn鈥檛 allow me to copy apk files in device from my local server into the phone), however, as a fun fact, somehow hooking up the phone into my computer, and running adb commands, my computer recognized it as 鈥淢y HTC鈥? Odd.GPU Performance is impressive as the system pulls a good 51fps on Unreal鈥檚 Epic Citadel. Strangely enough, I noticed that there was some sort of FPS cap at 51fps however, though I can鈥檛 be too sure of that. While not the smoothest in 3d Mark, it did manage to pull above 10fps on the normal test, though it dipped lower when set to extreme. Strangely though, it didn鈥檛 manage to finish the test without 3D Mark crashing.It should be noted that the options in Developer Options seem to be quite limited, as I鈥檓 unable to turn on the usual animations that come with Android 4.2.1, but no matter. Not a big deal. Vibrations on the phone seem to be on the weak side though, as I would have liked it a tad stronger, for… feedback purposes. Just don鈥檛 expect it to do a lot of rumbling. The Galaxy Note 2 in that sense is a lot stronger.Running a multi touch point test, I realized that the ZP980 only registers up to 5 touches at any given time, a short far cry of the 10 of my Note 2. Still, one shouldn鈥檛 need to have that many fingers on screen I guess, but it would have been a nice thing to have.USB OTG Seems to work fine as I hooked in the microUSB cable and began typing away with a physical keyboard to reply messages.A nice addition to have, as you can do plenty with these.To wrap up this section, the phone comes installed with the usual google package, Play Store, Google drive, Gmail, Youtube, Maps, without any Chinese applications really seen in sight. Always nice for them to have this for international customers.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽CameraThe camera app that comes with the Zopo ZP980 isn鈥檛 too bad at all. The focus time is fast enough, and the photo quality seems good enough, but don鈥檛 rely on any astounding low light performance to blow you away. In the end, it鈥檚 just a really capable smart phone that takes pretty good pictures.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ConnectivityThe one thing that the Zopo ZP980 really delivers on in my opinion, is in signal strength in connectivity.In the WiFi department, almost all the times, the ZP980 has better range and pickup vs my Note 2. At 5m away from the AP, the signal strength can be up to 5 dBm better, but moving close to the edges of the WiFi range, almost 20-25 meters away, the difference between the ZP980 and the Note 2 is up to 15 dBm, with the Zopo ZP980 leading! That鈥檚 a VERY big difference!Moving on to the mobile signal department is almost the same story, except maybe less pronounced, still a very good difference. Signal strength pickup is about 5dbm or so better than the Note 2, meaning that for the most part, I get more signal bars vs the Note 2! Nice improvements.The ZP980 supports HSPA+ as well, so surfing is really fast and snappy, and a real pleasure to deal with.GPS as well connects fast and locks on relatively fast, with pretty damn good accuracy.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ExtrasI was given a custom cover case as well with a flip cover by my sellerAs far as I鈥檓 concerned, it looks like a Zopo original part. It snaps into place nicely, if not more tighter than the default back, and has a textured feel to it, that makes it pleasant to touch. Like its default counterpart, it also doesn鈥檛 collect a lot of fingerprints, so that鈥檚 always a plus point, and it鈥檚 slightly glossy which gives it quite a more premium look, arguably better than the default back.The front cover is made really well with no signs of cheap manufacturing, and has a very nice tactile feel to it up back, a leathery look and feel, with the other side (facing the phone) being of a black felt-ish material.Me likey.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate聽ConclusionI think that even though this may not be the cheapest Chinese made phone out there, it鈥檚 certainly one of the better ones. Sure you pay a bit of a premium for it, in comparison to other Chinese made phones, but the advantages could be evidently clear, with really top notch build quality and connectivity backing you up, as well as the aesthetics to boot. Not many phones can cost this much and look this good after all. At 330, delivered with 4 day delivery, I think it鈥檚 a pretty good buy, considering you鈥檙e given quite a few extras as well.Zopo ZP980 Ultimate ProsExcellent build quality, solid feel and nice buttonsNice classy looking aesthetics (Not looking like a Samsung Kirf is always a plus point in my books)Great 1080P OGS DisplayFast Quad Core PerformanceGreat 3D PerformanceUnbloated, i.e. doesn鈥檛 come preinstalled with a lot of nonsense.Great flip cover if you ever get it. Adds to the value of the device8MP front facing camera if you ever need to get your duck-face on.GREAT connectivity, fast GPSZopo ZP980 Ultimate ConsWeak capacitive backlight, could be brighterWeak vibration, could be strongerSub-par earphonesSpeakers, while not entirely soft, could be somewhat louder2000 mAh battery. At least 2500 would have been nice, but it鈥檚 not that bad since I have two.Metallic looking plastic trim around the body could have actually been made out of aluminium, boosting rigidity.Camera, while not bad, could have its colours a bit more balanced for a more natural lookLacking on the developer options, can鈥檛 have access to extended controls.Price point, though I would say it鈥檚 really worth it.莽an铆We鈥檝e had the FAEA F1 Penguin for a long time now and have been able to put it though it鈥檚 paces. Take a look at the phone in action in our hands on video review.The FAEA F1 Penguin is currently one of the most affordable quad-core, 720p phones available with built-in NFC. The F1 is currently available for international customers at $169.99 which is actually a pretty good price for such a well made phone!On paper the specs are really very good. There is a 1.2Ghz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 8 mega-pixel rear camera, 2 mega-pixel front, 4.5-inch 720p display, NFC, 2000mAh battery and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. In use though the phone isn鈥檛 quite up to the performance of phones equipped with Mediatek quad-core processors such as the MT6589 or MT6589T. Video: FAEA F1 Penguin reviewGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramConclusionThere is no doubt in my mind that the F1 is a great phone for the money. There is nothing with NFC for the same price and if that is an important feature for you then this is the phone to buy. It is also the phone you should buy if you just want a solid smartphone for browsing the web, keeping up to date on Twitter and Facebook, and casual gaming (games like Angry Birds) if you are a real power user though and like more complex games then the F1 isn鈥檛 going to cut it and it might be better to wait for the FAEA F2 to launch.莽an铆We鈥檝e had the FAEA F1 Penguin for a long time now and have been able to put it though it鈥檚 paces. Take a look at the phone in action in our hands on video review.The FAEA F1 Penguin is currently one of the most affordable quad-core, 720p phones available with built-in NFC. The F1 is currently available for international customers at $169.99 which is actually a pretty good price for such a well made phone!On paper the specs are really very good. There is a 1.2Ghz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 8 mega-pixel rear camera, 2 mega-pixel front, 4.5-inch 720p display, NFC, 2000mAh battery and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. In use though the phone isn鈥檛 quite up to the performance of phones equipped with Mediatek quad-core processors such as the MT6589 or MT6589T. Video: FAEA F1 Penguin reviewGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramConclusionThere is no doubt in my mind that the F1 is a great phone for the money. There is nothing with NFC for the same price and if that is an important feature for you then this is the phone to buy. It is also the phone you should buy if you just want a solid smartphone for browsing the web, keeping up to date on Twitter and Facebook, and casual gaming (games like Angry Birds) if you are a real power user though and like more complex games then the F1 isn鈥檛 going to cut it and it might be better to wait for the FAEA F2 to launch.莽an铆If you asked me yesterday which sub 2000 Yuan phone you should buy the answer would have been a Xiaomi Mi2S, today though the Nubia Z5 mini might be my answer!There was always the chance that ZTE鈥檚 nubia brand would price the new Nubia Z5 mini at a very affordable price, and now as the launch party draws to an end we know that they have!The Z5 mini will go on sale in China for just 1888 Yuan ($307) which is slightly more than the currently Xiaomi Mi2S, but it also happens to be slightly larger, have a better rear camera and a more impressive Sharp screen technology plus SD card reader!Some highlights of the phone include a 13 mega-pixel Sony rear sensor, 5 mega-pixel front camera with 88 degree lens, quad-core Snadpragon processor, 2GB RAM, SD card readers, support for most major 3G networks and a range of accessories including what appears to be a mini phone like the one which can be used with the HTC Butterfly!Nubia Z5 Mini hands on photosGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramZTE Nubia Z5 mini Vs Xiaomi Mi2s[komper pid=92,71 compareform=no]Which would you buy?莽an铆If you asked me yesterday which sub 2000 Yuan phone you should buy the answer would have been a Xiaomi Mi2S, today though the Nubia Z5 mini might be my answer!There was always the chance that ZTE鈥檚 nubia brand would price the new Nubia Z5 mini at a very affordable price, and now as the launch party draws to an end we know that they have!The Z5 mini will go on sale in China for just 1888 Yuan ($307) which is slightly more than the currently Xiaomi Mi2S, but it also happens to be slightly larger, have a better rear camera and a more impressive Sharp screen technology plus SD card reader!Some highlights of the phone include a 13 mega-pixel Sony rear sensor, 5 mega-pixel front camera with 88 degree lens, quad-core Snadpragon processor, 2GB RAM, SD card readers, support for most major 3G networks and a range of accessories including what appears to be a mini phone like the one which can be used with the HTC Butterfly!Nubia Z5 Mini hands on photosGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramZTE Nubia Z5 mini Vs Xiaomi Mi2s[komper pid=92,71 compareform=no]Which would you buy?

莽an铆Remember a few months back when we ran the UMi X2 giveaway? Well the winner of the phone, Nikola, has put together an unboxing video.It took a lot longer than we had expected for Nikola to receive the UMi X2 (and it鈥檚 a shame there was no power in it when it did arrive), but we are happy it has finally arrived and we can鈥檛 wait to see the full review soon.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe UMi X2 we sent to Nikola features a 5-inch 1080 display, 1.2Ghz quad-core MT6589 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB memory, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and a 2500mAh battery.GizChina Giveaway Winner Umi X2 unboxing莽an铆Remember a few months back when we ran the UMi X2 giveaway? Well the winner of the phone, Nikola, has put together an unboxing video.It took a lot longer than we had expected for Nikola to receive the UMi X2 (and it鈥檚 a shame there was no power in it when it did arrive), but we are happy it has finally arrived and we can鈥檛 wait to see the full review soon.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe UMi X2 we sent to Nikola features a 5-inch 1080 display, 1.2Ghz quad-core MT6589 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB memory, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and a 2500mAh battery.GizChina Giveaway Winner Umi X2 unboxing莽an铆Hero are one of the more established Android phone makers here in China, and their reach has managed to find its way to customers in market across the world. For 2013 Hero have embraced 5-inch, quad-core MT6589 phones and we got to test the Hero H7500+. Keep reading for the full review.Hero manufacture their phones in the same factory as Zopo and Ceaser, and it’s quite common for Zopo and Hero phones to launch with the same designs and specification. The Hero H7500+ for example is the same phone as the Zopo 810, but just how good is the Hero version?Design, feel and qualityThe Hero H7500+ is a 5-inch phone, but it doesn’t sport the narrow bezels found on other phones (5mm from screen to edge of phone), this together with the overall thickness of the phone would make it quite cumbersome for those with smaller hands to use. That’s not to say it works well in larger hands though.When held in my right hand the power/lock screen button can be pressed with the center of my thumb. Perfect! You might think, but with the power button in this position the volume rocker sits further down meaning I am forced to readjust my grip when trying to adjust the volume.Not a huge complaint on its own, but when you are holding a it one-handed the glossy plastic rear shell can make things a little hairy at times! Thankfully I didn’t manage to drop the Hero while testing, but I did have some near misses!Speaking of that glossy rear, I’m not a fan. I don’t like it on my personal phone (the Xiaomi Mi2) and I don’t like it on the Hero. The glossy rear means zero friction between table tops, car dashboards and when in your pocket. This results in a phone that won’t stay still while used as an in car GPS, one which will happily fly out of your pocket (if you have tighter, more fitted clothing) and makes it easy to be dragged off the table while plugged in to its charger.Zopo have sorted this with a rubberized finish on the ZP810, however Hero have resorted to providing a rubber case with the phone. This does work, but makes an already large phone simply huge!And this brings me on to another point. The H7500+ is not a thin phone (142 x 74 x 10mm according to my measurements) I don’t see why the designers have insisted on making the 8 mega-pixel rear camera sit proud of the body!? It would probably have fitted flush and would have improved the looks. I rather like the protruding camera on the HTC One X, but on the Hero it just seems unnecessary.With all this said though, the Hero does feel well made. The plastics don’t feel cheap, the steel band which encircles the phone fits well, there are no burrs or sharp edges. I’m happy with the overall quality (well except the screen but I’ll come on to that). DSC02986 DSC02987 DSC02990 DSC02991 hero h7500+ hands on review hero h7500+ hands on review hero h7500+ hands on review hero h7500+ hands on review Screen: bright but thick and then there is something else鈥?The Hero H7500+ isn’t the lightest phone in the world (181g) due to the large battery, overall size, but mainly due to the thick glass screen. Most manufactures of quad-core MT6589 phones have updated the displays OGS panels which helps keeps the weight and girth down. Hero haven’t, and turning the phone on its side you can see just how thick the glass is.As far as we can tell the display isn’t Gorilla Glass or AGS, so be careful with it! A good drop will likely spell the end of it.In use the screen is good. The 1280 x 720 resolution means you will be getting a 5-inch 720p display rather than a full HD unit, but in use I found it to be nice, bright and more than adequate for gaming and watching movies. I even passed the phone around some iPhone and 1080HD Android phone users and many commented on how good the screen was for a 720 unit.I can also confirm that the display on our test Hero H7500+ has been fully inspected and has passed a strict quality inspection! How? Well when using the phone in bright sunlight for this review I noticed a distinct ‘check’ appear on the screen in permanent marker!It seems the screen had been marked fit for use and then not correctly cleaned as the check is now clearly visible even when the display is locked!Performance: impressive turn of speed from the quad-core MT6589 processorPerformance is not an issue with the Hero H7500+. The 1.2Ghz quad-core MT6589 processor and 1GB RAM provide more than enough grunt and as they only have to drive a 720 display benchmarks are impressive too.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramRunning Antutu on the Hero H7500+ resulted in a score of 12,745 which is on par with phones such as the 1GB JiaYu G4.Quadrant also resulted in an impressive score as the Hero managed 3643.Benchmarks are one thing, but what about real world use? Well gaming is fantastic, I tested the graphically challenging Riptide GP on the Hero and it handled the fast frame rate and close racing action without a skip. The Hero also managed to keep from overheating while gaming, actually cooler than the Mi2 in some situations.UPDATE: As requested I have also ran Epic Citadel benchmark on the Hero which achieved 44.3FPS.Browsing the web is also fast, with even heavy webpages opening at an impressive speed.Camera: Very good 8 mega-pixel camera聽The rear camera on the Hero H7500+ is an 8 mega-pixel unit with a 2 mega-pixel unit performing self-portrait and video call duty on the front.I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the 8 mega-pixel rear camera. Images taken on bright sunny days, dull rainy conditions and even in dimly lit coffee shops came out really well! Better than expected! Don’t go expecting the same level of quality you get from a more expensive Xiaomi Mi2 or better equipped Newman N2, but for the price you won’t be disappointed! hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample hero h7500+ camera sample IMG_20130312_123755 IMG_20130312_123745 IMG_20130312_123738 IMG_20130312_123731 IMG_20130312_123731 IMG_20130312_123738 IMG_20130312_123745 IMG_20130312_123755 The built-in camera featurea HDR and burst mode. Strangely I found HDR on the Hero made images darker and less impressive than they were when taken in the regular camera mode. The burst setting is fast, but needs some optimisation to be really workable, if this is something you want though you could always use the Fast Burst Camera app which I find performs a great job.I don’t tend to use the video capture option on any smartphone all that often, but when I do I prefer the autofocus to behave itself and stop hunting for focus. The Hero was very naughty in this respect and seemed to be constantly distracted with everything going on around it.You can download full size photo samples taken with the Hero H7500+ here.Other detailsI know that many of you have asked questions (and will likely ask further questions below) and I’ve tried to test most things which are possible for me to test here in China.GPSGPS works very well. It locks on quickly and is accurate. This is not like the old days of the MT6577, this GPS is usable. As for Glonass, I wasn’t able to connect to any Glonass satellites during our review, and that’s trying the phone on dull rainy and clear sunny days.BatteryThe battery on the Hero H7500+ is a 2800mAh unit, in fact it comes with 2 which was a very nice surprise. Using the phone with 3G, GPS and Wi-Fi on, as I always do resulted in a full day of use without the need for a top up. Gaming and video does reduce this though, so if you are more of a gamer than I am (I don’t have time 馃檨 ) then you will want to either carry the spare battery or the cable with you.Charging the battery for 0 – 100% took around 3 1/2 hours for a new battery.Network supportAccording to Hero the H7500+ GSM 850/900/1800/1900 & WCDMA 850/2100 MHz. I was only able to test the phone using my China Unicom 3G SIM and low and behold it works fine!ConclusionSo after a good long test of the Hero H7500+ would I recommend you buy it?If you are looking for a quad-core MT6589 phone with good camera and want the phone right this moment then I would say it’s probably your only option (unless you want to spend a little more and get one of the Zopo phones) ! I would also say it’s probably going to be the cheapest alternative (for those of you not in China and buying through a reseller) and is going to be pretty easy to get hold of.However, if I was in the market for a quad-core MT6589 phone right now, I would wait! There are more attractive, better spec’d and nicer designed phones on their way. Yes, they will cost more, and yes they will be a nightmare to get hold of but I would hold off getting the Hero unless I really wanted an MT6589 phone this very second.This is all relative though there are going to be scores of people who will absolutely love the Hero H7500+ and it is without doubt better than a lot of the phones on sale now, but knowing what’s just around the corner I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on a Hero H7500+ for myself.

莽an铆The JiaYu G4 is currently the most anticipated quad-core MT6589 phone of any manufacture today (check the poll here), and with it’s great styling, high performance and low-cost it’s easy to see why. So what else do we know about the JiaYu G4?What processor will the JiaYu G4 have?The JiaYu G4 will be JiaYu’s flagship MTK (Mediatek) phone for 2013, and as such it uses the top of the range quad-core Mediatek MT6589 processor running at 1.2 Ghz! We know from leaked benchmarks from the G4 and similar phones that this chip, together with at least 1GB RAM is capable of Antutu benchmarks close to 13,000!For more information about the Mediatek MT6589 quad-core processor, have a read of our full resource here.How much RAM will the JiaYu G4 have?Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe JiaYu G4 will come in two options. A entry-level “Youth” model which will cost 999 Yuan ($160) and a top of the range ‘Premium’ model which will cost slightly more. The cheaper ‘Youth’ model will have 1GB RAM while the top-of-the range ‘Premium’ G4 will have 2GB RAM.What screen does the JiaYu G4 have?Unlike most manufacturers JiaYu have decided that the G4 won’t get a 5-inch full HD display, and have instead designed the G4 with a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 panel. This screen offers 720HD which for the size should look stunning and thanks to IPS technology, viewing angles will be superb. The screen is of course a multi-touch unit, has a PPI (pixel per inch) of 312 and boasts OGS (One Glass Solution) technology.莽an铆Another great Chinese Android phone has landed on my desk. The 5.7-inch Zopo ZP950+ is Zopo’s large screen MT6589 phone and we have one on review now!It’s going to be a busy week for us next week as we will be putting the Hero H7500+ through its paces alongside the Zopo ZP950+ phablet (and if we’re lucky the Zopo 810+ too!).The ZP950+ is a 5.7-inch HD phablet from Zopo, one of the larger and better known local phone manufacturers. The phones offers a similar design to the ZP900 we reviewed last year, but with the addition of a larger display, more efficient quad-core MT6589 processor and improved 8 mega-pixel rear sensor.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAccording to the official specification sheet, the Zopo ZP950+ Phablet packs 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM, an SD card reader with support for 64GB cards, 2 mega-pixel front camera, network support for GSM 850/900/1800/1900Mhz) WCDMA (850/2100Mhz) and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.As with all Zopo phones, first impressions are good. The quality is superb and the overall feel is airing more on the premium side when compared to the chunky Hero. We haven’t had chance to run any benchmarks just yet and we can’t wait to fire it up and get the review underway.莽an铆Another great Chinese Android phone has landed on my desk. The 5.7-inch Zopo ZP950+ is Zopo’s large screen MT6589 phone and we have one on review now!It’s going to be a busy week for us next week as we will be putting the Hero H7500+ through its paces alongside the Zopo ZP950+ phablet (and if we’re lucky the Zopo 810+ too!).The ZP950+ is a 5.7-inch HD phablet from Zopo, one of the larger and better known local phone manufacturers. The phones offers a similar design to the ZP900 we reviewed last year, but with the addition of a larger display, more efficient quad-core MT6589 processor and improved 8 mega-pixel rear sensor.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAccording to the official specification sheet, the Zopo ZP950+ Phablet packs 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM, an SD card reader with support for 64GB cards, 2 mega-pixel front camera, network support for GSM 850/900/1800/1900Mhz) WCDMA (850/2100Mhz) and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.As with all Zopo phones, first impressions are good. The quality is superb and the overall feel is airing more on the premium side when compared to the chunky Hero. We haven’t had chance to run any benchmarks just yet and we can’t wait to fire it up and get the review underway.莽an铆iOcean are getting ready to start pre-sales for the iOcean X7, Neo are and UMi are expected to release their quad-core phones this month and the JiaYu G4 is just around the corner, so which quad-core MTK Chinese phone will you buy?iOcean X7, JiaYu G4, UMI X2 and Neo N003, these are just some of the phones we have been waiting for and release dates are just a matter of weeks away for each phone. With this in mind, we go to think which of these great MTK phones would you鑱絙uy?UMi X2The UMi X2 is priced at 1499 Yuan which is higher than the figures other manufacturers have been giving us, however the UMi X2 is an all singing all dancing flagship phone with all the features we have been itching鑱絫o get our hands-on! JiaYu, Neo and iOcean all have phones with similar specs, but they have been keeping quiet on cost, and have only released pricing details for their entry-level ‘Youth’ models.Why you should buy the UMi X2?The UMi X2 has everything on offer and the price is very respectable too! A full-hd 1080 display measuring 5-inch, 2GB RAM, a quad-core MT6589 processor and 13 mega-pixel camera are the ingredients for a killer phone.Why you shouldn’t buy the UMi X2?It’s more expensive than the other phones here, and we expected Neo, JiaYu and iOcean’s premium models to fall in at lower prices than the X2. Of all the phones here it’s the least attractive (at least we think so) and with the number of people complaining of cracked UMi X1 displays, we worry just how well put together the X2 is going to be. umi x2 network details Umi X2 rear umi x2 hero Umi X2 front umi x2 photo 15 Umi x2 and x1 iOcean X7If everything goes according to plan, the iOcean X7 Youth will be available for pre-order from tomorrow (6th March) and at 999 Yuan ($160) it’s a feature packed bargain phone!Why you should buy the iOcean X7Both versions of the iOcean X7 feature a stylish Oppo Find 5 inspired body, 5-inch 1920 x 1080 full HD display, 1.2Ghz MTK6589 quad-core processor and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Youth version packs just 1GB RAM, an 8 mega-pixel rear camera and 2000mAh battery while the Premium model has 2GB RAM, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and 3000mAh battery.Why you should buy the iOcean X7?In our opinion the X7 is the best looking phone of the bunch, especially in white, but black looks stunning too. At 999 Yuan ($160) the Youth model should be enough phone for most people, and we the premium version should only cost a little extra.Why you shouldn’t buy the iOcean X7?We still don’t known how much the top of the range version of the X7 will cost, and the Youth model with 2000mAh battery, may not be able to last a full day on a single charge with that full HD display. iOcean is also one of the smaller lesser known brands even here in China, so quality and support could be an issue.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram iocean x7 pre order iOcean x7 screen iocean x7 youth iOcean X7 battery iocean x7 youth iOcean X7 front iocean x7 leaked photo hero iOcean X7 1080HD Neo N003Neo have been quiet and keeping their cards much closer to their chest. We haven’t seen many leaked images of the N003, and hardware details have only just started to come to light.Why you should buy the Neo N003?Looking at what you get for the price, the Neo N003 is the cheapest phone here. It offers a 5-inch display, quad-core processor and 13 mega-pixel rear censor. The only differences between the youth model and premium version are the RAM and built-in storage. Both phones get a 3000mAh battery which should drive the 720HD display a great deal longer than the 1080HD panels on other phones.Why you shouldn’t buy the Neo N003?From a hardware perspective the only downgrade we can see is the 720HD display. We can’t comment on design as we still don’t know what the phone will look like, and quality issues seem to be null as current Neo phones seems to be well made bits of kit! neo n003 leaked photo Neo N003 leaked photo neo n003 hero Neo N003 leaked render neo n003 rendering 2 Neo N003 leaked render JiaYu G4Not everyone is excited in the prospect of carrying around a 5-inch display, and not everyone feels 1080HD is appropriate for a mobile phone, this is where the JiaYu G4 comes in.Why you should buy the JiaYu G4?Great design, good specification, the option to upgrade the battery on the youth model to the 3000mAh unit from the premium, possibly the best battery life of all the phones here, great community and support, plus an English language site!As for hardware the youth version of the G4 will get 1GB RAM, 8GB of built-in memory and 1850mAh battery, while the premium will have 2GB RAM, 32GB of memory and 3000mAh battery. Both phones have the same 4.7-inch 720HD display, 13 mega-pixel camera and Xiaomi Mi2 styling. jiayu g4 leaked photos JiaYu G4 screen Jiayu G4 vs Jiayu g3 JiaYu G4 and G3 Jiayu G4 vs Jiayu g3 JiaYu G4 and G3 display  Neo N003 Vs iOcean X7 Vs UMi X2 Vs JiaYu G4[table id=32 /]Which phone are you going to buy?With such great specs and low pricing, it’s hard to know which phone to buy, but I have to say that we have moved away from lusting after the UMi X2, and are now beginning to eye up the Neo N003 and iOcean X7. Both phones are cheaper and have similar specs and if 1080HD isn’t a priority then the Neo N003 could be the best choice for you.The G4 is still up there too, and will likely offer better battery life than the other phones due to the low-resolution and smaller screen, plus pricing is good too!

The affordable and highly popular Micromax Canvas HD has a new rival in town, the Chinese UMi X2, but which of these low-cost 5-inch, quad-core phones are the best value for money? Find out after below!UMi X2The UMi X2 has been covered so many times here on Gizchina we know the hardware off-by-heart, and with such a memorable package on offer we’re sure many of you have committed the X2’s specs to memory too!UMi have quite a reputation for launching high spec, low-cost phones which undercut their competitors. Last year during JiaYu’s terrible G3 launch, UMi stepped in and swept up many potential G3 owners with the dual-core, 4.5-inch UMi X1, and now they are in the market again with the UMi X2!Starting with the front, the UMi X2 boasts a full HD display, not a 720HD display but a full 1920 x 1080 panel! That alone for the $240-$260 asking price would be a great bargain, but the excellent features don’t stop there. There’s also a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor, 2GB RAM, and a 13 mega-pixel rear camera making for one fully loaded phone!The design looks great too, with a similar shape to the popular Samsung Galaxy S3, quite a narrow body along with thin screen bezel! All premium features but without the premium price tag!Micromax Canvas HDMicromax launched the Canvas HD earlier this year, and have been enjoying a huge amount of press attention and success with their low-cost quad-core, 5-inch phablet. However, is the Canvas HD really a match for the UMi X2?Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramStarting with the front again, the Micromax Canvas HD also sports a 5-inch HD display, however this time it’s a 720HD unit. For many of you this is hardly a make or brake feature, 鑱絠n fact the 720 screen will be easier on the battery! However, which so little difference in price between the 2 phones is it really worth going for the lower res screen? We think not.Unfortunately for Micromax the downgrades don’t stop there! Where as the UMi X2 has 2GB RAM, the Cavas HD only get’s 1GB, the rear camera is 8 mega-pixel and the overall body shape and design looks much thicker and bulkier than the UMi phone.UMi X2 vs Micromax Canvas HD[table id=29 /]So which is better? UMi X2 or Micromax Canvas HD?Just looking at the specs the UMi X2 wipes the floor with the Micromax Canvas HD! The UMi X2 offers a better display, double the RAM, a more advanced rear camera and larger battery all for just an extra $1 in price!The Micromax Canvas HD is currently available for $259 while the UMi X2 will launch on March 15 for $260 in India and $240 in China.There is no doubt in our minds that the UMi X2 is going to be one of the best quad-core, 5-inch 1080 phones for 2013 when it goes on sale, but it’s not going to be the only one and it certainly isn’t the cheapest! Which is best for you? The UMi X2 or the Sheng X7?UMi X2We’ve said this time and time again, on paper the UMi X2 is basically a more affordable version of the awesome Oppo Find 5! Everything which makes the Find 5 such an amazing phone is present in the X2, but at just a fraction of the price!5-inch 1080 HD display, quad-core CPU, 13 mega-pixel rear camera! The X2 has it all, and up until today was heading to become the undisputed Chinese phone champion of 2013, but then the Sheng X7 arrived!Sheng X7Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe Sheng X7 has been on Gizchina a few times over the past few months, but only after seeing real photos of the prototype are we starting to become excited about this awesome phone, but can it really compete with the Umi X2?In a word, Yes, the Sheng X7 offers everything the UMi X2 does, but manages to do so at a lower retail price! 5-inch 1080 display, quad-core MT6589 CPU and a 13 mega-pixel rear camera all wrapped up in a stylish body!UMi X2 vs Sheng X7[table id=25 /]So which would you buy?This is a difficult call! Both phones are practically identical in the hardware departments with the only notable difference being battery size. With that said though, does the larger battery of the X2 really call for a 500 Yuan ($80) price hike?

We are currently working on another in-depth Gizchina review, and this time we have something rather special! The GooPhone i5!The fully GooPhone i5 review will be ready to read in just a few days, but I have just had to post these photos of the phone just so you guys can see how authentic this iPhone 5 clone really looks!If someone handed this to you would NOT know it was a fake iPhone 5! That is how good it is! From our initial impressions we can see that the i5 is well made, lightweight and every bit as attractive as the real Apple phone, but at a fraction of the price!Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramGooPhone haven’t only just spent a great deal of time creating an authentic exterior, but have also produced an iOS 6 skinned Android operating system which is good enough to fool many, less tech savvy, iPhone users!The Newman N2 is Newman’s latest, quad-core flagship phone. While availability is still quite scarce, we have been lucky enough to get our hands on one for a full in-depth review.UPDATE: I have updated some details since first posting this review. I have updated the firmware to version Newman_N2_00.22, which has boosted Antutu benchmarks and also fixed the problem with focus when capturing video (see below).Newman have been manufacturing consumer electronics for years, and are well regarded as one of the leading manufacturers of MP3 and MP4 players, as well as portable data storage devices here in China.Last year they decided to take the plunge and make their first Android phone, the Newman N1, which sold like hotcakes. The N1 was followed by the entry-level Newman NX, and now for 2013 a new flagship phone has launched, the Newman N2. newman n2 and htc one x Newman N2 and HTC One X comparison. DSC02680 newman n2 in hand rear Comfortable rubberised rear. Newman N2 screen Newman N2 Specification Table[table id=9 /]Newman N2 introductionI have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Newman N2, as this latest flagship phone looked absolutely stunning on paper. With a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor and 1GB RAM, we should see blisteringly quick performance.The large 4.7-inch 720HD display sounds visually stunning, and speaking of visuals, a 13 mega-pixel rear camera is bound to excite the inner photographer in all of us.But, how does the N2 stack up as a complete unit?Newman N2 UnboxingDesign and general feelThe design of the Newman N2 isn’t as stylish as the original N1, but the generic rectangle, and neatly beveled edges are a welcome sight after seeing all the Samsung inspired designs on the market.The phone doesn’t get the super narrow screen borders we are starting to see on other phones, but the smaller 4.7-inch screen means the N2 still manages to feel comfortable and is easy to grip.I’m not a fan of glossy back panels on phones. They don’t fill me with confidence when trying to text one handed and they attract fingerprints and marks much easier than other finishes, thankfully the N2 doesn’t suffer from this as the rear is coated in a grippy rubberised finish.At 10.5mm the N2 isn’t the thinnest phone on the market, but it still manages to feel comfortable, and seems thinner, thanks to the curved edges which taper at a pleasing angle. The extra girth also allows for a good size 2500mAh battery.Front, rear and sides – functional not flashyI generally like N2’s subtle, understated looks, which give the phone a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” persona. After a quick glance, most people (potential theives included) wouldn’t realise that the N2 is practically a Samsung Galaxy S3 with a more affordable price tag!The front side has 4 capcative buttons to navigate through the Android 4.0 ICS OS, with a 4.7-inch IPS 1280 x 720 display sitting directly above. The capacitive ‘chin’ buttons and larger bezel of the screen might not give the air of a 2013 flagship device, but they work as well as on-screen controls and thinner edges (plus we will likely see these updates on the Newman N3 or N4). newman n2 battery 2500mAh battery. Newman N2 sd card SD card expansion. Newman N2 sim Single micro sim. newman n2 rear panel N2 with rear panel removed. On the left side we have a micro USB for charging and transferring files, and at the top we have a small recess where we can prise the rear panel off to access the SIM, SD card slot and battery.The N2 has 3 physical buttons, a power/lockscreen button, volume rocker and a shutter button, all of which are located on the right hand side and can be easily used single handed.Nothing is found along the bottom edge of the phone, but the microphone can be seen just where the glass of the display and beveled plastic edge meet.Headphones (not included) are plugged in via the 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the phone.From the back we can see a subtle Newman logo, small speaker and the 13 mega-pixel camera and LED flash. Again the design is functional rather than flashy, and while other manufactures might be tempted to label that 13 mega-pixel sensor, Newman have left it blank.Weight and sizeThe N2 weighs in at 5.35oz (152g) which is about average for a phone with a 4.7-inch display and is similar in weight to a Motorola RAZR HD. Some of you are going to want the phone to be lighter and closer to the Nexus 4’s 4.9oz (139g), but I’m more than happy with the weight as it affords the Newman a larger battery and SD card slot.I’m also happy with the overall size, although I do believe Newman could shave a good amount off the phone if they had a narrower bezel and built in battery, but again we will have to wait for a next generation model for that. newman n2 in hand rear Comfortable rubberised rear. newman n2 and htc one x Newman N2 and HTC One X comparison. Newman n2 in hand N2 Boot up. Newman n2 power button Easy to reach power button. DisplayAfter unpacking the N2, inserting the battery and powering the phone on my first words were “Wow, this screen is good!”. If offers bright colours, and give images a natural and not over saturated look.I did notice, however that although the screen is an IPS model viewing from certain angles wasn’t quite as good as I would have hoped for. I believe is down to the maximum brightness of the phone not being as high as I would have liked, and hope Newman can rectify this with future firmware updates.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe overall low brightness of the screen also affects viewing the phone outdoors. The day’s which we tested it outside weren’t bright summer days, yet we still struggled at times when the sunlight did hit it.EntertainmentGaming: Gaming on the Newman N2 is fantastic, which comes as no surprise due to that 1.4Ghz quad-core Samsung Exynos CPU and 1GB RAM. I tested a few games including Riptide GP, Angry Birds and Jetpack Joyride, none of which caused the Newman N2 any headaches.Video: Video is handled just as well, and the Newman N2 happily can play 1080 HD video all day long without a hicough.Speakers: The speaker quality on the N2 is solid if not mind blowing. If anything it is a little on the quiet side for a Chinese phone, which generally tend to be pretty loud. Obviously you’re not going to find super bass from a built in speaker on a phone priced as competitively as the N2, but for gaming or sharing the odd movie with friends it performs an adequate job.CameraStill photography IMG_20130117_132156 IMG_20130117_132111 IMG_20130117_132051 IMG_20130117_123419 IMG_20130117_123507 IMG_20130117_123538 IMG_20130117_123612 IMG_20130117_123619 One of the major selling points of the N2 is it’s rear 13 mega-pixel camera and I can confirm it takes some really beautiful photos. Take a look at the samples below to see for yourself, and if you want full size untouched Newman N2 photos then download the file here. IMG_20130117_154953 IMG_20130117_155153 IMG_20130117_155240 IMG_20130117_155647 IMG_20130117_160216 IMG_20130117_160555 IMG_20130117_161008 IMG_20130117_161203 Although the auto focus on the N2 is a little slow at times, the quality of the images it manages to capture really knocked my socks off! A phone of this price just isn’t meant to be able to produce stunning still images like this, but the N2 kept grabbing great photos time and time again!Night PhotosI tend not use a flash when taking photos, but the LED on the Newman proved to generate enough light to enhance photos, rather than make them look washed out. Just watch where you place your finger, as I sometimes found the flash to reflect of my skin and add glare to photos. newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo newman n2 night photo IMG_20130117_191446 If I have to complain about one thing though, it’s the burst mode for capturing a number of images in succesion. As it is now, the phone won’t start taking photos for a full 2 seconds after pressing the shutter when on burst mode, and when it starts you don’t know how long it is going to keep shooting for. It’s completely unusable and I hope it get’s sorted with the Jelly Bean 4.1 update.Video captureThe N2 is capable of capturing 1080 HD video which, had I been able to get filming correctly, would happily use as a back up, spur of the moment video camera. However, when shooting video the automatic focus struggles to keep still and constantly refocuses. No matter which setting I had the camera on I just couldn’t produce one piece of usable film!Newman please fix this, as it really detracts from what a great stills camera the N2 has to offer!  UPDATE: After updating to 00.22 (which I did with a simple over the air update) the problem with focus has completely gone away! Video capture is now very smooth and much improved over the previous firmware! It’s great to see Newman are addressing issues with firmware updates! Great job!I’ll will try to upload some sample footage later today.Newman N2 1080 video sample.PerformancePerformance was never going to be an issue with the N2. Pages loaded quickly when browsing the web, the games I tried barely made the hardware sweat and the overall responsiveness of the phone felt snappy and instant. UPDATE: I followed advice commenters had and updated the firmware to version鑱絅ewman_N2_00.22, the N2 now performs even better!Antutu: I ran Antutu on the phone to get an idea of how it compares to similar devices, and it came away with a benchmark of 13792. After updated Antutu score increased drastically and the N2 now scores a very impressive 16313!Nenamark2: Nenamark results were good too with the Newman N2 managing 54.9 FPS.NOTE: If you would like me to run any other benchmarks please let me know and I’ll add the results here.Battery LifeTo give you a true indication of how long the battery lasted in the Newman N2, I’ll first explain my (bad) phone habits. I leave 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS on all the time. Reasons being that I want email’s pushed to me as I get them, and I take a lot of photos and want the location to be stored without having to change settings.For test purposes I also browsed the web quite a bit, streamed video from Youku and played a few levels of Riptide GP during my lunch. From my experience with the Newman N2, I found the phone to be able to last me through quite an intensive work day, with enough juice to get me home before needing a top up.I’ll continue to test the battery life this week with different services turned on and off, and using the phone for different purposes from day to day to get a better idea of how it performs and add an update with my findings.ConclustionThe Newman N2 had me excited before I tried it and now after some time with it I’m even more excited!It’s a good looking, great size phone with a large responsive screen. Performance is outstanding, fast graphically intense games are handled with ease, the N2 just begs for more!And that rear camera! Wow! (if you are taking stills that is) for a phone of this price to come with a 13 mega-pixel rear camera is one thing, but for it to perform as well as this does is just an amazing bonus! In fact quality isn’t far off my dedicated Sony point and shoot which cost 1000 Yuan more and doesn’t offer the same quality screen, and smartphone features!There are a few niggles I hope Newman will fix such as the problem with the burst shutter function, and the constant refocusing when capturing video, but hopefully this and screen brightness will be addressed when Android 4.1 Jelly Bean rolls out.For the price, 1499 Yuan (in China) $299.99 internationally, it is one of the best Chinese phones we have ever tested, and if gaming, video and browsing the web and spur of the moment photography are your main priorities I see no reason why you shouldn’t consider picking one up, I certainly am!It’s only just the start of the year, but 5.7-inch Chinese phablets are already going on sale. Here are 7 of the best currently available and upcoming phablets from China. Zopo ZP950 Phablet (Leader Max)The Zopo ZP950 was one of the first 5.7-inch phones to be launched and has proven to be a popular device with Chinese buyers, so much so that our review model has been put on hold due to shortages!Zopo ZP950 SpecificationThe ZP950 has a 5.7-inch 720p display, dual-core MT6577 processor, 1GB RAM and an updated 8 mega-pixel rear camera.From a design point of view the ZP950 looks very much like the popular ZP900, but with a larger screen, but we have been assured by Zopo that the rear camera is a huge update over the smaller phone too.Zopo ZP950 PriceThe big screen Zopo is on sale for $280, and remember the International name is Zopo ZP950 Phablet while the Chinese name is Leader Max. Mogu PhabletMogu announced a few days ago that they will launch a range of phablet phones with screen sizes varying from 5-inch all the way up to 6.1-inch!Mogu SpecificationsEach Mogu phone will carry a similar specification with the only major differences being the size and resolution of the screen used.Mogu have had time to learn from the competition and watch the where the market is going, and as such we can see some clear improvements over the Zopo. For starters the processor will be the more powerful quad-core MT6589 variant, there will also be Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and flagship models will receive NFC and a 13 mega-pixel rear camera.Mogu PriceNo details on the pricing, but judging be their previous phone we can expect a very competitive price. CarPad V8CarPad are one of the originators of big screen Chinese phones, but the the V8 marks the first phone to offer a half decent resolution and specification.Carpad V8 SpecificaionThe specification for the CarPad is very similar to the Zopo, which means a 5.7-inch 720p display, 8 mega-pixel rear camera, dual-core MT6577 processor, 1GB RAM and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.The V8 also has a 2800mAh battery and 4GB of built-in memory along with an SD card reader and dual-sim support.CarPad V8 priceThe V8 is on sale for a very competitive 1320 Yuan ($212) asking price, and can likely be ordered from online resellers. Hiwave H14 HD PhabletAnother low-cost offering, with at the familiar Samsung Galaxy Note 2 styling.Hiwave H14 SpecificationThere really isn’t much here that hasn’t been said above. Dual-core MT6577 processor, 1GB RAM, 4GB memory, 8 mega-pixel rear camera, and a 5.7-inch 1280 x 720 display.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThere are a few highlights though such as Android 4.1Jelly Bean and a larger 3200mAh battery!Hiwave H14 PricePricing is slightly more than the CarPad, but for that extra battery capacity it is well worth it. The HiWave H14 can be hours for 1399 Yuan ($224). Gaoxinqi Tegra 3 PhabletThe Gaoxinqi is a welcome surprise in the Android phablet arena, as it has bucked the MTK processor trend in favour of a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chip!Gaoxinqi SpecificationAs already mentioned a quad-core Nvidia Tegra鑱? chip is at the core of this 5.7-inch phone running at 1.5Ghz, with 1GB RAM. 4GB of built in memory can be expanded with an SD card which sits beneath a large 3000mAh battery!If all this doesn’t sound just great, then add in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a 3000mAh battery and this is one sweet looking HD phone!Gaoxinqi PriceNo official word, but if they are going to price this phone realistically then we can expect a price of between 1999-2500 Yuan ($320-$401). Yangtze N7300The N7300 is new to us here at Gizchina, but it offers a solid specification at a very affordable price.Yangtze N7300 SpecificationThe N7300 looks a lot like the CarPad, Zopo and THL (below) and it will come as no surprise that the specification is similar too. A 5.7-inch 1280 x 720 display, dual-core MT6577 CPU, 8 mega-pixel rear camera and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean are all present, the the battery is a larger 3500mAh unit!Yangtze N7300 PriceDespite having a similar specification to more costlier phone, and a larger battery, the N7300 manages to cost less at only 1150 Yuan ($184). THL W7The THL W7 has been receiving rave reviews in China, and it’s no surprise as this 5.7-inch device is identical to the Zopo ZP950!THL W7 SpecificationThe THL W7 get’s a similar spec as the Zopo ZP950 but with an updated 3 mega-pixel front camera, slightly faster 1.2 Ghz dual-core MT6577T processor and (strangely) smaller 2300 mAh battery.THL W7 pricePricing for the W7 is 1699 Yuan ($273) which is slightly cheaper than the Zopo. Owen V9The Owen V9 offers a similar spec as the THL and Zopo but with a slightly different exterior.Owen V9 SpecificationThe Owen in another MTK phone so much of the same as we have already seen, however the body is made of magnesium alloy rather than plastic meaning the V9 should be more durable and might take a knock or too.Owen V9 PriceThe Oppo Find 5 made a great first impression when launched last month, and the praise continues now that reviewers are getting their hands on time, unfortunately it’s not all good!The Verge, have managed to track down an Oppo Find 5 at CES (our sources are telling us that the Find 5 at CES is an engineering model and not a production unit) and get some hands on time with the 5-inch, 1080 phone, which they describe as having “impeccable [build quality]” with a sleek design not dissimilar from Sony’s Xperia Ion.Despite the great build though, testers were not very impressed with the viewing angles of the 5-inch 1080 display, and found colours less vivid than similar devices from rivals HTC.But the biggest criticism of the Find 5 is the Oppo skinned Android 4.1 Jelly Bean UI. One reporter commented:Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram“It runs Android 4.1 with an extremely ugly skin”Testers also found the system difficult to navigate due to poor labelling and lack of navigation icons on the on-screen navigation bar.As the phone they tested was an engineering prototype the UI problems could be solved, and the lack of labels might have been due to testing an early build of an English ROM, but what concerns us are the comments about the display. Just how poor are the viewing angles, and will this be fixed for production unit?

There are literally hundreds of great Android phones on the market today, and with more launching daily it can become difficult when trying to choose one. Today, I’m going to take a look at 3 popular models to help find the best for your needs.The three phones I’ve decided to focus on for this write up are the THL W7, Newman N2 and the Huawei Honor 2. Each phone has it’s own unique characteristics and each comes at a different price point, but which is best for you?THL W7 $292.99The THL W7 is one of the new breed of large screen phablet phones, and we mean large! This device offers users a huge 5.7-inch screen with 720HD resolution making it perfect for viewing documents, watching movies and share photos with friends.Another standout feature for the W7 is the dual-core MT6577 processor which enables the phone to have dual-sim support.With dual-sim support and the large screen, the THL would be perfect for those who like to mix business with pleasure and allowing you to carry just one phone but have quick access to your personal and business phone contact.As with similar MT6577 phones, the THL W7 has an 8-mega-pixel rear camera, 4GB of memory, SD card readers and an impressive 3.2 mega-pixel front camera.Who do we recommend the THL W7 for?The THL W7 would be perfect for business people, or those with an active social life and like to be on the go.The THL W7 can be bought here. Newman N2 $348.99 (Freelander i20)If the large screen of the THL W7 is too much for you, and you prefer a little more horsepower in your phone, you might want to take a look at the Newman N2.The N2 is the successor the N1 and as such features some important upgrades including a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 CPU, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and 4,7-inch 1280 x 720 display.More Newman N2 details here.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram While the screen is smaller than the one found on the THL, the resolution is the same, meaning movies, photos and documents will look just as good, plus the 4.7-inch display should be big enough to do some on the go editing.But its the extra power the Newman has to offer plus the updated 13 mega-pixel camera which make the N2 such an interesting phone.Who do we recommend the Newman N2 for?Gamers and those of you who love to take photos while on the go. The powerful Samsung CPU can handle even the most graphic intensive games, while the excellent rear camera mean you will never miss a photo opportunity.The Newman N2 can be bought here. Huawei Honor 2 $404.99You might think the Huawei Honor 2 is a bit dated now that the new Ascend D2 has been announced, but not everyone requires a 5-inch display and some users actually prefer the 4.5-inch size of the Honor 2.The Huawei Honor 2 is the only phone here from an internationally recognised company, and with that you do get some peace of mind, you also are more likely to get frequent updates for the Huawei too which actually ships with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.More Huawei Honor 2 details here. Like the Newman N2, the Huawei Honor 2 comes with a quad-core CPU, but this time a CPU developed by Huawei themselves, meaning they have been able to make the phone and CPU work efficiently together with Jelly Bean.As for the specs you get a 1280 x 720 display, single sim standby, 8 mega-pixel rear camera 2GB RAM and 8GB or built-in memory.Who do we recommend the Huawei Honor 2 for?With the addition of more RAM we again suggest the Huawei to anyone big in to gaming, but with the self developed hardware and big name brand we also recommend the Huawei to those happy to spend a little extra for peace of mind.The Huawei Honor 2 can be bought here.What are your recommendations?Another day another video review from Gizchina! This time we take a few minutes to look at the Dual-core Zopo ZP300+ Field Android smart phone!Like the rest of the Zopo range the Zopo ZP300+ Field represents a new and improved version of the phone which boasts a faster, more powerful dual-core MediaTek MT6577 CPU. Other than the chip update the rest of the specification of the ZP300+ remains the same as the previous single-core model.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram Zopo ZP300+ Field Specification:CPU: dual-core MT6577 1GhzMemory: 1GB RAM, $GB ROM and space for an SD card.Screen: 4.5 inch 1280 x 720 with 326ppiBattery: 1800 mAhCamera: rear 8 mega-pixel with auto-focus, front 1.3 mega-pixel.Supported Frequency: GSM (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) WCDMA (850/2100Mhz)Wi-fi: 802.11b/b/n Zopo ZP300+ Field hands on video review  Where to buy the Zopo ZP300+ Field?Oukitel’s first real phone to have caught our attention happens to be the Oukitel U8. The phone is powered by the MediaTek MT6735 quad-core鑱?4-bit SoC and is pretty affordable.The highlights of the phone include a metal build and the tap-to-unlock fingerprint scanner. The difference between the fingerprint scanner on the U8 compared to something like the Ulefone Be Touch is that on the U8 you simply tap on the fingerprint scanner (you don’t have to press since its not a button), while on phones like the Be Touch and Mlais M7, you first have to wake the phone and then scan your fingertip.Let me also remind you of the specification of the Oukitel U8 with a quick recap:5.5-inch 1280 x 720p displayMediaTek MT6735 64-bit quad-core processor2GB RAM16GB ROM13 mega-pixel rear camera5 mega-pixel front camera2850mAh non-removable batteryDual SIMAndroid 5.1 LollipopAnother thing that strikes you about the U8 is the fact that it runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. So far, there haven’t been any major bugs that I’ve come across, so it looks like Oukitel have done a good job there.The one thing that you’re sure to notice鑱絘bout the U8 is its heavy weight. The phone is probably the heaviest smartphone I’ve used, and it has managed to slip from my hands a couple of times already. I’m not sure if the weight is organic or Oukitel have added extra metal bits to increase the weight. After all, Beats Headphones do that too.The edges of the phone are full metal with the usual plastic strips in between for reception. Impressive is the fact that the micro USB slot is reinforced with the plastic; doesn’t just make it more durable, but it also gives a dash of extra style to the Oukitel U8.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramGeneral UI wise, the phone is surprisingly fast for an SoC that will soon be entry-level. 2GB of RAM means that you can multitask without a lot of problem on the device. The camera is fast to boot, but can take time to save pictures and such. But the general quality of the photos is pretty decent, up there with other phones in the price range. Also, the U8 has true dual flash, but no dual tone flash.Battery has been fairly impressive through the two days so far, enough for it to not look like a fake spec. I say that because a lot of Chinese OEMs have been doing that in the recent past.The fingerprint scanner works well, but not as well as the Be Touch’s scanner. I’d say it is about 10% down in accuracy when compared to the Be Touch, which really has a lovely fingerprint scanner. The tap-to-wake feature is very cool though, and I found myself using it all the time. That’s why the U8 is also known as the ‘Universe Tap’.Oukitel’s first real phone to have caught our attention happens to be the Oukitel U8. The phone is powered by the MediaTek MT6735 quad-core鑱?4-bit SoC and is pretty affordable.The highlights of the phone include a metal build and the tap-to-unlock fingerprint scanner. The difference between the fingerprint scanner on the U8 compared to something like the Ulefone Be Touch is that on the U8 you simply tap on the fingerprint scanner (you don’t have to press since its not a button), while on phones like the Be Touch and Mlais M7, you first have to wake the phone and then scan your fingertip.Let me also remind you of the specification of the Oukitel U8 with a quick recap:5.5-inch 1280 x 720p displayMediaTek MT6735 64-bit quad-core processor2GB RAM16GB ROM13 mega-pixel rear camera5 mega-pixel front camera2850mAh non-removable batteryDual SIMAndroid 5.1 LollipopAnother thing that strikes you about the U8 is the fact that it runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. So far, there haven’t been any major bugs that I’ve come across, so it looks like Oukitel have done a good job there.The one thing that you’re sure to notice鑱絘bout the U8 is its heavy weight. The phone is probably the heaviest smartphone I’ve used, and it has managed to slip from my hands a couple of times already. I’m not sure if the weight is organic or Oukitel have added extra metal bits to increase the weight. After all, Beats Headphones do that too.The edges of the phone are full metal with the usual plastic strips in between for reception. Impressive is the fact that the micro USB slot is reinforced with the plastic; doesn’t just make it more durable, but it also gives a dash of extra style to the Oukitel U8.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramGeneral UI wise, the phone is surprisingly fast for an SoC that will soon be entry-level. 2GB of RAM means that you can multitask without a lot of problem on the device. The camera is fast to boot, but can take time to save pictures and such. But the general quality of the photos is pretty decent, up there with other phones in the price range. Also, the U8 has true dual flash, but no dual tone flash.Battery has been fairly impressive through the two days so far, enough for it to not look like a fake spec. I say that because a lot of Chinese OEMs have been doing that in the recent past.The fingerprint scanner works well, but not as well as the Be Touch’s scanner. I’d say it is about 10% down in accuracy when compared to the Be Touch, which really has a lovely fingerprint scanner. The tap-to-wake feature is very cool though, and I found myself using it all the time. That’s why the U8 is also known as the ‘Universe Tap’.

We don鈥檛 usually do a lot of tablet reviews on GizChina, but there are some devices that simply catch your attention. The Chuwi Vi10 happens to be one of them. The tablet doesn鈥檛 cost a lot of money (sells for a mere $140), and does a lot of things. Not only does the Vi10 run Android (v4.4 KitKat), but it also does Windows 8.1 — full desktop Windows!Let鈥檚 delve into the details in the Chuwi Vi10 review.Chuwi Vi10 Review: Design and BuildChuwi seem to have set their minds straight when making the Vi10. They perhaps decided that they won鈥檛 do a lot of things with the Vi10, but whatever they do, they鈥檇 do right. Which is why, the Vi10 isn鈥檛 a mind-blowing tablet at the outset, but instead it impresses you on the long run.The device isn鈥檛 the prettiest around, and is sure as hell not meant to be flaunted. There are other things that the Vi10 does better. It is for the most part a generic slab with not a lot of thought gone into the design, with thick-ish bezels and a rather large size thanks to the 10.6-inch screen. The tablet is also pretty heavy at over 500g; that combined with the size means that you鈥檒l probably need to keep it in a bag to be able to carry it around. OK, the design isn鈥檛 mind blowing by quite a distance. Lets get to the build next. This is where the tablet starts impressing you. There鈥檚 glass on either side of the tablet, which seems pretty sturdy but is a fingerprint magnet. By default, the Vi10 will come with protectors installed on the front and back.The chassis of the tablet seems to be made out of plastic, but the kind of plastic that feels sturdy and inspires confidence. There鈥檚 however metal strips running around the top and bottom edges (the two longest edges on the tablet) that blend into the other two sides, thus covering all four corners with metal. Simple and effective! Also sort of elegant.Besides that, there isn鈥檛 much to speak about the Vi10. It feels like it鈥檚 built like a tank with a very impressive build quality (I鈥檓 blown away, honestly).The front has a Windows logo which also acts as the Start button in Windows mode, and home button in Android mode. The 2 mega-pixel front facing camera sits on the top bezel (when the tablet is held in landscape).The rear of the Vi10 will tell you that it鈥檚 made by Chuwi (in English and Chinese), along with some other stuff — including the Intel logo on the bottom, all in shiny silver. Oh, and, there鈥檚 also the 2 mega-pixel rear camera right above the Chuwi logo.There鈥檚 nothing on the right edge of the tablet besides the oblivious speaker grill.The left edge is the business edge on the Vi10. From top to bottom, here鈥檚 what you find on this side of the tablet: a 3.5mm headphone jack, micro HDMI output port, full USB port #1, charging micro USB port, full USB port #2, microSD slot, and the other side of the speaker grill.Last but not least, there鈥檚 the docking port on the bottom edge for you to connect the Vi10 to its keyboard case, which in my book is a must buy if you鈥檙e going with this device.Chuwi Vi10 Review: DisplayUnfortunately, the display on the Vi10 isn鈥檛 as impressive as the build quality of the device. This pretty much rules out the device for folks looking for a multimedia companion; others, like me, who鈥檇 be more interested in a Windows device for productivity should still be interested. For some reason, the display doesn鈥檛 seem as bright and crisp on Android as is does when running Windows. It is, by the way, a 10.6-inch 1366 x 768 pixel display, so it isn鈥檛 the highest resolution display. My eyes are probably tuned to using much higher-res displays on Android devices, which is perhaps why it feels as though the Vi10鈥檚 10.6-inch panel lacks lustre while running the open source OS. Or maybe Chuwi ships the Vi10 set to a lower DPI on Android.Although viewing angles don鈥檛 matter as much on tablets, it鈥檚 nice to know that they鈥檙e pretty good on the Vi10.Chuwi Vi10 Review: CameraGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramIt’ll probably be a good idea if you don’t bother about the 2 mega-pixel cameras on the Vi10. They’re good for Skype though, but the angle is a little off. Take a look at these images for reference. Chuwi Vi10 Review: PerformanceThe Chuwi Vi10 comes with the quad-core Intel Atom Z3736F processor with 2GB of RAM. To sum up the performance of the device — I鈥檓 blown away. I鈥檝e used Z3735F devices in the past (the Vi10 runs the Z3736F, which isn鈥檛 very different), but for some reason, the Vi10 really impresses in this regard.Mini PCs which have better cooling should generally perform much better than tablets such as this one, since everything is cramped into a very small package. However, that is not the case. If you purchase the Vi10, it should be for the Windows OS; there are other better tablets available in its price range that run Android. Android, I believe, is just another option that the makers are giving with the Vi10. Probably following the 鈥榖ecause we can鈥 strategy here.I鈥檝e used Chrome (on Windows) with up to two windows open with around 5 tabs each, and the Vi10 hasn鈥檛 failed me yet. The sound output too is beyond satisfactory. You could maybe enjoy a movie while you鈥檙e on a long flight or something, and the Vi10 certainly won鈥檛 disappoint.Switching between OSes: Simply fire the OS switcher app.Chuwi Vi10 Review: StorageThe tablet has a total of 32GB of storage, which isn’t great for neither a productivity device or a multimedia tablet. Out of the 32GB, you get less than 11GB free on Windows, and about 4.5GB on Android. There are ways and methods to change the balance, but you’re on your own with that.Chuwi Vi10 Review: BatteryThe tablet comes with an 8000mAh non-removable battery. According to Chuwi, this cell is enough for up to 6 hours of usage, and I can confirm they haven鈥檛 been lying about that.I was consistently able to get over 5 hours of usage, mainly with the Windows OS with a little Android every now and then. Usage was mainly Chrome, but with some additional MS Office and Skype thrown in.Chuwi Vi10 Review: Keyboard CaseLike mentioned before, if you are planning to purchase the $140 Vi10 (which you truly should if you aren鈥檛 looking for a full blown multimedia companion), set aside another $24 for the Vi10 keyboard case which comes from the company. The keyboard case doesn鈥檛 require any additional setting up (no Bluetooth, etc.), and instead works with the proprietary (if I鈥檓 not wrong) keyboard port on the bottom of the tablet. This means that there鈥檚 no additional wiring that you鈥檒l be carrying around, and also that you don鈥檛 have to worry about keeping the keyboard charged; it draws power right from the tablet鈥檚 battery.Also, there are two additional slots that work magnetically in the tablet鈥檚 body that ensure the device is properly locked when docked on the keyboard case. The keyboard case also comes with a touchpad with multitouch so you can perform your usual Windows 8.1 and Android gestures. The touchpad is clickable, so right and left clicks can be performed right from the case.One downside with cases such as these is that you can鈥檛 use them on your lap — the rear of the case needs something flat and sturdy, like a table.Chuwi Vi10 Review: VerdictThe Chuwi Vi10 is a very impressive tablet which deserves to be more popular than it actually is. A brilliant build, solid performance and availability of a compatible keyboard case make the device a productivity freak鈥檚 dream. At a total cost of under聽$170 ($140 for tablet, $24 for case), you get a full blown Windows 8.1 + Android 4.4 tablet, and at the risk of sounding like an ad, I鈥檒l say that I don鈥檛 think you should miss this one!Feel free to comment below with any questions that you might have and we鈥檒l try our best to answer each one of them. Also, if you already own one of these, do check out our guide on how to enable hibernation on聽the Chuwi Vi10.Xiaomi says that their Mi 4i is a 鈥榝lagship level phone鈥? In fact, the Mi 4i launch was one of the grandest as far as Xiaomi are concerned, and it was the first device from the company to have been launched outside its home country of China.The phone has a brilliant form factor, and is made out of materials that haven鈥檛 been used on $200 phones before. Does this mean the phone is the best in its range? Lets find out.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: DesignThe Mi 4i is, according to me, the best designed Xiaomi phone yet. Of course, if you鈥檙e a phablet guy you鈥檇 disagree; but if you prefer one handed smartphone usage, the Mi 4i is like a dream come true. It hardly feels like a 5-inch phone, and with the comfortable and grippy back, the phone fits your hand like a charm. In more ways than one, the Mi 4i will remind you of the iPhone 5C. It鈥檚 made out of polycarbonate, and is second to the Mi 4 just like the 5C is to the 5S. But of course, the Mi 4i is MUCH cheaper and it runs Android (albeit with a skin that reminds you of the iPhone anyway).The Mi 4i is lighter and thinner than the metal clad Mi 4, and you鈥檒l realize that within a few seconds with the phone.As usual for most phones, the entire front is covered in glass. Xiaomi don鈥檛 specify this to be Gorilla Glass, but maintain that it is made in close co-operation with Corning (makers of Gorilla Glass). I鈥檓 assuming this is the same Corning Concore glass that the Mi 4 uses. Nonetheless, the glass doesn鈥檛 seem as scratch proof as the Mi 4; I鈥檝e already managed to find a little scratch on the screen.Besides that, the front of the phone is really elegant, yet simplistic. I鈥檝e been using the white version of the phone, so the 鈥榩anda effect鈥 of a black front and white rear looks really attractive. There鈥檚 not a lot of black though, it鈥檚 only on the top and bottom of the screen — and the size bezels of course.The earpiece grill is rather tiny, which goes well with the design in my books. Compared to the Mi 4, the Mi 4i certainly looks and feels much better, there鈥檚 no two ways about it. Xiaomi did sort of get it wrong with the Mi 4 on the design, some would feel.Coming back to the Mi 4i, the rear of the phone is a scaled-down rear of the Mi Note. The camera positioning has changed from the Mi 4鈥檚 center, and is now on the top left — which again, looks better in my opinion. Also noticeable are the dual LEDs, both of which throw different tones of white light.The rear also makes home for the speaker grill, right below the Mi logo. Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ScreenIt鈥檚 pure coincidence that you鈥檙e reading about the screen of the Mi 4i right after its design and build, for these are the two best things about the phone. The screen is perhaps the best I鈥檝e seen on a 5-inch phone; the OPPO Find 5 comes to mind among other phones with screen almost as good as the Mi 4i鈥檚.It鈥檚 a 5-inch 1920 x 1080p panel if you aren鈥檛 aware, same as the Mi 4, yet better. The color reproduction on the Mi 4i is a little more saturated than the Mi 4, but not enough to make it oversaturated. Xiaomi have found the recipe to making a brilliant display with the Mi 4i. Also, quality control seems to be right up there; there鈥檚 no bright spots, light bleeding or dead pixels on the screen.In general, the screen is a complete treat on the Mi 4i, and is something which will invariably leave you surprised, at least at the first look.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: PerformanceThe last one year or so has been about this new category of phones that you know as the mid-range flagships. The Mi 4i is perhaps the best specimen from that category, with a flagship-level design and form, and mid-range processing.As you may have guessed from my previous statement, the performance of the Mi 4i isn鈥檛 really flagship-level. In fact, I found the Snapdragon 615 (second-gen) to have a performance that tends more towards poor than average. On paper, the Snapdragon 615 might look like a competitor to the MT6752 or the MT6732, but it鈥檚 a completely different story in the real world.But then again, the Yu Yureka uses the same chipset (in fact, the older generation thereof) and yet manages to impress with the performance. Does this mean that the resource-heavy MIUI ROM is taking a toll on performance? Yes. MIUI is full of animations and other intuitive features that make it very usable, but at the cost of performance.So if you only use your phone for things like taking pictures, surfing the web and say some IM, the Mi 4i would probably suffice for you. However, if you remotely use multiple apps at once, I鈥檇 strongly recommend you to look elsewhere, unless you鈥檙e open to flashing custom ROMs on the device.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAs you might already have read, the phone does heat up quite a bit too. Xiaomi keeps pushing updates every now and then, which claim to 鈥榝ix overheating issues鈥? but not a lot of progress has been made on that front. Clearly, the Mi 4i isn鈥檛 one for the power user.Here鈥檚 some benchmark scores that the Mi 4i manages.AnTuTu: 37,350Quadrant Standard: 24,234Geekbench 3 Single Core: 700Geekbench 3 Multi Core: 2,692Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: CameraThe Mi 4i inherits the camera tech from the Mi Note, so it is supposed to be pretty good. You will be happy to know that it is quite a good camera; I haven鈥檛 used the Mi Note enough to tell if the Mi 4i has a camera as good, but it鈥檚 a mighty fine camera phone in itself.Just to run through the specifications of the camera – the rear is a 13 mega-pixel Sony/Samsung camera with a 5 element lens, an f/2.0 aperture and dual tone flash. Sure, we鈥檝e had phones with f/1.8 and even larger apertures, but somehow the Mi 4i still manages to perform pretty well even in low lights. On the front, the phone has a 5 mega-pixel f/1.8 shooter with an 80-degree wide angle.Almost any decent phone will give you good results in daylight, but what sets a good camera apart from an average one is the low light performance. As you see from the samples below, the Mi 4i does a great job in the night and other low-light scenarios too. Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: BatteryIf you aren鈥檛 aware yet, you might be surprised to know that the Mi 4i comes with the largest smartphone battery Xiaomi have ever shipped. This means that the Mi 4i has a bigger battery than the Mi Note AND the Mi Note Pro, which is pretty weird. And impressive, for the Mi 4i.It鈥檚 a 3120mAh non-removable cell which performs really well. Somehow you don鈥檛 get OnePlus One-levels of battery performance, but what the Mi 4i does with the 3120mAh cell is something you wouldn鈥檛 really mind, and perhaps like if you鈥檙e one who knows what to expect from a $200 phone.With non-hardware intensive usage, you鈥檒l get close to 6 hours of screen on time with every charge, which is pretty impressive for a phone that doesn鈥檛 cost a bomb. I鈥檓 also pretty sure that if Xiaomi manage to fix the heating problems (up to an extent), the battery life would get even better, as Le Chatelier’s principle states.In general, the Mi 4i will last you a day pretty much regardless of how you use your phone. In my case (virtually no gaming), I got close to a day and a half on a single charge on most days.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ReceptionCell radio, WiFi and GPS reception isn鈥檛 usually a problem with companies like Xiaomi. In fact, from the Xiaomi phones I鈥檝e used, I鈥檝e come to realize that the company uses some of the best antennas on its phones, and the Mi 4i is no exception. WiFi performance is pretty strong despite having a lot of WiFi interference. GPS and cell radio reception too, are satisfactory. GPS did take a while to get its first fix, but since then performance has been much better.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ROMThis is where I believe the problems of the Mi 4i lie. A brilliant phone otherwise, the device is let down by stutters every now and then along with apps being force closed. 2GB of RAM should usually be enough for usual daily activities, but that doesn鈥檛 really seem to be the case with the Mi 4i.Besides the stutters and FC鈥檚, the MIUI 6 ROM (based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop) is a visual treat as usual. Of course there is the iOS inspiration, but MIUI is a ROM born out of the need to incorporate more features, while on the other hand, makers (especially Chinese) have been dishing out new ROMs just for the sake of it.Xiaomi do provide regular OTAs, but it looks like some of them are pushed in a hurry. For example, the OTA update to MIUI 6.5.5.0 literally rendered the front camera unusable for those who did install the update.For example, take a look at the picture below, taken on the front camera of the Mi 4i (it wasn’t particularly a low-light聽situation).聽The issue is quite a massive one, and its surprising the testers didn’t report this to Xiaomi before the update went live.聽More info on the issue can be found on the MIUI forums.This isn鈥檛 something you expect from a company like Xiaomi.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ConclusionThe Mi 4i scores heavily on build, display and camera, but is unfortunately let down on performance. At the first look, the phone is bound to impress you with all its glitz, but as you start using the phone and install your usual suite of apps, the disappointment slowly creeps in. It wouldn鈥檛 be unfair to say that the US$110 Elephone P6000 with the MT6732 feels a lot smoother in performance than the Mi 4i.For the first few hours with the phone, I truly believed I was looking at my next 鈥榙aily driver鈥橕 but as it turns out, there鈥檚 going to be more waiting to do.Xiaomi still have the opportunity to make it up with frequent and effective software updates, which they seem to be doing. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a 5-inch phone in the market and want a Xiaomi, the Mi 4 with the reduced prices, in my book, is a much better bet despite a lower quality screen and perhaps a camera that doesn鈥檛 quite match the Mi 4i鈥檚.

Xiaomi says that their Mi 4i is a 鈥榝lagship level phone鈥? In fact, the Mi 4i launch was one of the grandest as far as Xiaomi are concerned, and it was the first device from the company to have been launched outside its home country of China.The phone has a brilliant form factor, and is made out of materials that haven鈥檛 been used on $200 phones before. Does this mean the phone is the best in its range? Lets find out.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: DesignThe Mi 4i is, according to me, the best designed Xiaomi phone yet. Of course, if you鈥檙e a phablet guy you鈥檇 disagree; but if you prefer one handed smartphone usage, the Mi 4i is like a dream come true. It hardly feels like a 5-inch phone, and with the comfortable and grippy back, the phone fits your hand like a charm. In more ways than one, the Mi 4i will remind you of the iPhone 5C. It鈥檚 made out of polycarbonate, and is second to the Mi 4 just like the 5C is to the 5S. But of course, the Mi 4i is MUCH cheaper and it runs Android (albeit with a skin that reminds you of the iPhone anyway).The Mi 4i is lighter and thinner than the metal clad Mi 4, and you鈥檒l realize that within a few seconds with the phone.As usual for most phones, the entire front is covered in glass. Xiaomi don鈥檛 specify this to be Gorilla Glass, but maintain that it is made in close co-operation with Corning (makers of Gorilla Glass). I鈥檓 assuming this is the same Corning Concore glass that the Mi 4 uses. Nonetheless, the glass doesn鈥檛 seem as scratch proof as the Mi 4; I鈥檝e already managed to find a little scratch on the screen.Besides that, the front of the phone is really elegant, yet simplistic. I鈥檝e been using the white version of the phone, so the 鈥榩anda effect鈥 of a black front and white rear looks really attractive. There鈥檚 not a lot of black though, it鈥檚 only on the top and bottom of the screen — and the size bezels of course.The earpiece grill is rather tiny, which goes well with the design in my books. Compared to the Mi 4, the Mi 4i certainly looks and feels much better, there鈥檚 no two ways about it. Xiaomi did sort of get it wrong with the Mi 4 on the design, some would feel.Coming back to the Mi 4i, the rear of the phone is a scaled-down rear of the Mi Note. The camera positioning has changed from the Mi 4鈥檚 center, and is now on the top left — which again, looks better in my opinion. Also noticeable are the dual LEDs, both of which throw different tones of white light.The rear also makes home for the speaker grill, right below the Mi logo. Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ScreenIt鈥檚 pure coincidence that you鈥檙e reading about the screen of the Mi 4i right after its design and build, for these are the two best things about the phone. The screen is perhaps the best I鈥檝e seen on a 5-inch phone; the OPPO Find 5 comes to mind among other phones with screen almost as good as the Mi 4i鈥檚.It鈥檚 a 5-inch 1920 x 1080p panel if you aren鈥檛 aware, same as the Mi 4, yet better. The color reproduction on the Mi 4i is a little more saturated than the Mi 4, but not enough to make it oversaturated. Xiaomi have found the recipe to making a brilliant display with the Mi 4i. Also, quality control seems to be right up there; there鈥檚 no bright spots, light bleeding or dead pixels on the screen.In general, the screen is a complete treat on the Mi 4i, and is something which will invariably leave you surprised, at least at the first look.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: PerformanceThe last one year or so has been about this new category of phones that you know as the mid-range flagships. The Mi 4i is perhaps the best specimen from that category, with a flagship-level design and form, and mid-range processing.As you may have guessed from my previous statement, the performance of the Mi 4i isn鈥檛 really flagship-level. In fact, I found the Snapdragon 615 (second-gen) to have a performance that tends more towards poor than average. On paper, the Snapdragon 615 might look like a competitor to the MT6752 or the MT6732, but it鈥檚 a completely different story in the real world.But then again, the Yu Yureka uses the same chipset (in fact, the older generation thereof) and yet manages to impress with the performance. Does this mean that the resource-heavy MIUI ROM is taking a toll on performance? Yes. MIUI is full of animations and other intuitive features that make it very usable, but at the cost of performance.So if you only use your phone for things like taking pictures, surfing the web and say some IM, the Mi 4i would probably suffice for you. However, if you remotely use multiple apps at once, I鈥檇 strongly recommend you to look elsewhere, unless you鈥檙e open to flashing custom ROMs on the device.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAs you might already have read, the phone does heat up quite a bit too. Xiaomi keeps pushing updates every now and then, which claim to 鈥榝ix overheating issues鈥? but not a lot of progress has been made on that front. Clearly, the Mi 4i isn鈥檛 one for the power user.Here鈥檚 some benchmark scores that the Mi 4i manages.AnTuTu: 37,350Quadrant Standard: 24,234Geekbench 3 Single Core: 700Geekbench 3 Multi Core: 2,692Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: CameraThe Mi 4i inherits the camera tech from the Mi Note, so it is supposed to be pretty good. You will be happy to know that it is quite a good camera; I haven鈥檛 used the Mi Note enough to tell if the Mi 4i has a camera as good, but it鈥檚 a mighty fine camera phone in itself.Just to run through the specifications of the camera – the rear is a 13 mega-pixel Sony/Samsung camera with a 5 element lens, an f/2.0 aperture and dual tone flash. Sure, we鈥檝e had phones with f/1.8 and even larger apertures, but somehow the Mi 4i still manages to perform pretty well even in low lights. On the front, the phone has a 5 mega-pixel f/1.8 shooter with an 80-degree wide angle.Almost any decent phone will give you good results in daylight, but what sets a good camera apart from an average one is the low light performance. As you see from the samples below, the Mi 4i does a great job in the night and other low-light scenarios too. Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: BatteryIf you aren鈥檛 aware yet, you might be surprised to know that the Mi 4i comes with the largest smartphone battery Xiaomi have ever shipped. This means that the Mi 4i has a bigger battery than the Mi Note AND the Mi Note Pro, which is pretty weird. And impressive, for the Mi 4i.It鈥檚 a 3120mAh non-removable cell which performs really well. Somehow you don鈥檛 get OnePlus One-levels of battery performance, but what the Mi 4i does with the 3120mAh cell is something you wouldn鈥檛 really mind, and perhaps like if you鈥檙e one who knows what to expect from a $200 phone.With non-hardware intensive usage, you鈥檒l get close to 6 hours of screen on time with every charge, which is pretty impressive for a phone that doesn鈥檛 cost a bomb. I鈥檓 also pretty sure that if Xiaomi manage to fix the heating problems (up to an extent), the battery life would get even better, as Le Chatelier’s principle states.In general, the Mi 4i will last you a day pretty much regardless of how you use your phone. In my case (virtually no gaming), I got close to a day and a half on a single charge on most days.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ReceptionCell radio, WiFi and GPS reception isn鈥檛 usually a problem with companies like Xiaomi. In fact, from the Xiaomi phones I鈥檝e used, I鈥檝e come to realize that the company uses some of the best antennas on its phones, and the Mi 4i is no exception. WiFi performance is pretty strong despite having a lot of WiFi interference. GPS and cell radio reception too, are satisfactory. GPS did take a while to get its first fix, but since then performance has been much better.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ROMThis is where I believe the problems of the Mi 4i lie. A brilliant phone otherwise, the device is let down by stutters every now and then along with apps being force closed. 2GB of RAM should usually be enough for usual daily activities, but that doesn鈥檛 really seem to be the case with the Mi 4i.Besides the stutters and FC鈥檚, the MIUI 6 ROM (based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop) is a visual treat as usual. Of course there is the iOS inspiration, but MIUI is a ROM born out of the need to incorporate more features, while on the other hand, makers (especially Chinese) have been dishing out new ROMs just for the sake of it.Xiaomi do provide regular OTAs, but it looks like some of them are pushed in a hurry. For example, the OTA update to MIUI 6.5.5.0 literally rendered the front camera unusable for those who did install the update.For example, take a look at the picture below, taken on the front camera of the Mi 4i (it wasn’t particularly a low-light聽situation).聽The issue is quite a massive one, and its surprising the testers didn’t report this to Xiaomi before the update went live.聽More info on the issue can be found on the MIUI forums.This isn鈥檛 something you expect from a company like Xiaomi.Xiaomi Mi 4i Review: ConclusionThe Mi 4i scores heavily on build, display and camera, but is unfortunately let down on performance. At the first look, the phone is bound to impress you with all its glitz, but as you start using the phone and install your usual suite of apps, the disappointment slowly creeps in. It wouldn鈥檛 be unfair to say that the US$110 Elephone P6000 with the MT6732 feels a lot smoother in performance than the Mi 4i.For the first few hours with the phone, I truly believed I was looking at my next 鈥榙aily driver鈥橕 but as it turns out, there鈥檚 going to be more waiting to do.Xiaomi still have the opportunity to make it up with frequent and effective software updates, which they seem to be doing. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a 5-inch phone in the market and want a Xiaomi, the Mi 4 with the reduced prices, in my book, is a much better bet despite a lower quality screen and perhaps a camera that doesn鈥檛 quite match the Mi 4i鈥檚.Away from the madness that鈥檚 happening around a few phones such as the Elephone P7000, Oukitel U8 and more, China鈥檚 Mstar announced a phone rather worthy of attention – the Mstar S700.Unlike the phones that have been trending lately (some of which are yet to go on sale, and another some which are yet to be produced), the S700 is a phone that is made to do things, and not a lot else. It costs well under $200 and features almost the same hardware as some other more expensive phones. Is it the one you should buy this year? Lets find out in the Mstar S700 review!Mstar S700 Review: Specifications5.5-inch 1280 x 720p display1.7GHz octa-core 64-bit MT6752 processor2GB RAM16GB ROM, expandableAndroid 5.0 Lollipop13 mega-pixel rear camera5 mega-pixel front camera3000mAh batteryFingerprint sensorFDD-LTE: 800MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2600MHz;聽3G: WCDMA 850MHz, WCDMA 900MHz, WCDMA 1900MHz, WCDMA 2100MHz;聽2G: GSM 850MHz, GSM 900MHz, GSM 1800MHz, GSM 1900MHzMstar S700 Review: DesignLet鈥檚 start off with design. Chinese phones look better than ever, and are built more meticulously than even before. The Mstar S700 features a very straightforward, easy design that is somewhat reminiscent of older-gen generic Chinese phones. It isn鈥檛 the best looking phone in its price range, but as you shall read in other parts of this review, that isn鈥檛 what it was made to do anyway.The phone is essentially a rectangular brick with a metal frame around it. In fact if you look closely, you鈥檒l find that the Mstar S700 shares a lot of its design features Mlais M7.The front is entirely made out of a slab of glass, which covers, the screen, the front camera, the usual suite of sensors and the capacitive buttons. The buttons are: (left to right) menu, home and back. Unfortunately, despite being a Lollipop phone, the S700 doesn鈥檛 have a recent apps button but a menu key. I鈥檓 sure that can be fixed via software, but a recent apps button would鈥檝e added value for the user.Also, the capacitive buttons aren鈥檛 back lit, which is a bit of a shame. They are, however, marked which glossy silver so you can find them in daylight. You鈥檙e on your own, however, in the dark.The earpiece on the top is in line with the glass, which is something I鈥檓 personally a big fan of. When that isn鈥檛 the case, it is very easy to fill the earpiece duct with dust that is impossible to remove. Chamfered metal edges give the phone personality, and also make the S700 extremely comfortable to hold. The non-chamfered parts of the edges are coated in matte grey, which again makes the phone look a lot better.The rear cover feels soft to the touch and provides nice grip, and I鈥檝e never really had the trouble of the phone slipping off of my hands鈥 which happens a lot with devices like the Gionee Elife S7.On the rear, you also find the Elephone P7000 fingerprint sensor below the camera. The camera lens does protrude a bit, but I don鈥檛 think at a level you should worry about.In a nutshell, the Mstar S700 does have a neat and effective design without anything overdone as such. Mstar S700 Review: ScreenThis is probably the part where the final score of the Mstar S700 will take a hit. The screen is a 5.5-inch 720p panel, which isn鈥檛 up to par with other phones in its range. The screen has a permanent blue tint to it, something which will bother you for the initial part of your usage of the S700. Eventually you will grow used to it, but if you happen to compare it with other phones, you will wish for a better panel.There鈥檚 also no MiraVision settings as well since this is a Lollipop ROM, so customization options are very limited (hopefully only for now). The overall difference between the lowest and highest level of brightness too isn鈥檛 as much as you鈥檇 like; I鈥檓 hoping all of this is fixed by software updates.Other than those issues, the display is quite OK with the viewing angles and such. If only it didn鈥檛 have the blue tint!Mstar S700 Review: Hardware and PerformanceGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramLets get to the meat of the matter. If you do purchase this phone, it will be for this section. And I鈥檓 happy to say that the phone does impress; it is powered by the MediaTek MT6752 octa-core 64-bit SoC and has 2GB of RAM. As mentioned before, it comes with Android Lollipop out of the box, which is again something impressive, but not uncommon. It appears as though there are some optimizations from KitKat that are yet to be taken to Lollipop for MT6752 phones. I say so because the Ecoo E04 that we reviewed some weeks back ran KitKat, and it was easily the best phone in its range (before the Lollipop update, I鈥檓 yet to follow up on that).Performance in general is fairly impressive; if you haven鈥檛 purchased a phone in a year or so, you will easily be blown away with what this $170 phone can do. It is a fast and snappy phone, and thanks to the vanilla Android ROM that it ships with, there鈥檚 no bloatware to slow it down.One anomaly that I did face was when the battery level fell below 15% or so. The phone starts to become slow and stuttery; it is something I also faced with the Ulefone Be Touch, so it is perhaps something which is the result of the MT6752 and Android Lollipop paired together. Possibly.Something you should also note is that the S700 does heat up a little around the camera region when used extensively. Among the Ecoo E04, Gionee Elife S7 and this (MT6752 phones), this is perhaps the one that heats up the most. Again, it isn鈥檛 Snapdragon 615-level heating, but it鈥檚 there; something you should be aware of.Mstar S700 Review: Fingerprint SensorI found the fingerprint sensor to be a hit-or-a-miss sort of a thing. When it does recognize (the existence of a finger), it is fairly accurate, perhaps a % less than the Ulefone Be Touch; but there are times when the rear sensor simply doesn鈥檛 acknowledge the presence of your finger, and that鈥檚 when it becomes frustrating. Of course, you can unlock the phone with the alternate password, but that isn鈥檛 as much fun鈥 and inconvenient.Mstar S700 Review: Battery According to the specifications of this phone, the device ships with a 3000mAh battery鈥 and I call the bull on that. It is probably something between 2200-2500mAh tops, as the battery life of this phone reflects too.With my normal usage pattern (no gaming, lots of browsing, lot of IM, some email, feed reader, etc.), the phone lives from morning to evening with around 3 hours of screen on time. A 3000mAh battery on a 5.5-inch phone will return somewhere close to 4 hours with that type of usage, which the S700 clearly doesn鈥檛.Mstar S700 Review: CameraThe S700 has a 13 mega-pixel camera, which as you would鈥檝e guessed does seem like an extrapolated number. Nonetheless, it is the picture quality that matters, and the phone takes some decent pictures.Focus speed isn鈥檛 bad at all, and so is the shutter. It comes with the usual features, including face beauty, panorama, live photo, and more. The camera does decent HDR pictures, but it does take quite a while to process and 鈥榮titch鈥 the images.Take a look at some images taken on the S700. Mstar S700 Review: Connectivity and OtherThe phone performs fairly well when it comes to radio. This isn鈥檛 just limited to cellular connectivity, but it also includes WiFi and GPS鈥 to put things into perspective, it does the aforementioned better than the Ulefone Be Touch.Audio from the earpiece is fairly clear, but you have to be careful about not blocking the speaker with your ear if you want to hear what your friend is saying.One major problem with the phone is that it comes with partitioned memory, which leaves you with very limited space to install apps. You will most certainly come across the 鈥榥ot enough memory鈥 error. There are workarounds, but again, you鈥檙e on your own with that.Mstar S700 Review: ConclusionDespite the obvious flaws (battery and screen being two of them), the Mstar S700 is a decent phone, especially considering the performance it has on offer. The fingerprint sensor is perhaps the phones selling point, but the device could do with a price cut. At the price at which it sells for ($170 at the time of writing this review), the JiaYu S3 seems like a close competitor, especially given the software support the S3 has.Mstar and its fellow retailers might want to give the phone a price cut to somewhere around the $150 mark to make the phone a beautiful package for the money. Until then, it鈥檒l be fingerprint sensor vs. JiaYu S3 (or even the Ecoo E04 for that matter, which has an extra gig of RAM for around $10 extra).

If you don鈥檛 have enough money for the real Samsung S6, and you are happy to live with a clone the $110 Landvo S6 could be the answer or could it?At $110 the Landvo S6 is certainly a cheap phone, but does this clone warrant further inspection. Keep reading our mini review for more details.Landvo S6 Review: DesignThere鈥檚 simply is no beating around the bush with this one, the Landvo S6 is a clone of the flat screen Samsung S6. It really is the a 1:1 replica of the look of the S6. The camera location is the same, the rounded edges are the same and it even boast an alloy chassis.At $110, clone or not, an alloy chassis on a phone costing this little is a huge bonus, and it actually looks rather well machined and finished. It certainly doesn鈥檛 look like the knock offs of yesteryear that鈥檚 for sure. I suppose 111 minutes of polishing really does make a difference. The front of the device has a 5.1 HD display, with a claimed 5 mega-pixel front camera above it and LED notification light. There is also a rounded physical home button like the Samsung S6. It鈥檚 just a physical home button though, there is no fingerprint scanner.Volume buttons are located on the left side of the alloy chassis with dual nano SIM card trays and power button on the right. An IR remote in the head of the frame is a neat feature at this point. A 3.5mm headphone jack , USB and single speaker are all located in the base.Turn the Landvo S6 over and we have the same protruding camera design as the Samsung S6. To the right of that is a single LED flash and heart rate monitor. The rear of the phone looks like glass but is actually just plastic and on our model the corners do not sit flush. You can easily get your finger nail under there to prise the rear up and see the double-sided tape holding the rear on. This doesn鈥檛 really bode well for the overall longevity of the device.Also, our review phone rattles! There is something loose in their鈥?/p>Landvo S6 Review: ScreenThe display on the S6 is a 5.1-inch 1280 x 720 display, or a HD panel in other words. Like the alloy chassis, the HD panel really is a neat feature for Landvo to offer at this low price. Touch response is good, and colours are nice and bright.The max brightness of the screen isn鈥檛 the highest we have seen. I assume Landvo have limited this on purpose to get the best battery life possible.Landvo S6 Review: HardwareSo with an alloy chassis, HD display and heart rate monitor, how much is left in the $110 budget for the rest of the hardware in the Landvo S6? Well if we were to believe the specifications that Landvo publish then it would seem that they have managed to add a few additional high end features to their phone. According to the published specifications the main camera on the S6 is a 16 mega-pixel and the front a 5 mega-pixel.Fortunately we know enough about the cost of phones, and the compatibility of the rest of the hardware to quickly figure out this isn鈥檛 quite true. Sure the rear camera can take interpolated images at 16MP, but the sensor is actually an 8 mega-pixel. We know this as we have seen the real specs, but it would be simple to figure out it鈥檚 not a 16MP unit as the SoC in the phone cannot support such high-resolution cameras.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe SoC in the Landvo S6 is last years quad-core MT6582 chipset. This processor is a 32bit chip running at 1.3Ghz, and while it鈥檚 a good performer it is a little off the mark for 2015 due to the lack of LTE support.RAM is just 1GB, which would normally be fine on such an affordable phone, but the Landvo S6 has so much crammed in to the faux Touchwhizz ROM, it really needs more RAM to be smooth. A stock ROM option could really help.Mentioned above is the fact there is a heart rate monitor built in to the rear of the phone. Try as I might I simply cannot get the thing to work. It sees that I have touched the sensor, but fails to give me an accurate reading. It either tells me my heart isn’t beating, or it is beating so fast I should be on the way to the hospital.The last piece of hardware is the 2550mAh battery. Now that really is a nice size battery for a slim alloy phone with low power processor, just 1GB RAM and and no LTE, but its not true. The actual battery size of the phone is closer to 1600mAh good for about a day of normal use.Landvo S6 Review: ROMAndroid 4.4.2 comes as standard on the Landvo S6 not Lollipop, and really that doesn鈥檛 matter as the interface has been so completely changed and customised. Landvo have created a complete copy of Samsung鈥檚 own Touchwhizz ROM which is both impressive and confusing.What is impressive is the sheer amount of features the ROM has. It really does look like Landvo simply uploaded a genuine Samsung ROM to their phone. It鈥檚 confusing because why would anyone want Touchwhizz? It is by far one of the most terrible looking ROMs on the planet and it is so full of bloat and junk it is unbelievable. Remember this phone has just 1GB RAM and last years quad-core chip, it simply cannot handle everything that the ROM is asking of it. Even the lock screen is laggy and slow! Scrolling in the menus is slow, and even worse when visiting sites.A stock Android Kitkat installation would have been a much better way to go.Landvo S6 Review: CameraThe camera app in the Landvo S6 has features for panorama, auto, beauty mode and 鈥渟hot & more鈥 . Like anything on the phone switching between these modes takes a good second to register.The focus speed is just as we expect from a low-cost phone, and the lens allows for some really very close up photos. Taking photos is pretty fast too, but the shutter sounds coupled with the poor external speaker quality is just terrible. If I had to describe the sound it is what I imagine an 8bit cat would sound like if it were recorded sneezing on a NES.Photos sample taken with the phone are below. Take a look and let us know what you think. Landvo S6 Review: ConclusionI don鈥檛 quite understand what Landvo are trying to do here. They have made a $110 phone with some nice details like the alloy frame and HD display, but then based it on a design of a premium phone and its features, plus been a little dishonest in their specifications and marketing.Its clear from the frame that Landvo have the capabilities to build a decent alloy phone, and the fact that they have HD panels at this cost means they have a supply chain. Why not then just build their own device using their own design and build their own brand reputation?If you don鈥檛 have enough money for the real Samsung S6, and you are happy to live with a clone the $110 Landvo S6 could be the answer or could it?At $110 the Landvo S6 is certainly a cheap phone, but does this clone warrant further inspection. Keep reading our mini review for more details.Landvo S6 Review: DesignThere鈥檚 simply is no beating around the bush with this one, the Landvo S6 is a clone of the flat screen Samsung S6. It really is the a 1:1 replica of the look of the S6. The camera location is the same, the rounded edges are the same and it even boast an alloy chassis.At $110, clone or not, an alloy chassis on a phone costing this little is a huge bonus, and it actually looks rather well machined and finished. It certainly doesn鈥檛 look like the knock offs of yesteryear that鈥檚 for sure. I suppose 111 minutes of polishing really does make a difference. The front of the device has a 5.1 HD display, with a claimed 5 mega-pixel front camera above it and LED notification light. There is also a rounded physical home button like the Samsung S6. It鈥檚 just a physical home button though, there is no fingerprint scanner.Volume buttons are located on the left side of the alloy chassis with dual nano SIM card trays and power button on the right. An IR remote in the head of the frame is a neat feature at this point. A 3.5mm headphone jack , USB and single speaker are all located in the base.Turn the Landvo S6 over and we have the same protruding camera design as the Samsung S6. To the right of that is a single LED flash and heart rate monitor. The rear of the phone looks like glass but is actually just plastic and on our model the corners do not sit flush. You can easily get your finger nail under there to prise the rear up and see the double-sided tape holding the rear on. This doesn鈥檛 really bode well for the overall longevity of the device.Also, our review phone rattles! There is something loose in their鈥?/p>Landvo S6 Review: ScreenThe display on the S6 is a 5.1-inch 1280 x 720 display, or a HD panel in other words. Like the alloy chassis, the HD panel really is a neat feature for Landvo to offer at this low price. Touch response is good, and colours are nice and bright.The max brightness of the screen isn鈥檛 the highest we have seen. I assume Landvo have limited this on purpose to get the best battery life possible.Landvo S6 Review: HardwareSo with an alloy chassis, HD display and heart rate monitor, how much is left in the $110 budget for the rest of the hardware in the Landvo S6? Well if we were to believe the specifications that Landvo publish then it would seem that they have managed to add a few additional high end features to their phone. According to the published specifications the main camera on the S6 is a 16 mega-pixel and the front a 5 mega-pixel.Fortunately we know enough about the cost of phones, and the compatibility of the rest of the hardware to quickly figure out this isn鈥檛 quite true. Sure the rear camera can take interpolated images at 16MP, but the sensor is actually an 8 mega-pixel. We know this as we have seen the real specs, but it would be simple to figure out it鈥檚 not a 16MP unit as the SoC in the phone cannot support such high-resolution cameras.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe SoC in the Landvo S6 is last years quad-core MT6582 chipset. This processor is a 32bit chip running at 1.3Ghz, and while it鈥檚 a good performer it is a little off the mark for 2015 due to the lack of LTE support.RAM is just 1GB, which would normally be fine on such an affordable phone, but the Landvo S6 has so much crammed in to the faux Touchwhizz ROM, it really needs more RAM to be smooth. A stock ROM option could really help.Mentioned above is the fact there is a heart rate monitor built in to the rear of the phone. Try as I might I simply cannot get the thing to work. It sees that I have touched the sensor, but fails to give me an accurate reading. It either tells me my heart isn’t beating, or it is beating so fast I should be on the way to the hospital.The last piece of hardware is the 2550mAh battery. Now that really is a nice size battery for a slim alloy phone with low power processor, just 1GB RAM and and no LTE, but its not true. The actual battery size of the phone is closer to 1600mAh good for about a day of normal use.Landvo S6 Review: ROMAndroid 4.4.2 comes as standard on the Landvo S6 not Lollipop, and really that doesn鈥檛 matter as the interface has been so completely changed and customised. Landvo have created a complete copy of Samsung鈥檚 own Touchwhizz ROM which is both impressive and confusing.What is impressive is the sheer amount of features the ROM has. It really does look like Landvo simply uploaded a genuine Samsung ROM to their phone. It鈥檚 confusing because why would anyone want Touchwhizz? It is by far one of the most terrible looking ROMs on the planet and it is so full of bloat and junk it is unbelievable. Remember this phone has just 1GB RAM and last years quad-core chip, it simply cannot handle everything that the ROM is asking of it. Even the lock screen is laggy and slow! Scrolling in the menus is slow, and even worse when visiting sites.A stock Android Kitkat installation would have been a much better way to go.Landvo S6 Review: CameraThe camera app in the Landvo S6 has features for panorama, auto, beauty mode and 鈥渟hot & more鈥 . Like anything on the phone switching between these modes takes a good second to register.The focus speed is just as we expect from a low-cost phone, and the lens allows for some really very close up photos. Taking photos is pretty fast too, but the shutter sounds coupled with the poor external speaker quality is just terrible. If I had to describe the sound it is what I imagine an 8bit cat would sound like if it were recorded sneezing on a NES.Photos sample taken with the phone are below. Take a look and let us know what you think. Landvo S6 Review: ConclusionI don鈥檛 quite understand what Landvo are trying to do here. They have made a $110 phone with some nice details like the alloy frame and HD display, but then based it on a design of a premium phone and its features, plus been a little dishonest in their specifications and marketing.Its clear from the frame that Landvo have the capabilities to build a decent alloy phone, and the fact that they have HD panels at this cost means they have a supply chain. Why not then just build their own device using their own design and build their own brand reputation?ViewSonic is a name that you would usually associate with LCD monitors, perhaps from the past. If you weren鈥檛 aware, the company also does smartphone, and the V500 happens to be one of them.The V500 is very much an entry-level to mid-range device. That is exactly the category that has seen a boom in the recent months; no one鈥檚 really spending US$500-600 to get a flagship phone anymore, or so it appears.The ViewSonic V500 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display, and is powered by the Snapdragon 400 SoC. How good is the phone? Let鈥檚 find that out in the ViewSonic V500 review!ViewSonic V500 Review: DesignThere鈥檚 hardly anything to say about the design of this phone, for it鈥檚 a phone with a very generic bar-ish design. It does come with a couple of rear covers that try to add to the style quotient, however.The front of the phone is covered in glass (no mention of Gorilla Glass here), with the most space obviously being taken by the 5.5-inch 1080p panel. The setting is usual, nothing out of the ordinary; an earpiece on top (next to the usual suite of sensors), a 2 mega-pixel front camera and below the screen, the three capacitive buttons. Since this is a KitKat phone, the leftmost capacitive button is for accessing the menu rather than recent apps.Despite lacking Gorilla Glass, the screen coating on the V500 seems robust enough to be used without a screen protector. Through the weeks of usage I鈥檓 yet to encounter a scratch on the screen, so I assume it is perfectly safe to use it without a screen protector.The most impressive bit about the V500 is the metal lip around the screen. Phones that sell for around US$100 hardly feature any metal, and the ones that do hardly are generous with usage. The case here is different, and the V500 is made with a nice chunky yet stylish metal edge, with a glossy coating.The edges of the phone besides the metal are made up of an impressive rubbery-plastic combo material, which give you a nice grip when the phone is held in the hands. The rear, as mentioned, comes in two options — one with the same rubbery coating, and the other with a faux leather texture. I found the latter to be plain hideous.Taking off the rear is simple, you only need something to pry at it with. When you do that, the 2500mAh battery slot, 2x SIM slots and a microSD card slot are exposed. Nothing too fancy in here, and the speaker too is a simple single driver at the center below the battery slot. The camera with its single LED flash is found on the top left of the chassis. The camera does poke out of the body ever so slightly, but nothing to worry about.ViewSonic V500 Review: Screen Welcome to the section where you鈥檒l read about the best part of the ViewSonic V500. Yes, the display on the phone is a treat… and that shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise for ViewSonic has been in the display business for a long while. Although the V500 doesn鈥檛 really have the same sized panel as the monitors that the company makes, it does however have the same display quality.The screen is a 5.5-inch 1080p unit. Colors are really natural on the panel, far away from the supersaturated ones of a Super AMOLED screen. The resolution on offer — 1080p — is quite impressive too when you consider that the phone sells for US$110.Viewing angles are up to par and it鈥檚 in all a very nice display. Brightness is satisfactory, but the reflective front glass of the phone means that it can sometimes be a problem when used outdoors.The bezels are surprisingly narrow also, perhaps only a little thicker than the bezel-less Le 1 (of course it isn鈥檛 bezel-less). Like mentioned, the screen is easily the most impressive bit on the V500.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramViewSonic V500 Review: PerformanceIn the age of 64-bit octa-core chips, the Snapdragon 400 certainly sounds lacklustre. Unfortunately, that shows in real life usage also. First, it is disappointing that the phone ships only with Android KitKat and not Lollipop. MediaTek phones which often find themselves criticized for not having Android updates come with Lollipop, so there鈥檚 no excuse for having a KitKat system on the V500. I鈥檓 not sure how popular the V500 is going to be, so there鈥檚 no promise of a killer community support for this one also.The system is still OK-ish for 2D and general UI, but it is really poor for 3D where the effects of an old SoC become more apparent.Here鈥檚 how the phone performs at benchmarks:AnTuTu: 17032Quadrant Standard: 7983Vellamo Browser: 857Vellamo Metal: 738Vellamo Multicore: 912 ViewSonic V500 Review: CameraSmartphone cameras have come a long way, and it isn鈥檛 the flagships, but the entry-level to mid-range phones like the V500 that are representative of this fact. The V500 has a 13 mega-pixel camera that could do with better dynamic ranging, but for what it costs, the phone does a great job.HDR mode deserves a special mention. HDR has saved quite a few otherwise-sub-standard camera phones, but on the V500 it adds to the overall appeal. That said, you must know that the camera app isn鈥檛 the fastest, and HDR especially can be really slow.Take a look at some samples. ViewSonic V500 Review:聽RadioAnother department where the V500 shines. 4G LTE connectivity is one of the phone鈥檚 USPs, and along with that, the V500 does very good cellular connectivity (ex-4G) and has a brilliant WiFi performance. GPS too is up to par, and in fact better than some other phones in the sub-US$150 range we have tested.ViewSonic V500 Review: BatteryThe V500 is a very average phone all round, and the battery part is no different. The 2500mAh battery of the device is enough for around 4-4.5 hours of screen on time. This is a figure that I鈥檝e established with my general usage which includes email, Facebook, WhatsApp, and a lot of Chrome besides some other productivity apps and virtually no gaming. Gaming will reduce the battery life by quite a bit, and the V500 anyway doesn鈥檛 have enough grunt in it to provide for your games. I would鈥檝e liked to see a better battery performance from the V500, but it is possible to make do with what鈥檚 on offer.ViewSonic V500 Review: AudioThe V500 comes with a decent earpiece but the loudspeaker is below par. Audio quality from the earpiece is pretty satisfactory, but it does lack volume. The loudspeaker though, lacks a LOT of volume. It would be fair to say that the loudspeaker is simply of no use — you would use it only in a noisy environment and given the audio output it produces, it won鈥檛 really be of much help, only embarrassment.ViewSonic V500 Review: 聽ConclusionOne word to describe the V500 would be — 鈥榝air鈥? That because the phone does nothing special, but yet somehow manages to be worthy of the asking price. There are, however, better phones in the range — one that comes to mind is the Elephone P6000 which is a brilliant phone for the money. However, if you are among those that worry about brand names, then the V500 could probably make for a decent choice.ViewSonic is a name that you would usually associate with LCD monitors, perhaps from the past. If you weren鈥檛 aware, the company also does smartphone, and the V500 happens to be one of them.The V500 is very much an entry-level to mid-range device. That is exactly the category that has seen a boom in the recent months; no one鈥檚 really spending US$500-600 to get a flagship phone anymore, or so it appears.The ViewSonic V500 comes with a 5.5-inch full HD display, and is powered by the Snapdragon 400 SoC. How good is the phone? Let鈥檚 find that out in the ViewSonic V500 review!ViewSonic V500 Review: DesignThere鈥檚 hardly anything to say about the design of this phone, for it鈥檚 a phone with a very generic bar-ish design. It does come with a couple of rear covers that try to add to the style quotient, however.The front of the phone is covered in glass (no mention of Gorilla Glass here), with the most space obviously being taken by the 5.5-inch 1080p panel. The setting is usual, nothing out of the ordinary; an earpiece on top (next to the usual suite of sensors), a 2 mega-pixel front camera and below the screen, the three capacitive buttons. Since this is a KitKat phone, the leftmost capacitive button is for accessing the menu rather than recent apps.Despite lacking Gorilla Glass, the screen coating on the V500 seems robust enough to be used without a screen protector. Through the weeks of usage I鈥檓 yet to encounter a scratch on the screen, so I assume it is perfectly safe to use it without a screen protector.The most impressive bit about the V500 is the metal lip around the screen. Phones that sell for around US$100 hardly feature any metal, and the ones that do hardly are generous with usage. The case here is different, and the V500 is made with a nice chunky yet stylish metal edge, with a glossy coating.The edges of the phone besides the metal are made up of an impressive rubbery-plastic combo material, which give you a nice grip when the phone is held in the hands. The rear, as mentioned, comes in two options — one with the same rubbery coating, and the other with a faux leather texture. I found the latter to be plain hideous.Taking off the rear is simple, you only need something to pry at it with. When you do that, the 2500mAh battery slot, 2x SIM slots and a microSD card slot are exposed. Nothing too fancy in here, and the speaker too is a simple single driver at the center below the battery slot. The camera with its single LED flash is found on the top left of the chassis. The camera does poke out of the body ever so slightly, but nothing to worry about.ViewSonic V500 Review: Screen Welcome to the section where you鈥檒l read about the best part of the ViewSonic V500. Yes, the display on the phone is a treat… and that shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise for ViewSonic has been in the display business for a long while. Although the V500 doesn鈥檛 really have the same sized panel as the monitors that the company makes, it does however have the same display quality.The screen is a 5.5-inch 1080p unit. Colors are really natural on the panel, far away from the supersaturated ones of a Super AMOLED screen. The resolution on offer — 1080p — is quite impressive too when you consider that the phone sells for US$110.Viewing angles are up to par and it鈥檚 in all a very nice display. Brightness is satisfactory, but the reflective front glass of the phone means that it can sometimes be a problem when used outdoors.The bezels are surprisingly narrow also, perhaps only a little thicker than the bezel-less Le 1 (of course it isn鈥檛 bezel-less). Like mentioned, the screen is easily the most impressive bit on the V500.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramViewSonic V500 Review: PerformanceIn the age of 64-bit octa-core chips, the Snapdragon 400 certainly sounds lacklustre. Unfortunately, that shows in real life usage also. First, it is disappointing that the phone ships only with Android KitKat and not Lollipop. MediaTek phones which often find themselves criticized for not having Android updates come with Lollipop, so there鈥檚 no excuse for having a KitKat system on the V500. I鈥檓 not sure how popular the V500 is going to be, so there鈥檚 no promise of a killer community support for this one also.The system is still OK-ish for 2D and general UI, but it is really poor for 3D where the effects of an old SoC become more apparent.Here鈥檚 how the phone performs at benchmarks:AnTuTu: 17032Quadrant Standard: 7983Vellamo Browser: 857Vellamo Metal: 738Vellamo Multicore: 912 ViewSonic V500 Review: CameraSmartphone cameras have come a long way, and it isn鈥檛 the flagships, but the entry-level to mid-range phones like the V500 that are representative of this fact. The V500 has a 13 mega-pixel camera that could do with better dynamic ranging, but for what it costs, the phone does a great job.HDR mode deserves a special mention. HDR has saved quite a few otherwise-sub-standard camera phones, but on the V500 it adds to the overall appeal. That said, you must know that the camera app isn鈥檛 the fastest, and HDR especially can be really slow.Take a look at some samples. ViewSonic V500 Review:聽RadioAnother department where the V500 shines. 4G LTE connectivity is one of the phone鈥檚 USPs, and along with that, the V500 does very good cellular connectivity (ex-4G) and has a brilliant WiFi performance. GPS too is up to par, and in fact better than some other phones in the sub-US$150 range we have tested.ViewSonic V500 Review: BatteryThe V500 is a very average phone all round, and the battery part is no different. The 2500mAh battery of the device is enough for around 4-4.5 hours of screen on time. This is a figure that I鈥檝e established with my general usage which includes email, Facebook, WhatsApp, and a lot of Chrome besides some other productivity apps and virtually no gaming. Gaming will reduce the battery life by quite a bit, and the V500 anyway doesn鈥檛 have enough grunt in it to provide for your games. I would鈥檝e liked to see a better battery performance from the V500, but it is possible to make do with what鈥檚 on offer.ViewSonic V500 Review: AudioThe V500 comes with a decent earpiece but the loudspeaker is below par. Audio quality from the earpiece is pretty satisfactory, but it does lack volume. The loudspeaker though, lacks a LOT of volume. It would be fair to say that the loudspeaker is simply of no use — you would use it only in a noisy environment and given the audio output it produces, it won鈥檛 really be of much help, only embarrassment.ViewSonic V500 Review: 聽ConclusionOne word to describe the V500 would be — 鈥榝air鈥? That because the phone does nothing special, but yet somehow manages to be worthy of the asking price. There are, however, better phones in the range — one that comes to mind is the Elephone P6000 which is a brilliant phone for the money. However, if you are among those that worry about brand names, then the V500 could probably make for a decent choice.“All the gear and no idea” is a term we use for someone who has the best of everything but isn’t sure how to use it. That sort of sums up our impression of the Elephone P7000. Find out more in our full review.The Elephone P7000 was/is a phone that was reported on a lot, and looking at the specifications it is easy to say why. The phone has everything you could possibly wan’t from a Chinese phone. 3GB RAM, IMX214 camera (claimed), 5.5-inch 1080 display, large battery, LTE, MT6752 processor and Android Lollipop. Really you can’t want for more, well you couldn’t have asked for more when the P7000 was originally announced (back in December) since then there have been a lot of changes in phone design and there are new Mediatek chipsets to choose.Elephone P7000: Unboxing and first impressionsElephone P7000 Review: DesignJust looking at the design of the Elephone P7000, it is clear where the majority of the budget went in this phone. The P7000 is a very good reminder that we simply cannot have everything at such a low price (yet). In this case the phone has all the hardware right, but the design couldn’t be further off the mark. Imagine if FSO (Google them they were/are a car maker) had decided to build a car with Ferrari engine. Sure it would be fast but it would look like sh$t and handle like a soggy biscuit.The first thing you will notice is the bezels around the display. Elephone have tried to hide them by making them black (the same as the screen when off) and just showing a narrow white bezel on either side. It’s not a narrow black border either but a huge black void all around the screen. It looks ugly and make the 5.5-inch phone significantly large than other 5.5-inch phones, in fact the 5.7-inch Xiaomi Mi Note is only very slightly larger than the Elephone. This is a huge deal. If you were someone who looked at 5.7-inch or 6-inch phones and thought there were too big, well you are going to feel the same about the 5.5-inch Elephone. On the other hand the 5.5-inch LeTV and even the Mlias M7 are much more compact and easy to handle.I like cars so I am going to liken the Elephone P7000 to car design once again. How often have you seen a concept car and thought ‘wow’ only for the production model to look bloated and ‘meh’? (if you can’t think of one take a look at the Chinese MG3). The Elephone P7000 is the same. Renders of the phone looked good, and the final device is obviously based on those renders, but it’s gotten fatter and and longer in the process. It’s not good.So it isn’t a great looking phone, but neither is the Asus Zenfone 2 really isn’t? And I really like that phone. perhaps the P7000 is a gem in other areas?Elephone P7000 Review: BuildHow often do you feel the urge to bend your phone? That’s right you don’t but there are times that your phone is put under similar stress. For example if you put a large phone in your back pocket as it won’t fit in your side pockets (remember the P7000 is bigger than most 5.5-inch devices). What would happen then if you sat down?To test how the phone would survive under these stresses I gave it a go and low and behold the Elephone P7000 bent and has stayed bent. I’m not the only reviewer to test this out as you can see here.鑱絆ut of fariness I also performed the same with the Elephone P7000’s nearest rivals aka the Ulefone Be Touch and Mlais M7, and neither deformed. In fact the Ulefone has鑱給ne hell of a sturdy chassis!Elephone P7000 Review: Performance and SystemWe have established that Elephone have blown the budget on the hardware side of the Elephone P7000 so just how well does it perform? Well if you take a look at the benchmarks you will see that the performance is pretty good. For a phone with 3GB RAM and an octacore Mediatek MT6752 chipset the benchmarks are about right, but benchmarks don’t really mean anything in real world terms.In actual usage the Elephone P7000 suffers from not having the greatest ROM in the world. The poor optimisation of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the device means the system doesn’t feel as smooth as it should and suffers from bugs. The good news is that Elephone are bring OTA updates to the phone and with each one the P7000 gets smoother and more stable. Just how long it will take for Elephone to get it all sorted and running to a point we are making the most of the hardware is another question.鑱紸lso keep in mind that MiraVision is missing from the ROM. Not a feature I personally use but something to keep in my for those who do make use of it.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramOne option that Elephone P7000 owners can try for better performance is the Vibe UI ROM available from the Elephone Forum. I haven’t tried it myself but Chris over at Gizchina.de claims that the performance is much improved and the system offers a better camera app too. The only issue is that there is no fingerprint scanner support.Elephone P7000 benchmarks Benchmarks from my Elephone P7000鑱絘re:Antutu: 43,914Geekbench Single-core score: 798Geekbench Multi-core score: 3948Quadrant: 20,733Ice Storm Extreme: 6306GFX Manhattan: 372.9GFX Manhattan Offscreen: 372.9GFX T-Rex: 752.9GFX T-Rex Offscreen: 736.2Nenamark 2: 55.0 fpsVellamo Metal: 1373Vellamo Multicore: 1834Vellamo Browser: 3091Elephone P7000 Review: ScreenSo the good bits. The screen on the Elephone P7000 is a good one. If you don’t get distracted by the huge black bezels then you can enjoy a 1920 x 1080 FHD display. It’s not the brightest screen in the world, Elephone seem to have limited the brightness to improve battery life, but we hope this will be addressed with updates. When opening up the P7000 packaging ensure you turn off the battery saving mode (some are shipping like this) as this will prevent the screen from going to full brightness.Viewing angles are good and touch response is as fast as the sluggish ROM will allow. Other reviewers have mentioned white spots on the screen. Our review phone has one, and鑱絀 believe they only appear after bending the phone and get worse the more it is bent.Elephone P7000 Review: CameraLet’s get things in to perspective. The Elephone P7000 is a $200 phone (RRP) and for the money it offers a Sony IMX214 13 mega-pixel main camera and 5 mega-pixel front camera. Although it is a IMX214 the photographic performance of the Elephone P7000 isn’t on par with the Le 1 or the Xiaomi Mi Note, but compared to other $200 phones the results are pretty good and a nice leap forward for Elephone.What is odd about the camera on the p7000 is that under certain lighting conditions there is a red tint to photos. This has been present since the phone arrived and persisted through the various updates. I belive it is due to the optics and probably will remain with the phone. A huge shame as the camera can produce some nice photos, just not all the time!Elephone P7000 Photo samples Slight Red Tint Elephone P7000 Photo samples normal Elephone P7000 Photo samples low-light Elephone P7000 Review: ConnectivityYou might be surprised to learn that there really isn’t much to complain about in this area. 3G and 4G worked well through out鑱絫he review from the first day and through various updates. Call quality is good and updates have improved clarity. WIFI strength is also above average and GPS is good too, better in the latest updates.Elephone P7000 Review: BatteryElephone say that the battery in the Elephone P7000 is a 3450mAh battery. That’s a good size and should give enough juice to the FHD display and octacore processor to get you through the day without issue.With the poor ROM optimisation though we aren’t getting the most from the battery yet, but as OTA updates have been coming out frequently we can hope that the ROM will be optimised correclty and we will eventually get more than 6 hours (or there abouts) of screen on time. Like all phones though your milage will vary depending on how you use your device.Elephone P7000 Review: AudioAudio on the P7000 is loud and clear, but I wouldn’t say the sound through the external speakers in enjoyable. It’s a little tinny and struggles at higher volumes. You could easily fill small room with music from the phone, but it is highly unlikely you will enjoy what you hear. Coming from phones like the Le 1 and Xiaomi Mi Note the audio is well off the mark, even the Ulefone Be Touch has better audio.Elephone P7000 Review: ConclusionIs the Elephone P7000 a bad phone? Well it isn’t the best looking phone, or the most solid phone or the best optimised phone that’s for sure. What the phone does offer is a large battery and impressive hardware for the money. I would also like to add the camera to the P700’s pros as it can take some very nice photos, but that intermitent red tint is extremely annoying!Was the P7000 worth the hype? If it had launched 6 weeks earlier then the P7000 would have been the first and only phone of this calibre which you could buy, but with such a delay Ulefone, Mlais, Zeaplus, and other phone makers all have their own equivalents and some of them are better all round packages than the P7000.“All the gear and no idea” is a term we use for someone who has the best of everything but isn’t sure how to use it. That sort of sums up our impression of the Elephone P7000. Find out more in our full review.The Elephone P7000 was/is a phone that was reported on a lot, and looking at the specifications it is easy to say why. The phone has everything you could possibly wan’t from a Chinese phone. 3GB RAM, IMX214 camera (claimed), 5.5-inch 1080 display, large battery, LTE, MT6752 processor and Android Lollipop. Really you can’t want for more, well you couldn’t have asked for more when the P7000 was originally announced (back in December) since then there have been a lot of changes in phone design and there are new Mediatek chipsets to choose.Elephone P7000: Unboxing and first impressionsElephone P7000 Review: DesignJust looking at the design of the Elephone P7000, it is clear where the majority of the budget went in this phone. The P7000 is a very good reminder that we simply cannot have everything at such a low price (yet). In this case the phone has all the hardware right, but the design couldn’t be further off the mark. Imagine if FSO (Google them they were/are a car maker) had decided to build a car with Ferrari engine. Sure it would be fast but it would look like sh$t and handle like a soggy biscuit.The first thing you will notice is the bezels around the display. Elephone have tried to hide them by making them black (the same as the screen when off) and just showing a narrow white bezel on either side. It’s not a narrow black border either but a huge black void all around the screen. It looks ugly and make the 5.5-inch phone significantly large than other 5.5-inch phones, in fact the 5.7-inch Xiaomi Mi Note is only very slightly larger than the Elephone. This is a huge deal. If you were someone who looked at 5.7-inch or 6-inch phones and thought there were too big, well you are going to feel the same about the 5.5-inch Elephone. On the other hand the 5.5-inch LeTV and even the Mlias M7 are much more compact and easy to handle.I like cars so I am going to liken the Elephone P7000 to car design once again. How often have you seen a concept car and thought ‘wow’ only for the production model to look bloated and ‘meh’? (if you can’t think of one take a look at the Chinese MG3). The Elephone P7000 is the same. Renders of the phone looked good, and the final device is obviously based on those renders, but it’s gotten fatter and and longer in the process. It’s not good.So it isn’t a great looking phone, but neither is the Asus Zenfone 2 really isn’t? And I really like that phone. perhaps the P7000 is a gem in other areas?Elephone P7000 Review: BuildHow often do you feel the urge to bend your phone? That’s right you don’t but there are times that your phone is put under similar stress. For example if you put a large phone in your back pocket as it won’t fit in your side pockets (remember the P7000 is bigger than most 5.5-inch devices). What would happen then if you sat down?To test how the phone would survive under these stresses I gave it a go and low and behold the Elephone P7000 bent and has stayed bent. I’m not the only reviewer to test this out as you can see here.鑱絆ut of fariness I also performed the same with the Elephone P7000’s nearest rivals aka the Ulefone Be Touch and Mlais M7, and neither deformed. In fact the Ulefone has鑱給ne hell of a sturdy chassis!Elephone P7000 Review: Performance and SystemWe have established that Elephone have blown the budget on the hardware side of the Elephone P7000 so just how well does it perform? Well if you take a look at the benchmarks you will see that the performance is pretty good. For a phone with 3GB RAM and an octacore Mediatek MT6752 chipset the benchmarks are about right, but benchmarks don’t really mean anything in real world terms.In actual usage the Elephone P7000 suffers from not having the greatest ROM in the world. The poor optimisation of Android 5.0 Lollipop on the device means the system doesn’t feel as smooth as it should and suffers from bugs. The good news is that Elephone are bring OTA updates to the phone and with each one the P7000 gets smoother and more stable. Just how long it will take for Elephone to get it all sorted and running to a point we are making the most of the hardware is another question.鑱紸lso keep in mind that MiraVision is missing from the ROM. Not a feature I personally use but something to keep in my for those who do make use of it.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramOne option that Elephone P7000 owners can try for better performance is the Vibe UI ROM available from the Elephone Forum. I haven’t tried it myself but Chris over at Gizchina.de claims that the performance is much improved and the system offers a better camera app too. The only issue is that there is no fingerprint scanner support.Elephone P7000 benchmarks Benchmarks from my Elephone P7000鑱絘re:Antutu: 43,914Geekbench Single-core score: 798Geekbench Multi-core score: 3948Quadrant: 20,733Ice Storm Extreme: 6306GFX Manhattan: 372.9GFX Manhattan Offscreen: 372.9GFX T-Rex: 752.9GFX T-Rex Offscreen: 736.2Nenamark 2: 55.0 fpsVellamo Metal: 1373Vellamo Multicore: 1834Vellamo Browser: 3091Elephone P7000 Review: ScreenSo the good bits. The screen on the Elephone P7000 is a good one. If you don’t get distracted by the huge black bezels then you can enjoy a 1920 x 1080 FHD display. It’s not the brightest screen in the world, Elephone seem to have limited the brightness to improve battery life, but we hope this will be addressed with updates. When opening up the P7000 packaging ensure you turn off the battery saving mode (some are shipping like this) as this will prevent the screen from going to full brightness.Viewing angles are good and touch response is as fast as the sluggish ROM will allow. Other reviewers have mentioned white spots on the screen. Our review phone has one, and鑱絀 believe they only appear after bending the phone and get worse the more it is bent.Elephone P7000 Review: CameraLet’s get things in to perspective. The Elephone P7000 is a $200 phone (RRP) and for the money it offers a Sony IMX214 13 mega-pixel main camera and 5 mega-pixel front camera. Although it is a IMX214 the photographic performance of the Elephone P7000 isn’t on par with the Le 1 or the Xiaomi Mi Note, but compared to other $200 phones the results are pretty good and a nice leap forward for Elephone.What is odd about the camera on the p7000 is that under certain lighting conditions there is a red tint to photos. This has been present since the phone arrived and persisted through the various updates. I belive it is due to the optics and probably will remain with the phone. A huge shame as the camera can produce some nice photos, just not all the time!Elephone P7000 Photo samples Slight Red Tint Elephone P7000 Photo samples normal Elephone P7000 Photo samples low-light Elephone P7000 Review: ConnectivityYou might be surprised to learn that there really isn’t much to complain about in this area. 3G and 4G worked well through out鑱絫he review from the first day and through various updates. Call quality is good and updates have improved clarity. WIFI strength is also above average and GPS is good too, better in the latest updates.Elephone P7000 Review: BatteryElephone say that the battery in the Elephone P7000 is a 3450mAh battery. That’s a good size and should give enough juice to the FHD display and octacore processor to get you through the day without issue.With the poor ROM optimisation though we aren’t getting the most from the battery yet, but as OTA updates have been coming out frequently we can hope that the ROM will be optimised correclty and we will eventually get more than 6 hours (or there abouts) of screen on time. Like all phones though your milage will vary depending on how you use your device.Elephone P7000 Review: AudioAudio on the P7000 is loud and clear, but I wouldn’t say the sound through the external speakers in enjoyable. It’s a little tinny and struggles at higher volumes. You could easily fill small room with music from the phone, but it is highly unlikely you will enjoy what you hear. Coming from phones like the Le 1 and Xiaomi Mi Note the audio is well off the mark, even the Ulefone Be Touch has better audio.Elephone P7000 Review: ConclusionIs the Elephone P7000 a bad phone? Well it isn’t the best looking phone, or the most solid phone or the best optimised phone that’s for sure. What the phone does offer is a large battery and impressive hardware for the money. I would also like to add the camera to the P700’s pros as it can take some very nice photos, but that intermitent red tint is extremely annoying!Was the P7000 worth the hype? If it had launched 6 weeks earlier then the P7000 would have been the first and only phone of this calibre which you could buy, but with such a delay Ulefone, Mlais, Zeaplus, and other phone makers all have their own equivalents and some of them are better all round packages than the P7000.

No.1 has been around for a while now, and is best known for its cloned phones. Not only have No.1 made lookalikes of Apple and Samsung phones, but they鈥檝e also cloned the likes of Xiaomi. Today we鈥檒l be talking about the No.1 S6i, which if you haven鈥檛 already guessed, is a Samsung Galaxy S6 clone.Of course, this one costs a hell lot lesser than the original thing. But that doesn鈥檛 stop No.1 from trying to emulate the Galaxy S6 in almost all segments. How far does it go with that? Let us find out!No.1 S6i Review: Specifications5.1-inch 1280 x 720p IPS display1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor1GB RAM16GB ROM13 mega-pixel rear camera5 mega-pixel front cameraAndroid 5.0 LollipopSingle SIM, GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA 850/2100No.1 S6i Review: Build and DesignThere鈥檚 not a lot to speak about the design, because you鈥檙e already clear in the mind as to how the S6i will look in the hands. The build quality is something worth talking about, however. No.1 have almost always been a clone maker, but have made a mark for themselves by including some proper, usable material in their devices. The No.1 M4 was a phone which was almost as well built as the original Mi 4, and the S6i does equally well. The phone is made with metal and glass all around it, and I鈥檓 sure no one you hand the phone to will be able to tell that it鈥檚 only a $119 phone!The build quality in general is extremely impressive, and without doubt is the best part about the phone. There is, sometimes, an obvious lack of precision in the workmanship, but at a little over a hundred dollars, you can probably let that go.The phone fits very well in the hand, and can be used in one hand no problem. The edges are all covered in chamfered metal, with the front and rear covered in glass. Unfortunately, there doesn鈥檛 seem to be any anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating on the glass which makes the phone a dirt and fingerprint magnet.An IR blaster and a secondary mic sit on the top edge, while a micro USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grill sit on the bottom edge. Volume buttons can be found on the left, while the power button makes home on the right side with the SIM card tray (which, by the way, takes only nano SIM cards).The 13 mega-pixel camera of the S6i sits on the rear, protruding in pride. Next to it you find the the single LED flash and heartbeat sensor. You鈥檙e free to get worried about the amount of protrusion of the camera, but the S6i will always have the excuse of being a Galaxy S6 clone.All of the buttons on the edges feel really good and have a nice, tactile feedback to them. The home button however does lack the comforting feel, for there is a bit of a play in the unit I tested.No.1 S6i Review: DisplayGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramYou鈥檒l like the S6i display until you pit it against the original thing. Only the display from the original Galaxy S6 would probably be expensive than this entire phone plus worldwide shipping鈥 so you need to know what to expect. I personally like the S6i鈥檚 display more than the one on the Ulefone Be Touch, which should tell you a little about the quality. Of course, it isn鈥檛 mind blowing or anything, but you probably won鈥檛 have any qualms using it.The most impressive bit about the display are the viewing angles, and the fact that the colours are very true, i.e., neither are they washed out, nor over-saturated. No.1 S6i Review: PerformanceThe phone only comes with the good ol鈥 MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor, which I assume all of you have used at one point or another. This chip from Taiwan鈥檚 MediaTek has graced millions of smartphone motherboards, and the S6i is just another one of them.The general UI responsiveness is in fact pretty good. This is the first MediaTek MT6582 phone I鈥檝e used that runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, and I think the MT6582 does pretty well at handling the OS. Speaking of the OS, the S6i appears to be running what looks like a 1:1 clone of Samsung鈥檚 TouchWiz, sometimes also the bugs and stutters that come along with it.In a nutshell, the S6i is a decently powered phone for general productivity; if you plan to buy a phone for gaming and the likes, you probably want to look elsewhere. Also, it has just 1GB of RAM which is more than just a bit of a bottleneck performance wise.No.1 S6i Review: Battery According to the manufacturer, the phone ships with a 2,800mAh battery. While I鈥檓 not sure about the accuracy of that claim, what is certain is that the battery is non-removable. While I haven鈥檛 opened up the phone to check the actual capacity, experience says that it is something around a 2000-2200mAh cell sitting inside the pretty shell.Nonetheless, what should matter to you is how long that works for regardless of the capacity. The phone will, on most days, last about 8-10 hours with average usage, and with heavy usage, you can expect the juice to dry up much sooner. The phone could do with a better battery life in my opinion.No.1 S6i Review: CameraThe S6i has a 13 mega-pixel camera, which is among the most impressive sensors you鈥檒l see in its range. The camera is fast and snappy when it comes to taking pictures, but it does have a bit of a lag while rendering the image on the viewfinder.Focus is touchy. It will take you more than just one attempt most times with tap to focus to get a sharp image with the focus on the main subject. But when you do achieve that, the result is pretty much well worth the pain on most occasions. The camera also performs pretty well indoors and in artificial light, which is pretty impressive for a clone. With flash No flash No.1 S6i Review: ConclusionThe No.1 S6i is a phone that鈥檚 built to impress. It鈥檒l certainly surprise you right off the bat, and probably won鈥檛 disappoint you with the way it performs. The lack of an additional GB of RAM certainly hurts, and there鈥檚 no fixing that. On the other hand, for storage, I鈥檝e heard that there is a microSD card slot that can be accessed if you somehow manage to take the rear off (not recommended).The phone is a clone and demands to be pitted against other clones, which are few and far between lately. In the end, you鈥檒l be paying a premium for the build quality more than anything else on the No.1 S6i.No.1 has been around for a while now, and is best known for its cloned phones. Not only have No.1 made lookalikes of Apple and Samsung phones, but they鈥檝e also cloned the likes of Xiaomi. Today we鈥檒l be talking about the No.1 S6i, which if you haven鈥檛 already guessed, is a Samsung Galaxy S6 clone.Of course, this one costs a hell lot lesser than the original thing. But that doesn鈥檛 stop No.1 from trying to emulate the Galaxy S6 in almost all segments. How far does it go with that? Let us find out!No.1 S6i Review: Specifications5.1-inch 1280 x 720p IPS display1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor1GB RAM16GB ROM13 mega-pixel rear camera5 mega-pixel front cameraAndroid 5.0 LollipopSingle SIM, GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA 850/2100No.1 S6i Review: Build and DesignThere鈥檚 not a lot to speak about the design, because you鈥檙e already clear in the mind as to how the S6i will look in the hands. The build quality is something worth talking about, however. No.1 have almost always been a clone maker, but have made a mark for themselves by including some proper, usable material in their devices. The No.1 M4 was a phone which was almost as well built as the original Mi 4, and the S6i does equally well. The phone is made with metal and glass all around it, and I鈥檓 sure no one you hand the phone to will be able to tell that it鈥檚 only a $119 phone!The build quality in general is extremely impressive, and without doubt is the best part about the phone. There is, sometimes, an obvious lack of precision in the workmanship, but at a little over a hundred dollars, you can probably let that go.The phone fits very well in the hand, and can be used in one hand no problem. The edges are all covered in chamfered metal, with the front and rear covered in glass. Unfortunately, there doesn鈥檛 seem to be any anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating on the glass which makes the phone a dirt and fingerprint magnet.An IR blaster and a secondary mic sit on the top edge, while a micro USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grill sit on the bottom edge. Volume buttons can be found on the left, while the power button makes home on the right side with the SIM card tray (which, by the way, takes only nano SIM cards).The 13 mega-pixel camera of the S6i sits on the rear, protruding in pride. Next to it you find the the single LED flash and heartbeat sensor. You鈥檙e free to get worried about the amount of protrusion of the camera, but the S6i will always have the excuse of being a Galaxy S6 clone.All of the buttons on the edges feel really good and have a nice, tactile feedback to them. The home button however does lack the comforting feel, for there is a bit of a play in the unit I tested.No.1 S6i Review: DisplayGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramYou鈥檒l like the S6i display until you pit it against the original thing. Only the display from the original Galaxy S6 would probably be expensive than this entire phone plus worldwide shipping鈥 so you need to know what to expect. I personally like the S6i鈥檚 display more than the one on the Ulefone Be Touch, which should tell you a little about the quality. Of course, it isn鈥檛 mind blowing or anything, but you probably won鈥檛 have any qualms using it.The most impressive bit about the display are the viewing angles, and the fact that the colours are very true, i.e., neither are they washed out, nor over-saturated. No.1 S6i Review: PerformanceThe phone only comes with the good ol鈥 MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor, which I assume all of you have used at one point or another. This chip from Taiwan鈥檚 MediaTek has graced millions of smartphone motherboards, and the S6i is just another one of them.The general UI responsiveness is in fact pretty good. This is the first MediaTek MT6582 phone I鈥檝e used that runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, and I think the MT6582 does pretty well at handling the OS. Speaking of the OS, the S6i appears to be running what looks like a 1:1 clone of Samsung鈥檚 TouchWiz, sometimes also the bugs and stutters that come along with it.In a nutshell, the S6i is a decently powered phone for general productivity; if you plan to buy a phone for gaming and the likes, you probably want to look elsewhere. Also, it has just 1GB of RAM which is more than just a bit of a bottleneck performance wise.No.1 S6i Review: Battery According to the manufacturer, the phone ships with a 2,800mAh battery. While I鈥檓 not sure about the accuracy of that claim, what is certain is that the battery is non-removable. While I haven鈥檛 opened up the phone to check the actual capacity, experience says that it is something around a 2000-2200mAh cell sitting inside the pretty shell.Nonetheless, what should matter to you is how long that works for regardless of the capacity. The phone will, on most days, last about 8-10 hours with average usage, and with heavy usage, you can expect the juice to dry up much sooner. The phone could do with a better battery life in my opinion.No.1 S6i Review: CameraThe S6i has a 13 mega-pixel camera, which is among the most impressive sensors you鈥檒l see in its range. The camera is fast and snappy when it comes to taking pictures, but it does have a bit of a lag while rendering the image on the viewfinder.Focus is touchy. It will take you more than just one attempt most times with tap to focus to get a sharp image with the focus on the main subject. But when you do achieve that, the result is pretty much well worth the pain on most occasions. The camera also performs pretty well indoors and in artificial light, which is pretty impressive for a clone. With flash No flash No.1 S6i Review: ConclusionThe No.1 S6i is a phone that鈥檚 built to impress. It鈥檒l certainly surprise you right off the bat, and probably won鈥檛 disappoint you with the way it performs. The lack of an additional GB of RAM certainly hurts, and there鈥檚 no fixing that. On the other hand, for storage, I鈥檝e heard that there is a microSD card slot that can be accessed if you somehow manage to take the rear off (not recommended).The phone is a clone and demands to be pitted against other clones, which are few and far between lately. In the end, you鈥檒l be paying a premium for the build quality more than anything else on the No.1 S6i.

The Ulefone Be Touch happens to be one of the most popular Chinese phones at the moment, right alongside the Elephone P7000 (which is playing a bit of hide-and-seek). The Be Touch is Ulefone鈥檚 most powerful phone ever, and it also happens to have a design which is quite pleasing to the eye, despite being heavily inspired by another phone, the one and only — iPhone 6.Leaks and rumours prior to the launch of this phone referred to it as the Ulefone Dare N1, but for whatever reasons it is now known as the Be Touch. It is perhaps to make the phone sound like it is one from the rejuvenated Ulefone, a company which launched a bunch of phones this year including the Be One, Be Pure and the Be Pro.Coming back to the Be Touch, it is a phone made with some really high quality material, along with a fingerprint sensor which works 鈥榩ress鈥 style (as opposed to swipe). The high-quality chassis, the curved front glass and the overall 鈥榝eel鈥 of the Be Touch give you a sense of holding a very well made piece of kit when the phone is in your hand. Before we say too much in this intro, let us get to the meat of the matter鈥 in the Ulefone Be Touch review!Ulefone Be Touch Review: Design and BuildDesign of the Be Touch is a bit of a mashup, with, as mentioned earlier, a lot of the iPhone 6. The other phone that the Be Touch will remind you of is the Meizu MX4; this one鈥檚 found more impostors than Meizu bosses would鈥檝e ever imagined (Siswoo Cooper i7 was one, too). That said, we ought to add that the Be Touch, build quality wise, is easily among the better Chinese 鈥榚xport brand鈥 phones that have landed in our hands in the past few months鈥 or even couple years.This is probably because Ulefone have been around for quite a while now, and are starting to get a hang of things — they even carry OnePlus-esque social media campaigns.The front is covered entirely in 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass. This is one of the favourite aspects of the phone for us. Up until now it used to be pretty easy to tell between a Chinese phone and phone from a big mainstream company, but with OEMs like Ulefone including things like 2.5D curved glass, machine-drilled speaker holes, etc., it is virtually impossible now.You鈥檒l find a 5 mega-pixel front camera right on the top left, accompanied by front LED flash (yeah, thanks, selfie addicts). Next to it sits the earpiece, and then the usual suite of sensors (light, proximity).There鈥檚 a black stripe of bezel right below the 5.5-inch screen. We call this a heartbreak more than anything else, because if not for that, the Be Touch would鈥檝e perhaps been THE phone (as far as looks are concerned, at least) for a lot of people. Speaking of bezels, the very impressive Ecoo E04 Aurora had something similar; we really hope companies find a way to deal with this in the coming months. Especially on 5.5-inch phones, where there鈥檚 more space to play around with things.Coming back to the device, below the screen, the menu, (fingerprint scanner enabled) home, and back keys sit in respective order. It must be said that the home button is really nice to touch and feels extremely high quality. It wouldn鈥檛 be wrong if we said we were surprised by how well it felt!To top off the iPhone impostor look, the Be Touch has its own metallic ring around the home button.A robust-looking metal frame sits around the edges of the phone, with precise cut-outs for jacks and ports, along with 6 machine-drilled holes at the bottom edge for the speaker. Between this metal frame and the front glass, there鈥檚 a barely noticeable plastic lip which is raised ever so slightly to ensure drops and falls don鈥檛 impact the glass directly.Power and volume keys can be found on the left edge. Again, these are put together in a very, very impressive fashion — clicks are registered in a very organized manner with great feedback. However, one issue we have with the power button is its positioning — it is put way too high for a 5.5-inch phone. Swapping the power and volume keys would make for a very sweet position for the power button, right where your left thumb would sit (if it HAS to be on the left). With the current arrangement, you鈥檒l either have to switch positions after unlocking the phone, or use the home button each time — the latter would make for a majority, we believe, especially if you鈥檙e going to use the fingerprint unlock feature (which you TOTALLY should — more on this later).The rear cover is flexible and looks to be made out of good quality plastic. It can be a little cumbersome to pry it out, but then that鈥檚 something we like, after all you don鈥檛 want it to come off or anything after every drop.Inside, there鈥檚 space for a 2550mAh battery and a couple SIMs along with a microSD card.The rear is also where you will find the 13 mega-pixel IMX214 camera (according to specs) and single LED flash. The flash cut-out is made to look like there鈥檚 dual LED flash, whereas there鈥檚 just one LED module in fact.The camera sensor is surrounded by a nice metallic ring, something which yet again adds to the build aspect of this phone. Another reminder of how well Ulefone have put together this handset!In a nutshell, we鈥檒l admit that the Be Touch is among the better made phones this year so far. It鈥檒l be interesting to see how the P7000 holds up against this one!Ulefone Be Touch Review: Components and performanceWhen you purchase the Be Touch you get a phone that is powered by the all impressive MediaTek MT6752 64-bit octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and has a 5.5-inch screen. Unfortunately, the screen is only a 1280 x 720p unit. We鈥檇 have loved it to be a 1080p panel, the very least for the sake of this argument.Other than that, the Be Touch has 16GB of on-board storage, a 13 mega-pixel main camera (Sony IMX214) and a 5 mega-pixel front camera with LED flash. The battery is a 2550mAh cell, which does sound a little inadequate for the screen size but the fact that it is only a 720p panel helps here. Also something to be kept in mind is that the phone ships with stock Android, v5.0 Lollipop. The 5.5-inch 720p screen won鈥檛 blow you away with its color and sharpness. Instead, you鈥檒l be a little surprised by the fact that it is in fact a little pale in front of the competition. Also, one of our favourite features that come along with the MT6752 — MiraVision — seems to be missing from the Lollipop ROM. In the past, a lot of MT6752 and MT6732 phones have benefited from MiraVision鈥檚 suite of features, especially dynamic contrast. Here鈥檚 hoping that an update soon bring MiraVision to the Lollipop ROM of the Be Touch!The screen also isn鈥檛 the best with viewing angles; colours do 鈥榳ash out鈥 every now and then when you rotate the phone in front of your eyes. In more ways than one, the screen is the Achilles heel of the Be Touch.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe 13 mega-pixel camera, which according to the makers is a Sony IMX214 sensor, doesn鈥檛 seem to have been implemented too well. The pictures have a slight bit of a dark tint to them, and the dynamic contrast doesn鈥檛 seem to be the best. That is, with a bright and dark element in the single frame, the Be Touch doesn鈥檛 do exceedingly well. One counter to that would be HDR mode, but even that doesn鈥檛 help too much.Even yet, the phone does sometimes produce some quality images. For one, take a look at his picture taken in a relatively dark environment.In daylight however, the Be Touch seems to take decent photos. Also worth noting is the fact that the front 5 mega-pixel camera has LED flash, and is actually quite a decent camera in itself. What is worth mentioning however is the fact that the front flash is very weak and doesn鈥檛 really enhance the frame much, unless of course you鈥檙e trying to take a selfie in a pitch black environment.Taken on the front camera Reception on the Be Touch (GPS, call, WiFi) is fairly decent. GPS is actually pretty impressive; most MediaTek phones in the past have struggled to get a decent lock, but the Be Touch doesn鈥檛 just do that outdoors but indoors as well. GPS: Indoors GPS: Outdoors Call quality is very good. Volume could go a step higher though, but that鈥檚 something very subjective. One thing to note here is that the phone does get a little warm around the camera region (where the metallic ring acts as a heat sink, supposedly) for comfort.WiFi however is a bit of a different story. Performance in this department isn鈥檛 as good as the rest of the phone; quite worse, in fact. Compared to phones like the Gionee Elife S7, Xiaomi Mi 4 or even the Mi 4i, the Be Touch is always second and by quite a margin.Fingerprint sensor works very wellIt hasn鈥檛 been a long while since Chinese phones started shipping with fingerprint sensors, but the rate at which these sensors have improved is unbelievable. The Elephone P5000 was among the first ones to have a fingerprint sensor, and we鈥檙e now into the third generation of these — and to sum it up in one word, the fingerprint sensor on the Be Touch is brilliant.We even tried unlocking the phone with an inverted thumb, and it still worked — at the same speed. It just goes to show that the feature has been implemented really well and isn鈥檛 just a gimmick anymore. Rather, something that not only provides better security, but also better convenience!Battery life is about decent on the phone. It can be a better. After 4-5 charging/discharging cycles it did get better, but there’s still some room for improvement. After lot of browsing, around 1 and a half hours of calling, and some IMing, here’s how the battery life chart stood on the phone. Sound output on the Be Touch is one of the features of the phone which could get better. Very honestly, we鈥檝e encountered varying sound performance from the Be Touch; the speaker sometimes sounds loud enough but other times, it simply doesn鈥檛 cut it. What stays constant however is the fact that there鈥檚 virtually no bass in the sound output.Ulefone Be Touch Review: ROMAs mentioned above, the phone comes with a ROM that is completely stock. Unfortunately though, it doesn鈥檛 seem 100% optimized. Not just that Be Touch, non completely optimized Lollipop ROMs are, at the moment, hampering the performance of a lot of Chinese phones. What鈥檚 good is that this seems to be throttling only the UI performance, whereas performance from other 3rd party apps and games seems to be just fine. The ROM also offers some off-screen gestures which have now become a norm. Many a time these off screen gestures can be a problem (if you keep your phone in your pockets), which is why the usage hasn鈥檛 been as widespread as the makers would鈥檝e liked. Double tap to wake however is a brilliant feature which we鈥檙e sure most of you would already be using. The Be Touch doesn鈥檛 require that though, because there is a hardware button that can actually be 鈥榩ressed鈥 (as opposed to capacitive buttons). Nonetheless, double tap to wake is a good option if you aren鈥檛 using a fingerprint as your password.Here鈥檚 how the Be Touch performs on benchmarks. You can find more info about the phone鈥檚 benchmarking capabilities here.Antutu: 43,412Ice Storm Extreme: 6,745Nenamark 2: 72.0fpsGeekbench Single-core: 800Geekbench multi-core: 3455Vellamo Metal: 1291Vellamo Multicore: 1884Vellamo Browser: 3401GFX Manhattan: 715.1GFX Manhattan offscreen: 370.5GFX T-Rex: 1,142GFX T-Rex Offscreen: 702.9Quadrant: 16,411Ulefone Be Touch Review: OtherIn many ways, the Be Touch is a great phone. However, a few aspects do let it down鈥 for one, there鈥檚 no notification LED on the phone. This is pretty surprising for a 2015 phone; people have gotten used to notification LEDs. We believe every manufacturer, small or big, should have those on their phones.Another something that isn鈥檛 as back as the lack of a notification LED, but could鈥檝e been better: backlit buttons. While you will ultimately get used to the positioning of these buttons, having a little backlight beneath wouldn鈥檛 really hurt the company and would also save you the learning curve of hitting the buttons without knowing where they are.The touchscreen sensor can sometimes feel a little slow to respond. It can be frustrating, and we’re once again hoping it is a ROM issue which is fixed with an update.Charging the Be Touch takes a little longer than you would鈥檝e hoped for. Although this is in no way a gripe, but just something a potential buyer would want to know about. It takes just about 3 hours to charge the battery using the stock charger.Ulefone Be Touch Review: VerdictAs is very clear from what you鈥檝e read, we鈥檙e surprised (and positively) with the build quality that the Be Touch has on offer. Performance too is quite up to the mark, but the ROM needs a lot of polishing to extract whatever the MediaTek MT6752 has on offer. It does seem sometimes like the ROM is a beta release than a full public release.The phone has only started shipping now, so expect a lot of improvements on the ROM front. Ulefone have proven themselves with a good amount of firmware updates to their phones, and we hope to see similar treatment being given to the Be Touch also.At this point in time, it wouldn鈥檛 be cent percent accurate to call the Be Touch a flagship for 2015. But it does come close.We鈥檒l be bringing more Be Touch news to you as and when we gain access to newer and better firmware for the phone. In the meantime, let us know what you would choose between this and the elusive Elephone P7000.The Ulefone Be Touch happens to be one of the most popular Chinese phones at the moment, right alongside the Elephone P7000 (which is playing a bit of hide-and-seek). The Be Touch is Ulefone鈥檚 most powerful phone ever, and it also happens to have a design which is quite pleasing to the eye, despite being heavily inspired by another phone, the one and only — iPhone 6.Leaks and rumours prior to the launch of this phone referred to it as the Ulefone Dare N1, but for whatever reasons it is now known as the Be Touch. It is perhaps to make the phone sound like it is one from the rejuvenated Ulefone, a company which launched a bunch of phones this year including the Be One, Be Pure and the Be Pro.Coming back to the Be Touch, it is a phone made with some really high quality material, along with a fingerprint sensor which works 鈥榩ress鈥 style (as opposed to swipe). The high-quality chassis, the curved front glass and the overall 鈥榝eel鈥 of the Be Touch give you a sense of holding a very well made piece of kit when the phone is in your hand. Before we say too much in this intro, let us get to the meat of the matter鈥 in the Ulefone Be Touch review!Ulefone Be Touch Review: Design and BuildDesign of the Be Touch is a bit of a mashup, with, as mentioned earlier, a lot of the iPhone 6. The other phone that the Be Touch will remind you of is the Meizu MX4; this one鈥檚 found more impostors than Meizu bosses would鈥檝e ever imagined (Siswoo Cooper i7 was one, too). That said, we ought to add that the Be Touch, build quality wise, is easily among the better Chinese 鈥榚xport brand鈥 phones that have landed in our hands in the past few months鈥 or even couple years.This is probably because Ulefone have been around for quite a while now, and are starting to get a hang of things — they even carry OnePlus-esque social media campaigns.The front is covered entirely in 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass. This is one of the favourite aspects of the phone for us. Up until now it used to be pretty easy to tell between a Chinese phone and phone from a big mainstream company, but with OEMs like Ulefone including things like 2.5D curved glass, machine-drilled speaker holes, etc., it is virtually impossible now.You鈥檒l find a 5 mega-pixel front camera right on the top left, accompanied by front LED flash (yeah, thanks, selfie addicts). Next to it sits the earpiece, and then the usual suite of sensors (light, proximity).There鈥檚 a black stripe of bezel right below the 5.5-inch screen. We call this a heartbreak more than anything else, because if not for that, the Be Touch would鈥檝e perhaps been THE phone (as far as looks are concerned, at least) for a lot of people. Speaking of bezels, the very impressive Ecoo E04 Aurora had something similar; we really hope companies find a way to deal with this in the coming months. Especially on 5.5-inch phones, where there鈥檚 more space to play around with things.Coming back to the device, below the screen, the menu, (fingerprint scanner enabled) home, and back keys sit in respective order. It must be said that the home button is really nice to touch and feels extremely high quality. It wouldn鈥檛 be wrong if we said we were surprised by how well it felt!To top off the iPhone impostor look, the Be Touch has its own metallic ring around the home button.A robust-looking metal frame sits around the edges of the phone, with precise cut-outs for jacks and ports, along with 6 machine-drilled holes at the bottom edge for the speaker. Between this metal frame and the front glass, there鈥檚 a barely noticeable plastic lip which is raised ever so slightly to ensure drops and falls don鈥檛 impact the glass directly.Power and volume keys can be found on the left edge. Again, these are put together in a very, very impressive fashion — clicks are registered in a very organized manner with great feedback. However, one issue we have with the power button is its positioning — it is put way too high for a 5.5-inch phone. Swapping the power and volume keys would make for a very sweet position for the power button, right where your left thumb would sit (if it HAS to be on the left). With the current arrangement, you鈥檒l either have to switch positions after unlocking the phone, or use the home button each time — the latter would make for a majority, we believe, especially if you鈥檙e going to use the fingerprint unlock feature (which you TOTALLY should — more on this later).The rear cover is flexible and looks to be made out of good quality plastic. It can be a little cumbersome to pry it out, but then that鈥檚 something we like, after all you don鈥檛 want it to come off or anything after every drop.Inside, there鈥檚 space for a 2550mAh battery and a couple SIMs along with a microSD card.The rear is also where you will find the 13 mega-pixel IMX214 camera (according to specs) and single LED flash. The flash cut-out is made to look like there鈥檚 dual LED flash, whereas there鈥檚 just one LED module in fact.The camera sensor is surrounded by a nice metallic ring, something which yet again adds to the build aspect of this phone. Another reminder of how well Ulefone have put together this handset!In a nutshell, we鈥檒l admit that the Be Touch is among the better made phones this year so far. It鈥檒l be interesting to see how the P7000 holds up against this one!Ulefone Be Touch Review: Components and performanceWhen you purchase the Be Touch you get a phone that is powered by the all impressive MediaTek MT6752 64-bit octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and has a 5.5-inch screen. Unfortunately, the screen is only a 1280 x 720p unit. We鈥檇 have loved it to be a 1080p panel, the very least for the sake of this argument.Other than that, the Be Touch has 16GB of on-board storage, a 13 mega-pixel main camera (Sony IMX214) and a 5 mega-pixel front camera with LED flash. The battery is a 2550mAh cell, which does sound a little inadequate for the screen size but the fact that it is only a 720p panel helps here. Also something to be kept in mind is that the phone ships with stock Android, v5.0 Lollipop. The 5.5-inch 720p screen won鈥檛 blow you away with its color and sharpness. Instead, you鈥檒l be a little surprised by the fact that it is in fact a little pale in front of the competition. Also, one of our favourite features that come along with the MT6752 — MiraVision — seems to be missing from the Lollipop ROM. In the past, a lot of MT6752 and MT6732 phones have benefited from MiraVision鈥檚 suite of features, especially dynamic contrast. Here鈥檚 hoping that an update soon bring MiraVision to the Lollipop ROM of the Be Touch!The screen also isn鈥檛 the best with viewing angles; colours do 鈥榳ash out鈥 every now and then when you rotate the phone in front of your eyes. In more ways than one, the screen is the Achilles heel of the Be Touch.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe 13 mega-pixel camera, which according to the makers is a Sony IMX214 sensor, doesn鈥檛 seem to have been implemented too well. The pictures have a slight bit of a dark tint to them, and the dynamic contrast doesn鈥檛 seem to be the best. That is, with a bright and dark element in the single frame, the Be Touch doesn鈥檛 do exceedingly well. One counter to that would be HDR mode, but even that doesn鈥檛 help too much.Even yet, the phone does sometimes produce some quality images. For one, take a look at his picture taken in a relatively dark environment.In daylight however, the Be Touch seems to take decent photos. Also worth noting is the fact that the front 5 mega-pixel camera has LED flash, and is actually quite a decent camera in itself. What is worth mentioning however is the fact that the front flash is very weak and doesn鈥檛 really enhance the frame much, unless of course you鈥檙e trying to take a selfie in a pitch black environment.Taken on the front camera Reception on the Be Touch (GPS, call, WiFi) is fairly decent. GPS is actually pretty impressive; most MediaTek phones in the past have struggled to get a decent lock, but the Be Touch doesn鈥檛 just do that outdoors but indoors as well. GPS: Indoors GPS: Outdoors Call quality is very good. Volume could go a step higher though, but that鈥檚 something very subjective. One thing to note here is that the phone does get a little warm around the camera region (where the metallic ring acts as a heat sink, supposedly) for comfort.WiFi however is a bit of a different story. Performance in this department isn鈥檛 as good as the rest of the phone; quite worse, in fact. Compared to phones like the Gionee Elife S7, Xiaomi Mi 4 or even the Mi 4i, the Be Touch is always second and by quite a margin.Fingerprint sensor works very wellIt hasn鈥檛 been a long while since Chinese phones started shipping with fingerprint sensors, but the rate at which these sensors have improved is unbelievable. The Elephone P5000 was among the first ones to have a fingerprint sensor, and we鈥檙e now into the third generation of these — and to sum it up in one word, the fingerprint sensor on the Be Touch is brilliant.We even tried unlocking the phone with an inverted thumb, and it still worked — at the same speed. It just goes to show that the feature has been implemented really well and isn鈥檛 just a gimmick anymore. Rather, something that not only provides better security, but also better convenience!Battery life is about decent on the phone. It can be a better. After 4-5 charging/discharging cycles it did get better, but there’s still some room for improvement. After lot of browsing, around 1 and a half hours of calling, and some IMing, here’s how the battery life chart stood on the phone. Sound output on the Be Touch is one of the features of the phone which could get better. Very honestly, we鈥檝e encountered varying sound performance from the Be Touch; the speaker sometimes sounds loud enough but other times, it simply doesn鈥檛 cut it. What stays constant however is the fact that there鈥檚 virtually no bass in the sound output.Ulefone Be Touch Review: ROMAs mentioned above, the phone comes with a ROM that is completely stock. Unfortunately though, it doesn鈥檛 seem 100% optimized. Not just that Be Touch, non completely optimized Lollipop ROMs are, at the moment, hampering the performance of a lot of Chinese phones. What鈥檚 good is that this seems to be throttling only the UI performance, whereas performance from other 3rd party apps and games seems to be just fine. The ROM also offers some off-screen gestures which have now become a norm. Many a time these off screen gestures can be a problem (if you keep your phone in your pockets), which is why the usage hasn鈥檛 been as widespread as the makers would鈥檝e liked. Double tap to wake however is a brilliant feature which we鈥檙e sure most of you would already be using. The Be Touch doesn鈥檛 require that though, because there is a hardware button that can actually be 鈥榩ressed鈥 (as opposed to capacitive buttons). Nonetheless, double tap to wake is a good option if you aren鈥檛 using a fingerprint as your password.Here鈥檚 how the Be Touch performs on benchmarks. You can find more info about the phone鈥檚 benchmarking capabilities here.Antutu: 43,412Ice Storm Extreme: 6,745Nenamark 2: 72.0fpsGeekbench Single-core: 800Geekbench multi-core: 3455Vellamo Metal: 1291Vellamo Multicore: 1884Vellamo Browser: 3401GFX Manhattan: 715.1GFX Manhattan offscreen: 370.5GFX T-Rex: 1,142GFX T-Rex Offscreen: 702.9Quadrant: 16,411Ulefone Be Touch Review: OtherIn many ways, the Be Touch is a great phone. However, a few aspects do let it down鈥 for one, there鈥檚 no notification LED on the phone. This is pretty surprising for a 2015 phone; people have gotten used to notification LEDs. We believe every manufacturer, small or big, should have those on their phones.Another something that isn鈥檛 as back as the lack of a notification LED, but could鈥檝e been better: backlit buttons. While you will ultimately get used to the positioning of these buttons, having a little backlight beneath wouldn鈥檛 really hurt the company and would also save you the learning curve of hitting the buttons without knowing where they are.The touchscreen sensor can sometimes feel a little slow to respond. It can be frustrating, and we’re once again hoping it is a ROM issue which is fixed with an update.Charging the Be Touch takes a little longer than you would鈥檝e hoped for. Although this is in no way a gripe, but just something a potential buyer would want to know about. It takes just about 3 hours to charge the battery using the stock charger.Ulefone Be Touch Review: VerdictAs is very clear from what you鈥檝e read, we鈥檙e surprised (and positively) with the build quality that the Be Touch has on offer. Performance too is quite up to the mark, but the ROM needs a lot of polishing to extract whatever the MediaTek MT6752 has on offer. It does seem sometimes like the ROM is a beta release than a full public release.The phone has only started shipping now, so expect a lot of improvements on the ROM front. Ulefone have proven themselves with a good amount of firmware updates to their phones, and we hope to see similar treatment being given to the Be Touch also.At this point in time, it wouldn鈥檛 be cent percent accurate to call the Be Touch a flagship for 2015. But it does come close.We鈥檒l be bringing more Be Touch news to you as and when we gain access to newer and better firmware for the phone. In the meantime, let us know what you would choose between this and the elusive Elephone P7000.

I’m pretty certain you haven鈥檛 heard of this new phone company on the block that calls itself 鈥楽iswoo鈥? but what you will be pleased to know is that the company鈥檚 first phone itself is a winner. We鈥檙e talking about the Siswoo Cooper i7, with which we spent some hands on time a while back.The device has one of the most ergonomic designs I鈥檝e seen in the past few months, and it also comes with a better than average processor for the money. There鈥檚 a lot of good things about the phone that I have to say, along with some bad ones; so let鈥檚 get it all out of the way in this Siswoo Cooper i7 review!MediaTek MT6752 rules the roost MediaTek have started this year with a bang. First with the 64-bit quad-core MT6732 (as seen on the Elephone P6000), and then with the more powerful 64-bit octa-core MT6752, which is also the SoC that powers the Siswoo Cooper i7. The Cooper i7 is however more 鈥榤id-range鈥 than other phones that are powered by the MT6752 because it has 2GB of RAM, while others seem to ship with 3GB.Siswoo Cooper i7 Review: Design and BuildThe Meizu MX4 was one of the most user-friendly phones in terms of design back in late 2014, and so is the Cooper i7. You must be wondering why I鈥檓 mentioning the MX4 in a Cooper i7 review; that鈥檚 because the Cooper i7 takes the design of the MX4, and doesn鈥檛 change it enough so it clearly reminds you of the Meizu phone. The Siswoo Cooper i7 in fact, also comes with the glowing halo (which certainly seems to be a VERY popular addition on Chinese phones) to top off the MX4 doppelganger look.The phone per se is perhaps the most comfortable 5-inch phone you鈥檒l ever hold; it certainly was the case for me. So much so that I even contemplated retiring my trusty old Mi 4 for this!There isn鈥檛 a lot of metal on the phone, but whatever Siswoo have used (and it鈥檚 certainly not some aircraft grade material) works surprisingly well for them, and then the user. The phone is fairly lightweight too, but has just enough heft to feel like a well put-together piece of kit. A chrome plated lip does run around the screen, but I鈥檓 not sure if its metal or plastic鈥 would like to assume the former, though.The curved edges really make the phone a pleasure to hold, and use. In other words, the form factor of the Siswoo Cooper i7 is a delight for users that find it hard to get used to larger (>5-inch) screen phones. All corners of the phone are reachable with your thumb when you鈥檙e using the phone in one hand, and that isn鈥檛 something you get to hear very often these days.The front of the frame is very recognizable thanks to some iconic phones (iConic?), and some that we discussed before such as the Meizu MX4. Even then, the device is a pleasure to look at with the glowing holo on the bottom. The bezels around the screen aren鈥檛 the narrowest, but also not so wide to make the phone look ugly.Both sides of the phone are fairly minimalistic in design, and curve to blend with the rear. The right edge also makes home for the power and volume buttons, both of which are plated in the same chrome-ish material as the lip around the screen鈥 but this time, its definitely plastic. On the rear of the phone, you find the Siswoo logo which sits below the camera module, printed in italics. Not much else on the rear besides the company logo (and a little mention of 4G-LTE on the bottom). A flash module sits right below the camera sensor, which might look like it makes home for dual LEDs, but in fact it has just one. This is something I鈥檝e seen on a lot of Chinese phones in the recent months.There鈥檚 nothing at all on the bottom (aka the chin) of the phone, while the top edge of the Cooper i7 makes space for a micro USB port and a 3.5mm headset jack.Beneath the rear cover, there鈥檚 the familiar sight of two SIM slots (1x mini SIM, 1x micro SIM) and a microSD card slot. The Cooper i7 uses a 2100mAh battery, which does sound under-par for a phone of today, but in real life does perform well enough, as you shall read through the course of this review. Around the aforementioned, you can also see the 3D printed antennas which unfortunately aren鈥檛 the best, at least as far as WiFi is concerned. A mono speaker too is seen right near the edge of the phone.Siswoo Cooper i7 Review: Components and PerformanceThe Cooper i7 smartphone, and Siswoo itself, came out of nowhere to produce a phone that鈥檚 actually one of the best in its range. While you may not have heard of the company name before, you will certainly know a bit about the components the phone uses. It comes with a 5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display (which is actually pretty good), an octa-core, 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 processor that impresses beyond expectations, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, an 8 mega-pixel rear camera and a 5 mega-pixel front camera along with a 2100mAh removable battery.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram The display itself is as impressive as the rest of the phone. It isn鈥檛 a QHD display, or not even a full HD panel; but the experience of using the phone is pretty much beats that of using any other phone in its range, at least display wise. Its an IPS panel as you would expect, and thanks to MediaTek鈥檚 Miravision technology, the display can be tuned to your taste without much hassle. In all, I鈥檇 say that the display is top notch and doesn鈥檛 leave anything to complain about.Blacks though, could get a bit darker. This isn鈥檛 a gripe per se, but rather something that could make the package, that is the Cooper i7, look better.Moving on, there鈥檚 not a lot that鈥檚 left to be said about the MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor. The SoC was used in the current JiaYu flagship, the JiaYu S3, and has impressed one and all. The MT6752 is one from the new breed of MediaTek SoCs that don鈥檛 aim to follow the competition, but beat it. And from my usage of the Cooper i7, I have to say I鈥檓 more than just impressed. I can foresee MT6752 phones such as the Cooper i7 sell for around US$150 in the coming months; and that鈥檚 something that will really redefine the market. The MT6732 beats the Snapdragon 615 in my book, at least as far as general usage is concerned; the MT6752 does miles better.2GB of RAM means the phone is more than just decent at multitasking. As far as I鈥檓 concerned, the quality of multitasking depends more on the CPU than one usually assumes; it is a common idea to base a phone鈥檚 ability on the amount of RAM is has, which isn鈥檛 entirely accurate. Think of it this way: you have a 20 litre bucket full of water (RAM on phone) and various smaller mugs (apps) that take up water from the 20 litre bucket. How soon you switch from 1litre mug A to 1 litre mug B completely depends on how fast YOU (CPU) can transfer the water, and not just the capacity of the 20 litre bucket.The phone charges up at a nominal rate, which isn鈥檛 the fastest. Personally, I don鈥檛 like fast chargers too much (unless they鈥檙e the VOOC kind which really make a difference), because it also means that you鈥檙e hurting your phone鈥檚 battery. Which is why I tend to stick to 1A chargers when I鈥檓 not in a hurry. (The test on the Cooper i7 was, of course, conducted using a 2A unit) Battery life itself is pretty good on the phone. It’ll take you through one day of usage, but not a lot more. What’s interesting is, if you happen to have a busy day with a lot of phone use, the Cooper i7 will probably not let you down.Another area where the Cooper i7 doesn鈥檛 score too highly is WiFi reception. In areas in my house where the Xiaomi Mi 4 and Yu Yureka easily latch on to my WiFi network, the Cooper i7 finds it tough to even stay connected when coming from an area with greater strength, let alone discovering the network. This is something that Siswoo can certainly work upon.The vibration motor on the phone too is something to complain about. After 1-2 motions, the motor will simply stop working; it’s working is sporadic in nature, in other words. This is certainly a massive let down on a phone that has otherwise proven to be a gem. Makes you wonder about the quality of components used inside the pretty exterior.What鈥檚 also not great about the Siswoo Cooper i7 (although I faced this issue only twice in the two months of usage) is that the speaker went off for no apparent reason a couple of times. I had to restart the phone to get audio back, so its certainly not a hardware issue but something to do with poor software implementation.Unfortunately for you shutterbugs, the Cooper i7 isn鈥檛 really a very good camera phone. The photos that it takes have a pinkish tint to them, and lack detail. Not only that, they鈥檙e also not as sharp as you would like. It isn’t the worst camera phone ever, but I’ve certainly seen better. ConclusionProsErgonomicsBatteryPerformanceConsVibration motor turns offCameraWiFiHaving used the phone for a couple of months, I can vouch for the fact that the device is certainly blazing fast and doesn鈥檛 get slow with time. The fact that it comes with a near stock ROM helps the issue also. The few niggles — poor WiFi, vibration motor functions sporadically, audio goes off — can鈥檛 be overlooked certainly, but the phone itself despite the issues has a lot of potential.The design is pretty much a ripoff of the MX4 which is another thing that might bother a lot of potential buyers. Despite that, the Cooper i7 is THE most ergonomic phone I鈥檝e used in鈥 ever. Especially since I鈥檓 a one-handed phone user kind of a guy.In any case, Siswoo as a manufacturer has certainly done exceedingly well to make their first phone as good as the Cooper i7. With more time and experience in the market, combined with user reviews, I can foresee them making some killer phones in the next year or so.I’m pretty certain you haven鈥檛 heard of this new phone company on the block that calls itself 鈥楽iswoo鈥? but what you will be pleased to know is that the company鈥檚 first phone itself is a winner. We鈥檙e talking about the Siswoo Cooper i7, with which we spent some hands on time a while back.The device has one of the most ergonomic designs I鈥檝e seen in the past few months, and it also comes with a better than average processor for the money. There鈥檚 a lot of good things about the phone that I have to say, along with some bad ones; so let鈥檚 get it all out of the way in this Siswoo Cooper i7 review!MediaTek MT6752 rules the roost MediaTek have started this year with a bang. First with the 64-bit quad-core MT6732 (as seen on the Elephone P6000), and then with the more powerful 64-bit octa-core MT6752, which is also the SoC that powers the Siswoo Cooper i7. The Cooper i7 is however more 鈥榤id-range鈥 than other phones that are powered by the MT6752 because it has 2GB of RAM, while others seem to ship with 3GB.Siswoo Cooper i7 Review: Design and BuildThe Meizu MX4 was one of the most user-friendly phones in terms of design back in late 2014, and so is the Cooper i7. You must be wondering why I鈥檓 mentioning the MX4 in a Cooper i7 review; that鈥檚 because the Cooper i7 takes the design of the MX4, and doesn鈥檛 change it enough so it clearly reminds you of the Meizu phone. The Siswoo Cooper i7 in fact, also comes with the glowing halo (which certainly seems to be a VERY popular addition on Chinese phones) to top off the MX4 doppelganger look.The phone per se is perhaps the most comfortable 5-inch phone you鈥檒l ever hold; it certainly was the case for me. So much so that I even contemplated retiring my trusty old Mi 4 for this!There isn鈥檛 a lot of metal on the phone, but whatever Siswoo have used (and it鈥檚 certainly not some aircraft grade material) works surprisingly well for them, and then the user. The phone is fairly lightweight too, but has just enough heft to feel like a well put-together piece of kit. A chrome plated lip does run around the screen, but I鈥檓 not sure if its metal or plastic鈥 would like to assume the former, though.The curved edges really make the phone a pleasure to hold, and use. In other words, the form factor of the Siswoo Cooper i7 is a delight for users that find it hard to get used to larger (>5-inch) screen phones. All corners of the phone are reachable with your thumb when you鈥檙e using the phone in one hand, and that isn鈥檛 something you get to hear very often these days.The front of the frame is very recognizable thanks to some iconic phones (iConic?), and some that we discussed before such as the Meizu MX4. Even then, the device is a pleasure to look at with the glowing holo on the bottom. The bezels around the screen aren鈥檛 the narrowest, but also not so wide to make the phone look ugly.Both sides of the phone are fairly minimalistic in design, and curve to blend with the rear. The right edge also makes home for the power and volume buttons, both of which are plated in the same chrome-ish material as the lip around the screen鈥 but this time, its definitely plastic. On the rear of the phone, you find the Siswoo logo which sits below the camera module, printed in italics. Not much else on the rear besides the company logo (and a little mention of 4G-LTE on the bottom). A flash module sits right below the camera sensor, which might look like it makes home for dual LEDs, but in fact it has just one. This is something I鈥檝e seen on a lot of Chinese phones in the recent months.There鈥檚 nothing at all on the bottom (aka the chin) of the phone, while the top edge of the Cooper i7 makes space for a micro USB port and a 3.5mm headset jack.Beneath the rear cover, there鈥檚 the familiar sight of two SIM slots (1x mini SIM, 1x micro SIM) and a microSD card slot. The Cooper i7 uses a 2100mAh battery, which does sound under-par for a phone of today, but in real life does perform well enough, as you shall read through the course of this review. Around the aforementioned, you can also see the 3D printed antennas which unfortunately aren鈥檛 the best, at least as far as WiFi is concerned. A mono speaker too is seen right near the edge of the phone.Siswoo Cooper i7 Review: Components and PerformanceThe Cooper i7 smartphone, and Siswoo itself, came out of nowhere to produce a phone that鈥檚 actually one of the best in its range. While you may not have heard of the company name before, you will certainly know a bit about the components the phone uses. It comes with a 5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display (which is actually pretty good), an octa-core, 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 processor that impresses beyond expectations, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, an 8 mega-pixel rear camera and a 5 mega-pixel front camera along with a 2100mAh removable battery.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram The display itself is as impressive as the rest of the phone. It isn鈥檛 a QHD display, or not even a full HD panel; but the experience of using the phone is pretty much beats that of using any other phone in its range, at least display wise. Its an IPS panel as you would expect, and thanks to MediaTek鈥檚 Miravision technology, the display can be tuned to your taste without much hassle. In all, I鈥檇 say that the display is top notch and doesn鈥檛 leave anything to complain about.Blacks though, could get a bit darker. This isn鈥檛 a gripe per se, but rather something that could make the package, that is the Cooper i7, look better.Moving on, there鈥檚 not a lot that鈥檚 left to be said about the MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor. The SoC was used in the current JiaYu flagship, the JiaYu S3, and has impressed one and all. The MT6752 is one from the new breed of MediaTek SoCs that don鈥檛 aim to follow the competition, but beat it. And from my usage of the Cooper i7, I have to say I鈥檓 more than just impressed. I can foresee MT6752 phones such as the Cooper i7 sell for around US$150 in the coming months; and that鈥檚 something that will really redefine the market. The MT6732 beats the Snapdragon 615 in my book, at least as far as general usage is concerned; the MT6752 does miles better.2GB of RAM means the phone is more than just decent at multitasking. As far as I鈥檓 concerned, the quality of multitasking depends more on the CPU than one usually assumes; it is a common idea to base a phone鈥檚 ability on the amount of RAM is has, which isn鈥檛 entirely accurate. Think of it this way: you have a 20 litre bucket full of water (RAM on phone) and various smaller mugs (apps) that take up water from the 20 litre bucket. How soon you switch from 1litre mug A to 1 litre mug B completely depends on how fast YOU (CPU) can transfer the water, and not just the capacity of the 20 litre bucket.The phone charges up at a nominal rate, which isn鈥檛 the fastest. Personally, I don鈥檛 like fast chargers too much (unless they鈥檙e the VOOC kind which really make a difference), because it also means that you鈥檙e hurting your phone鈥檚 battery. Which is why I tend to stick to 1A chargers when I鈥檓 not in a hurry. (The test on the Cooper i7 was, of course, conducted using a 2A unit) Battery life itself is pretty good on the phone. It’ll take you through one day of usage, but not a lot more. What’s interesting is, if you happen to have a busy day with a lot of phone use, the Cooper i7 will probably not let you down.Another area where the Cooper i7 doesn鈥檛 score too highly is WiFi reception. In areas in my house where the Xiaomi Mi 4 and Yu Yureka easily latch on to my WiFi network, the Cooper i7 finds it tough to even stay connected when coming from an area with greater strength, let alone discovering the network. This is something that Siswoo can certainly work upon.The vibration motor on the phone too is something to complain about. After 1-2 motions, the motor will simply stop working; it’s working is sporadic in nature, in other words. This is certainly a massive let down on a phone that has otherwise proven to be a gem. Makes you wonder about the quality of components used inside the pretty exterior.What鈥檚 also not great about the Siswoo Cooper i7 (although I faced this issue only twice in the two months of usage) is that the speaker went off for no apparent reason a couple of times. I had to restart the phone to get audio back, so its certainly not a hardware issue but something to do with poor software implementation.Unfortunately for you shutterbugs, the Cooper i7 isn鈥檛 really a very good camera phone. The photos that it takes have a pinkish tint to them, and lack detail. Not only that, they鈥檙e also not as sharp as you would like. It isn’t the worst camera phone ever, but I’ve certainly seen better. ConclusionProsErgonomicsBatteryPerformanceConsVibration motor turns offCameraWiFiHaving used the phone for a couple of months, I can vouch for the fact that the device is certainly blazing fast and doesn鈥檛 get slow with time. The fact that it comes with a near stock ROM helps the issue also. The few niggles — poor WiFi, vibration motor functions sporadically, audio goes off — can鈥檛 be overlooked certainly, but the phone itself despite the issues has a lot of potential.The design is pretty much a ripoff of the MX4 which is another thing that might bother a lot of potential buyers. Despite that, the Cooper i7 is THE most ergonomic phone I鈥檝e used in鈥 ever. Especially since I鈥檓 a one-handed phone user kind of a guy.In any case, Siswoo as a manufacturer has certainly done exceedingly well to make their first phone as good as the Cooper i7. With more time and experience in the market, combined with user reviews, I can foresee them making some killer phones in the next year or so.

The Asus Zenfone aimed to disrupt the phone market and I believe they鈥檝e done a sterling job. Here is our full review of the Asus Zenfone 2.Asus knew what was needed to grab headlines when announcing their new flagship phone. First of all they went and gave their new device a whopping 4GB RAM, then they gave it an affordable price and finally great availability with the device already on sale, or launching soon, in markets around the world.For us at GizChina.com we were excited to get our hands on the Asus Zenfone 2 for a few reasons. We wanted to see what 4GB RAM really means in the real world, and we wanted to see if Asus had finally produced a phone truly worth getting excited about. Keep reading for full details.Asus Zenfone 2 – First impressionsAsus Zenfone 2 Review – DesignI鈥檓 not going to beat around the bush, the Zenfone 2 isn鈥檛 the best looking phone on the market today. Going from the luxurious Xiaomi Mi Note to the chunky, plastic Asus certainly felt like a downgrade, but once I got to grips with the device I soon forgot about the looks.Made of plastic with chunky bezels and a removable rear panel, there is nothing revolutionary about the design of the Zenfone 2. It is clear to me that Asus took inspiration from HTC and LG when designing their device, and while it might not feel as premium as the G3 or M9 it doesn鈥檛 feel poorly made either.There are no creaks or groans from the material when under pressure and everything fits nice and flush.On the front we have a 5.5-inch FHD display with navigations buttons on a bar above an empty chin area. Removing the chin would greatly reduce the length of the Asus Zenfone 2, and would improve the front end looks no end too, but I suppose these are changes to look forward to in the next-gen model.An Asus logo on the front isn鈥檛 to my taste either and reminds me of phone designs of old, but I suppose Asus are proud of their phone and want to ensure everyone knows who put it together.The sides are very thin thanks to a generous curve to the removable back panel. Even with it鈥檚 wider bezels the smooth rear fits in to your hand easily, although I do struggle now and then when reaching across the screen with my thumb. As Asus have located the power button at the top in the middle and the volume rocker on the rear there are no buttons on either side. The only details we find are the power button and 3.5mm headphone jack at the very top and USB in the base.That brushed metal finish isn鈥檛 actually metal but a nice pattern on a plastic panel. Starting at the top we have a very bright dual tone LED flash, then 13 mega-pixel main camera, volume control, another Asus logo, an Intel logo then large speaker grill. It sounds rather busy but actually looks pretty good in real life.Removing the rear panel is harder work than on other phones but that鈥檚 fine as it is a nice tight fit. On the inside with have space for dual SIM cards, a micro SD card and we can see the battery but not remove it.Although I wasn鈥檛 taken with the design at first I鈥檝e become quite used to it. It is a well put together phone it feels good in the hand and considering it as a package is a joy to use.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – SpecificationsSpecifications are really what make the Asus shine in comparison to the competition. At the current price of around $322 (Coupon code at the end of the review) through resellers there are very few phone that can touch the Zenfone 2. The version of the Asus Zenfone 2 which I have been testing is the ZE551Ml and has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 display, 13 mega-pixel PixelMaster main camera, 1.8Ghz Intel processor, 4GB RAM and 3000mAh battery.Looking at the specifications a little more closely and we find that the main camera has a F2.0 aperture and 178 degree lens plus dual LED flash. The screen is a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 item聽with IPS, there is a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera, LED notification light, and ZENUI runs on Android 5.0.Those are some seriously impressive specifications for a phone of this money and means that the Zenfone 2 is a really great performer.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ScreenI’ve been using the Asus Zenfone 2 in some pretty bright outdoor environments and have been pleasantly surprised at just how legible the device is even in intense sunlight. Interestingly, when indoors and turning the screen brightness up the Zenfone 2 isn’t as bright as say the Meizu MX4 Pro, but it is still easy to read in sunny conditions.In the past I have tested great value flagships, the OnePlus One for example, and have found that overtime the screen can sometimes develop ghost touches. Thankfully this isn’t the case with the Asus Zenfone 2 which remains free of hauntings so far.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – Performance and BenchmarksWith a quad-core, 64bit, 1.8Ghz processor and 4GB RAM you expect blazing performance and that is exactly what you get. In real world situations the Zenfone 2 is lightning fast. Applications open in an instant, the system is fluid, everything just works great. 4GB RAM means that you can multitask to your heart’s content. It might not be a good habit but I’ve had upwards of 20聽applications/windows (browser tabs are displayed as a separate card in the multi-tasking window) running before the system has shown any signs of slowing.As usual I ran a number of benchmarking application of the Asus Zenfone 2, but in all honesty the phone needs to be tried to be believed! It really is a powerhouse of a device!Asus Zenfone 2 benchmarksGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramQuadrant: 16,861GFXBench Manhattan: 712.0GFXBench Manhattan offscreen: 754.9GFXBench T-Rex: 1,494GFXBench T-Rex offscreen: 1,421Vellamo Metal: 1,076Vellamo Multicore: 1,335Vellamo Browser: 2,645Ice Storm Extreme: 18,328Geekbench Single-core Score: 744Geekbench Multi-core Score: 2,257Antutu: 41,077Asus Zenfone 2 benchmarks screenshots Asus Zenfone 2 Review – CameraThe camera on the Asus Zenfone 2 is a real hit and miss unit. Take the phone out on a sunny day and you can really capture some amazing photos. Go out another day in the same conditions and the camera acts like it has a hangover.The 13 megapixel PixelMaster sensor has all the makings of a great unit, F2.0 Aperture, 5 element lens and a feature packed camera application, but so far Asus haven’t been able to optimise it as well as we would have hoped. The camera optimisation issues is another area the Zenfone 2 is comparable to the OPO, and I hope that in future updates we are going to see a vast improvement.Whether the camera performance will bother you though really depends on what you use your camera for. If you just intend to take photos to share through Facebook or Instagram (where their quality will be reduced anyway) the Asus Zenfone 2 is fine. If you want to create larger images to share on your PC then there are certainly better camera phones available, although not at this price.Personally I love a phone with a great camera, it is a feature that I simply cannot live without. So on the one hand I am sometimes a little disappointed with the photos captured, but on the other hand I love the features on offer in the camera application.Features I have used the most are Auto, HDR, and Selfie. Auto is obviously the default setting, HDR really needs to be worked on but in the right conditions it works well. Selfie mode actually uses the main camera to detect faces and shoot a group photo with the 13 mega-pixel sensor, great for family photos.In addition to those settings I have also used聽Super Resolution mode (similar to HD photo on the Oppo N3), Low Light mode (for use within 3 meters of a subject) and Night Mode. I’ve not used them much though as I have that they need some serious improvement.Other camera features include Time Lapse, All Smiles, Smart Remove, Time Rewind, Miniature, Panorama, GIF Animation, Effect and Depth of Field. There probably is enough content here for a review of te Zenfone 2 camera application itself, but for I’ll leave it there for now and post a few photo sample taken with the phone in the gallery below.Asus Zenfone 2 Photo Samples Asus Zenfone 2 review Low light photo sampleI used the camera in the Auto setting for these low-light test, when using the “low-light” or “night” mode the quality is actually worse. Asus Zenfone 2 Review – Audio, Connectivity and BatteryWhen I first received the Asus Zenfone 2 I had issues with GPS when using Strava, but there have been 2 OTA updates since which have solved the issue. Call reception, LTE, WIFI and Bluetooth have all worked trouble-free from the time of receiving the unit and through the various updates.The 3000mAh battery in the phone, I feel, is pretty good. Other reports have said that the battery life is poor, but I have not experienced this. Earlier in my time with the phone I managed to get through almost a full day of use with my LG G Watch connected, and WIFI, LTE and GPS on constantly under review conditions. This morning I woke with 15% power left after a full day of use yesterday including over a 2 hour bike ride with Strava running, and music streaming over LTE via Google Music!Sound quality through the receiver is loud and clear, audio through headphones is very good, but not up to the standard set by Vivo and Oppo, and the rear speaker isn’t bad either too.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ZenUIAsus quite simple cannot make a good-looking operating system. ZenUI is easily the ugliest ROM I have ever used in my life! If it hadn’t been so smooth and feature packed I’m sure I would have stopped using the Zenfone 2 way back. The developers at Asus quite clearly have some amazing ideas and they have stuffed a lot in to the operating system, but where they fail is on presentation. It doesn’t have the nice flat icons of other ROMs, and the UI doesn’t flow from app to app or menu to menu. A cleaner more polished ROM would greatly improve the user experience, however if you can get past the looks the ROM is some really nice features.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ConclusionThe Asus Zenfone 2, in my opinion, is the OnePlus One of 2015 (until the OP2 is released). It is a absolute bargain of a phone when you see what the phone has to offer for the money, but has fewer issues than the OnePlus phone.It might not be the best in terms of looks and camera performance but the building blocks are all there and with continued updates (Asus are rolling them out quite frequently) we are should see improved camera performance and you can always use a launcher if you don’t like the UI.The only major drawback of the Asus Zenfone 2 I can see is app compatibility. I’ve heard that Here maps won’t work with the Intel chipset for example and never will. This is a downer as I did tend to use Here quite often, but it is the only app that I’ve had to sacrifice so far, and it’s not a huge deal.Asus were once a brand I simply ignored but after using the Zenfone 2 I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the phone, and what their next devices are going to offer.The Asus Zenfone aimed to disrupt the phone market and I believe they鈥檝e done a sterling job. Here is our full review of the Asus Zenfone 2.Asus knew what was needed to grab headlines when announcing their new flagship phone. First of all they went and gave their new device a whopping 4GB RAM, then they gave it an affordable price and finally great availability with the device already on sale, or launching soon, in markets around the world.For us at GizChina.com we were excited to get our hands on the Asus Zenfone 2 for a few reasons. We wanted to see what 4GB RAM really means in the real world, and we wanted to see if Asus had finally produced a phone truly worth getting excited about. Keep reading for full details.Asus Zenfone 2 – First impressionsAsus Zenfone 2 Review – DesignI鈥檓 not going to beat around the bush, the Zenfone 2 isn鈥檛 the best looking phone on the market today. Going from the luxurious Xiaomi Mi Note to the chunky, plastic Asus certainly felt like a downgrade, but once I got to grips with the device I soon forgot about the looks.Made of plastic with chunky bezels and a removable rear panel, there is nothing revolutionary about the design of the Zenfone 2. It is clear to me that Asus took inspiration from HTC and LG when designing their device, and while it might not feel as premium as the G3 or M9 it doesn鈥檛 feel poorly made either.There are no creaks or groans from the material when under pressure and everything fits nice and flush.On the front we have a 5.5-inch FHD display with navigations buttons on a bar above an empty chin area. Removing the chin would greatly reduce the length of the Asus Zenfone 2, and would improve the front end looks no end too, but I suppose these are changes to look forward to in the next-gen model.An Asus logo on the front isn鈥檛 to my taste either and reminds me of phone designs of old, but I suppose Asus are proud of their phone and want to ensure everyone knows who put it together.The sides are very thin thanks to a generous curve to the removable back panel. Even with it鈥檚 wider bezels the smooth rear fits in to your hand easily, although I do struggle now and then when reaching across the screen with my thumb. As Asus have located the power button at the top in the middle and the volume rocker on the rear there are no buttons on either side. The only details we find are the power button and 3.5mm headphone jack at the very top and USB in the base.That brushed metal finish isn鈥檛 actually metal but a nice pattern on a plastic panel. Starting at the top we have a very bright dual tone LED flash, then 13 mega-pixel main camera, volume control, another Asus logo, an Intel logo then large speaker grill. It sounds rather busy but actually looks pretty good in real life.Removing the rear panel is harder work than on other phones but that鈥檚 fine as it is a nice tight fit. On the inside with have space for dual SIM cards, a micro SD card and we can see the battery but not remove it.Although I wasn鈥檛 taken with the design at first I鈥檝e become quite used to it. It is a well put together phone it feels good in the hand and considering it as a package is a joy to use.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – SpecificationsSpecifications are really what make the Asus shine in comparison to the competition. At the current price of around $322 (Coupon code at the end of the review) through resellers there are very few phone that can touch the Zenfone 2. The version of the Asus Zenfone 2 which I have been testing is the ZE551Ml and has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 display, 13 mega-pixel PixelMaster main camera, 1.8Ghz Intel processor, 4GB RAM and 3000mAh battery.Looking at the specifications a little more closely and we find that the main camera has a F2.0 aperture and 178 degree lens plus dual LED flash. The screen is a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 item聽with IPS, there is a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera, LED notification light, and ZENUI runs on Android 5.0.Those are some seriously impressive specifications for a phone of this money and means that the Zenfone 2 is a really great performer.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ScreenI’ve been using the Asus Zenfone 2 in some pretty bright outdoor environments and have been pleasantly surprised at just how legible the device is even in intense sunlight. Interestingly, when indoors and turning the screen brightness up the Zenfone 2 isn’t as bright as say the Meizu MX4 Pro, but it is still easy to read in sunny conditions.In the past I have tested great value flagships, the OnePlus One for example, and have found that overtime the screen can sometimes develop ghost touches. Thankfully this isn’t the case with the Asus Zenfone 2 which remains free of hauntings so far.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – Performance and BenchmarksWith a quad-core, 64bit, 1.8Ghz processor and 4GB RAM you expect blazing performance and that is exactly what you get. In real world situations the Zenfone 2 is lightning fast. Applications open in an instant, the system is fluid, everything just works great. 4GB RAM means that you can multitask to your heart’s content. It might not be a good habit but I’ve had upwards of 20聽applications/windows (browser tabs are displayed as a separate card in the multi-tasking window) running before the system has shown any signs of slowing.As usual I ran a number of benchmarking application of the Asus Zenfone 2, but in all honesty the phone needs to be tried to be believed! It really is a powerhouse of a device!Asus Zenfone 2 benchmarksGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramQuadrant: 16,861GFXBench Manhattan: 712.0GFXBench Manhattan offscreen: 754.9GFXBench T-Rex: 1,494GFXBench T-Rex offscreen: 1,421Vellamo Metal: 1,076Vellamo Multicore: 1,335Vellamo Browser: 2,645Ice Storm Extreme: 18,328Geekbench Single-core Score: 744Geekbench Multi-core Score: 2,257Antutu: 41,077Asus Zenfone 2 benchmarks screenshots Asus Zenfone 2 Review – CameraThe camera on the Asus Zenfone 2 is a real hit and miss unit. Take the phone out on a sunny day and you can really capture some amazing photos. Go out another day in the same conditions and the camera acts like it has a hangover.The 13 megapixel PixelMaster sensor has all the makings of a great unit, F2.0 Aperture, 5 element lens and a feature packed camera application, but so far Asus haven’t been able to optimise it as well as we would have hoped. The camera optimisation issues is another area the Zenfone 2 is comparable to the OPO, and I hope that in future updates we are going to see a vast improvement.Whether the camera performance will bother you though really depends on what you use your camera for. If you just intend to take photos to share through Facebook or Instagram (where their quality will be reduced anyway) the Asus Zenfone 2 is fine. If you want to create larger images to share on your PC then there are certainly better camera phones available, although not at this price.Personally I love a phone with a great camera, it is a feature that I simply cannot live without. So on the one hand I am sometimes a little disappointed with the photos captured, but on the other hand I love the features on offer in the camera application.Features I have used the most are Auto, HDR, and Selfie. Auto is obviously the default setting, HDR really needs to be worked on but in the right conditions it works well. Selfie mode actually uses the main camera to detect faces and shoot a group photo with the 13 mega-pixel sensor, great for family photos.In addition to those settings I have also used聽Super Resolution mode (similar to HD photo on the Oppo N3), Low Light mode (for use within 3 meters of a subject) and Night Mode. I’ve not used them much though as I have that they need some serious improvement.Other camera features include Time Lapse, All Smiles, Smart Remove, Time Rewind, Miniature, Panorama, GIF Animation, Effect and Depth of Field. There probably is enough content here for a review of te Zenfone 2 camera application itself, but for I’ll leave it there for now and post a few photo sample taken with the phone in the gallery below.Asus Zenfone 2 Photo Samples Asus Zenfone 2 review Low light photo sampleI used the camera in the Auto setting for these low-light test, when using the “low-light” or “night” mode the quality is actually worse. Asus Zenfone 2 Review – Audio, Connectivity and BatteryWhen I first received the Asus Zenfone 2 I had issues with GPS when using Strava, but there have been 2 OTA updates since which have solved the issue. Call reception, LTE, WIFI and Bluetooth have all worked trouble-free from the time of receiving the unit and through the various updates.The 3000mAh battery in the phone, I feel, is pretty good. Other reports have said that the battery life is poor, but I have not experienced this. Earlier in my time with the phone I managed to get through almost a full day of use with my LG G Watch connected, and WIFI, LTE and GPS on constantly under review conditions. This morning I woke with 15% power left after a full day of use yesterday including over a 2 hour bike ride with Strava running, and music streaming over LTE via Google Music!Sound quality through the receiver is loud and clear, audio through headphones is very good, but not up to the standard set by Vivo and Oppo, and the rear speaker isn’t bad either too.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ZenUIAsus quite simple cannot make a good-looking operating system. ZenUI is easily the ugliest ROM I have ever used in my life! If it hadn’t been so smooth and feature packed I’m sure I would have stopped using the Zenfone 2 way back. The developers at Asus quite clearly have some amazing ideas and they have stuffed a lot in to the operating system, but where they fail is on presentation. It doesn’t have the nice flat icons of other ROMs, and the UI doesn’t flow from app to app or menu to menu. A cleaner more polished ROM would greatly improve the user experience, however if you can get past the looks the ROM is some really nice features.Asus Zenfone 2 Review – ConclusionThe Asus Zenfone 2, in my opinion, is the OnePlus One of 2015 (until the OP2 is released). It is a absolute bargain of a phone when you see what the phone has to offer for the money, but has fewer issues than the OnePlus phone.It might not be the best in terms of looks and camera performance but the building blocks are all there and with continued updates (Asus are rolling them out quite frequently) we are should see improved camera performance and you can always use a launcher if you don’t like the UI.The only major drawback of the Asus Zenfone 2 I can see is app compatibility. I’ve heard that Here maps won’t work with the Intel chipset for example and never will. This is a downer as I did tend to use Here quite often, but it is the only app that I’ve had to sacrifice so far, and it’s not a huge deal.Asus were once a brand I simply ignored but after using the Zenfone 2 I cannot wait to see what they have in store for the phone, and what their next devices are going to offer.By late 2014, things in the Chinese smartphone industry had started getting monotonous. It was the usual MT6592/82 phone that launched every other day, had a mediocre camera and sucked with battery life. A change was needed quite desperately, and MediaTek delivered; if there鈥檚 a perfect use of the idiom 鈥榮trike when the iron is still hot鈥? this was it. MediaTek came out with the MT6595 and variants thereof.The Meizu MX4 was the first to sport the all-new MediaTek chip. Performance, especially graphics, was lauded and MediaTek was finally a 鈥榤ainstream鈥 fabricator. However, the excitement around the MT6595 didn鈥檛 last too long after the new MT67xx series of 64-bit chips was announced. And that, it turns out, was the stuff worth waiting for.The first few MT6732 phones impressed. One of them happens to be the Elephone P6000, which is still among my most favourite phones — certainly in the top 3 this year. The MT6732 is a quad-core 64-bit CPU, whereas the successor to that, the MT6752 has eight cores, again 64-bit.The Ecoo Aurora was among the first phones to get the MT6752, but it first came with 2GB RAM. Ecoo took their own time in delivering the Aurora Plus, i.e., 3GB RAM version of the phone. But it happens to be quite a good one!Ecoo E04 Plus Review: Design and buildDesign, in the Chinese tech world, is a rather unique experience. Phones from OPPO, Vivo, Meizu, and up to a certain extent, even Xiaomi can look VERY different from what you get to see usually鈥 on the other hand, devices from newcomers and very 鈥楥hinese鈥 brands such as Elephone, Umi, etc. can often have a very generic taste. Thankfully though, that鈥檚 changing, and fast!The Ecoo Aurora doesn鈥檛 have the best looking design, or one that would stand out from the rest. The phone is of the bar form and has a bit of Samsung in it (home button). It does feel very good in the hands though, but that is a different story altogether. Metallic edges on the sides aren鈥檛 really metal, or so it appears to me. From a couple of feet away, the edges can easily fool you into believing they鈥檙e made out of metal. Despite that, there鈥檚 a few things that work in favour of the phone.For one, the device has a lovely heft to it. That is perhaps one major contributor to the 鈥榝eel good鈥 factor of the phone. Also, the curved glass (curved on the edges) on the front gives the phone a polished look. It certainly doesn鈥檛 鈥榣ook鈥 like a sub-$200 phone!Last but not least, the rear of the phone has a woven cloth sort of a texture to it鈥 this adds to the 鈥榥ot-so-generic鈥 aspect of the phone, and also provides much needed grip.I鈥檝e managed to drop the phone a few times (all unintentional, from a maximum height of around 4 feet) and there isn鈥檛 much on the body that tells, apart from a little blemish on the top left corner. And you have to look REALLY hard to spot that. So, I鈥檇 say, the Ecoo Aurora is pretty well put together, although you might feel otherwise on the first look.Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽Components and performanceStandard display made to look better by softwareThe 5.5-inch screen on the Ecoo E04 Aurora Plus is what you鈥檙e going to notice first. It is a full HD (1920 x 1080p) panel, with some decent picture quality but yet far from ground-breaking. It is one of those panels that look like a 720p display than anything else, and the resolution remains a number more than anything else.However, the MiraVision technology that appears on these MT67xx phones seems to help quite a bit. I鈥檝e found myself to be a sucker for greater saturation on displays, and MiraVision鈥檚 Dynamic Contrast setting helps with regards to bringing up the saturation by a bit. It can be thought of as HDR for displays.The powerful MediaTek MT6752 needs no introduction, I believe. The SoC has appeared on some other phones in the past, such as the iOcean Rock, Siswoo Cooper i7, etc. and has proven its mettle. The octa-core 64-bit SoC feels almost as snappy as a Snapdragon 801, and to think of the price difference between devices powered by those processors (usually around $150) goes to show how good a job MediaTek have done with the MT6752.Multitaskers’ havenThe phone comes with 3GB of RAM, which although doesn鈥檛 provide any performance benefits as such, certainly improves the user experience when a lot of apps are being used at once. 2GB was enough at a point in time, but that was before we were presented with 3GB RAM phones.The MT6752 + 3GB RAM combo is certainly something I can live with. My main phone is an ageing Xiaomi Mi 4, and with time, I think it鈥檒l make a shift to one of these MT6752/MT6795 phones with 3GB RAM.Coming back to the Ecoo, the phone is one made for multitaskers. The AOSP ROM doesn鈥檛 take up much resources, and you鈥檙e free to tinker with it as much as you please. Firing up a tonne of apps all at once isn鈥檛 a problem, unless of course they鈥檙e hardcore games.The phone comes with 16GB of on-board storage, which is expandable via microSD. I鈥檓 not really among those that watch movies and such, but on the Ecoo I did find myself spending time on YouTube before going to bed. That is one advantage of a phablet (I鈥檝e been a devout sub-5鈥 smartphone supporter for a while) that one has to acknowledge!One gripe that I have with the display, however, is that it is a bit too bright even at the lowest settings. Reading in the dark is therefore not very easy on the eyes. Also, the backlit buttons feels a bit too bright — and there鈥檚 no way to turn them off.Performance monsterI鈥檝e spoken about how well the phone manages things when multiple apps are run at once. What about performance per se? I鈥檇 say the Ecoo E04 Plus is one of the most fastest MediaTek phones I鈥檝e used lately (and this includes the Gionee Elife S7). General usage such as UI transitions, etc., feel as snappy as say, the OnePlus One.During more than two weeks of usage, never did I come across any sort of stuttering or lag while usage. This goes to show just how much Chinese phones have progressed in the past one year or so!In general, it is hard to find complaints in the performance department of this phone. Please note what鈥檚 being documented was carried out while the phone was running the stock KitKat ROM. A Lollipop ROM is out on the Ecoo website, which can be downloaded from ecoo.hk.AudioGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramI don鈥檛 know if it was a fault in the unit or a standard feature, but the Ecoo E04 Plus we tested has a very, very poor audio output from the main external speaker. Also, it is a mono speaker鈥 although the design does attempt to fool you into believing otherwise.The volume is REALLY low. It is low enough to render the unit unusable — and this includes loudspeaker calls.Thankfully though, the audio from the 3.5mm jack isn鈥檛 half as bad. The YouTube part was enjoyable only because of this鈥 in all fairness, the Ecoo E04 Plus produces some lovely audio from the 3.5mm jack!Decent battery lifeI don鈥檛 know why, but my mind keeps comparing this to the OnePlus One鈥 and that鈥檚 probably a good thing because the Ecoo E04 Plus is available invite free! (excuse me for the pun).The device is listed to have a 3,000mAh battery. More often than not, Chinese OEMs slap a greater number on the battery sticker than the actual capacity, and that does seem to be the case on the Ecoo E04 Plus also. I鈥檓 not sure about the exact real capacity. But on the other hand, the battery life delivered by whatever size the battery is, is pretty good indeed.Of course, as always, there鈥檒l be the customary 鈥榙epending on your usage鈥 part that鈥檒l apply to battery life. In general, it is very easy to go through one day on the Ecoo E04 Plus on a single charge, especially if you don鈥檛 do a lot of gaming. Even with casual gaming, one day is no daunting task.SOT (screen on time) is one of my favourite metrics to measure a phone鈥檚 battery life. On the Ecoo E04 Plus, I was returned with over 5 hours of SOT which isn鈥檛 bad by any means. 6 hours is what I would call really good, but 5 to 5 and a half hours is not far away from that.WirelessThe phone has a very good WiFi antenna. It isn鈥檛 something out of the world, but is among the better WiFi phones out there鈥 performance for me was at par (and sometimes a little better) than the Xiaomi Mi 4.GPS also works fine on the E04 Plus, but isn鈥檛 as impressive as the WiFi performance. During a recent visit to another city, the E04 Plus got easily outdone by the Xiaomi Mi 4. It doesn鈥檛 take a lot of time to get a GPS lock, but then it kind of 鈥榮kips鈥 sections on the map when you鈥檙e on the move.A camera that could鈥檝e been betterI have to admit, the Ecoo E04 Plus caught me off guard. I didn鈥檛 really expect it to be as good as it is鈥 and that鈥檚 also why I expected better camera performance from the phone. It isn鈥檛 the worst, but I think the camera app (and the underlying system) lacks some sheen.The phone uses a 16 mega-pixel sensor (pretty sure extrapolated鈥 from 8MP? 13MP?), and you generally expect a number as impressive looking as that to churn out some mind blowing photos. Unfortunately that isn鈥檛 the case with the E04 Plus. I mean, the photos 鈥榙o the job鈥? but nothing more. Also, it suffers from a lack of sharp focus like many phones that come from its home country.Another generic trait the camera seems to have is the ability to take some crazy macro shots. I mean, I have no clue why other mainstream phones aren鈥檛 able to take macros from as up close as these Chinese phones do. Kudos!Take a look at a few photos taken on the phone to see how it performs Fingerprint sensor that ACTUALLY works!Up until now, the only Chinese phone I鈥檝e tested that had a fingerprint sensor was the Elephone P5000. To sum it up in one word, the sensor was crap. The E04 Plus, however, has a MUCH better fingerprint sensor, which actually makes your phone not only a lot more secure, but also makes it convenient for you to unlock the screen.I鈥檝e had no problems with the sensor whatsoever in the prolonged use. Unwillingly, I happened to use the phone with oily hands right after a heavy meal, and the sensor still worked (although I wouldn鈥檛 recommend you doing that). There however was a little issue for a short duration once when the fingerprint reader controller seemed to stop working. A quick reboot fixed the issue, and it hasn鈥檛 reappeared since.The entire fingerprint 鈥榯hing鈥 is controlled by an app. What is cool is that the E04 Plus can learn up to 10 fingerprints, each of which can be either assigned to simply unlock the screen, or bind to an app. I usually just use my right thumb to unlock the screen (fastest way for me), but if you tend to use a particular app a lot, it wouldn鈥檛 be a bad idea to assign a finger for that app. Pretty neat!Right after the performance, the fingerprint reader is my favourite feature of the E04 Plus!Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽ROM The E04 Plus ships with an almost untouched vanilla Android ROM. Thankfully, Chinese OEMs have realized that is the call of the hour; heavily (and often tastelessly) modded Android ROMs do more harm than good.The additions that come with the phone are in form of apps. This includes the aforementioned app that handles fingerprints and a smart wake app (for features such as double tap to wake, gestures, etc.).Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽VerdictThe Ecoo E04 Plus is touted as the world鈥檚 cheapest 3GB RAM phone. When there鈥檚 a 鈥榗heapest xyz phone鈥 tag associated with a device, it is usually a marketing gimmick; in this case, we鈥檙e happy to report, it isn鈥檛.The E04 Plus is well built, performs like a pro and offers fingerprint security — all for under $200 shipped. Now, that is a lot of smartphone for not a lot of money!By late 2014, things in the Chinese smartphone industry had started getting monotonous. It was the usual MT6592/82 phone that launched every other day, had a mediocre camera and sucked with battery life. A change was needed quite desperately, and MediaTek delivered; if there鈥檚 a perfect use of the idiom 鈥榮trike when the iron is still hot鈥? this was it. MediaTek came out with the MT6595 and variants thereof.The Meizu MX4 was the first to sport the all-new MediaTek chip. Performance, especially graphics, was lauded and MediaTek was finally a 鈥榤ainstream鈥 fabricator. However, the excitement around the MT6595 didn鈥檛 last too long after the new MT67xx series of 64-bit chips was announced. And that, it turns out, was the stuff worth waiting for.The first few MT6732 phones impressed. One of them happens to be the Elephone P6000, which is still among my most favourite phones — certainly in the top 3 this year. The MT6732 is a quad-core 64-bit CPU, whereas the successor to that, the MT6752 has eight cores, again 64-bit.The Ecoo Aurora was among the first phones to get the MT6752, but it first came with 2GB RAM. Ecoo took their own time in delivering the Aurora Plus, i.e., 3GB RAM version of the phone. But it happens to be quite a good one!Ecoo E04 Plus Review: Design and buildDesign, in the Chinese tech world, is a rather unique experience. Phones from OPPO, Vivo, Meizu, and up to a certain extent, even Xiaomi can look VERY different from what you get to see usually鈥 on the other hand, devices from newcomers and very 鈥楥hinese鈥 brands such as Elephone, Umi, etc. can often have a very generic taste. Thankfully though, that鈥檚 changing, and fast!The Ecoo Aurora doesn鈥檛 have the best looking design, or one that would stand out from the rest. The phone is of the bar form and has a bit of Samsung in it (home button). It does feel very good in the hands though, but that is a different story altogether. Metallic edges on the sides aren鈥檛 really metal, or so it appears to me. From a couple of feet away, the edges can easily fool you into believing they鈥檙e made out of metal. Despite that, there鈥檚 a few things that work in favour of the phone.For one, the device has a lovely heft to it. That is perhaps one major contributor to the 鈥榝eel good鈥 factor of the phone. Also, the curved glass (curved on the edges) on the front gives the phone a polished look. It certainly doesn鈥檛 鈥榣ook鈥 like a sub-$200 phone!Last but not least, the rear of the phone has a woven cloth sort of a texture to it鈥 this adds to the 鈥榥ot-so-generic鈥 aspect of the phone, and also provides much needed grip.I鈥檝e managed to drop the phone a few times (all unintentional, from a maximum height of around 4 feet) and there isn鈥檛 much on the body that tells, apart from a little blemish on the top left corner. And you have to look REALLY hard to spot that. So, I鈥檇 say, the Ecoo Aurora is pretty well put together, although you might feel otherwise on the first look.Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽Components and performanceStandard display made to look better by softwareThe 5.5-inch screen on the Ecoo E04 Aurora Plus is what you鈥檙e going to notice first. It is a full HD (1920 x 1080p) panel, with some decent picture quality but yet far from ground-breaking. It is one of those panels that look like a 720p display than anything else, and the resolution remains a number more than anything else.However, the MiraVision technology that appears on these MT67xx phones seems to help quite a bit. I鈥檝e found myself to be a sucker for greater saturation on displays, and MiraVision鈥檚 Dynamic Contrast setting helps with regards to bringing up the saturation by a bit. It can be thought of as HDR for displays.The powerful MediaTek MT6752 needs no introduction, I believe. The SoC has appeared on some other phones in the past, such as the iOcean Rock, Siswoo Cooper i7, etc. and has proven its mettle. The octa-core 64-bit SoC feels almost as snappy as a Snapdragon 801, and to think of the price difference between devices powered by those processors (usually around $150) goes to show how good a job MediaTek have done with the MT6752.Multitaskers’ havenThe phone comes with 3GB of RAM, which although doesn鈥檛 provide any performance benefits as such, certainly improves the user experience when a lot of apps are being used at once. 2GB was enough at a point in time, but that was before we were presented with 3GB RAM phones.The MT6752 + 3GB RAM combo is certainly something I can live with. My main phone is an ageing Xiaomi Mi 4, and with time, I think it鈥檒l make a shift to one of these MT6752/MT6795 phones with 3GB RAM.Coming back to the Ecoo, the phone is one made for multitaskers. The AOSP ROM doesn鈥檛 take up much resources, and you鈥檙e free to tinker with it as much as you please. Firing up a tonne of apps all at once isn鈥檛 a problem, unless of course they鈥檙e hardcore games.The phone comes with 16GB of on-board storage, which is expandable via microSD. I鈥檓 not really among those that watch movies and such, but on the Ecoo I did find myself spending time on YouTube before going to bed. That is one advantage of a phablet (I鈥檝e been a devout sub-5鈥 smartphone supporter for a while) that one has to acknowledge!One gripe that I have with the display, however, is that it is a bit too bright even at the lowest settings. Reading in the dark is therefore not very easy on the eyes. Also, the backlit buttons feels a bit too bright — and there鈥檚 no way to turn them off.Performance monsterI鈥檝e spoken about how well the phone manages things when multiple apps are run at once. What about performance per se? I鈥檇 say the Ecoo E04 Plus is one of the most fastest MediaTek phones I鈥檝e used lately (and this includes the Gionee Elife S7). General usage such as UI transitions, etc., feel as snappy as say, the OnePlus One.During more than two weeks of usage, never did I come across any sort of stuttering or lag while usage. This goes to show just how much Chinese phones have progressed in the past one year or so!In general, it is hard to find complaints in the performance department of this phone. Please note what鈥檚 being documented was carried out while the phone was running the stock KitKat ROM. A Lollipop ROM is out on the Ecoo website, which can be downloaded from ecoo.hk.AudioGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramI don鈥檛 know if it was a fault in the unit or a standard feature, but the Ecoo E04 Plus we tested has a very, very poor audio output from the main external speaker. Also, it is a mono speaker鈥 although the design does attempt to fool you into believing otherwise.The volume is REALLY low. It is low enough to render the unit unusable — and this includes loudspeaker calls.Thankfully though, the audio from the 3.5mm jack isn鈥檛 half as bad. The YouTube part was enjoyable only because of this鈥 in all fairness, the Ecoo E04 Plus produces some lovely audio from the 3.5mm jack!Decent battery lifeI don鈥檛 know why, but my mind keeps comparing this to the OnePlus One鈥 and that鈥檚 probably a good thing because the Ecoo E04 Plus is available invite free! (excuse me for the pun).The device is listed to have a 3,000mAh battery. More often than not, Chinese OEMs slap a greater number on the battery sticker than the actual capacity, and that does seem to be the case on the Ecoo E04 Plus also. I鈥檓 not sure about the exact real capacity. But on the other hand, the battery life delivered by whatever size the battery is, is pretty good indeed.Of course, as always, there鈥檒l be the customary 鈥榙epending on your usage鈥 part that鈥檒l apply to battery life. In general, it is very easy to go through one day on the Ecoo E04 Plus on a single charge, especially if you don鈥檛 do a lot of gaming. Even with casual gaming, one day is no daunting task.SOT (screen on time) is one of my favourite metrics to measure a phone鈥檚 battery life. On the Ecoo E04 Plus, I was returned with over 5 hours of SOT which isn鈥檛 bad by any means. 6 hours is what I would call really good, but 5 to 5 and a half hours is not far away from that.WirelessThe phone has a very good WiFi antenna. It isn鈥檛 something out of the world, but is among the better WiFi phones out there鈥 performance for me was at par (and sometimes a little better) than the Xiaomi Mi 4.GPS also works fine on the E04 Plus, but isn鈥檛 as impressive as the WiFi performance. During a recent visit to another city, the E04 Plus got easily outdone by the Xiaomi Mi 4. It doesn鈥檛 take a lot of time to get a GPS lock, but then it kind of 鈥榮kips鈥 sections on the map when you鈥檙e on the move.A camera that could鈥檝e been betterI have to admit, the Ecoo E04 Plus caught me off guard. I didn鈥檛 really expect it to be as good as it is鈥 and that鈥檚 also why I expected better camera performance from the phone. It isn鈥檛 the worst, but I think the camera app (and the underlying system) lacks some sheen.The phone uses a 16 mega-pixel sensor (pretty sure extrapolated鈥 from 8MP? 13MP?), and you generally expect a number as impressive looking as that to churn out some mind blowing photos. Unfortunately that isn鈥檛 the case with the E04 Plus. I mean, the photos 鈥榙o the job鈥? but nothing more. Also, it suffers from a lack of sharp focus like many phones that come from its home country.Another generic trait the camera seems to have is the ability to take some crazy macro shots. I mean, I have no clue why other mainstream phones aren鈥檛 able to take macros from as up close as these Chinese phones do. Kudos!Take a look at a few photos taken on the phone to see how it performs Fingerprint sensor that ACTUALLY works!Up until now, the only Chinese phone I鈥檝e tested that had a fingerprint sensor was the Elephone P5000. To sum it up in one word, the sensor was crap. The E04 Plus, however, has a MUCH better fingerprint sensor, which actually makes your phone not only a lot more secure, but also makes it convenient for you to unlock the screen.I鈥檝e had no problems with the sensor whatsoever in the prolonged use. Unwillingly, I happened to use the phone with oily hands right after a heavy meal, and the sensor still worked (although I wouldn鈥檛 recommend you doing that). There however was a little issue for a short duration once when the fingerprint reader controller seemed to stop working. A quick reboot fixed the issue, and it hasn鈥檛 reappeared since.The entire fingerprint 鈥榯hing鈥 is controlled by an app. What is cool is that the E04 Plus can learn up to 10 fingerprints, each of which can be either assigned to simply unlock the screen, or bind to an app. I usually just use my right thumb to unlock the screen (fastest way for me), but if you tend to use a particular app a lot, it wouldn鈥檛 be a bad idea to assign a finger for that app. Pretty neat!Right after the performance, the fingerprint reader is my favourite feature of the E04 Plus!Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽ROM The E04 Plus ships with an almost untouched vanilla Android ROM. Thankfully, Chinese OEMs have realized that is the call of the hour; heavily (and often tastelessly) modded Android ROMs do more harm than good.The additions that come with the phone are in form of apps. This includes the aforementioned app that handles fingerprints and a smart wake app (for features such as double tap to wake, gestures, etc.).Ecoo E04 Plus Review:聽VerdictThe Ecoo E04 Plus is touted as the world鈥檚 cheapest 3GB RAM phone. When there鈥檚 a 鈥榗heapest xyz phone鈥 tag associated with a device, it is usually a marketing gimmick; in this case, we鈥檙e happy to report, it isn鈥檛.The E04 Plus is well built, performs like a pro and offers fingerprint security — all for under $200 shipped. Now, that is a lot of smartphone for not a lot of money!

The Asus Zenfone 2 is a big deal for Asus and for smartphone fans around the world. Our review model just arrived yesterday, and here is our hands on video and first impressions.The Asus Zenfone 2 is a big deal for the Chinese smartphone market, and a phone that has the potential to really disrupt the market. Not only is it an affordable device, but it also boasts impressive hardware and almost official global availability! I see the Zenfone 2 as the Asus answer to the OnePlus One, but this isn’t a plucky startup, but a traditional PC maker which could have even more important repercusions on the smartphone market.Asus really broke the mould with the Zenfone 2, usually a phone boasting such impressive hardware at a low price is available just in China, but Asus have made the effort to release the phone in China, Taiwan, Europe, India and have more launches on the way.I received my review model from Flosmall鑱絯ith free shipping thrown in. At this price there isn’t much that can touch the Zenfone 2.If you don’t already know the specifications then here is a brief run down. The Asus Zenfone 2 boasts a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, 5 mega-pixel front camera, 13 mega-pixel rear, dual SIM LTE, micro SD card, 4GB RAM (yes 4GB), 32GB internal memory, Intel processor, and Asus’ own UI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.That’s a lot of phone for the money!Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram The design of the Asus Zenfone 2 might not be the prettiest though. Asus have taken design elements from HTC and LTE when creating their phone, but the overall buid is good and it looks like a quality device, especially with the brushed alloy look rear panel. I’ve only had the phone since yesterday, but so far I am enjoying the device much more than I had though I would. I’ll admit that the design isn’t my favourite, and the Asus UI is a bit ugly, but installing a 3rd party launcher will solve that.Asus Zenfone 2 Photo samples Asus Zenfone 2 Hands onAsus Zenfone 2 first impressionsI believe the Zenfone 2 is a very impressive device from a company who have, up until now, struggled to break in to the phone market. Asus now have a device accessible by a large majority of phone users, at a price that is incredible for the specs on offer.If they could tap in to the developer community, and offer the phone as a lifestyle product rather than just a flagship smartphone we could really see Asus turn themselves around. If the Zenfone 2 is a sign of Asus phones to come, then I will certainly be keeping a close eye on them from now on.The Asus Zenfone 2 is a big deal for Asus and for smartphone fans around the world. Our review model just arrived yesterday, and here is our hands on video and first impressions.The Asus Zenfone 2 is a big deal for the Chinese smartphone market, and a phone that has the potential to really disrupt the market. Not only is it an affordable device, but it also boasts impressive hardware and almost official global availability! I see the Zenfone 2 as the Asus answer to the OnePlus One, but this isn’t a plucky startup, but a traditional PC maker which could have even more important repercusions on the smartphone market.Asus really broke the mould with the Zenfone 2, usually a phone boasting such impressive hardware at a low price is available just in China, but Asus have made the effort to release the phone in China, Taiwan, Europe, India and have more launches on the way.I received my review model from Flosmall鑱絯ith free shipping thrown in. At this price there isn’t much that can touch the Zenfone 2.If you don’t already know the specifications then here is a brief run down. The Asus Zenfone 2 boasts a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 Corning Gorilla Glass 3 display, 5 mega-pixel front camera, 13 mega-pixel rear, dual SIM LTE, micro SD card, 4GB RAM (yes 4GB), 32GB internal memory, Intel processor, and Asus’ own UI based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.That’s a lot of phone for the money!Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram The design of the Asus Zenfone 2 might not be the prettiest though. Asus have taken design elements from HTC and LTE when creating their phone, but the overall buid is good and it looks like a quality device, especially with the brushed alloy look rear panel. I’ve only had the phone since yesterday, but so far I am enjoying the device much more than I had though I would. I’ll admit that the design isn’t my favourite, and the Asus UI is a bit ugly, but installing a 3rd party launcher will solve that.Asus Zenfone 2 Photo samples Asus Zenfone 2 Hands onAsus Zenfone 2 first impressionsI believe the Zenfone 2 is a very impressive device from a company who have, up until now, struggled to break in to the phone market. Asus now have a device accessible by a large majority of phone users, at a price that is incredible for the specs on offer.If they could tap in to the developer community, and offer the phone as a lifestyle product rather than just a flagship smartphone we could really see Asus turn themselves around. If the Zenfone 2 is a sign of Asus phones to come, then I will certainly be keeping a close eye on them from now on.

The UMi Hammer is on sale right now, but we have been lucky enough to have a sample on test for a few weeks. Keep reading for our hands on UMi Hammer review.UMi are taking a different approach to the Android phone market. While some companies are happy to launch device after device, UMi have been slow and steady. After the release of the UMi Zero, the team behind the brand have worked on building a community, forums, alternate ROMS and even a one click flash tool called Rootjoy. Now that the pieces are in place new phones are coming!UMi Hammer Review: First ImpressionsUMi Hammer Review: DesignThe design of the UMi Hammer might appear to be similar to a few other devices on the market. It looks just like the Doogee Ibizia F2, which in turn looks like the Vivo Xshot. It’s interesting that UMi and Doogee have gone for the Xshot look, it’s a nice looking phone, a good size and only those of us in the know will realise it’s a clone of the Vivo camera phone.UMi promise the UMi Hammer to he durable, hard-hitting phone suitable for active people enjoying live. An strong alloy chassis forms the foundation of the device, while a “double glass” screens with Corning Gorilla Glass protection keep the display safe.To be honest I was a little sceptical about UMi’s claims of the Hammer being a durable phone. Even after watching a few video’s testing the strength I wasn’t convinced, it all looked a little staged. The only wat to be sure was test for myself, I wasn’t disappointed!UMi Hammer Smash TestAs you can see in the video the phone isn’t indestructible, but it will take a hell of a lot of abuse and still remain functioning. Even after all that all our test model needs is a new front panel and it will be as good as new (well except the dings and scratches). Looking around the phone there is nothing really to indicate that this is a tougher than average device. There are no rubber bumpers, there are is no鑱絙ulky protection, just a good strong chassis with tough glass and simple plastic rear.A few of you have asked if the Hammer is waterproof. UMi don’t claim it is, and I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it will be. The plugs are standard phone plugs with no seals and the rear panel is removable to access the battery, dual SIM and SD card slot. So don’t buy this for water skiing, choose it for sky diving instead.Last few details. No the Hammer does not have back-lit navigation buttons, but it does have a very bright LED notification light.UMi Hammer Review: SpecificationsThe UMi Hammer costs $139.99 to international buyers which put’s it up against the current crop of 64bit LTE phones running Mediatek processors. Thankfully UMi have kept their specification in check and kept the hardware on par with competing models.A 5-inch HD 1280 x 720 display is more than acceptable at this cost, there is a quad-core 64bit MT6732 chipset under the hood, 2GB RAM, 16GB memory, 2250mAh battery, 13 mega-pixel main camera, 3.2 mega-pixel front, and dual LED rear flash.The MT6732 means that once Lollipop comes along we should see better performance from the Hammer, it also means 4G LTE support is native to the phone (a first for UMi). The Hammer actually supports the following networks鑱紾SM 850/900/1800/1900,鑱絎CDMA 900/1900/2100,鑱紽DD 800/1800/2600.The alloy, glass and plastic phone isn’t as thin as some with overall dimensions of鑱?44 x 71.6 x 7.9mm, and at a weight of 170g it is hardly light, but this is all the extra material add for a strong, impact ready body.UMi Hammer Review: PerformanceThe UMi Hammer has a 64bit Mediatek MT6732 quad-core chipset and 2GB RAM. Performance is good on this set up in other phones for the money, but not as high as the octacore MT6752 which is seen in slightly more expensive devices.Benchmarks are about right for a phone of this calibre. They don’t really get our heart beating, but for the money they offer solid performance, and most importantly solid real world performance.Currently the Hammer has Android 4.4 Kitkat out of the box which isn’t really optimised for a 64bit chipset. Hopefully UMi’s development team are working on an Android 5.0 Lollipop update which should eke out a little more performance, and bring with it all those lovely Lollipop transitions and animations.UMi Hammer BenchmarksGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAntutu: 31,559Quandrant: 10,1013DMark Ice Storm Extreme: 4,956Geekbench Single Core: 726Geekbench Multi鑱紺ore: 2115Nenamark: 58.9fpsManhattan: 505.2Vellamo Metal: 1015Vellamo Multicore: 1531Vellamo Browser: 2119UMi Hammer Benchmarks Screenshots UMi Hammer Review: Network performance and connectivityThe Hammer comes with all the mod cons i.e FDD LTE, WIFI鑱?02.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. Using a Vodafone 4G SIM while in Europe the Hammer performed well. LTE connectivity was a good as our MX4 (only switching to 3G when LTE was weak) and call performance is good, although the receiver speaker is nothing to right home about.Our test version of the phone did seem to have weaker than average WIFI. It showed fewer WIFI bars than other devices at the same distance and seems to drop WIFI a little easier. This could be due to the alloy chassis of the phone, or the early pre-production nature of the phone, but it is something to be aware of.Bluetooth is there and useable when you need it and GPS lock on speeds are as fast as other MT6732 phones we have tested this year. The initial lock on was around 25 seconds, but after that first lock connection was much quicker, around 2-3 seconds (I was fortunate enough to have nothing but blue skies during the test which probably helped).UMi Hammer Review – CameraThe main camera of the UMi Hammer is a claimed 13 mega-pixel sensor. We have seen other companies make similar claims and simply interpolate the value from 8 mega-pixel to 13 mega-pixel. What ever UMi have going on though it does not really matter though as camera performance isn’t the phones strong point.Images tend to look very pale in comparison to your actual subject making photos look dreary and uninteresting. Playing with the manual settings offers a better image, but as most of us simply want to point and shoot, UMi really should optimise the automatic mode for better performance.As mentioned above, the weather during our review time was bright and blue, but you wouldn’t think this from the images captured. As you can see from the rear of the phone, there is a bright dual LED flash on the rear, it isn’t the brightest we have used, but not bad for a budge phone.UMi Hammer Photo Samples UMi Hammer Review – BatteryThe battery in my sample was a 1600mAh (according to the sticker) not the 2250mAh battery that the specifications on the UMi website claim. The battery in my phone just looks like a generic battery that has been used just for test purpose.With a quad-core processor, and HD 720p display the device isn’t as power hungry as some phones on the market, but with only 1600mAh in my sample the the hardware is more than enough to run the phone down easily in a day.Just sitting on my cupboard with WIFI connected (after my smash test) the battery finally went flat in 3 days. So with the 2250mAh you could be looking at the full 3-4 days of standby with a SIM UMi claim on the official specifications page.For my normal day to day use I can get from first thing in the morning to the end of a work day (7pm ish) on a single charge. As you may know I am pretty camera heavy, have a couple of email accounts on push and am very lazy i.e leave WIFI and GPS on constantly. I feel that the correct battery should get a light user through the day but heavy or power users will want to carry a spare battery, powerbank or charger.UMi Hammer Review: Android OSStock Android 4.4 Kitkat is what the UMi Hammer ships with. There are no custom icons or added UI, just stock Android how Google intended. UMi have added a few features for air gesture, screen gestures etc but that’s about it. While it is great to see another stock Android experience it would have been better if Lollipop came out of the box. Fingers crossed for an Android 5.0 update soon.UMi Hammer Review: ConclusionCosting $139.99 (or there abouts) the UMi Hammer is one of the cheaper phones with alloy chassis, LED notification, and LTE. It also benefits from a quad-core 64bit processor, 2GB RAM, dual LED flash and a good-looking design.With the strong, durable design, the UMi Hammer is a nice package that you don’t need to worry about dropping a few times. LTE means you can enjoy fast data, and the quad-core processor and 2GB RAM is enough for casual gaming and keeping social apps running.A longer battery life would have been nice, but perhaps that what we will get with the official 2250mAh battery, and perhaps Lollipop (if it is on the way) will also help to boost battery life too?The UMi Hammer is on sale right now, but we have been lucky enough to have a sample on test for a few weeks. Keep reading for our hands on UMi Hammer review.UMi are taking a different approach to the Android phone market. While some companies are happy to launch device after device, UMi have been slow and steady. After the release of the UMi Zero, the team behind the brand have worked on building a community, forums, alternate ROMS and even a one click flash tool called Rootjoy. Now that the pieces are in place new phones are coming!UMi Hammer Review: First ImpressionsUMi Hammer Review: DesignThe design of the UMi Hammer might appear to be similar to a few other devices on the market. It looks just like the Doogee Ibizia F2, which in turn looks like the Vivo Xshot. It’s interesting that UMi and Doogee have gone for the Xshot look, it’s a nice looking phone, a good size and only those of us in the know will realise it’s a clone of the Vivo camera phone.UMi promise the UMi Hammer to he durable, hard-hitting phone suitable for active people enjoying live. An strong alloy chassis forms the foundation of the device, while a “double glass” screens with Corning Gorilla Glass protection keep the display safe.To be honest I was a little sceptical about UMi’s claims of the Hammer being a durable phone. Even after watching a few video’s testing the strength I wasn’t convinced, it all looked a little staged. The only wat to be sure was test for myself, I wasn’t disappointed!UMi Hammer Smash TestAs you can see in the video the phone isn’t indestructible, but it will take a hell of a lot of abuse and still remain functioning. Even after all that all our test model needs is a new front panel and it will be as good as new (well except the dings and scratches). Looking around the phone there is nothing really to indicate that this is a tougher than average device. There are no rubber bumpers, there are is no鑱絙ulky protection, just a good strong chassis with tough glass and simple plastic rear.A few of you have asked if the Hammer is waterproof. UMi don’t claim it is, and I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it will be. The plugs are standard phone plugs with no seals and the rear panel is removable to access the battery, dual SIM and SD card slot. So don’t buy this for water skiing, choose it for sky diving instead.Last few details. No the Hammer does not have back-lit navigation buttons, but it does have a very bright LED notification light.UMi Hammer Review: SpecificationsThe UMi Hammer costs $139.99 to international buyers which put’s it up against the current crop of 64bit LTE phones running Mediatek processors. Thankfully UMi have kept their specification in check and kept the hardware on par with competing models.A 5-inch HD 1280 x 720 display is more than acceptable at this cost, there is a quad-core 64bit MT6732 chipset under the hood, 2GB RAM, 16GB memory, 2250mAh battery, 13 mega-pixel main camera, 3.2 mega-pixel front, and dual LED rear flash.The MT6732 means that once Lollipop comes along we should see better performance from the Hammer, it also means 4G LTE support is native to the phone (a first for UMi). The Hammer actually supports the following networks鑱紾SM 850/900/1800/1900,鑱絎CDMA 900/1900/2100,鑱紽DD 800/1800/2600.The alloy, glass and plastic phone isn’t as thin as some with overall dimensions of鑱?44 x 71.6 x 7.9mm, and at a weight of 170g it is hardly light, but this is all the extra material add for a strong, impact ready body.UMi Hammer Review: PerformanceThe UMi Hammer has a 64bit Mediatek MT6732 quad-core chipset and 2GB RAM. Performance is good on this set up in other phones for the money, but not as high as the octacore MT6752 which is seen in slightly more expensive devices.Benchmarks are about right for a phone of this calibre. They don’t really get our heart beating, but for the money they offer solid performance, and most importantly solid real world performance.Currently the Hammer has Android 4.4 Kitkat out of the box which isn’t really optimised for a 64bit chipset. Hopefully UMi’s development team are working on an Android 5.0 Lollipop update which should eke out a little more performance, and bring with it all those lovely Lollipop transitions and animations.UMi Hammer BenchmarksGizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramAntutu: 31,559Quandrant: 10,1013DMark Ice Storm Extreme: 4,956Geekbench Single Core: 726Geekbench Multi鑱紺ore: 2115Nenamark: 58.9fpsManhattan: 505.2Vellamo Metal: 1015Vellamo Multicore: 1531Vellamo Browser: 2119UMi Hammer Benchmarks Screenshots UMi Hammer Review: Network performance and connectivityThe Hammer comes with all the mod cons i.e FDD LTE, WIFI鑱?02.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. Using a Vodafone 4G SIM while in Europe the Hammer performed well. LTE connectivity was a good as our MX4 (only switching to 3G when LTE was weak) and call performance is good, although the receiver speaker is nothing to right home about.Our test version of the phone did seem to have weaker than average WIFI. It showed fewer WIFI bars than other devices at the same distance and seems to drop WIFI a little easier. This could be due to the alloy chassis of the phone, or the early pre-production nature of the phone, but it is something to be aware of.Bluetooth is there and useable when you need it and GPS lock on speeds are as fast as other MT6732 phones we have tested this year. The initial lock on was around 25 seconds, but after that first lock connection was much quicker, around 2-3 seconds (I was fortunate enough to have nothing but blue skies during the test which probably helped).UMi Hammer Review – CameraThe main camera of the UMi Hammer is a claimed 13 mega-pixel sensor. We have seen other companies make similar claims and simply interpolate the value from 8 mega-pixel to 13 mega-pixel. What ever UMi have going on though it does not really matter though as camera performance isn’t the phones strong point.Images tend to look very pale in comparison to your actual subject making photos look dreary and uninteresting. Playing with the manual settings offers a better image, but as most of us simply want to point and shoot, UMi really should optimise the automatic mode for better performance.As mentioned above, the weather during our review time was bright and blue, but you wouldn’t think this from the images captured. As you can see from the rear of the phone, there is a bright dual LED flash on the rear, it isn’t the brightest we have used, but not bad for a budge phone.UMi Hammer Photo Samples UMi Hammer Review – BatteryThe battery in my sample was a 1600mAh (according to the sticker) not the 2250mAh battery that the specifications on the UMi website claim. The battery in my phone just looks like a generic battery that has been used just for test purpose.With a quad-core processor, and HD 720p display the device isn’t as power hungry as some phones on the market, but with only 1600mAh in my sample the the hardware is more than enough to run the phone down easily in a day.Just sitting on my cupboard with WIFI connected (after my smash test) the battery finally went flat in 3 days. So with the 2250mAh you could be looking at the full 3-4 days of standby with a SIM UMi claim on the official specifications page.For my normal day to day use I can get from first thing in the morning to the end of a work day (7pm ish) on a single charge. As you may know I am pretty camera heavy, have a couple of email accounts on push and am very lazy i.e leave WIFI and GPS on constantly. I feel that the correct battery should get a light user through the day but heavy or power users will want to carry a spare battery, powerbank or charger.UMi Hammer Review: Android OSStock Android 4.4 Kitkat is what the UMi Hammer ships with. There are no custom icons or added UI, just stock Android how Google intended. UMi have added a few features for air gesture, screen gestures etc but that’s about it. While it is great to see another stock Android experience it would have been better if Lollipop came out of the box. Fingers crossed for an Android 5.0 update soon.UMi Hammer Review: ConclusionCosting $139.99 (or there abouts) the UMi Hammer is one of the cheaper phones with alloy chassis, LED notification, and LTE. It also benefits from a quad-core 64bit processor, 2GB RAM, dual LED flash and a good-looking design.With the strong, durable design, the UMi Hammer is a nice package that you don’t need to worry about dropping a few times. LTE means you can enjoy fast data, and the quad-core processor and 2GB RAM is enough for casual gaming and keeping social apps running.A longer battery life would have been nice, but perhaps that what we will get with the official 2250mAh battery, and perhaps Lollipop (if it is on the way) will also help to boost battery life too?

With all the benchmarks and photos out of the way for the upcoming UMi Hammer review, it was time to have a little fun and see just how tough the Hammer really is. Find out in our smash video.In our first hands on and impressions of the UMi Hammer I took a sturdy metal spanner to the screen to see if it would break. It didn’t, and from that moment on I decided to make it my duty to see how much punishment the UMi Hammer can actually take.For this video I decided to drop the phone from various heights to see what kind of protection the tough alloy chassis provides the Hammer. First up was a couple of waist height drops (at the start of the video) which I redid as you couldn’t actually see the phone hitting the concrete floor. After 4 waist drops I moved on to a wall drop, drops above my head and finally throwing the UMi Hammer at a wall. See the results in the following video.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramUMi Hammer Smash Test VideoThe drop from the wall which caught the corner of the screen was unfortunate for the Hammer. If it hadn’t been for that early break then I have every confidence that the screen would have stayed in one piece for longer.I’ve been fortunate enough with my time with phones to only have broken one and that was a Meizu MX3 from waist height. The screen shattered and the digitizer died, it was an expensive repair. The UMi Hammer wend through way more abuse and even with a smashed screen the phone remains functional.UMi went out to make a phone that could take knocks and drops and I feel that they have done a solid job for the money. Of course the phone will break if you torture it enough, but it will just take larger and more frequent drops to do so.With all the benchmarks and photos out of the way for the upcoming UMi Hammer review, it was time to have a little fun and see just how tough the Hammer really is. Find out in our smash video.In our first hands on and impressions of the UMi Hammer I took a sturdy metal spanner to the screen to see if it would break. It didn’t, and from that moment on I decided to make it my duty to see how much punishment the UMi Hammer can actually take.For this video I decided to drop the phone from various heights to see what kind of protection the tough alloy chassis provides the Hammer. First up was a couple of waist height drops (at the start of the video) which I redid as you couldn’t actually see the phone hitting the concrete floor. After 4 waist drops I moved on to a wall drop, drops above my head and finally throwing the UMi Hammer at a wall. See the results in the following video.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramUMi Hammer Smash Test VideoThe drop from the wall which caught the corner of the screen was unfortunate for the Hammer. If it hadn’t been for that early break then I have every confidence that the screen would have stayed in one piece for longer.I’ve been fortunate enough with my time with phones to only have broken one and that was a Meizu MX3 from waist height. The screen shattered and the digitizer died, it was an expensive repair. The UMi Hammer wend through way more abuse and even with a smashed screen the phone remains functional.UMi went out to make a phone that could take knocks and drops and I feel that they have done a solid job for the money. Of course the phone will break if you torture it enough, but it will just take larger and more frequent drops to do so.

New for 2015 is the UMi Hammer, a new device from UMi and their first to support LTE with 64bit bit SoC to date. Watch our hands on impressions to see if the Hammer really is as tough as UMi claim it to be.Rugged phones are usually those huge chunks of rubber that we see with yellow and black design and chunky finish for extra grip. They are perfect for taking out in the wilds and ensuring you don’t smash your phone to smithereens, but they are too big, bulky and unattractive for using on the street.UMi decided that their was a niche of users that needed some of the protection of a rugged phone, but in the body of something you won’t be embarrassed to be seen with. The result is the UMi Hammer.The UMi Hammer has been designed for young phone users in mind, and to that end they have carefully chosen the hardware to offer the best value, make it good-looking and have added enough impact proctection for a few trips down a set of concrete stairs.Not only is the UMi Hammer designed to be tough, but it also boast a few up to date features. The chipset is a quad-core MT6732 64bit model, there is dual SIM, LTE, micro SD card, 2GB RAM, and a 13 mega-pixel main camera with dual LED flash. Our pre-production phone came with a tiny 1600mAh battery, but the final specifications say a 2250mAh cell will come as standard.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on Telegram Android 4.4 Kitkat comes as standard, and it is a completely stock installation. With a 64bit chip though we are hoping that an Android Lollipop update will be made available, and we assume the phone will also be supported by UMi’s Rootjoy PC suite.Video: UMi Hammer Hands on first impressionsUMi haven’t confirmed the official retail price, but if we can believe online resellers the Hammer will cost around $160 which is about the same as most other phones with this level of hardware, yet I am not sure how happy I would be hitting similar priced phones with a steel adjustable spanner.How does Zopo鈥檚 latest Zopo ZP530 Tocuh stack up to rivals? Find out in our Zopo ZP53o review.It has been a very long time since we have reviewed a Zopo phone at GizChina, unsurprisingly really as we have been quite vocal about how Zopo should improve themselves. And that is what the phone maker claims to be doing.A new Zopo experienceFor the past few years international Zopo fans have been dealing with Zopo鈥檚 international team, a group hired by Zopo China to work on selling phones and supporting international fans. It didn鈥檛 go to well, and as well as upsetting fans this 鈥榠nternational鈥 team also managed to cause issues for a number of Zopo resellers around the world.Apparently that鈥檚 all changed now though. The old team are now no longer part of Zopo and have a new project, and bridges are being built again with certain Zopo resellers to resume business.So now that Zopo proper are in charge of China and international business we should see some changes, but what and when those changes will take place we are not 100% sure.Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: SpecificationsZopo have never been an innovative company so to see them following the rest of the field comes as no surprise. Just as we have seen Xiaomi, Meizu and other big brand phone makers work less on the hardware side of things and concentrate more on design and quality this is what Zopo have done.In my previous hands on I was under the impression that the Zopo 530 Touch cost $199.99 (Zopomobileshop.com should look at a slight site redesign to avoid similar confusion for customers). Obviously at $199.99 the ZP530 would be over priced, but now that I know the real price is $169.00 it does seem much better value for money.At this price the Zopo ZP530 is the same price to the Ulefone Be Pro. It has the same 64bit MT6732 processor, same LTE support, same resolution display (but on a smaller 5-inch panel) and same 8 mega-pixel main camera. The Zopo does only have 1GB RAM compared to 2GB RAM on the Ulefone, but then again the design, material and look of the ZP530 is much more up market than the Be Pro, and I have a feeling that both phones are after different customers.Zopo ZP530 Review: DesignAs already pointed out, Zopo are not an innovator. So to find a design that is similar to the iPhone 6, and near identical to the ZTE Blade S6 is hardly a surprise.It is a good-looking phone though, the side and corners are all super smooth and have a great rounded profile. The 5-inch form factor means it is comfy in your hand even for one-handed use, and the gold alloy chassis give an added touch of class to the appearance.The anodised chassis is visible on all sides and features a power button on the left, volume rocker on the right and headphone jack plus USB in the very top of the phone. There are not SIM trays as the back is removable, but before we take the rear off let鈥檚 have a quick scan across the front of the phone.2.5D glass is nothing new, but it is showing up more and more often on Chinese Android phones. This year Xiaomi, IUNI, and a few other smartphone makers have added the slightly curved glass to their phones. Well it isn鈥檛 curved really but thinner in at the edges than in the middle giving he feel of a slight rounded edge.The glass runs the full length of the phone over the top of the capacitive buttons on the chin (backlit), across the 5-inch HD display and up to the top where the a 5 mega-pixel Selfie camera is located. There is no dedicated notification LED but rather a ‘breathing’ home circle similar to Meizu and Nubia phones.Flip the phone over and we have the white (in this case) removable rear cover with a slight pattern marked across it. At the bottom there is a single speaker grill on the right (just where my hand can muffle it when in landscape), the Zopo logo, single LED flash and 8 mega-pixel main camera. The rear panel is apparently made of 9 layers with the top having an anti finger print coat, odd as my review model managed to pick up smudges and smears quite easily.The rear cover is made of a flexible but thick material and with a little more effort than usual you can get at the removable 2100mAh battery, dual LTE SIM slots and micro SD card reader for up to 64GB SD cards.At $169 the Zopo ZP530 Touch finds its self at a competitive price, with some nice hardware and a very well made body. It鈥檚 odd to see Zopo in such a situation, they are usually well under par for the money but it鈥檚 quite difficult to fault the ZP530 now I know it doesn鈥檛 cost $199.99. It certainly is one of the best made and looking phones at this price.Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: ScreenI鈥檝e already mentioned the screen on the Zopo ZP530 Touch has a 2.5D glass panel and it is a HD screen, meaning a resolution of 1280 x 720, but what else does it have on offer?In use it is a very nice screen. It reproduces pictures to represent real world images with bright and vivid colours.As for touch response, well my review model does seem to suffer from missed touches. It seems I have to press on certain apps, options the camera shutter, more than once for the phone to finally register the touch. The accuracy if the touch screen is also a little poor too. In the Play store for example I have to touch slightly abover very small icons for the phone to see what I am trying to do.Screen issues in Zopo phones are nothing new either, but at least I haven’t suffered the dreaded Ghost Touches of old (yet), and perhaps the NEW ZOPO, will solve everything with updates?Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: PerformanceIt鈥檚 odd to see a 64bit phone with just 1GB RAM as the whole point of 64bit SoC鈥檚 is that they are better at handing more RAM. Once a Lollipop update becomes available on the ZP530 Touch, we might have really seen a potent phone with 2GB RAM or more. 1GB on this phone is just a waste.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramDespite having only 1GB RAM the phone does handle all current applications and the games we tested well, just don鈥檛 go running too many apps in the background or you will bog the phone down,聽and don’t expect much from advanced graphics as this is area the Zopo struggles.Benchmarks are OK聽too, as we have found with similar MT6732 phones, but in real world 2GB RAM would have been more preferable. 1GB RAM really hinders this phone and could potentially prevent it from being more popular than it will eventually become.Zopo ZP530 BenchmarksAntutu: 31,608Quadrant: 9,304Geekbench Single-core score: 726Geekbench Multi-core score: 2,177Vellamo Metal: 936Vellamo Multicore: 1,510Vellambo Browser: 2,3053D Mark Ice Storm Extreme: 4,971Nenamark 2: 65.1fpsGFX Bench Manhattan: 507.5GFX Bench Manhattan 1080p offscreen: Out of memoryZopo ZP530 Benchmarks screenshots Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: CameraThere are $169 phones on the market today (and cheaper) with 13 mega-pixel rear cameras, but they either end up being interpolated 8 mega-pixel sensors or really poor quality units.Zopo have played it safe with an 8 mega-pixel rear sensor with F2.0 aperture. The speed of focusing and capturing a photo on the Zopo is impressive, one of the fastest Mediatek phones to date, and the image quality is pretty good too.For Zopo to opt for an 8 mega-pixel sensor is a marketing gamble (some people buy purely on spec) but they have made a good decision here and the rear camera on the ZP530 easily out performs camera鈥檚 on similar priced phones (Mlais M52, Ulefone Be Pro ETC).Being just 8 mega-pixels does mean you cannot enlarge your images as much as you might need, but if you just use your camera photos for social media sharing the results will be more often pleasing enough.A front 5 mega-pixel selfie camera performs well, but an F2.4 aperture means more light is needed to make the most of it.The camera application on the Zopo is your standard Android 4.4 Kitkat version. The features are all bog standard and include HDR, Panorama and a very basic Beauty mode for the front camera.Zopo ZP530 Touch camera samples Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: ConnectivityAs usual if you don鈥檛 have much to say then there is really nothing to complain about. This is true for the connectivity and wireless performance of the phone.In my tests, LTE, WIFI and Bluetooth 4.0 were all flawless through out my time with the device. GPS is also a lot faster and more accurate than it once was on Mediatek phones thanks to the updated SoC.Zopo ZP530 Review: Battery LifeFrom the style of the phone, specifications and even the marketing, it is plain to see that Zopo are not after the hardcore Android phone user with the ZP530 Touch. The customer who the device is aimed at is someone who want鈥檚 style over function, but with decent speed and main camera for updating social media.For it鈥檚 intended use the 2100mAh battery is ok. it is still a little on the small side, but if you just need to make it through the work day with moderate/high usage (4G browsing, mail, camera, calls, GPS) then you can get away with it. If you are planning a night on the town after work then I suggest taking a charger with you just in case.Zopo ZP530 Review: UIZopo have gone for a mostly stock Android 4.4 Kitkat system in terms of features, with a new UI tweasks to the applications icons, and the settings.聽Once applications are open they are just as Google intended they look on a Kitkat phone In the settings we do find a smartwake option, but it only currently supports double tap to wake and there are no on screen gestures. There is an ‘air gesture’ type option which should monitor hand movements above the camera. It’s a feature I have never been compelled to use, just as well as they don’t work on the ZP530.Zopo ZP530 Review: ConclusionThe Zopo ZP530 is by far the best Zopo phone that I have tested recently. The design and build are punching much higher than the retail price would suggest for the intended buyer the device is going to be a fun and stylish way to keep connected.But, it could have been much much better. We have seen other companies get 2GB RAM in to their phones at this price so why haven鈥檛 Zopo been able too? An extra 1GB RAM would have made the phone smoother day to day and would have stopped us going in to the task manager all that often.The 2100mAh battery too is on the small side. So we only have 1GB RAM and a HD display, but the phone is quite clearly marketed at people who want to be social and keep connected and that means long nights out and traveling to and from places. I鈥檓 sure a 2600mAh battery could have been fitted in to the same space, and would have given a little peace of mind for when you do head out on the town.When I came in to this review I was still under the impression that the Zopo ZP530 Touch costed $199.99, and for that price I was ready to rip in to the phone, but once I learned that the RRP is $169 I had to reconsider some of my initial thoughts and ideas (as well as rewriting much of this review).I think the ZP530 is a clear step above the rest of聽Zopo phones, and we have actually seen a vast improvement compared to previous models, and this pleases me a lot, but I also expect more.As well as the small amount of RAM and tiny battery I am concerned about updates and the issues with the display. In the past Zopo have been terrible with updates, and I鈥檒l be keeping an eye out for news of Lollipop on this phone, as it really deserves it.Zopo are certainly heading in the right direction, and if they are willing to keep their fans needs and expectations in mind we might once again see them at the top of the game. As it is though the Zopo ZP530 is close but still a little wide of hitting the mark.How does Zopo鈥檚 latest Zopo ZP530 Tocuh stack up to rivals? Find out in our Zopo ZP53o review.It has been a very long time since we have reviewed a Zopo phone at GizChina, unsurprisingly really as we have been quite vocal about how Zopo should improve themselves. And that is what the phone maker claims to be doing.A new Zopo experienceFor the past few years international Zopo fans have been dealing with Zopo鈥檚 international team, a group hired by Zopo China to work on selling phones and supporting international fans. It didn鈥檛 go to well, and as well as upsetting fans this 鈥榠nternational鈥 team also managed to cause issues for a number of Zopo resellers around the world.Apparently that鈥檚 all changed now though. The old team are now no longer part of Zopo and have a new project, and bridges are being built again with certain Zopo resellers to resume business.So now that Zopo proper are in charge of China and international business we should see some changes, but what and when those changes will take place we are not 100% sure.Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: SpecificationsZopo have never been an innovative company so to see them following the rest of the field comes as no surprise. Just as we have seen Xiaomi, Meizu and other big brand phone makers work less on the hardware side of things and concentrate more on design and quality this is what Zopo have done.In my previous hands on I was under the impression that the Zopo 530 Touch cost $199.99 (Zopomobileshop.com should look at a slight site redesign to avoid similar confusion for customers). Obviously at $199.99 the ZP530 would be over priced, but now that I know the real price is $169.00 it does seem much better value for money.At this price the Zopo ZP530 is the same price to the Ulefone Be Pro. It has the same 64bit MT6732 processor, same LTE support, same resolution display (but on a smaller 5-inch panel) and same 8 mega-pixel main camera. The Zopo does only have 1GB RAM compared to 2GB RAM on the Ulefone, but then again the design, material and look of the ZP530 is much more up market than the Be Pro, and I have a feeling that both phones are after different customers.Zopo ZP530 Review: DesignAs already pointed out, Zopo are not an innovator. So to find a design that is similar to the iPhone 6, and near identical to the ZTE Blade S6 is hardly a surprise.It is a good-looking phone though, the side and corners are all super smooth and have a great rounded profile. The 5-inch form factor means it is comfy in your hand even for one-handed use, and the gold alloy chassis give an added touch of class to the appearance.The anodised chassis is visible on all sides and features a power button on the left, volume rocker on the right and headphone jack plus USB in the very top of the phone. There are not SIM trays as the back is removable, but before we take the rear off let鈥檚 have a quick scan across the front of the phone.2.5D glass is nothing new, but it is showing up more and more often on Chinese Android phones. This year Xiaomi, IUNI, and a few other smartphone makers have added the slightly curved glass to their phones. Well it isn鈥檛 curved really but thinner in at the edges than in the middle giving he feel of a slight rounded edge.The glass runs the full length of the phone over the top of the capacitive buttons on the chin (backlit), across the 5-inch HD display and up to the top where the a 5 mega-pixel Selfie camera is located. There is no dedicated notification LED but rather a ‘breathing’ home circle similar to Meizu and Nubia phones.Flip the phone over and we have the white (in this case) removable rear cover with a slight pattern marked across it. At the bottom there is a single speaker grill on the right (just where my hand can muffle it when in landscape), the Zopo logo, single LED flash and 8 mega-pixel main camera. The rear panel is apparently made of 9 layers with the top having an anti finger print coat, odd as my review model managed to pick up smudges and smears quite easily.The rear cover is made of a flexible but thick material and with a little more effort than usual you can get at the removable 2100mAh battery, dual LTE SIM slots and micro SD card reader for up to 64GB SD cards.At $169 the Zopo ZP530 Touch finds its self at a competitive price, with some nice hardware and a very well made body. It鈥檚 odd to see Zopo in such a situation, they are usually well under par for the money but it鈥檚 quite difficult to fault the ZP530 now I know it doesn鈥檛 cost $199.99. It certainly is one of the best made and looking phones at this price.Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: ScreenI鈥檝e already mentioned the screen on the Zopo ZP530 Touch has a 2.5D glass panel and it is a HD screen, meaning a resolution of 1280 x 720, but what else does it have on offer?In use it is a very nice screen. It reproduces pictures to represent real world images with bright and vivid colours.As for touch response, well my review model does seem to suffer from missed touches. It seems I have to press on certain apps, options the camera shutter, more than once for the phone to finally register the touch. The accuracy if the touch screen is also a little poor too. In the Play store for example I have to touch slightly abover very small icons for the phone to see what I am trying to do.Screen issues in Zopo phones are nothing new either, but at least I haven’t suffered the dreaded Ghost Touches of old (yet), and perhaps the NEW ZOPO, will solve everything with updates?Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: PerformanceIt鈥檚 odd to see a 64bit phone with just 1GB RAM as the whole point of 64bit SoC鈥檚 is that they are better at handing more RAM. Once a Lollipop update becomes available on the ZP530 Touch, we might have really seen a potent phone with 2GB RAM or more. 1GB on this phone is just a waste.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramDespite having only 1GB RAM the phone does handle all current applications and the games we tested well, just don鈥檛 go running too many apps in the background or you will bog the phone down,聽and don’t expect much from advanced graphics as this is area the Zopo struggles.Benchmarks are OK聽too, as we have found with similar MT6732 phones, but in real world 2GB RAM would have been more preferable. 1GB RAM really hinders this phone and could potentially prevent it from being more popular than it will eventually become.Zopo ZP530 BenchmarksAntutu: 31,608Quadrant: 9,304Geekbench Single-core score: 726Geekbench Multi-core score: 2,177Vellamo Metal: 936Vellamo Multicore: 1,510Vellambo Browser: 2,3053D Mark Ice Storm Extreme: 4,971Nenamark 2: 65.1fpsGFX Bench Manhattan: 507.5GFX Bench Manhattan 1080p offscreen: Out of memoryZopo ZP530 Benchmarks screenshots Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: CameraThere are $169 phones on the market today (and cheaper) with 13 mega-pixel rear cameras, but they either end up being interpolated 8 mega-pixel sensors or really poor quality units.Zopo have played it safe with an 8 mega-pixel rear sensor with F2.0 aperture. The speed of focusing and capturing a photo on the Zopo is impressive, one of the fastest Mediatek phones to date, and the image quality is pretty good too.For Zopo to opt for an 8 mega-pixel sensor is a marketing gamble (some people buy purely on spec) but they have made a good decision here and the rear camera on the ZP530 easily out performs camera鈥檚 on similar priced phones (Mlais M52, Ulefone Be Pro ETC).Being just 8 mega-pixels does mean you cannot enlarge your images as much as you might need, but if you just use your camera photos for social media sharing the results will be more often pleasing enough.A front 5 mega-pixel selfie camera performs well, but an F2.4 aperture means more light is needed to make the most of it.The camera application on the Zopo is your standard Android 4.4 Kitkat version. The features are all bog standard and include HDR, Panorama and a very basic Beauty mode for the front camera.Zopo ZP530 Touch camera samples Zopo ZP530 Touch Review: ConnectivityAs usual if you don鈥檛 have much to say then there is really nothing to complain about. This is true for the connectivity and wireless performance of the phone.In my tests, LTE, WIFI and Bluetooth 4.0 were all flawless through out my time with the device. GPS is also a lot faster and more accurate than it once was on Mediatek phones thanks to the updated SoC.Zopo ZP530 Review: Battery LifeFrom the style of the phone, specifications and even the marketing, it is plain to see that Zopo are not after the hardcore Android phone user with the ZP530 Touch. The customer who the device is aimed at is someone who want鈥檚 style over function, but with decent speed and main camera for updating social media.For it鈥檚 intended use the 2100mAh battery is ok. it is still a little on the small side, but if you just need to make it through the work day with moderate/high usage (4G browsing, mail, camera, calls, GPS) then you can get away with it. If you are planning a night on the town after work then I suggest taking a charger with you just in case.Zopo ZP530 Review: UIZopo have gone for a mostly stock Android 4.4 Kitkat system in terms of features, with a new UI tweasks to the applications icons, and the settings.聽Once applications are open they are just as Google intended they look on a Kitkat phone In the settings we do find a smartwake option, but it only currently supports double tap to wake and there are no on screen gestures. There is an ‘air gesture’ type option which should monitor hand movements above the camera. It’s a feature I have never been compelled to use, just as well as they don’t work on the ZP530.Zopo ZP530 Review: ConclusionThe Zopo ZP530 is by far the best Zopo phone that I have tested recently. The design and build are punching much higher than the retail price would suggest for the intended buyer the device is going to be a fun and stylish way to keep connected.But, it could have been much much better. We have seen other companies get 2GB RAM in to their phones at this price so why haven鈥檛 Zopo been able too? An extra 1GB RAM would have made the phone smoother day to day and would have stopped us going in to the task manager all that often.The 2100mAh battery too is on the small side. So we only have 1GB RAM and a HD display, but the phone is quite clearly marketed at people who want to be social and keep connected and that means long nights out and traveling to and from places. I鈥檓 sure a 2600mAh battery could have been fitted in to the same space, and would have given a little peace of mind for when you do head out on the town.When I came in to this review I was still under the impression that the Zopo ZP530 Touch costed $199.99, and for that price I was ready to rip in to the phone, but once I learned that the RRP is $169 I had to reconsider some of my initial thoughts and ideas (as well as rewriting much of this review).I think the ZP530 is a clear step above the rest of聽Zopo phones, and we have actually seen a vast improvement compared to previous models, and this pleases me a lot, but I also expect more.As well as the small amount of RAM and tiny battery I am concerned about updates and the issues with the display. In the past Zopo have been terrible with updates, and I鈥檒l be keeping an eye out for news of Lollipop on this phone, as it really deserves it.Zopo are certainly heading in the right direction, and if they are willing to keep their fans needs and expectations in mind we might once again see them at the top of the game. As it is though the Zopo ZP530 is close but still a little wide of hitting the mark.It has been a while since Ecoo was the most talked about maker here at鑱紾izChina. The company’s first phone, i.e., the Ecoo E01 Focus was, at one point, known as the world’s cheapest 1080p octa-core phone.The Aurora was announced earlier this year, but in a 2GB RAM variant. It still made a lot of sense, because not a lot of MediaTek MT6752 64-bit octa-core phones were available for under US$200 back then. Ecoo took their own sweet time in shipping the phone, but it is regarded as one of the better ones if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck. A few weeks back, an upgraded E04 Aurora was announced; with the same specifications, the phone got an added gig of RAM to bring the total to a respectable 3GB.Geekbuying sent one over to us for review, and after spending a couple of days with the device, I’m happy to say I’m impressed. The best part about the device is the fingerprint sensor, which works near-flawlessly!A quick recap over the specifications: the Ecoo E04 Aurora has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 1.7GHz octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB on-board storage, dual SIM, 8 mega-pixel front camera, 16 mega-pixel rear camera, 3000mAh removable battery and a fingerprint sensor.The phone has impressed in almost every aspect. One niggle (which might be more than just ‘little’ for you OCD victims) is that there’s an unusually thick black strip below the screen, about double the size of the rest of the strip.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe textured rear of the device gives it not only a nice look but also makes the phone鑱絞rippy and comfortable to hold. Performance too seems top-notch, as we’ve seen with other MT6752 phones like the JiaYu S3, iOcean Rock, Gionee Elife S7 and more.We haven’t really spent a lot of time with the camera yet, but from what we can tell already, the listed 16 mega-pixel resolution is a bit of an optimistic move. We’re pretty certain it’s an interpolated value, perhaps taken up from 13 mega-pixel.Ecoo E04 Aurora 3GB Gallery Battery life so far seems pretty good, and the phone hasn’t shown signs of heating up. The MT6752 is starting to build a sort of a reputation for being one of the most power efficient MediaTek chips out there; that combined with the 3000mAh battery of the E04 Aurora, we’re looking at a battery life of more than one average day.Overall the phone looks and feels like a quality device… one that a company with global ambitions would make. The curved glass over the screen and the lovely (not exactly an adjective usually associated with fingerprint scanners) fingerprint scanner give the phone some extra value.This is only a very quick hands on post, if you’re interested, stay tuned for the full review which will come next week. Meanwhile, feel free to comment below about anything that you would like to have tested on the phone, and we’ll try our best to include it in next week’s review!

It has been a while since Ecoo was the most talked about maker here at鑱紾izChina. The company’s first phone, i.e., the Ecoo E01 Focus was, at one point, known as the world’s cheapest 1080p octa-core phone.The Aurora was announced earlier this year, but in a 2GB RAM variant. It still made a lot of sense, because not a lot of MediaTek MT6752 64-bit octa-core phones were available for under US$200 back then. Ecoo took their own sweet time in shipping the phone, but it is regarded as one of the better ones if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck. A few weeks back, an upgraded E04 Aurora was announced; with the same specifications, the phone got an added gig of RAM to bring the total to a respectable 3GB.Geekbuying sent one over to us for review, and after spending a couple of days with the device, I’m happy to say I’m impressed. The best part about the device is the fingerprint sensor, which works near-flawlessly!A quick recap over the specifications: the Ecoo E04 Aurora has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, 1.7GHz octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 processor, 3GB RAM, 16GB on-board storage, dual SIM, 8 mega-pixel front camera, 16 mega-pixel rear camera, 3000mAh removable battery and a fingerprint sensor.The phone has impressed in almost every aspect. One niggle (which might be more than just ‘little’ for you OCD victims) is that there’s an unusually thick black strip below the screen, about double the size of the rest of the strip.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe textured rear of the device gives it not only a nice look but also makes the phone鑱絞rippy and comfortable to hold. Performance too seems top-notch, as we’ve seen with other MT6752 phones like the JiaYu S3, iOcean Rock, Gionee Elife S7 and more.We haven’t really spent a lot of time with the camera yet, but from what we can tell already, the listed 16 mega-pixel resolution is a bit of an optimistic move. We’re pretty certain it’s an interpolated value, perhaps taken up from 13 mega-pixel.Ecoo E04 Aurora 3GB Gallery Battery life so far seems pretty good, and the phone hasn’t shown signs of heating up. The MT6752 is starting to build a sort of a reputation for being one of the most power efficient MediaTek chips out there; that combined with the 3000mAh battery of the E04 Aurora, we’re looking at a battery life of more than one average day.Overall the phone looks and feels like a quality device… one that a company with global ambitions would make. The curved glass over the screen and the lovely (not exactly an adjective usually associated with fingerprint scanners) fingerprint scanner give the phone some extra value.This is only a very quick hands on post, if you’re interested, stay tuned for the full review which will come next week. Meanwhile, feel free to comment below about anything that you would like to have tested on the phone, and we’ll try our best to include it in next week’s review!A word to all would be Chinese phone makers, build your devices with killer hardware at a killer price and you will be on to a winner. That鈥檚 exactly what Mlais have done with the M52 and we鈥檝e take a good long look.When I first head that Mlais were back and aiming themselves squarely at the international market it barely registered. I mean there are hundreds of Chinese phone makers which have given up on the domestic market to concentrate on the rest of the world, what would Mlais do that would be so different?Then they released the Mlais M52 and we all started to listen.Mlais M52 Review: UnboxingMlais M52 Review: SpecificationMlais have been very clever and exceptionally lucky with the timing of the Mlais M52 launch. If Mlais had tried a device like this last year it just wouldn鈥檛 have worked, well it just wouldn鈥檛 have been possible not at $159.99 anyway!A quick read through the specifications of the M52 reveals an octacore 64bit processor, 2GB RAM, 13 mega-pixel main camera, 8 mega-pixel front camera, dual SIM, SD card support, LTE, a large battery and 5.5-inch HD display! Yes, all of that for just $159.99!The 64bit chip that is kicking around inside the M52 is one of our favourite chipsets to date, the Mediatek MT6752. We love this SoC for its 64bit construction, native LTE support, low-cost but mainly because this octacore chip blows the Qualcomm equivalent out of the ocean! It seriously is that good (plus these new 64bit chips have amazing GPS performance!).With a 64bit processor on board the Mlais M52 should really be running Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, it isn鈥檛 though but the update is on the way and scheduled for a release on the 15th April (just 5 days away). Still, with Kitkat as standard we were getting Antutu scores of well over 42,000 points and we have seen higher! What Lollipop will bring should be very special. And did I mention this phablet is only $159.99?Mlais M52 Review: Design and constructionMlais have been clever with the design of their phablet too. Instead of concentrating on uber thin bezels, fancy glass and alloy materials or way out design, they have kept it all familiar and simple. So familiar that the M52 looks a lot like a certain 5.5-inch Xiaomi phone.If you look at current design trends for thinner and thinner bodies and narrower overall widths you could pick apart the M52 for being a little thicker and wider than other devices, but why would you when it feels so comfortable and well made?The design doesn鈥檛 seem to cut any corners either, we still have capacitive buttons along the chin and yes they are backlit. There is a notification light at the top, and yes it is an RGB unit (so you can choose the colour you prefer).Plastics have been chosen for the construction of the M52, but not cheap creaky plastic, but good quality material with smooth rounded edges. With so many phones heading towards glass and alloy it is easy to rule out plastic, but when done correctly you end up with a hard-wearing聽and solid phone (just look at the Meizu M1 Note and the iPhone 5C). Taking a tour around the exterior of the M52 we find no odd joins or badly fitted components, and all the usual parts are where we expect to find them. The headphone jack and USB are in the top of the phone, power button on the right and volume rocker on the left.On the rear we have a large speaker grill (although there is only a single speaker behind there), single LED flash and rear 13 mega-pixel main camera.There are no SIM or SD card trays on the Mlais as the rear is removable so you can get at the replaceable battery, dual SIM trays and memory expansion bay. Even poking around on the inside of the M52 everything is neat and really well put together. As you can see in the photos there are 3 colour options to choose from for the Mlais M52. I was sent the white, blue and pink (red?) covers and the blue has fared very well living in the bottom of my backpack for over a week while traveling (hence the delay in getting the review up, sorry!). I鈥檓 still unsure if production phones get all the covers, but if not I鈥檓 sure they will be very cheap to buy after market. Mlais also provided me with a flip cover with viewing window to see the time, or control my music without having to get at the full screen. Overall there is nothing to complain about in terms of design, construction or build. It鈥檚 a very well but together phone.Mlais M52 Review: ScreenAt 5.5-inches we have a lot of screen on tap, and it makes the M52 comparable (in screen real estate) to many of the current crop of 2015 phones. Usually when we get to above 5-inch we see manufacturers opting for higher resolution 1080 or even 2K panels on their phones, obviously this isn鈥檛 possible at a sub $200 price so we have a 720p HD panel here.This is not a complaint at all! Even at 5.5-inch a 1280 x 720 panel is acceptable and only the very picky user will point out that they can see pixels when they are an inch away from the display. If you are going from a 1080 phone to this then yes you might see a difference in clarity but it will be hardly worth mentioning.As for the screen on the Mlais M52, well it is a fine panel. It鈥檚 bright enough most of the time and the viewing angle are perfect for sharing photos and films with people around you. Only outdoors in very bight light do you notice a lack of contrast.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramTouch sensitivity is perfect too, there are no issues with ghost touching or unrecognised taps. It all works as you expect it should.Mlais M52 Review: PerformanceAs mentioned at the start of this review the M52 has an incredible processing package that allows it to perform everyday tasks without complaint. Even gaming and continuous benchmarks don鈥檛 run the phone down.Plenty of customers who have bought the M52 are reporting Antutu scores of 44,000+ which isn鈥檛 far behind the Meizu MX4 which was announced as the Antutu champion for 2014 (based on an average of scores), yet the Mlais is a couple of $100s less tan the MX4. You could buy 2 Mlais M52 and still have money left for the price of an MX4!Of course having just the pixels of a 720p display helps in some ways, with a screen looking as good as this I think Mlais made the right choice going for a lower res panel for a lower price and higher performance.As usual we ran a full suite of benchmarks of the phone during our review. The results and screenshots of each are below:Mlais M52 BenchmarksAntutu: 42,594Geekbench Single Core: 819Geekbench Multi-core: 3972Nenamark 2: 61.2fps3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme: 6840Quadrant: 9698GFX bench Manhattan: 711.0GFX bench 1080p Manhattan offscreen: 359.7GFX bench T-rex: 1412GFX bench 1080p T-rex offscreen: 880.4Vellamo metal: 1188Vellamo Multicore: 1851Vellamo Browser: 2793Mlais M52 Benchmarks Screenshots Mlais M52 Review: CameraOk, so I have been basically drooling over this phone, so you are expecting much of the same for the camera aren鈥檛 you. Well I鈥檓 sorry to disappoint you but the camera and image processing on the M52 is the achilles heel聽of the phone.We all know by now that mega-pixels aren鈥檛 everything, and that one 13 mega-pixel sensor won鈥檛 peform as well as another. So, although 13 mega-pixels looks good in the spec sheet, in real life the camera on the M52 is average at best.In reality Mlais could have give the M52 a better performing 8 mega-pixel sensor and offered better image quality, but then they would have probably found the phone difficult to market if they had.Is the camera terrible? No it is not, but it could be a hell of a lot better. If you are out in bright conditions on sunny days then you are going to more than likely be pretty happy with the images the Mlais M52 is capable of, but once you start trying to shoot in anything but perfect conditions the dreaded noise begins to creep in.Mlais M52 photo samples Mlais M52 Review: Battery lifeMlais claim that the battery in the M52 is a 3200mAh battery. Pretty huge and a lot to get excited about especially if you are a power-hungry users and like to run plenty of apps in the background.It鈥檚 quite difficult to tell if a battery is as large as a manufacture tells us, and while we have heard reports of the M52 battery being smaller than it states (2800mAh claims one reseller), we are still seeing pretty good battery life never-the-less. Screen on time of about 6 hours+ is what we were seeing which is around the same as the iPhone 6+.Mlais M52 Review: GPS, WIFI, Bluetooth, LTESpecs for the connectivity of the M52 include Wifi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and AGPS, and support for 2G, 3G and 4G-LTE networks (GSM 850/900/1800/1900Mhz, WCDMA: 850/00/1900/2100Mhx and FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600).Everything here works flawlessly. With a plastic body there is nothing to interfere with the WIFI signal so I have a nice strong signal, and FDD-LTE worked across my trip in the UK and Europe last week! All good stuff.Mlais M52 Review: OS and UIAgain I have no complaints here. Android 4.4.4 Kitkat comes out of the box and that鈥檚 exactly what you get. There are no fancy skins and no custom UI going on, you just get a native Android user experience. When Android 5.0 Lollipop comes along we can also expect the same Vanilla style install and enjoy the nice new transitions and animations which make the latest version of Android so desirable to have. It if comes as聽bloatfree as Kitkat does, performance should continue to be as good as we have seen so far. Although mostly stock there are a few additions. We have a few screen gesture controls built-in which you can toggle on and off, including the much-loved double tap to wake. There are also settings to change the notification light the colour you like.Mlais M52 Review: ConclusionWhen I first read the specs of the Mlais M52 I was pretty excited, but sceptical too. I wanted the phone to be as good as the specifications suggested, but deep down inside I was worried that I would discover some deep dark secret lurking in the hardware.So have I been impressed or has my heart been broken by this Chinese phablet? To be honest I don鈥檛 think I needed to ask that. The Mlais M52 is one of the best value Android smartphones I have used, full stop!For the price of the phone you are getting a good-looking and well made handset with powerful hardware, 64bit processor and can look forward to an Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA in just 5 days time. How many other phones for $159.99 pack so much punch?Ok so the rear speaker quality isn鈥檛 the greatest and the cameras struggle in low-light, but there are $300 phones with the same issues, but they don鈥檛 offer that latest Android, dual SIM LTE, 64bit processor and removable battery.

Blackview sent over their flagship Blackview Omega to take a look at. The phone features a really well made body using glass and a very well finished alloy chassis. A 5-inch FHD display, octacore processor and 2GB RAM are all great features too and performace is better than some phones with similar processors.However with a MT6592 SoC rather than the newer MT6752 the Omega struggles with phones of a similar price, especially as it lacks LTE and isn’t a 64bit phone.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThat said Blackview鑱絘re working with online resellers to offer the Omega at a presale price of $189.99 which includes free shipping. A鑱?10 coupon (BVOMEGAC) is needed for the offer and is valid until 27th March, after which the price will increase to $199.99 with free shipping and 32GB SD card.Blackview Omega Video ReviewWith Summer right around the corner we want to be out in the wilds as much as you and to document what we get up to we will be using Chinese cameras like the SJCAM SJ5000. Watch our unboxing below.Last week it was the Xiaomi Yi Action Camera that we wre focusing on (full review very soon), so what better time to bring in a camera from a more established action camera maker to compare? For this we needed a device already on the market that has amassed a great following, so of course our choice was an SJCAM.I opted for the SJCAM 5000 as at the time of writing Coolicool didn’t have a more up to date version, but rest assured I’ll also get an SJ6000 to test soon also. The SJ5000 really is a remarkable piece of kit, not only does it pack in some high-end features at a low-price, but the number of accessories the camera ships with is just insane! I counted 14 packets and accessories in the box of my SJCAM SJ5000, if you were to buy a GoPro and buy this many additional mounts separately you could easily spend another $150+, and what’s even better is the mounts in the SJ5000 are compatible with GoPro mounts.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramUnlike the Xiaomi Yi the SJ5000 also ships with a protective case which really is a must for extreme sports and keeping the lens protected from stones, knocks and scrapes. The case also means you can use the camera in the rain and even underwater. Specifications for the SJCAM SJ5000 include a 14 mega-pixel sensor, 2-inch LCD display for previewing video and setting up the camera angle, 1080p video recording, WIFI, 170 degree wide-angle lens, 900mAh battery and a claimed 90min battery life. 鑱紻imensions for the camera unit (without case) are 61 x 42.4 x 25mm at a weight of 74g (with the battery).SJCAM SJ5000 UnboxingAs with the Xiaomi Yi Action camera I plan to take the SJ5000 out while mounting biking this week and capture some footage. Luckily (I think) the weather is a little wet so I can test the waterproof capabilities of the case too.

If you are looking at a midrange flagship Android phone from China, then the iOcean MT6752 Rock and JiaYu S3 are likely candidates for you. To make life a little easier here is a hands on comparison of both phones.JiaYu launched their S3 earlier this year and the phone has been an instant hit with fans so Chinese phones, JiaYu and good quality devices in general. Shortly after JiaYu launched the S3, iOcean brought their MT6752 Rock on the market with similar hardware but quirky design and styling. Of the two phones which one is better for you? Watch our hands on comparison to find out.iOcean MT6752 Rock vs JiaYu S3 video comparisoniOcean MT6752 Rock vs JiaYu S3 video comparison: Which to choose?With both phones packing similar specifications it really comes down to just a few details as to which I personally recommend you buy.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramThe iOcean MT6752 Rock comes with 3GB RAM as standard, is slightly thinner and has a 14 mega-pixel rear camera, it also has a more original design but it comes down to personal preference as to if you actually like the look of it or not.The JiaYu S3 is the cleaner, more simple looking phone, it also has a larger 3000mAh battery, shorter and narrower body, cleaner looking UI, dual LED flash and proven 13 mega-pixel Sony IMX214 sensor.After spending many weeks with both phone I can happily say that both flagship devices offer high-end performance and for gaming and everyday use there really isn’t much more that you could want for. Looking at the other features though and I would say that the UI and finish of the ROM on the JiaYu S3 just seems a little more polished, plus the camera on the S3 performs better than the iOcean based on current ROM versions.Battery life is the topic of concern for most smartphone users and even more so these days with manufacturers building thinner and thinner devices, cutting down the available space for a proper battery more and more. The paradox of all this is that only a minority of smartphone users even wants that development. Most are totally fine with thicker devices in exchange for a large battery. Luckily more and more manufacturers start to realize exactly that, resulting in the launch of more and more devices often described at “battery monsters”. Gionee, THL, Lenovo, and just since recently Elephone offer such devices as well. The latter one is the manufacturer we’ve had a device from in the test, and it’s called the Elephone P5000.Elephone P5000 Review: SpecsThe Elephone P5000 is one of the rising manufacturers newest creations, boasting one of the largest batteries that have ever been built into a smartphone. It’s a massive 5,350mAh cell, promising days of battery life. Wanting to provide a benefit over competitors the P5000 even does support fast-charging, eliminating “the wait” you might are used to from previous battery monsters. Unfortunately the other specs might give some of you mixed feelings with an outdated Mediatek MT6592 1.7GHz octa-core SoC, 16GB of memory, no LTE support and a polycarbonate body. Luckily other components seem quite balanced being 2GB of RAM, dual-SIM slots, one micro SD slot, NFC support, a 5-inch 1080p display, a fingerprint sensor, and 16 / 8MP cameras.Elephone P5000 Review: Unboxing, Design, BuildThe Elephone P5000 got delivered in two boxes this time. One larger pack contains the main box and another one housing the 2.5A wall charger for the handset. Unfortunately, the wall charger is the biggest fail we’ve ever experienced with a Chinese phone. It comes with an EU plug but Elephone failed in terms of size. It simply doesn’t fit into a wall socket, making the use of a different USB charger necessary. Other accessories you get with the Elephone P5000 are a micro USB cable, a screen protector, one mini Android OTG adaptor and the usual documentation. The design of the Elephone P5000 is quite pleasant in our opinion. It’s simple yet elegant and even though it doesn’t feature a single piece of metal feels really nice and solid thanks to a very high build quality. The front does remind us a little towards the Samsung Galaxy S5, which the physical home button housing the fingerprint sensor. What we liked is the fact that this phone does offer a status LED, which still too many phones don’t these days. The front and rear of the phone are black, while the frame is chrome plated. It might seem like the Elephone P5000 does feature stereo speakers when looking at the lower frame, but that’s sadly not the case. It’s a single speaker and the second opening only houses the microphone. The right frame houses the volume and on/ off switches, the upper frame the 3.5mm headphone hack and one micro USB OTG port. The rear is covered by a black, matte cover with a rubberized finish, which does feel very nice and adds a decent amount of grip. The frame of the handset and the edges of the cover are rounded to make the phone appear slimmer than it is at 11mm.The back cover can be removed to gain access to the normal sized SIM slots of which the P5000 does feature two, as well as the micro SD slot. One also can spot the battery which takes the majority of space for itself. Unfortunately the cell can’t be removed. It is protected by a solid metal body and screwed tightly into the phone which essentially means that you will need to disassemble the whole device to replace it.Elephone P5000 Review: DisplayElephone is keeping the manufacturer of the P5000’s 5-inch 1080p IPS OGS panel with Gorilla Glass protection a secret but we believe it is made by LG. Quality is typical for LG panels and so are the viewing angles with the slightly reddish tint when looking at it from the bottom or top. All in all this screen is what we call perfect. Colors, contrast, brightness, pixel density, touch panel – it all is top-notch and it can’t be done any better except by using some OLED panel. It’s a real pleasure to the eyes, perfect for pictures and other multimedia content. Elephone P5000 Review:鑱絊oftware & PerformanceThe Elephone P5000 is running the usual 4.4.2 ROM which is the basis for all MT6592 devices with some Elephone modifications on top. Some actually claim the Elephone ROM to look like MIUI, which is something we don’t agree with. The only similarity between the Elephone ROM and MIUI are rounded icons but everything else is looking stock Android. The ROM has been beefed up a little with useful features such as off-screen gestures that are working very reliable and have been made fail-proof so you don’t initiate any unwanted actions in your pocket. The performance has been very satisfying throughout the whole review period and we didn’t encounter any crashes. Of course you notice that this handset is making use of a previous generation MTK chipset, but the MT6592 is still more than enough for anyone not into playing the latest games, especially when paired with a 2GB of RAM. Elephone P5000 Review: Wireless PerformanceReception quality appeared to be good with the Elephone P5000 which we believe is mainly due to the large antennas Elephone built inside this device. Reception of 2G and 3G signals has been above average though not at high-end level during our tests. Phone call quality was very satisfying. Wi-Fi performance has been top-notch with no connection losses throughout the whole building. NFC did also work very well and without any need of perfect alignment thanks to a comparably large antenna in the back cover. GPS performance has been acceptable as well considering this handset is making use of an old Mediatek SoC. Accuracy has been at 2 meters during our tests with cold-fix times of 10 – 12 seconds.Gizchina News of the week Join GizChina on TelegramElephone P5000 Review: Audio QualityThe Elephone P5000’s Hi-Fi performance has been a let-down for us. The design is promising stereo speakers which obviously is not the case. There is one small single speaker built into the phone that does sound very crappy due to distortions going on at higher volume levels. There also is no base playback at all, which makes audio experience even worse. Attaching headphones does improve the overall situation but also doesn’t provide the best quality. It is ok, but not overly balanced and clear.Elephone P5000 Review: CameraCamera is another part the Elephone P5000 managed to surprise us with. Usually, Elephones don’t provide cameras with a decent picture quality, but this time they somehow managed to do. The 16 mega pixel rear shooter takes totally usable pictures with good colors and depth of field. It’s of course not coming close to e.g. the Meizu MX4, yet makes a great everyday camera that you always carry with you. Getting into low-light conditions results in the camera generating some noise, but this can be compensated using the LED flash which actually is bright enough to light up mid-sized rooms. 1080p videos are also recorded in a decent quality and offer good audio quality as well. The only serious flaw we stumbled upon is the focus, which sometimes needs up to 5 seconds to adjust. The front camera makes up for a decent selfie shooter, assuming they are taken under daylight. Elephone P5000 Review: BatteryAnd there we hit the most important part of our Elephone P5000 review, that being battery of course. The massive 5,350mAh Li-Ion monster inside of there is promising a very long battery life, and it doesn’t stop there as it certainly delivers. Power-using this phone with 5 e-mail accounts and 3 social media accounts synchronizing constantly resulted in an easy 2 days of battery life for us. And that’s without cutting back on 3D gaming, running Dead Trigger 2 for at least one hour every evening! We are pretty sure that the average user will reach at least a full 3 days of battery life, while some might even hit the 4 or 5 days. There’s reason to complain though, and that’s because we believed Elephone didn’t make use of the full potential this huge battery does offer. Why? Simply because the Elephone P5000 only reached 9 hours and 25 minutes of screen-on time in the PCMark battery benchmark. Remember back to the Colorfly G708 slate, which reached close to 8 hours with a similar SoC and larger screen at only 3,000mAh of battery capacity. Now for hardware optimizations it definitely is too late, but there still can be improved a lot on the software side, which we hope is exactly what Elephone will do with future OTA updates, unlocking a larger junk of monster. And what’s with the promised fast charging? Well, Elephone actually claims that the battery can be charger to 70% within 30 minutes on their website. What sound like nonsense really is. No battery would survive the amount of amperes that would need to be pumped into the cell to charge it that fast. Still, fast charging is there and it is working well. Charging from 20% to 100% only takes 1 hours and 45 minutes, which is quite amazing considering the size of the battery. So in the end charging time is amazing, while Elephone’s lie definitely is not.Remains one thing to talk about, and that’s the non-replaceable battery. We’ve heard quite a few folks complaining about that, but actually there is no need to. You have to consider the fact that today’s battery cells are specified with around 800 cycles. But using up all of them doesn’t mean that your battery will be dead afterwards. It only means that a certain degree of the originally specified capacity is gone, which on average are a 20 – 30%. Now this means after 800 cycles you will be left with 70 – 80% of the original capacity, which in case of the Elephone P5000 still would be at least 3,745mAh, a lot more than most other phones provide. Now think about the fact how long one charging cycle does last. Lets assume the average user will re-charge the battery after 3 days. This means that you will use up roughly 122 cycles per year, which basically can be considered as nothing. Of course this calculation is very basic and doesn’t represent the reality, but it is enough to tell that this battery will outlast the phone itself, so stop worrying and start using!Elephone P5000 Review: VerdictThe Elephone P5000 is a very solid phone that for sure isn’t high-end but doesn’t have much flaws as well. It’s one of those few Chinese phones you simply use without having to worry about something. Screen, reception quality, camera, battery life – this is what the Elephone P5000 does very good in. Yet we have to say, that it is a little expensive. On average you pay $220 for the Elephone P5000, which really sounds like a lot for a phone not even using the next generation Mediatek processors. And indeed, it might be too much to spend for anyone who doesn’t really need such a huge battery. But those who do might well be willing to pay this amount of money, and they do get a very solid device that has been worth the money. In the end it once again depends on what you need, and those who need get our green light on the Elephone P5000.