Cube Talk 5H in Depth Review - The Best Entry-level Smartphone - Android General

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What is the CUBE Talk 5H?​
The Talk 5H (A5300) is CUBE’s first smartphone product, which is made as a rival to the Xiaomi Hongmi phone and Lenovo A850. A phone tasked with getting CUBE into the smartphone industry, it features an array of competitive innards. It has a 5.5-inch IPS display at 1280*720 pixels, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU and an impressively large 2,500mAh battery. Priced at RMB999 ($164), it really gives the nobody-is-able-to-buy Xiaomi Hongmi phone a run for its money!
Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHiI7qamN9Q
Pros
1. Vivid and rich colors from the 720p IPS display.
2. Good for multimedia
3. Eye-dazzling MIUI, thousands of themes to choose from
4. Smooth performance from the MT6589 quad-core processor
5. Strong loudspeaker with clean sound.
6. Great battery life.
Cons
1. The cheap feel from the plastic shell
2. Incapable cameras
3. Only 4GB of internal storage
4. 200g weight does feel a little heavy for a phone
Key Features:
5.5-inch IPS Capacitive Panel, 1280*720
MIUI V5 (Android 4.2.1)
MT6589 quad-core Cortex-A7 [email protected], 28nm process, SGX544 GPU
1GB RAM
4GB ROM
FM Radio
Bluetooth V4.0
GPS
Wi-Fi 802.11n/b/g
WCDMA: 2100MHZ / GSM: 900MHZ + 1800MHZ
Front-facing 1.3MP camera and rear-facing 8.0MP camera with auto-focus support
High quality stereo speaker
Vibration
Light Sensor, G-sensor, Proximity Sensor
Dual SIM
2500mAh Li-Po battery
Design and Build
Continuing the trend of ever-growing screen sizes, the CUBE Talk 5H pairs a 5.5-inch 720P IPS display with a dramatically reduced bezel. This combination maximizes the amount of on-screen real estate while keeping the phone’s overall footprint small. Above the display are a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls and a proximity sensor along with the telephone receiver.
The CUBE logo can be found in the middle of the phone’s back, where there are also an 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash. You will also find the stereo speaker in the lower left corner.
The 3.5mm headphone jack and the Micro USB port are the only connectors to be found along the edges of the Talk 5H, you could only get access to the SIM slots (One standard-sized, one micro) and Micro SD card slot when the battery cover is removed.
The placement of the physical keys (power/standby button & volume rocker) on a phone accommodating a large 5.5-inch screen is understandably a bit inconvenient. I had to shuffle the phone around in the palm to use them on many occasions, and a lot of the time I couldn't use my thumb to hit the whole of the screen without jiggling the phone up and down.
Like many of the cost-efficient smartphones, the CUBE Talk 5H is let down by a plastic body that feels flimsy in parts. The battery cover just never feels as solid as those installed on Samsung smartphones, I am almost having a heart attack each time I have to remove it. What’s more, the gloss finish on the plastic body is a magnet for fingerprints and grime, further causing the Talk 5H to look even cheaper.
At 9.5mm thick, the Talk 5H is far from the most svelte smartphone offering. It's a lot thicker than the Lenovo K900 (6.9mm), but it is on par with the 9.4mm thick Samsung Galaxy Note2 and 9.45mm thick Lenovo A850. And at 200g, the CUBE Talk 5H is also a little heavier than the Note2 (180g), A850 (184g) and K900 (165g). Despite this, the Talk 5H never feels bulky or uncomfortable in the hand, with a slight curvature to the phone’s rear giving it an ergonomic fit.
The thing that I love about the Talk 5H’s design is that it’s one of a kind, although you could find a bit of the OPPO Find5 and Sony phones in it, it is still a distinct design. I personally believe it is the best-looking smartphone under RMB1000 ($165).
Screen and Sound Quality​
The 5.5-inch IPS display of the Talk 5H is bright and vibrant, offers very good viewing angles, and strong color saturation. Even when you put it next to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, the Talk 5H is not blown out of the water. Actually, you would find sometimes the IPS panel works even better than the HD Super AMOLED screen. For instance, I would prefer to see the umbrella image on the Note2, but I love the sunflower image better on the 5H.
Unfortunately, the CUBE Talk 5H’s screen quality is not without the odd blemish. The display is a little on the reflective side, with outdoor conditions producing an unwanted amount of glare. But the price could easily help you forget about this slight issue.
The speaker of the Talk 5H is also very nice, producing high-volume sound for gaming and videos, my only issue is that even when you turn the volume all the way down to the lowest possible, the sound can still be a little loud for certain occasions.
Software
The CUBE Talk 5H is an Android phone with a custom-made MIUI interface on top. Building on Google’s Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean OS, the MIUI interface has all the features and functions you would want and expect from a high quality smartphone. It is not as overloaded as the Samsung's Touchwiz interface, but is more exciting with thousands of elegant and colorful themes.
Besides the elegance, the MIUI also makes the Android easier to use. Lots of the customized Xiaomi apps and widgets handily enhance the overall experience, and the rearrangement of the pull-down status bar and Android setting makes everybody aware of what needs to be done.
The wonderful Micloud service can be used for backing up all the important data of the phone.
Another advantage of the MIUI is its incomparable smoothness. Browsing through the homescreens happens incredibly fast, uninstalling an application only takes less than a second, sometimes it makes you feel as if you are on iOS instead of Android.
Performance​
The MTK MT6589 quad-core chipset is probably the most popular choice for entry-level smartphones now. But the performance of the Talk 5H is by no means entry-level. Above are the benchmark scores of the device and the comparison with the notches of some other quad-core smartphones.
In its real world performance, the 1.2GHZ quad-core Cortex-A7 processor and the PowerVR SGX544 GPU easily generate enough power to run everything smoothly on the Talk 5H, including some of the most graphic-intense games such as the “Need for Speed: the Most Wanted” and “Virtua Tennis”.
Video content also benefits from the large screen and graphics partnership, with motion blur and image lag now a thing of the past. The only issue I have with the Talk 5H is its pitifully small built-in storage, I only have 1.6GB storage usable after the system files and ROM taking up most of the 4GB flash disk. Thankfully there is a Micro SD card slot on board, and everyone using this phone will have to need it!
Even loading those most image-heavy websites, hiccups and lags were rare.
Call Quality and Connectivity​
The Talk 5H features 2G and 3G connectivity and performs admirably across both network types. Connections proved strong during call and online use, and I suffered no unexpected signal loss or dropped calls during my time with the phone. Call quality was sharp and clear and volume was easily managed using the volume rocker on the left edge.
Cameras
The cameras on the Talk 5H don’t live up to today’s smartphone standards. Although the MIUI does give the Talk 5H a lot of shooting options.
Normal shootings
Panorama Mode​
The 8MP F/2.8 rear-facing camera is probably one of the worst 8MP cellphone cameras I have ever seen. Sharp and clear photos can only happen while the ambient light is just right, but the colors of those snaps are still far less good-looking than those from the market-leading flagship phones. The LED flash does help with shooting in low light, but you should not put your expectations too high, either.
The front-facing camera is not even nice for video calls, and I would not recommend you to use it for selfies.
Battery Life​
The Talk 5H packs a 2,500mAh Li-Po battery. Judged by smartphone standards, the Talk 5H delivers decent battery endurance. Two days of regular, 3G-powered use are a perfectly reasonable expectation from this device. After 3 hours of nonstop heavy use — involving some benchmarks, web browsing, several phone calls, and online video playback — I was left with 64 percent of battery power remaining.
In our standard TR battery tests, the 5H gives an 8 hours, 12 minutes run time in 720P video playback, it also streamed an online TV show for 7 hours and 49 minutes.
If you are willing to sacrifice some performance for longer use, you can turn on the “CPU Power Saving Mode” in the settings.
Even better, the phone’s power supply is removable, meaning a spare battery can be carried for emergencies or heavy business use.
The Verge​
With the help from MTK, lots of the entry-level smartphones are now equipped with quad-core processors, and have relatively strong performance. I can easily list a dozen of those phones under the price of RMB1000 ($165) without even thinking.
The CUBE Talk 5H is a brilliant device. Unlike most of the entry-level smartphones which have the MTK quad-core SoC., but the stock or poorly customized interface, the CUBE Talk 5H runs the MIUI, which I personally consider to be the best customized Android OS. This greatly enhances the users’ experiences of this phone. There are some setbacks, as you can imagine from such a low-priced device, including poor cameras, but none of them denies how wonderful the 5H actually is.
I bought the Talk 5H as a birthday gift for my dad, but now feel reluctant to give it to him. The MIUI, the big HD screen, and the compact design are all too nice to give away, and I bet anyone ever uses this phone should feel the same way, too. At RMB999, it is arguably the best choice for smartphones below the price point of RMB1000.

Pretty brilliant device, hope people enjoy it.

I also liked the phone, but THL W100S looks better than it.

Lindsay02 said:
I also liked the phone, but THL W100S looks better than it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THL devices also have decent quality and are reasonably priced, but the one thing special about the 5H is the MIUI it runs, pretty brilliant!

Lindsay02 said:
I also liked the phone, but THL W100S looks better than it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thl has released a new phone, with octa-core processor, and pretty nice-looking, too, wanna buy one!

jupiter2012 said:
thl has released a new phone, with octa-core processor, and pretty nice-looking, too, wanna buy one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said THL T100 eight-core phone? I booked a THL T100 on the www thlmobilestore com website, Do not know when I can receive phone?

EvangelineX said:
You said THL T100 eight-core phone? I booked a THL T100 on the www thlmobilestore com website, Do not know when I can receive phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have u got it, how is it?

Related

Benyi Miracle One Quad-core In-Depth Review

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The Benyi Miracle One (AKA Dolphin) has the hardware needed for high end Android tablets. But still, with so many more tablets currently on the market, choosing the right one involves a great amount of research deliberation, so let’s take a look at what this package from Benyi has to offer.
Highlights
1.4 GHz Exynos4412 Quad-Core Processor
9.7” 1024×768 IPS display
1GB LPDDR2 RAM
12,000 mAh Lithium battery. (Approximately 10 hours of use)
5MP rear camera
3MP front camera (webcam)
Stereo Speakers
Specs:
Operating System: Android 4.0.3
Model: Benyi Miracle One (Dolphin)
Display Technology: IPS capacitive touch screen
Screen Size:9.7 inch
Resolution:1024*768
CPU Manufacturer: Samsung
CPU Model: Exynos 4412 (Quad core Cortex-A9)
CPU Speed: 1.4GHz
GPU: Quad core of Mali-400MP
GPU Speed: 400MHZ-440MHZ
RAM: 1GB LPDDR2
Hard Drive Capacity: 16GB
Storage Card Support: No
Camera: 3MP+5MP Auto Focus
HDMI: No
Bluetooth: No
GPS: NO
G-Sensor: Yes
Gyroscope: Yes
Audio: Built in stereo speakers / Built in Microphone
Language: Multi-language support
Battery Type: Li-ion, 12,000mAh
Charging Voltage: 5V - 2A
Color: White plus sky blue
Item Dimensions/ W*D*H:238.5×181×11mm
Net Weight: 680g
Connectors
Ports: 1 x Micro USB port (with OTG support)
1 x Audio jack
Communications
Wireless Connection: WIFI 802.11 b/g/n
Retail Package
The Benyi Miracle One, along with a USB data cable, an OTG cable as well as a pair of earphones is held by a very interesting, yet very expensive-looking see-through plastic packing box, which kind of reminds me of the Apple iPod touch, only it comes gigantic.
The battery charger is packed in a smaller paper back box.
Besides, I have also received a white leather case which is a perfect fit for the tablet and piece of anti-friction screen protection cover. All of the standard fittings of the Benyi Miracle One are of relatively high quality.
Design
The Benyi Miracle One has a stunning iPad-alike design, as this tablet features a 9.7 inch screen up front, pure white bezel and almost the same size as iPad2. The only difference you would notice is probably the blue sidelines around the bezel, and the absence of the famous home key.
Above the display, a 3.0 mega-pixels front facing camera sits in the right corner ready for our video chatting needs of self-portrait.
Flipping over to its backside, you will find more differences from the iPad2. The surface of the Dolphin’s backside is ABS engineering plastic, which feels very smooth, while the iPad2’s backside surface is made of magnalium alloy, which gives the device more of a frosted feeling. The Dolphin is also treated to a respectable 5.0 mega-pixels auto-focus camera, which can shoot relatively sharp images to share on Twitter and Facebook. The triple speaker gates can be found at the lower left, right near the bottom edge, this could prevent sound blocking while you put the tablet on a flat surface. You could also find Benyi’s Logo and some other information about the device on the lower middle of the tablet’s backside.
Just like the iPad2 and some Samsung tablets, Benyi has taken the minimalist approach, opting for just power/standby, screen rotation lock and volume buttons as the only physical controls and Micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack as the only connectors on the device which means, somewhat disappointingly, that there’s no sign of HDMI or SD card ports.
At 680g, it’s over 200g heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab8.9, and measures in at 11mm in thickness which as a result, makes it extremely uncomfortable to hold in one hand. Benyi has claimed that the extra thickness is for the 12,000 mAh battery, so how can I not forgive them for not making the device a little slimmer?
Whether you find the design of the Miracle One good-looking is more of a personal taste. For me, I would say I probably prefer tablets like the PIPO M8 or the Motorola XOOM which represent the essence of black technology. But I do adore the overall clean appearance of the Miracle One. As it is manufactured by a famous OEM (FOXCONN), its build quality can also be guaranteed.
Display
We’ve seen plenty of Chinese tablets utilizing IPS displays of some sort, like the Ainol Hero and the PIPO M8. As a higher-end device, the Miracle One hasn’t gone beyond any of them by featuring a normal 9.7 inch 1024*768 pixels IPS display. This is still a decent choice since no android tablet with an FHD or retina display works fine enough to kick XGA screens out of the scene.
However, I would not suggest you to expect its quality to be as good as the Super IPS+ displays featured on those market-leading tablets such as ASUS Transformer Prime. Even though it has great viewing angles and color saturations like all IPS screens do, its brightness is not strong enough to support outdoor use.
The brightness of the Miracle One’s Display is not as good as the One featured by PIPO M8
Hardware
In terms of SoC, Benyi has chosen the impeccable Samsung Exynos 4412 quad core chipset, based on Cortex A9-frame and used 32nm workmanship. The main frequency of each core can reach 1.4GHz, and it is also powered by a quad-core Mali 400 GPU @44oMHZ, which proves to be more than adequate in my test of running some graphically intense games. 1GB of LPDDR2 ram only helps the tablet run various applications simultaneously, but also incurs lower power consumption than the DDR3 ram used in other Chinese tablets.
In terms of raw processing potential, Exynos 4412 leads the other chipsets used on android tabs by a large margin. Software optimizations and clock rates aside, increased parallelization allows this SoC to work on more data concurrently. Similar to the desktop space, adding cores doesn't turn out to have a multiplicative effect on most real-world applications. But an enhanced ability to multitask is nice, especially as resource-hungry background tasks pile up.
Here are some benchmark scores and comparison to the scores of other tablets:
Here are some screenshots of gaming on the Dolphin:
Interface
The tablet is running Miracle OS, an extensively customized operating system based on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Benyi has transplanted almost the entire iOS interface onto an Android tablet. You would easily mistake it for an Apple iPad since the tablet has no ICS status bar, which also means that the famous software controls for “Back”, “home” and “task switcher” are nowhere to be found. Benyi has smartly designed a floating software key, which imitates the famous home button on the Apple iPad, both in appearance and functionalities. When you press the key once, it exits from the current screen to the previous one, just like the back button in the status bar on other Android tablets. But when you press the soft key for over 1 second, you would go back to the main screen. And if you press the key twice in a row, the customized task switcher would come out from the button of the screen, just like the one on iOS.
Several spots along the corner of the screen are reserved for you to place the floating soft key, but I sometimes find its presence quite annoying, especially when I am playing games or watching some video clips. For me, any customization done to the stock ICS UI is unnecessary, let alone a complete change just like the Miracle One brings.
Internet and Connectivity​
We’ve always been favorable with the web browsing experience on most ICS flavored tablets, but for some, the experience is marred by choppiness and sluggishness. Well folks, that’s not the case with the almighty Benyi Miracle One, as it represents what a flawless web browsing experience should be like. Not only is it able to load complex web pages very fast and accurately, it doesn’t flinch whatsoever when pages littered with heavy Flash content. All in all, it maintains its steady responsiveness and fluidity with various navigational controls to make it such a joy traversing through content heavy web pages. Seriously, I sometimes find myself getting lost in perusing a variety of pages for the simple reason that its performance is near perfect.
Connected to a Wi-Fi network, the tablet is able to establish a solid connection with very little evidence of fluctuation – and more importantly, it’s still able to connect perfectly at 10 meters away. However, the absence of Bluetooth is quite a letdown for such a high-end device.
Camera​
Turning our attention to its camera interface, Benyi again manages to give it a complete iOS feeling, sporting only a large viewfinder, a front/rear camera switcher, and a photo/video taking switch. The simpleness certainly makes it easier to use, but for a tablet featuring a 5.0 Mega-pixels AF camera, I would have expected more controls. Lastly, it takes less than one second to snap an image, which is extremely fast.
Photoes taken by the rear 5.0 Mega-pixels Camera​
Taking into account the kind of camera it’s packing on, there’s naturally some high expectations attached to it, since it carries something that’s beefier than most other tablets. As a whole, its quality is good enough to accept for the majority, but not great to put in in good light with the quality exhibited by some smartphones. Details are average looking, but for some odd reason, outdoor shots and indoors under florescent lighting tend to have a cooler looking color production – thus, casting a distinctive bluish/greenish hue to our photos. However, I am sorely disappointed that its quality tanks in extremely low lighting situations. Plainly, it’s diminished by its poor details, pervasive digital noise, and inability to handle dynamic range. Also, the absence of LED flash makes it impossible to take photos in a dark environment.
Photoes taken by front-facing camera​
For me, the 3.0 mega-pixels front facing camera is the real plus here, serving us with optimized online video-chatting experiences, much better than what the Galaxy Tab brings.
Multimedia
Not surprisingly, the interface of the music player on the Benyi Miracle One also imitates the one on the iOS. In fact, it’s the same exact one I am familiar with as I have received an iPad2 as a gift from my company! Well, at least it’s still an attractive looking one thanks to the clean feel to it. And the triple speakers packed on the tablet produce a good amount of intensity with its output – with no evidence of crackling during my usage. Additionally, there are various equalizer settings, even manual ones too, that fine-tunes the quality for each specific genre of music.
Do you need a traveling companion that’s worthy enough to play many hours of movies or music videos on the road? Well, the Benyi Miracle One is easily the number one candidate with its gorgeous looking display and indomitable quad-core processor. With my test videos encoded in H264 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 resolutions, it’s simply a joy to watch them on the Dolphin thanks to its smooth playback, realistic colors, and sharp details.
Software
​
Interestingly, the tablet isn’t bogged down out of the box by bloatware, and in fact, preloaded third party apps are kept to a minimum. Specifically, it’s preinstalled with only a free app market, a WPS office, a VIVA HD magazine reader which only offers Chinese magazines, and some Google applications (Google Maps, Google Talk and Google Play).
Battery Life​
The Dolphin features three Li-Po rechargeable batteries of 4,000 mAh, which add up to an ass-kicking 12,000mAh of power, offering more than 10 hours of intense usage. During my 720P video-playback test, the Miracle One (with 30% display brightness and 50% of speaker volume) lasted 12 hours and 40 minutes, which is by far the best result I have had testing any tablet.
But here’s also another annoying issue, the tablet cannot be charged under a shutdown state, every time I plug in the charging cable, the tablet automatically boots itself. A full charge can take up to 7.5 hours with the bundled 5V-2A charger. What should also be noted here is that the tablet is charged via the Micro USB port, not the 2.5mm DC port we have seen on almost all Chinese tablets.
Verdict​
The Good:
1.4 GHz Exynos4412 Quad-Core Processor
Adorable industrial design
1GB LPDDR2 RAM
12,000 mAh Lithium battery.
5MP rear camera
3MP front camera (webcam)
Stereo Speakers
The bad:
No Bluetooth
No Micro SD card slot
No HDMI
Excessively Customized user interface
Incapability of charging under a shutdown state
Unquestionably, this is the tablet to own right now if you’re in the market of buying one, and trust me, you won’t be disappointed at all. First and foremost, we have to give Benyi credit in taking the opportunity in delivering such a high-caliber tablet that’s no doubt a benchmarker in many categories.
Ushering us into the age of quad-cores, the Benyi Miracle One screams remarkably in the processing department – making it the fastest and best performing Android tablet I’ve had the prestigious opportunity of checking out. For some time now, Android had this stigma of never achieving the fluidity and responsiveness found with iOS, but this seemingly breaks them down and shows the endless possibilities of an Ice Cream Sandwich powered device. To balance things out, I am also impressed that battery life isn’t compromised in the least bit, as it’s able to surprise me with its excellent performance.
When you think about its adorable industrial design, muscle power quad-core processor, impeccable battery life, and brilliant looking IPS display, and its choice of Foxconn as the OEM, you could easily assume that it should be quite costly. However, Benyi has somehow managed to keep its cost of ownership quite affordable. The 16GB version of the tablet, along with a very gorgeous protection case and a piece of high quality anti-friction screen cover, is priced at RMB1990 ($319). I would not say it’s the cheapest quad core android tablet you can get coz it’s not, but I would say it’s the best quad-core tablet you can get under RMB 2,000 ($320.00).
Here is the score I would give this device:

Embrace the Difference — The CUBE U39GT Hands-on Review

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CUBE has released two new models last month, but it seems the attentions all went to the Talk 79 (U55GT), which has a 7.9-inch IPS display, a quad-core processor and full phone functionalities, that very few people actually noticed the U39GT. However, I am a much bigger fan of this slate, which sports a 9 inch FHD Samsung PLS display, and owns features such as the peppy RK3188 chipset, 2GB RAM, Bluetooth, etc.
Key Features:
◇9 inch 16M-color PLS display at WUXGA resolution (1920X1200 pixels), 256PPI
◇Rockchip RK3188 SoC., 28nm quad-core 1.6GHZ Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP4 GPU, 2GB DDR3 RAM
◇Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean OS with heavy customizations
◇16GB of built-in-storage
◇2MP front facing camera, 5.0MP rear-facing AF camera
◇AAC Stereo speakers
◇HDMI TV-out
◇Bluetooth 2.1
◇Anti-rolling frame
◇USB host
◇MicroSD card slot
◇1080p video playback
◇5200mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery
Design​
The U39GT looks just like a smaller version of its larger, and older brother: the U30GT2. There’s sufficient amount of bezel on either side of the screen, so you can use it in any orientation. When you're holding the device in landscape, it's really comfortable, but the 16:10 device is so long and skinny that it feels top-heavy when you pick it up in portrait. The iPad's much more amenable to being held both ways — in portrait for reading and browsing, landscape for movies and games — while the U39GT is very clearly designed to be held sideways and used in landscape.
Of course, the front is dominated by a 9-inch PLS display made by Samsung. A 2MP front-facing camera sits comfortably on the upper left corner, which can be used for online video chatting. But the intelligent light sensor, which helps the tablet to automatically adjust the display brightness, is nowhere to be found.
All the keys and connectors are hosted on the left edge. You will find a power button, a volume rocker, a Micro HDMI port, a MicroSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack and a 2.5mm DC port there. The metal trim around the sides gives the tablet a solid feel.
The AAC stereo speaker gates are hosted on the right edge.
The back of the U39GT is magnesium aluminum alloy, which is not only good-looking, but also very durable. The frosted texture also helps to avoid slippage, and provides a welcome contrast from the glass front. It’s completely bare except for the Brand and regulatory logos, and the 8-megapixel camera in the top right corner.
The Chassis doesn’t have a single screw on it, so it feels even more solid!
Its 8.9mm thick body also guarantees a solid hold and great portability.
Display​
As much as the superlative the design deserves, the most impressive feature of the tablet has to be its display. Boasting a Full HD resolution of 1920x1280, the slate's 9-inch PLS LCD panel offers effective color reproduction and clarity from virtually any viewing angle, making it the ideal choice for hosting everything, from video content to 3D gaming apps.
From the photos above, it is obvious that the U39GT crushed the Beneve Miracle One (Dolphin), which uses the same LG display featured by the iPad2, in both colors and pixel density.
However, the brightness is not really satisfactory enough, outdoor viewing would be difficult.
Audio​
CUBE boasts that the AAC technology enhances any audio played through the device, but the stereo speakers on the right side of the U39GT produced average audio. Regardless of what is played -- from Alicia Key's "Brand New Me" to Usher's "Scream" --the sound was not loud at all, as if I was listening to someone's radio from a few meters away.
Interface
The U39GT ships with Android 4.2.2, and adopts a WIN8-like launcher that is exquisitely designed by CUBE, it offers five home screens including a Start home screen, a Social Networking home screen, a Gaming app home screen, an Office app home screen, and a home screen of Other favorite applications. Even the application drawer has been designed very metro-like, and all the shortcuts and widgets will change to cubes once they are dragged onto the home screens to fit the interface.
Performance​
The U39GT is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core rk3188 CPU, backed up by 2GB of RAM. Although this is not really the most cutting-edge SoC. for Android devices, it is still incredibly smooth in day-to-day operation, with almost no performance hiccups, and smooth scrolling in home screens, menus and apps alike. The RK3188’s beefy Mali-400MP4 GPU also means you’re well-equipped for graphic-intense games.
In our benchmark tests, the U39GT scored at the front of the tablet charts without blowing away the competition. Not simply because it’s powering too many pixels, but more capable chipsets such as Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 are now used in tablet products.
1) Antutu
Although the 15,648 overall Antutu benchmark score is dwarfed by the APQ8064 powered Sony Xperia Tablet Z’s 20,259, it does handily beat the 13,989 notched by the Exynos 4412 powered RAMOS W30HD.
2) Geekbench
In the Geekbench test, the U39GT doesn’t really shine, its 1,205 score bottomed the 4 devices we use for comparison.
3) Quadrant
The Quadrant score of the U39GT is also not that satisfactory, almost on par with the snatch of the should-have-been-weaker RAMOS W30HD, and lags greatly behind the Sony Xperia Tablet Z.
4) 3D Mark & An3D XL
In both the graphic-focused 3D Mark and An3D XL tests, the U39GT notched quite decent scores.
5) Vellamo and CF-Bench
Vellamo is by far my favorite Benchmark application, the scores of certain device are very consistent, regardless of the version of the software. Again the Tablet Z topped the charts, but the U39GT also more than held its own against most of the other quad core tablets.
In the CF-bench test, the U39GT also notched a pretty impressive score.
In the real world use, the slate is particularly well-suited for viewing PDF books and magazines, with colors displayed vividly and text appearing crisp and clear. It's also well-equipped for handling most gaming apps with minimal compromise, including demanding 3D games like “NFS” and “Asphalt 7”.
Not everything's perfect yet: scrolling in the browser can still be stuttery at times, and for some inexplicable reason the screen still takes really a while to rotate. But apps don't crash nearly as often, and general slowness and lag is even closer to being totally eradicated.
CUBE has done a good job with multimedia support and features for its tablets. For video, the U39GT supports MP4, RM, H.264, DivX, Xvid, and WMV files at up to 1080p resolution. For audio you get MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WAV, and WMA support. You can also mirror your screen using Miracast with supported HDTVs or connect the slate with an HDMI cable.
The tablet has 16GB built-in storage, as well as microSD support that can add up to 32GB of additional storage to what is already on board.
Connectivity
Probably due to the metal back it uses, the U39GT disappoints in Wi-Fi connection, at a few meters and wall away the data reception could be severely crippled, a strong Wi-Fi tether is strongly recommended if you are going to own this tablet. The addition of Bluetooth V2.1 means you could connect your tablet to things such as input devices, headphones or sound boxes without the annoyance of cables. I only realize the value of Bluetooth when I want to play SEGA Virtua Tennis with my friends!
Cameras​
Let’s be honest — most tablet cameras are pretty crappy. The kinds of shooters you’ll find on even a high-end Android tablet are roughly equivalent to the cheap, blurry, grainy cameras found on low-end smartphones. And the U39GT is no exception, neither the 2MP front-facing camera nor the 5MP rear-facing camera delivers high quality shots, even though the rear-side camera has Auto Focus support. If you just need to use them for video chatting or scanning D-bar code, it does get the job done.
Photos snapped by the rear facing camera.
Battery Life​
The U39GT’s 5,200mAh battery is relatively small for a tablet with a 9 inch FHD display, even the much smaller and thinner ICOO ICOU Fatty2 (7.85 inch display, 7mm thick) packs a bigger 5,500mAh battery. Well, shame on CUBE!
However, thanks to the 28nm process and PMU, the longevity of the tablet is better than the battery figure suggests.
It takes about four hours to charge the U39GT from zero to full, and roughly 7-8 hours to drain it dry. Actual battery life will, of course, depend on how we use the tablet, and variables like high brightness and heavy downloads or streaming will zap the battery a little quicker, but we found it comparable to other 9-inch competitors.
Battery rundown test 1:
Single-looping a 720P MP4 video, the U39GT held its ground for 9 hours and 36 minutes, this was a much better result than what the battery capacity suggested.
Battery rundown test 2:
Streaming an online TV sitcom consecutively, the slate stood up for 7 hours and 48 minutes. Although this is no iPad4 level yet, it is enough time even for the heaviest users in a day.
Verdict
The U39GT is far from being one of the best Android tablets currently, I would give that honor to the waterproof SONY Xperia Tablet Z, the eye-watering Google Nexus 10, and the stylus-enabled Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1.
However, with dozens of Chinese tablets coming into the world every day, the U39GT still stands out by simply being the only one sporting a 9 inch PLS display at FHD resolution. At the budget end of the market there are few better alternatives to the U39GT. The device offers solid specs and an impressive screen resolution, costing less than the 8.9-inch PIPO M7pro it is in direct competition with.
The Good:
High quality chassis, no screw design.
Fabulous display.
Solid Performance.
Reasonable Price.
The Bad:
Uninspiring outdoor visibility.
5,200mAh battery.
Poor Wi-Fi reception.
Incapable cameras.
great and awesome news, but we need root information
About this tablet and mostly for the u55gt / talk79
do you have root information about them?
ozp said:
great and awesome news, but we need root information
About this tablet and mostly for the u55gt / talk79
do you have root information about them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't found a way to root this slate yet, thne standard rk3188 root method doesn't work with this one.
Thats sad, and since the releases of new CPU and new models are very fast, the community foruns cannot cope with this.
You search for a community forum about android, and you find topics and sub-foruns about old products....
Very nice review.
My advice, do not buy the U39GT-3G version. I own it and it has been sent to me by this shop http://www.cube-tablet.com with an incorrect IMEI number. I cannot connect to the internet using my data SIM card.
The incorrect IMEI nummber of my device: 111111111111111 (15 times 1).
I am so fed up by this shop, I only wanted to have this device because it has a 3G SIM card slot and now this, do not buy this product with the 3G SIM card slot. The WiFi only version may be fine, but avoid the 3G version.
Good review, chinese tabs are good for prcie but I am worried about the OS upgrades! is there any custom rom development on cube tabs?
On one hand sorry for ressurecting a relatively old thread on another the reviewer made an embarrassing mistake, one which would avert a would be buyer. The aspect ratio of the slate is 3:2 , not 16:10, which makes it the opposite of "too tall", in fact it's the only android tab I know which is not "long", everybody else use this damned 16:10 ratio which is only good for movies and mediocre for anything else (pretty much for anything that tablets are good for).
To sum up, if this tablet's build quality was not suspect I would forgive it's low battery and recommend it to anyone. Android manufacturers take cues, abandon this "phone like" aspect ratio and start releasing more square, less...oblong tabs. Ergonomically android tabs are rubbish and there is a reason why iPads still reign supreme, in fact if it was not for the abysmal aspect ratio androids would have been taking over long ago in tablets.
Anyway hope tabs like this will be more part of the news...
great tablet, maybe ill get one :d
Cube U55GT rooted + CWM
ozp said:
great and awesome news, but we need root information
About this tablet and mostly for the u55gt / talk79
do you have root information about them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I received my new U55GT today from TD.
Stock firmware (20131021) was (partially?) rooted, installing SuperSU (using MTKdroidtools) completed the rooting.
Using MTKdroidtools I managed to install CWM too, exactly the same way I previously did on my Ainol AX1 poseidon.
Just google for the correct procedure.
After that I made a backup and removed Chinese bloatware.
I'm impressed by U55GT's build quality, stereo sound and the very clear and crispy IPS display.
GPS is fully functional in the Netherlands (out of the box, no modifications needed).
Henk S. said:
I received my new U55GT today from TD.
Stock firmware (20131021) was (partially?) rooted, installing SuperSU (using MTKdroidtools) completed the rooting.
Using MTKdroidtools I managed to install CWM too, exactly the same way I previously did on my Ainol AX1 poseidon.
Just google for the correct procedure.
After that I made a backup and removed Chinese bloatware.
I'm impressed by U55GT's build quality, stereo sound and the very clear and crispy IPS display.
GPS is fully functional in the Netherlands (out of the box, no modifications needed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, did you try using this U55gt on Att 3G data? I'm planing to buy one, but I would like to know whether it is compatible with Att.'s 3G network frequency 850 and 1900 MHz ?
Thanks,
Andy
Henk S. said:
I received my new U55GT today from TD.
Stock firmware (20131021) was (partially?) rooted, installing SuperSU (using MTKdroidtools) completed the rooting.
Using MTKdroidtools I managed to install CWM too, exactly the same way I previously did on my Ainol AX1 poseidon.
Just google for the correct procedure.
After that I made a backup and removed Chinese bloatware.
I'm impressed by U55GT's build quality, stereo sound and the very clear and crispy IPS display.
GPS is fully functional in the Netherlands (out of the box, no modifications needed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cube stuff has much better quality than PIPO or Vido.
来自我的 LG-F240L 上的 Tapatalk
Andy805888 said:
Hi, did you try using this U55gt on Att 3G data? I'm planing to buy one, but I would like to know whether it is compatible with Att.'s 3G network frequency 850 and 1900 MHz ?
Thanks,
Andy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if it is WCDMA, it should work fine.
来自我的 LG-F240L 上的 Tapatalk
Cube U39GT - Disappointing!
Stock ROM is very uncomfortable and unstable. Very often crashes. Is not so beautiful (personal opinion). The biggest problem, however, is poor coverage of the wireless connection! I'm not sure that really supports standard N, as written in the description ! When the router is about 1.5 meters without walls or other obstacles, the network is stable, but the speed is very low - around 500-1000 Kbps (compared to the speed of my phone is about 5-6Mbps HTC Desire, my laptop - 50-60Mbps)! When the router is in the next room, the network becomes very unstable and occasionally interrupted, rarely exceed 200kbps speed (for comparation with the phone - the network is stable, and the rate is about 2-3 Mbps). HTC Desire does not support N standard and compared to newer phones network is quite low! I do not think this is normal and I would not buy again a device of this class! I root because I thought the problem may be software, I found only two custom Rom on the internet, but the problem remain!
I advise people who want to take advantage of the tablet using an internet connection, do not buy this device right! If you do not use the tablet for work on the internet, which I very much doubt, then no problem, but the cost of a device without an internet connection is very high!
Cube vs iFive vs Pipo
Henk S. said:
I'm impressed by U55GT's build quality, stereo sound and the very clear and crispy IPS display.
GPS is fully functional in the Netherlands (out of the box, no modifications needed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Henk, still content with your cube tablet? do you have no complaints at all?
i'd also like to buy a low budget device, but i find myself oscillating too much between the one above and some other two with very similar specs, namely iFive mini 3gs from FNF and P8 from Pipo.
after guglin' a lot these days, i still cannot make up my mind...
any advice?

Acube Talk 7X (Quad Core) Hands-on - A Nice Voice-calling Tablet

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In spite of all the scorn poured out on tablets with voice-calling support, they are the rage in China, with all tablet manufacturers trying to grab a slice of the market. The domestic voice-calling tablet segment is growing with a number of launches from both Chinese and international manufacturers such as Samsung, Lenovo, ASUS.
On the lower end of this market segment, one of the latest voice-calling tablets is the Acube Talk 7X (Quad Core). The Talk 7X (Quad Core) is the refreshed version of the original Talk 7 and Talk 7X, which were respectively released in October and December, 2013. Much like the original Fonepad, the new Talk 7X (Quad Core) comes with a MediaTek processor, supports voice-calling and in addition, it comes with upgraded specifications. But, can it do enough to unseat some very high profile competition? We take a look.
Key Features:
◇7 inch PLS display at WSVGA resolution (1024X600 pixels)
◇Weighs 320g, 191.2*106.5*9.9mm in size.
◇MediaTek MT8382 SoC., 1.2GHZ Qual-core Cortex-A7 processor, Mali-400MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM
◇Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
◇8GB of built-in-storage, expandable by TF card
◇VGA front-facing camera; 2.0MP rear-facing camera
◇Stereo speaker
◇GPS
◇Bluetooth V4.0
◇GSM/WCDMA, full phone functionalities.
◇FM Radio
◇USB on the go
◇MicroSD card slot
◇Standard 3.5mm audio jack
◇1080p video playback
◇3000mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery, 5-6 hours battery life
Design and Build​
The Talk 7X’s front houses a 7-inch display surrounded by a black bezel. The front panel does not include any branding, which I would consider a good tradition by the Chinese maker. Thanks to the Jelly Bean's onscreen navigation keys, which mean the front of the device is devoid of physical buttons, leaving simply the black bezel with an earpiece, a VGA camera, a light sensor and a proximity sensor.
On the right side of the device are the rather excellent buttons, with the one piece volume rocker sited just below the power button. They have a very responsive feel and are easy to find with your fingertips. The buttons are colored white to match the finish of the rear side, blending in nicely.
Unusually, the Talk 7X has its micro-USB port located on the top of the device next to the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. While it's uncommon to find the USB port on the top of a tablet of this size, it is ergonomically sound as the Talk 7X is simple to use while charging.
The positioning of this port also helps reduce the costs of manufacturing the tablet, as the circuit board has the connection for the port at the top. Acube has avoided running a cable to the bottom of the tablet as it had to on the original Talk 7.
The 2MP rear camera is housed in the upper left corner of the white glossy plastic back, which gives the tablet a somewhat cheap feeling.
Actually, this upper part of the back is removable, underneath are the dual SIM slot and Micro SD card slot.
You could also find an aperture in the lower middle, along with some of the information Acube wants you to see.
Measuring at 191.2*106.5*9.9mm, it is smaller than most of the 7-inch voice calling tablet. The only smaller 7-incher with phone functionalities I can think of is the Huawei MediaPad X1, which, of course, is many times more expensive than the 7X.
Holding the Talk 7X with one hand between thumb and forefingers is a comfortable grip that can be maintained for some time, no doubt due to its relative lightness and weight balance.
Display and Sound
Unlike many other budget tablets, The Talk 7X hasn't skimped on the screen. It has the same PLS display used on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0, comfortably beating the TN displays featured by the Lenovo A1000 and Ainol AX2, which it is in direct competition against.
The 7-inch PLS display the Acube Talk 7X (Quad Core) sports has a resolution of 1024*600 (PPI=169), obviously not quite as good as the best in the business, but it's a step up on the previous Talk 7, which only has a TN display.
Being a PLS LCD screen, it has fantastic viewing angles, even better than most of the IPS panels widely used on Chinese tablets. It does suffer from a little more glare than I would like and the color balance seems a little favored towards a yellowish tint, but these are minor complaints.
Some users will probably find it uncomfortable to be able to discern individual pixels on the display at a typical viewing distance, as most of smartphone displays we look at every day have already gone beyond the so-called retina standard. However, this 7-inch screen still has a much higher pixel density than most of the laptops and PC monitors, thus it should not be much of a problem for tight-budgeted users.
Interface and Software
The Talk 7X runs the Android 4.2.2 OS, along with a healthy amount of customizations on top of it, but nothing to break the head-to-toe Android feel.
The Google Play store works brilliantly on the Talk 7X, with easy access to all the popular apps and games you could want. However there remains a dearth of tablet apps, a space where Google has struggled to engage developers, especially when you compare it to the wealth of high-quality apps made for the iPad.
Seven-inch tablets suffer much less though, as many phone apps still work brilliantly at this smaller tablet screen size.
Benchmarks​
The Talk 7X is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor (Quad-core cortex-A7, Mali-400MP2) with 1GB RAM, which is a huge leap forward compared to its dual core predecessors.
General system performance is reliable and relatively speedy, the Antutu Benchmark test returned a decent 16010, matching the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and besting the ASUS Transformer Prime.
The 5636 Quadrant test result was also surprisingly solid.
The notching in Geekbench2 test was sound, but not very promising.
In the more graphic-focused Nenamark2 and 3D Mark tests, the 7X also did very well.
The browser performance was also proven to be super-solid, the Vellamo test returned an astonishing 1903, putting this $80 device in the same league as the mighty Galaxy S4. And this promise is further proven by the notch in the CF-bench test.
Performance
The way the Acube Talk 7X performs in real world also transcends its budget offering and low price. It's obviously nowhere near the top of the league and sometimes does feel like a machine from the past, but it handily beats many of the pricier cellular tablets such as the Lenovo A3000 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0. The 1.3GHz quad-core processor churns through tasks at a fair pace and it's certainly not unpleasant to use.
The animations when swiping between home screens and loading apps show some jitter at times, but there are no real delays. Apps load fast enough, but the difference in performance between the Talk 7X and my LG Optimus G Pro (Snapdragon 600) is noticeable.
Most games play well once loaded as the graphics processing capability of the 7X is actually very good, and with the screen resolution a notch down from that full 1080P, there are no issues.
Playing 1080P videos on the desktop YouTube page is smooth, and the touchscreen remained responsive to any sort of operations.
Multi-tasking works as well as you would expect given the 1GB of RAM on board. Switching apps is fast and painless, but there is a low limit on the number of big apps that can remain in memory. This isn't a reason to run a task killer, since Android manages its memory very efficiently.
The only time this lack of RAM can be an issue is if you have many tabs open in a web browser. Switching to a browser tab that's not in memory will cause the page to reload. Ultimately though, the memory is sufficient for pleasant enough operation.
Connectivity​
The Chinese manufacturer has been promoting the Talk 7X tablet as a complete device, which has both phone and tablet qualities. Thankfully, the voice-calling feature on the 7X lives up to the expectation. The call quality on the 7X was impressive and the tablet was able to latch on to cellular networks even in weak signal areas which came in handy at times. There's also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, FM Radio and GPS on board. The Talk 7X comes in a single 8GB model, but the storage is expandable with Micro SD card of up to 32GB.
Camera
I am not a big fan of the idea of taking pictures with a tablet, to put it mildly, but if a manufacturer is going to include a camera it had better be decent. The Acube Talk 7X’s camera…. is not.
What we're talking about here is a 2MP camera with no flash assistance. Don't even think about grabbing those Instagram-friendly macro shots here. You'll be sorely disappointed, as the backgrounds tend to come out clear leaving the foreground a blurry mess.
That extends to general shots. Images end up washed out, noisy and lacking in vibrancy and color accuracy.
The front-facing camera can get the online video chatting done, but you would never use it for selfie.
Battery​
Despite having a fairly small 3000mAh battery capacity, Acube has managed to endow the Talk 7X with decent endurance by using a fairly efficient chipset. In constant use, the tablet is easily capable of 5-6 hours' screen time, which is considered pretty good at the budget end of the market.
The system did very well in standby, idle drain is negligible even with wireless connected.
Thanks to its standard micro USB port, charging the tablet is easy: it accepts any standard cable and is fast to charge for a tablet (With its standard 5V-2A plug it only took about 2 hours to finish a full charge).
Verdict
There's obviously nothing outstandingly good about the Talk 7X, but neither is there anything outstandingly bad. This is a budget tablet that actually exceeds my expectations in many ways. It's keenly priced and very capable.
The good:
For a device in this market segment, the Talk 7X has a PLS LCD screen, with nice color saturation, contrast, brightness and viewing angle, although the 1024 x 600 resolution seems like it's from a bygone era before 720p became the entry-level resolution for phones.
Audio through the built-in speakers is loud and reasonably clear, making this a great tablet for watching videos and listening to music.
Dual-SIM support is pretty useful for people who need two different mobile phone numbers.
At RMB499 ($80), it is affordable both as a phone and a tablet, and its performance is much better than the price would suggest.
The bad:
The rear-facing camera is a pretty poor effort from Acube and there's no real value in including it at this price at all.
The glossy plastic shell gives the tablet a cheap kind of feel, and has low resistance to scratches.
A 7-inch budget tablet that also wants to be a phone sounds like a silly idea. But the Acube Talk 7X is, in use, entirely sensible. It is stonkingly good value if a low-cost portable tablet is what you’re after.
seems no one else has anything to share about this model.
Sent from my LG-F240L using xda app-developers app
jupiter2012 said:
seems no one else has anything to share about this model.
Sent from my LG-F240L using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good news for some is that this model is now RMB399, which is around $65, quite a bargain.
where is it available for that price $65.00
Nice review- thank you!
who i the best tablet brand in china?(4 quaity).
Wow!!
Inviato dal mio GT-I9505 utilizzando Tapatalk
Xperia-Ray said:
Nice review- thank you!
who i the best tablet brand in china?(4 quaity).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks and to answer the question, Acube and Ainol probably have the best quality.
Sent from my LG-F240L using XDA Free mobile app
I got in touch with Cube's support staff and they told me that their factory are testing Android 4.4.2 and that it should be released in a couple of days.
I've ordered this tablet, for slightly less than $110 it seems like great value for money. Hopefully I won't be disappointed once I receive it.
I do think Cube could have skipped the rear camera and increased the battery capacity a little instead. (Though I suppose it makes sense to have a rear camera if you use it as your main phone/tablet/phablet, I will mostly use the tablet for movies and games)
acube
very nice review .
i also have this tablet for like a week now and i am very surprised to see that it manages almost every task with such ease.
the only thing in don't like about this tablet is the display unfortunately, ythe colors are not saturated, ther red is quite pinkish blue and green don't have too much power.
i am thinking of calibrating the colors but i don't seem to find an app to do this.
what do you guys think i should do?
thanks in advance
best regards,
gbb14 said:
very nice review .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're used to the very oversaturated samsung colours.
I bought this thing 3 weeks ago as an experiment to get my family onto skype.
Conclusion:
This is a supercheap-supertablet,
I compared it next to an Ipad-air(with a comic), and the colours almost match 100% (in my eyes)
viewing angles are excellent, and performance also (compared to price)
We also have a Galaxy Tab2 7", and this little cheap thing (that even can make calls!) outperforms it roughly.
Wow, after 4 years of membership.....finaly, my first post!
boerke said:
I think you're used to the very oversaturated samsung colours.
I bought this thing 3 weeks ago as an experiment to get my family onto skype.
Conclusion:
This is a supercheap-supertablet,
I compared it next to an Ipad-air(with a comic), and the colours almost match 100% (in my eyes)
viewing angles are excellent, and performance also (compared to price)
We also have a Galaxy Tab2 7", and this little cheap thing (that even can make calls!) outperforms it roughly.
Wow, after 4 years of membership.....finaly, my first post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad u like it as much as i did.
来自我的 LG-F240L 上的 Tapatalk
Help me
Hello, please help. I have a problem with the tablet, the firmware damage and no place I managed to find one that works. Please help me by putting on a rom or something so you can use it, please it would really appreciate it.:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
Babydan said:
Hello, please help. I have a problem with the tablet, the firmware damage and no place I managed to find one that works. Please help me by putting on a rom or something so you can use it, please it would really appreciate it.:crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying::crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had Same problem go to needrom.com down load ROM and brusch tools easy instructions
Will solve your problems.
Rick
Its a nice
I need as much info as possible. Iḿ running stock 4.4.2 and the model number is U51GT-C4BD and I really really would want to get it rooted. None of the common methods i tried work. I am a beginner to supesuser with ubuntu + cli. Could i possibly find a su binary and drop it under system? Also, the main reason is to remove bloath and some tweaking.... By the way its a great tablet for such a low price...
No reset button
jupiter2012 said:
seems no one else has anything to share about this model.
Sent from my LG-F240L using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Acube x7 is a great device but unfortunately when it jamms or bricks one can't reset device ,No reset button:crying:
gdcolin said:
Acube x7 is a great device but unfortunately when it jamms or bricks one can't reset device ,No reset button:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
press nd hold the power button for more than 8 seconds.
来自我的 HTC D820t 上的 Tapatalk
jupiter2012 said:
press nd hold the power button for more than 8 seconds.
来自我的 HTC D820t 上的 Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Useless, i have two of those devices i tried to hold the power button for more than 8 seconds but nothing happened no power on
Not even when you put on charge! Dead devices
Ever saw two models of Cube Talk 7X U51GT W and Cube Talk 7X U51GT-C4 on cube-tablet.com, which model does the above you mentioned belong to? Any differences between these two models? I'm interested to buy Cube Talk 7X online, but before that i need to make a confirmation.
The home and return bar do not work in upright mode they work fine side ways and upside down
---------- Post added at 12:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------
the return and home buttons are only blocked in upright position with the loadspeker at the top
The only good way for this problem seems be to flash with a convenable rom...

Cube i6 hands-on review – A powerful Intel 3G tablet

Introduction
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Cube’s line of 3G tablets have always been a delightful bunch, not only for the affordable cost attached to them, but also for the fact that they’re normally very well-made. It all started with the original Talk 79 back in the summer of 2013, followed subsequently by the release of the Talk 5H, the Talk 9X. Each tablet, of course, proved that it didn’t require consumers to fork over huge sums of money to pick up and own a high-performing unit.
Cube isn’t one of the pioneering Chinese manufactures that produce Intel-powered Android tablets, although it enjoyed enormous success in marketing their Windows 8 tablets such as the Cube iWork 10 and the Cube iWork 8, which are, of course powered by Intel processors.
The Cube i6 is actually Cube’s first Android tablet ever to feature an Intel processor. Is it better than other ANTEL tablets currently on the market, let’s find out?
Cube i6 main specs:
• OS: Android 4.4
• Display: 9.7-inch IPS, 10-point multi-touch, IGZO
• Screen Resolution: 2048 x 1536 (4:3)
• CPU: Intel Atom Baytrail-T Z3735F Quad-core Processor
• CPU Frequency: 1.8GHz
• GPU:Intel HD Graphic
• RAM / Storage: 2GB / 32GB
• Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, OTG, Miracast, FM Radio
• WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
• 3G: WCDMA 900MHz, WCDMA 2100MHz
• 2G: Network Frequency: 900MHz, 1800MHz
• Camera: 5MP back camera , 2MP front camera
• Battery: 8000mAh
• Extend Port: TF Card Slot, SIM Card Slot, Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Earphones Port
• Weight & Size: 500 g / 237 x 170 x 8.8 mm
The package contains:
• Quick Reference Guide
• Product Warranty Brochure
• Micro USB cable
• SIM Tray Removal Tool – which is unnecessary
Design
First and foremost, the i6 is a 9.7-inch tablet. For those who are still not sure about the differences among tablet sizes, above is a photo to show you that.
The overall design of the i6 is simplistic, with strong resemblance to the more popular Cube Talk 9X. The i6 is obviously not made to stand out in the design department, with most attention being paid to the optimization of the Intel Z3735 processor inside. With that said, it does feel right at home in your hands.
The front of the i6 is simple and uncluttered, dominated by a 9.7-inch IPS retina display.
The slate also features a metallic rear which feels very smooth to the touch.
Along the sides you will find all the buttons and ports – a 3.5mm audio jack and a Micro USB port on the top side, and a power/standby key, a volume rocker, a SIM slot as well as a Micro SD card slot on the right side.
The tablet has an overall footprint of 237*170*8.8mm, pretty compact for a 10-incher, but still not as thin as the 7mm thick Talk 9X. As for the weight, the i6 weighs only 500g, even lighter than the 580g 9X.
Although it looks like a thicker version of the Talk 9X, there are still some other minor differences in the i6’s design. The SIM slot is a very meaningful upgrade from previous models. You can pull out the SIM tray by your own finger, without the need of an awkward removal tool.
You have all the sensors you would expect in a modern Android tablet, along with a 2MP front-facing camera on the business side, and a 5MP camera with auto-focus around back. They are both ordinary tablet cameras — so don't expect miracles. We'll talk more about the cameras in a separate section.
Overall there is nothing too exciting about the Cube i6’s design, it is neither very thin nor very light. The missing of an HDMI port or the support for MHL is quite a shame, so as the absence of an IR blaster, which we see more often now on some of the leading flagship Android tablets and smartphones. However, with Cube being the manufacturer, you can always rely on the great build quality and trustworthy after-sale support.
Display
I'll cut straight to the point: The Cube i6's display is gorgeous. Like the rest of the 9.7-inch tablets recently produced, the i6 boasts an impressive 2,048 x 1,536 resolution, topping out at an impressive 264 pixels per inch. Icons and images are so crisp and lifelike that they look painted on. Further, the i6 utilizes an IPS LCD, which results in natural colors and wonderful viewing angle.
This was especially apparent when we used the i6 to browse graphic-intense web pages or read PDF magazines. The tablet's 9.7-inch screen’s sharpness and clarity made it a downright pleasurable experience. However, watching movies or YouTube videos is not equally as pleasant, since most of the videos come in widescreen, there is a great percentage of unused area on the display. Also, most of Android applications are designed for a widescreen, using them on a 4:3 display may result in some awkward distortions. But as the all new Google Nexus 9 and the highly anticipated Nokia N1 both choose to feature a display at 4:3 aspect ratio, it is totally sensible to expect more tablet applications optimized for this aspect ratio.
But when we compare the i6’s display to the one on the more celebrated Talk 9X, we notice some differences. Color temperature of the i6’s display seems too warm compared to the more natural colors on the iPad Air panel used on the Talk 9X. Also the black on the i6 feels a little grey next to the real deep black shown on the Talk 9X.
Overall, the i6 has a very nice display, but certainly not the best we have seen on a Chinese tablet.
Sound
The i6 has dual rear-facing speakers, which are normal for a tablet, but we have to say we do prefer front-facing or side-facing speakers as the sound won’t be blocked it you lay the slate on a table. The i6’s speakers are quite average among Cube’s higher-end tablets, the sound is loud enough for videos and movies. To my non-audiophile ears, I also found them perfectly acceptable for listening to tracks from Spotify. I wouldn't replace your best Bluetooth speakers with them of course, but they'll do in a pinch.
System & UI
The Cube i6 runs stock Android 4.4.4 out of the box, bringing head to toe Android Kitkat experience to the users, whether it will receive the Android Lollipop upgrade remains unknown.
Performance
With a beastly Intel quad-core Z3735 processor and 2GB of RAM, the i6 theoretically offers plenty of power.
As you can see from the table above, the i6 stands up well to other flagship tablets in synthetic benchmark tests such as Geekbench, Quadrant, AnTuTu and CF-Bench, its 3D Mark score even trumped most of the high-end ARM-powered flagship tablets. Its Vellamo HTML5 score, meanwhile, though not the highest, was very respectable as well.
And after spending some serious quality time with the tablet, I have to agree. Swiping and flipping around the tablet's various apps and screens felt gloriously smooth for the most part, and launching most software took mere seconds. For example, in just under two seconds, I was able to launch the camera app and start taking photographs. Snapping pictures is practically instantaneous as well, which is great if you need to capture that perfect moment. The occasional lags and stutters we once found on the Talk 9X were almost absent from the i6.
Common applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Tweetdeck, and YouTube all ran without issue. But there are a very small percentage of applications not compatible with the X86 structure, and that didn’t go unnoticeable on the i6. “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” could not be opened, Mobo Player crushed every now and then. Fortunately, most of the previously incompatible apps now have optimized X86 versions. The 4:3 aspect ratio itself also presented some of the compatibility issues, even more noticeable than the problems with the X86 processor.
Despite some compatibility issues, gaming on the i6 was still a pleasant experience, as the extremely powerful Intel HD Graphics Gen7 GPU worked like a beast most of the time. “Call of Duty: Strike Team” ran smoothly. Frame rates of the “Crazy Cars” were higher than ever, and the i6 remained extremely responsive to my touch all the way through.
Battery
The Cube i6 has an 8,000mAh battery, which is a slightly smaller than the Talk 9X's 10,000mAh power pack. In our standard battery test where we play a 1080P video on loop with 50 percent brightness while having notifications for email, Facebook and Twitter turned on, the i6 lasted for seven hours and 13 minutes. That's substantially less than the Talk 9X and though it's about on par with the older Cube U30GT2, it fares much worse than the iPad Air or Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, both of which lasted well over 10 hours.
Based on what I'm seeing, things are working as designed. You have a big screen (both in size and pixels) and a power-hungry processor. When you let them eat as much delicious battery as they want, the plate empties fairly quickly. When you dish out the juice with a bit of sense, things last longer. This is also one of those things that will get better as the software matures and updates come along.
I'll call it a day-long battery, If you use your tablet like a tablet, by which I mean surfing the web, playing casual games, reading a book or comic, social media, etc. — and the battery life is not bad. With on-again, off-again use like this, the 8,000mAh battery will last you through a day, and likely well into another day. That's going to depend on how many hours you have the screen on.
Cameras
I don't like using a tablet as a camera, not even a little bit. But I realize that tablets aren't just made for me, and plenty of people want or need to do just that. I won't hate on them.
The good news is you have the very same Google Camera application that everyone seems to love installed on the Cube i6, complete with all the bells and whistles that come along with it. The bad news is that it's still an average tablet camera.
You'll get pictures you can use, and if the lighting is just right you'll get some great pictures. Just don't expect too much from a camera on a tablet. Here are a few examples:
Verdict
Long-time readers here at cngadget know I love the Cube brand. I like the bare feel of the stock Android OS, I like the significantly better build quality than products from other Chinese brands such as Onda, Vido or Teclast, and I like the fact that they do care about oversea markets.
I also like the i6, but I don’t love it as much as I love the Talk 9X, which remains as my favorite tablet from a Chinese brand to date.
The performance of the i6 is great, the display is good, and the battery life is okay. I like the future-proof internals such as the Intel processor and 32GB of built-in storage, and it is arguably the best Intel-powered Android tablet from a Chinese brand. I am just not a fan of the overall design, and I know there’re other products out there that suit me better.
With that said, I cannot really pinpoint one thing that I particularly dislike, though. Maybe I am just too caught up in comparing it to the Talk 9X, everything seems like a step back except for the performance.
I guess it is all going to come down to the dollar. If you don’t have a tablet yet or your tablet is more than 2 years old, $162 should be a worthy investment on the powerful and all-around Cube i6. On the other hand, if you have a Talk 9X or something like the LG G Pad 8.3, and have no glaring issues that make you want to get rid of it, your money could probably be better spent elsewhere.
Overall, the i6 is a very well-made tablet, definitely a much better product than high-profile but mediocre devices like the Teclast P98 Air. As I already own my Cube Talk 9X and love it, I would not buy the i6, although I do admit that I was constantly seduced by its stronger performance while testing it. Still, the unnecessary outweighs the necessary.
This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!
jupiter2012 said:
This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received mine but it has wifi issue. The connection is slow and drops frequently. Unusable, I will send it back!
Could you please post androbench results? Many Chinese tablets have sloooow flash memory which hurts day to day use..
kzkz said:
I just received mine but it has wifi issue. The connection is slow and drops frequently. Unusable, I will send it back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had problem about wifi too, even if i claim for new one but still have problem.
Looks nicely, but can't understant why cube don't put hdmi in any their models
tamahos said:
I had problem about wifi too, even if i claim for new one but still have problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will report this issue to Cube, although I didn't experience any wifi issue during my time with it.
jupiter2012 said:
I will report this issue to Cube, although I didn't experience any wifi issue during my time with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now i'm using window 8.1 and don't have wifi problem anymore.
tamahos said:
now i'm using window 8.1 and don't have wifi problem anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you install Windows to Cube i6? Is everything working with it? 3g, GPS?
Thanks in advance!
kzkz said:
How do you install Windows to Cube i6? Is everything working with it? 3g, GPS?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All from this link http://bbs.51cube.com/thread-98624-1-1.html
Download all file from http://pan.baidu.com/share/init?shareid=1366428227&uk=288410357
password : ztyo
This is instruction including in downloaded file but i'm using google to translate it.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kgHgzqF1ZkCg1t0hbEKxZnTOsxWNvK3IBT7kYaBbf7Y/edit?usp=sharing
Do you have mirror link?
Because I'm unable to download image file, I cannot register to baidu, because I cannot type the chienese verification code
New dualOS firmware:
http://www.51cube.com/ch/DownShow.asp?ID=305
If you can download, please make a mirror, because I cannot register to baidu THX
kzkz said:
New dualOS firmware:
http://www.51cube.com/ch/DownShow.asp?ID=305
If you can download, please make a mirror, because I cannot register to baidu THX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Successfully updated to dualOS firmware, but the wifi is still bad. When I use windows the wifi is better that under android, but I think it's not only a software issue, because the reception is worse when I hold the tablet in my hands.
There are two antennas under the hood. One for GPS/WIFI and one for GSM. The wifi antenna is smaller. Maybe it is undersized...
Cube i6 1.05 and DualBoot
kzkz said:
Successfully updated to dualOS firmware, but the wifi is still bad. When I use windows the wifi is better that under android, but I think it's not only a software issue, because the reception is worse when I hold the tablet in my hands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is -
yadi.sk/d/QxwQ8x3ueP3hk
Working (but not easy) root method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55099649&postcount=265
Root is Easy !
kzkz said:
Working (but not easy) root method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55099649&postcount=265
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For Root you just need adb drivers and next step install Kingo Android Root on PC
thats all, just confirm some options in kingo.
HDMI
jupiter2012 said:
This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it support MHL?
I'm considering buying one of these with the sale on, but would people say the WiFI issue is so bad it's not worth it?
Also, has anyone tried USB OTG yet?
rhx123 said:
I'm considering buying one of these with the sale on, but would people say the WiFI issue is so bad it's not worth it?
Also, has anyone tried USB OTG yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also interested to hear how bad the WiFi issue is.
A tablet without proper Wifi connectivity is pointless.
Thanks

vivo X9 hands-on: an ultimate smartphone for selfie lovers

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The good:
Elegant design and great build quality
Gorgeous display
Superb front-facing cameras
Hi-Fi sound
The bad:
Expensive
The rear-facing camera lacks OIS
The Snapdragon 625 processor isn’t future-proof
No NFC
While other smartphones are battling it out on the benchmark front, vivo, a Chinese smartphone brand which ranks at No.5 in the world in terms of shipment, takes a very different approach in marketing their products. The vivo X9 is one of the newest additions to their “camera & Music” smartphone line. Rocking dual front-facing cameras, the X9 is anticipated to attract consumers with ultimate enthusiasm for selfies.
Key features of the vivo X9
• 5.5″ Super AMOLED of 1920*1080px resolution
• 20MP & 8MP dual front-facing cameras with moonlight LED, F2.0 aperture
• 16MP autofocus camera with LED flash, F2.0 aperture
• 4K video recording (both front and rear cameras)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 506 GPU)
• 4GB of RAM, 64GB internal storage
• Funtouch 0S 3.0 (on top of Android OS v6.01)
• AK4376 DAC
• Dual SIM, dual standby
• 2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• 3G Network: HSDPA
• 4G Network: LTE, TD-LTE
• Wi-Fi 802.11, Wi-Fi Direct, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth v4.1
• USB host (dongle required)
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• 3,050mAh irremovable Li-Po battery
Retail package and Accessories
The vivo X9 comes with very elegant packaging and lots of accessories. Inside the box you will find a phone, a charger, a cable for charging and data transmission, two protective cases and two screen protectors.
Design and build
At a glance, the X9 looks like just another extremely refined smartphone from vivo: a large display is dominating the front, and there is relatively small bezel around.
The only major difference you will instantly notice is that there are dual front-facing cameras now, both located on the left side of the ear piece. On the right side, you will find a light sensor and a moonlight LED flash.
There are some less obvious differences which makes the X9 more aesthetically pleasing than its predecessors: the width of the bezel on the left and right side is only 1.59mm each, compared to the 1.82mm of the vivo X7. The black frame around the display has also been reduced. The corners are more rounded, as well.
There is an oval Home button below the display, with a built-in fingerprint reader embedded in it. This key is both capacitive and physical, and offers decent key travel when pressing on it. The oval home button on my Samsung S7 Edge often failed to read my fingerprints due to its narrow reading area, fortunately I haven’t experienced the same problem with the vivo X9, thanks to the relatively larger reading area.
The bottom side plays host to a Micro USB port, stereo speaker gates and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is quite disappointing that vivo decided to choose a Micro USB port instead of a more advanced USB Type-C port for its latest phone. As the latter becomes increasingly popular, it is for certain that Micro USB will be abandoned in the near future.
The power button and volume rocker are hosted on the right side, both of them are very easy to locate and offer tactile feedback to the users.
On the left side is a SIM Tray slot, you can use the stock tool to take the SIM tray out.
As you can tell from the picture above, the X9 supports using dual nano-SIM card in one phone.
The uniqueness in the X9’s design is more pronounced on its rear side. The plastic strips which allow signals to travel through are now located more towards the top side and bottom side, giving the back of the phone a more unified look. The rear-facing camera does pop up a little, but as the lens is covered by sapphire glass, it won’t get scratches easily. If you are still concerned, the cases which can be found in the retail package will save you from those worries.
The vivo X9 measures 152.6*74*6.99mm, about the same dimensions as the Samsung S7 Edge (150.9*72.6*7.7mm) and One Plus 3 (152.7x74.7x7.35mm), more compact than the Apple iPhone 7 Plus (158.2*77.9*7.3mm). Using the phone with one hand shouldn’t be a problem for most people, and for folks with smaller hands, there's a one-handed mode that resizes things onscreen to make apps easier to reach. The X9 weighs 154g, also about the same as the Samsung S7 Edge (157g) and One Plus 3 (158g), significantly lighter than the Apple iPhone 7 Plus (188g). Thanks to the balanced weight distribution, the X9 feels even lighter than the number suggests.
The build quality of the X9 is amazing. The front side of the phone is covered by Corning Gorilla glass 5, which is super resistant to scratches, and may be able to survive many occasional drops. The metal structure also feels extremely solid.
Display and sound
The X9 rocks a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display at the resolution of 1920*1080px. Although it is not the most cutting-edge in terms of pixel density, as most of the flagship smartphones have 2K displays now, it was still impossible for us to pick out individual pixels while using the phones in a normal distance. Putting the phones in a VR set we started to notice the difference, as my Samsung S7 Edge does look a lot sharper and more natural than the X9.
Despite the lower pixel density, the display of the X9 is still breathtakingly gorgeous. Like most AMOLED panels, the color saturation and contrast ratio here are simply great, you get very deep black and rich tones. The X9’s display looks generally more pleasing than most of the LCD panels used on other smartphones, as everything appears more vivid and alive.
Viewing angles are excellent as well, looking at the display from an extreme angle the colors are still not distorted. The brightness of the display is also great, you won’t have any problem using it outdoors in direct sunlight.
One of the major selling points of vivo smartphones is Hi-Fi. The X9 features an AKM4376 DAC to boost its audio performance. Specs-wise, this converter isn’t really so impressive as the quad-core DAC used in the LG V20 or the dual ES9028 DAC used in vivo’s very own Xplay 5. But coming from the S7 Edge, my audiophile ears did notice a significant improvement in overall sound quality when plugging in my B&O H3 in-ear monitor. The bass has a lot more punch, the vocals are crisp clear, instrument separation and positioning are as good as some of my earlier DAPs. I even asked a few of my non-audiophile, iPhone using friends to try listening to music with the X9, all of them actually said that the X9 sounded a lot better than their iPhones, although they couldn’t really pinpoint what the differences were. Acoustic nuts may still find their DAPs with Amplifiers irreplaceable, but for average smartphone users, the X9 is certainly one of the best phones out there to enjoy music.
On the speaker front, the X9 is also outstanding compared to many other smartphones. Not only are the built-in speakers louder, but the sound coming from them also has more clarity, layers and strength. Enabling the “Super Audio” mode in the settings, the X9 can sound as loud as some of the portable speakers and laptops, very impressive given the phone’s relatively small footprint.
System, UI and Apps
The X9 runs Android 6.01 Marshmallow out of the box, with a heavily customized skin called “Funtouch OS 3.0” on top. I know many folks prefer stock Android skin to those customized UIs, but vivo has really taken measured steps into developing their own UI, especially for the Chinese customers.
Like many customized skins, the Funtouch OS doesn’t include an application drawer, everything lays on the homescreens. Users can create folders to keep them in order.
And personalization freedom is what the X9 gives a lot of: You can rearrange the navigation buttons and even add extra ones. You can make the on-screen keyboard larger or smaller. You can hide the icon of the apps which you don’t want people to know that you are using. You have many interface themes to choose from. There are the so-called signature wallpapers, generated around the first initial of the user. And the list goes on.
Like I said earlier, many of the features of the Funtouch UI are tailor-made for Chinese customers, whether vivo will use a different UI on the units for oversea market is still unknown. Fortunately, this is Android and you can always install third-party launchers such as Google Now launcher to get the stock Android experience.
Cameras
Most of smartphone makers have realized now that people need better front-facing cameras for selfies. That’s why you get greatly improved front cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the Apple iPhone 7 and many other flagship smartphones. However, no brand went as far as vivo did, as the newly released X9 has featured dual front-facing cameras: a 20MP primary camera complemented by an 8MP secondary camera and a moonlight flash, arguably the best selfie camera setup on any smartphone currently available. The 20MP front-facing SONY IMX376 CMOS lens is in charge of taking the picture and capturing all the details, while the 8MP sensor deals with blurring the background.
To everyone’s delight, the impeccable specs do translate into outstanding selfies. The dual front facing cameras capture lots of details and very rich colors under optimal conditions. HDR is available for those tricky scenes and it works pretty well.
The vivo X9 easily crushes other market-leading smartphones when it comes to taking photos with the front-facing cameras.
Even in low light conditions, the selfie cameras are still usable, thanks to the front-facing moonlight LED flash, which provides just the right amount of illumination to light up your face without dazzling your eyes.
The X9 adopts a 16MP SONY IMX298 Exmor camera with F/2.0 aperture on its rear. The lens offers a sensor size of 1/2.8" and a pixel size of 1.12μm, and has been commonly featured on lots of flagship smartphones such as the Xiaomi Mi5, Huawei Mate 8 and One Plus 3. The camera focuses fairly quickly, has a fast shutter and takes nice photos in general.
In automatic mode, images are not as sugarcoated as the photos taken by some other smartphones. There are no excessive amounts of contrast or saturation to the photo, and sharpness is also kept at a reasonable level. As a result, photographs are natural, delivering a very close representation of reality. Unfortunately, the rear-facing camera on the X9 isn’t accompanied by optical image stabilization, which is now a standard feature for flagship smartphones. As a result, ghosting and blurs could happen when you are not holding the phone steadily.
The camera app also offers lots of effects and modes for the users to play around with. The users are provided with 7 modes and dozens of different filters when shooting with the rear-facing camera, including the popular time-lapse photography. With the front-facing camera, the users has many different beautification functions to choose from as well.
Videos taken by the X9 look fine, with lots of details and rich colors. The phone is also capable of taking smooth 4K videos.
Performance
The heart of the vivo X9 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz, beating alongside 4GB of RAM. It's not quite the Snapdragon 820 and 821 you'll find in those mainstream flagship Android smartphones, and the differences did show in benchmark tests.
In the Antutu V6.0 benchmark test, the X9 was returned a score of 61,544, far below the scores of the One Plus 3T and Samsung S7 Edge, and also many points behind the LG G5 SE. Only when compared to entry level smartphones such as the Meizu M5 Note and Huawei P9 lite, the X9 could have an advantage.
On the Geekbench 3 benchmark, the X9 scored 785 in single-core performance and 4,050 in multi-core. That's definitely nowhere near the Samsung S7 Edge and One Plus 3T in either category.
In the more graphics-focused 3DMark, the X9 scored 13,829 in the Ice Storm Unlimited test and 473 in the Sling Shot ES3.1 test.
In the PCMark Work 2.0 test, the vivo X9 was returned a predictable score of 4,780.
The X9 has 64GB internal storage, which is very generous considering many flagship smartphones only have 32GB storage on board. However, the eMMc 5 used here is not as fast as the UFS 2.0 used on high-end smartphones, the Androbench test scores told the difference. As you can see from the chart above, the X9 doesn’t match high-end smartphones in terms of Sequence Read Speed, but its Sequence Write Speed is actually quite similar to those flagships.
Fortunately, the benchmark scores didn’t entirely translate into real-world performance, as the X9 felt almost as fast and responsive as the Samsung S7 Edge while dealing with everyday tasks such as social networking, video feeds and web-browsing. The only difference that I noticed was it did take a little longer to install an application, and screen rotation didn’t happen as instant as it was on the S7 Edge.
Running graphics-intense 3D games, which I didn’t always do myself, the differences showed. Hiccups and lags did happen with big titles such as GTA: San Andreas, NFS17 and Asphalt 8, and we did notice significantly extended loading time and lower frame rates. With that said, the X9 still handled most of the games pretty well: Temple Run, Plants VS Zombies, Vitua Tennis and many other popular titles were as fast as they were on those cutting-edge smartphones.
Multitasking was generally fast, and the X9 could hold many applications in the background for a relatively long period of time, thanks to the 4GB RAM. Switching between applications on the X9 was not always as instant as it was on the S7 Edge, but for average users, the difference was ignorable. The internals may seem adequate for most people now, but with the upgrades of Android and many applications, how long will the Snapdragon 625 be able to keep everything running smoothly on the X9 is simply unknown.
Battery life and charging
The X9 has an irremovable 3,050mAh battery under the hood, pretty average for a 5.5-inch phone. As the X9 sports a more power-conservative processor, we actually expected it to do very well in battery life. Unfortunately, the result was just not as promising as we had hoped.
In the battery rundown test, in which we streamed full-screen videos over Wi-Fi with screen brightness and speaker volume at maximum, the phone lasted 5 hours and 38 minutes, which is 1 hour shorter than the S7 Edge’s result in the same test. In my nearly two weeks of testing, the X9 could power through a full day of moderate use, with around 30% charge remaining when I decided to call it a day. For intense smartphone gamers, carrying a mobile charger will still be inevitable.
The nice thing is, the X9’s battery consumption has been kept at minimum during standby. I once connected the phone to Wi-Fi and left it on my desk to receive messages and alerts for 12 hours, the battery only dropped 2%.
The X9 supports vivo’s very own dual-engine charging (5V-2A or 9V-2A), which supports up to 18W input, so topping up the battery takes very little time. With the stock wall charger, it only took around 1.5 hours to fully charge the phone.
Cellular and connectivity
The vivo X9 supports all major cellular networks, you can just insert any SIM card into the slot and start using the phone immediately. There are two Nano SIM card slots on board, which means the phone supports dual standby.
Like all other smartphones, the vivo X9 also features Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and all of them work like a charm. There is no micro SD card slot for you to expand the storage, but the 64GB internal storage should be sufficient for most users. For me, the real disappointment is the missing of NFC. Users with the latest iPhones and Galaxy S phones should know how convenient Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are, and with the X9, you may never be able to use similar functions. Lots of new speakers and wireless headphones also features NFC for faster pairing with the smartphone, but with the X9, you will still need to take a number of steps to get them paired, shame on vivo!
Competitions
The vivo X9 is priced at RMB2,798 ($406) in China, and in the same price range you will find many powerhouse smartphones. Although none of them offer equally impressive front-facing cameras, they do make up with horsepower and other unique features. The One Plus 3T features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor clocked at 2.5GHz, 6GB RAM, 64GB UFS2.0 storage and 3,400mAh battery. The nubia Z11, which is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, has a breathtaking bezel-less design and the same AK4376 DAC. The Xiaomi Mi5s (Enhanced Edition) features a Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB UFS2.0 storage, and a cutting-edge ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Affordable flagships aside, many mid-range offerings run more capable chips like the Snapdragon 65X. Even the X9’s predecessor- the vivo X7 - is powered by a Snapdragon 652.
Verdict
For $406, the vivo X9 represents a really attractive mid-range offering. It has a simple and elegant design, great build quality and while performance isn't quite up to the level of its similarly priced rivals, it offers fantastic acoustic experiences and arguably the best front-facing cameras on a smartphone.
If you are looking for a future-proof powerhouse handset which will do very well in benchmark tests and intense 3D gaming, there are many affordable flagships out there, some of them priced even lower than the X9. But if you rank selfies and music as your top priorities, and horsepower is far down the list, then you won’t be disappointed with the vivo X9.
Hello, how can I change (or add) other language instead English and Chinese? My phone does not have google play and services. Is there a ROM with this stuff? Thanks!

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