As usual, you can find the full review in a nice format and all pictures in a higher quality here :
http://klonom.com/doogee-turbo-mini-f1-review/
The Doogee Turbo-mini F1 is a compact budget dual SIM LTE smartphone. It runs on an MT6732 64 bit quadcore SoC with 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM, Android 4.4 KitKat and a 4.5″ display with qHD resolution. We kindly received the Turbo-mini F1 from the TinyDeal Online Shop. You can get it for around 125$ from →here.
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Spezifikationen:
-MT6732 64 Bit Quadcore SoC (each up to 1.3 GHz)
-Android 4.4.4 KitKat
-1 GB RAM
-4.5″ qHD IPS Display (960×540, OGS)
-Dual SIM (4G/2G) (1xMicro, 1xMini (Normal))
-MicroSD Slot
-5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front camera (8 MP + 5 MP interpolated)
-1700 mAh battery (measured, officially 2000 mAh)
-Sensors: Acceleration, Light & Proximity
-USB OTG
-HotKnot
-WiFi, BT
Items delivered:
The Doogee Turbo-mini F1 is delivered in a valuable looking box, which is kept in a white and partly blue color. On the side you can find a genuine certificate, similiar like the ones you can find on Xiaomi products. Beside the smartphone itself the following accessoires are delivered with it: An USB-data/-charging cable, an USB charger, a white headset with control button, a quick start guide and a second screen protection foil (one is already applied). The first three enumerated items are placed very neatly in a foam-like material, which gives the whole box a kind of valuable impression: Thumbs up here! Attached you can see an overview of all items delivered.
Unboxing Video:
First Impressions:
What you will probably notice first when you take the Doogee Turbo-mini F1 in your hands, is that it weights way less than any smartphone you hold in a long time. At first sight (and also at second) this is a very nice combination with its quite compact size. Although its very little weight it still has a valuable feeling due to the metal edging.
Like usual, on the front bottom you can find the three capacitive Android buttons. These are printed in silver color and do not have a background light. At the top you can find the loudspeaker, the front camera and the light/proximity sensor. The transition between display and case can be seen slightly whilst turned off screen, but not very remarkable.
At both long sides metal bars are placed. They feel cool when being touched and give the smartphone a valuable appeal, way more as you would probably expect from a price around 125$. The volume rocker (also made out of metal) is placed on the left side. It is not perfectly enclosed, so it has a little free space to move. You can hear a very faint metal “clicking” when you move the phone as the volume rocker moves as well. The pressure point is, anyhow, very nice.
On the right side the power button is placed. Also this one is made out of metal and has a nice pressure point. As a kind of design elements, both metal stripes have visible screws at the ends.
MicroUSB and 3.5 mm headphone jack are placed on the top side of the Doogee. While I personally would prefer the MicroUSB on the bottom, this is not a very big drawback.
The bottom side of the F1 does not have any connectors. Top and bottom side does not have metal elements. Plastic elements in a chrome look were used here.
The backside of the Turbo-mini F1 is kept simple. On the lower part you can find the mono-loudspeaker, while the camera is placed on the top left. A little highlight is the metal bordering of the camera, which can be felt nicely.
The back cover is sitting pretty tight. Pretty damn tight . Beneath it you find the battery as well as the SIM slots (1xMicro, 1x Mini (“Normal”)) and the MicroSD slot. There is no dedicated 4G slot. Via the Android menu it can be chosen which card should be using LTE, the other one is running on 2G.
All in all the Turbo-mini F1 makes a good impression, nothing is creaking and has an overall serious look. Single downside is the volume rocker which is not perfectly enclosed.
UI/Android:
The F1 is delivered with Android 4.4.4. It comes preinstalled with a launcher from Doogee. Anyhow, the launcher is quite close to the stock laucher, only the icons are modified with a colorful background. The launcher is very snappy, the animations are fluent. The phone is delivered with the FW revision from 31.01.2015. The Turbo-mini F1 also supports “Wireless Update” (FOTA). Below some impressions of the launcher.
Performance:
Like already mentioned in the Android section the system runs very smooth – the strenghs of the MT6732 can be noticed easily. An update to Lollipop would be great since then the whole advantage of the 64 bit architecture SoC could be exploited. But already with the preinstalled KitKat the smartphone reaches above average benchmark results in this price section. The results of the Antutu v.5.6.1, Geekbench 3 and 3DMark (Icestorm Extreme) benchmark can be seen in the next pictures:
Only the small RAM of about 1 GB is limiting the performance of the F1 for using it with massive parallel programs. Personally I did not hit that border yet, while using several opened Chrome tabs (>7) and messenger apps in the background the system still ran smoothly.
Storage:
The budget 4G phone from Doogee comes with an officially 8 GB ROM. This is divided into internal and phone storage. The exact partition can be seen in the next screenshots:
-Internal Storage: 1.12 GB (0.95 GB available)
-Phone Storage: 4.59 GB (4.58 available)
-Total: 5.71 GB (5.53 GB available)
The internal storage (which can be used for apps) is unfortunately quite small with around 1 GB.
The memory can be extendend via MicroSD-slot and and external USB storage via USB OTG (tested).
Camera:
...check out here the camera sample pictures and more :
http://klonom.com/doogee-turbo-mini-f1-review/
Sensors:
According to shop information the Turbo-mini F1 comes with acceleration, proximity and light sensor. The app “Sensor Box” shows several more, but the shop remains correct: The “additional” sensors don’t return any values and are fake. In general the sensors work as expected. Similiar as in the DG280 the proximity sensor has a quite low resolution with just 2 values: Covered and not covered. Still totally enough turning off the screen while talking.
GPS:
The GPS in the mini-F1 is usable. The first fix out of the box was done after a few seconds outside, while the accuracy improved up to 3 m in the next few seconds. At the start of one from several test navigations the GPS showed a similiar behaviour as the camera did – the device could not get a fix (although it worked short before without any problems). Once cleaned the system quickly with Clean Master and the GPS works flawlessly again: GPS fix immediately. When the GPS is once locked the signal is stable – navigation worked without any problems. No “improvements” like updated EPO files or similiar were used. The Turbo-mini F1 uses GPS (no GLONASS or BeiDou). Below you can find a screenshot from GPS Test and the used satellites.
Battery:
Officially the phone comes with a 2000 mAh battery. The measurement of the battery revealed a real capacity of roughly 1700 mAh. The MT6732 is an energy efficient SoC and in combination with the small display the battery can live with average use (subjective!) about one day. In areas with often changing signal strengths (or types) you will notice the increased battery drain due to the constantly tried switch between 2G/3G/4G. In this situation the battery life is getting hardly over one day. This downside can be partly reduced by manually setting one network type while not using. Below you can see the charging history of the battery.
Battery charging history of the Turbo-mini F1
Supported Bands:
The Turbo-mini F1 is fully functional for LTE in Europe due to the coverage of all relevant european bands. An overview is given in the next screenshots. As already mentioned, the 4G service can be switched between the SIM cards.
WiFi Receiption:
The WiFi receiption is above average good. A direct comparision with the Doogee DG280 and Cubot Zorro 001 you can see in the next picture (all tested at the same location, 2 walls in direct sight line).
From left to right: WiFi receiption Turbo-mini F1, DG280 and Cubot Zorro
Display:
The display diagonal measures 4.5″, while the resolution is 960×540 (qHD). Officially it is an IPS display as one-glass-solution (OGS). Both specifications seems to be correct at near observation. In other ratings of the Doogee Turbo-mini F1 it can be read that the low resolution is a major drawback of the phone: The display is not HD and of course it can be seen. Anyhow, the qHD resolution is in my eyes (wordplay, hehe ) still suficient for the compact display and no pixels are jumping right into your eyes. Comparision: The Turbo-mini F1 has a pixel density of roughly 245 PPI, while a 5″ display with HD resolution has a pixel density of about 294 PPI. The difference is not that huge.
Virus-Scans:
The initial virus scan with G-Data shows an infected system:
The Anti-Virus app reports that the system is infected with the “SMSReg” malware. According to internet reports this program can cause (unasked) sending of messages to a chinise number and rise costs. This app can be removed with root (for example via “System App Remover”), the app to be removed is called “Device Management”. Afterwards the system is virus free (…except of the SuperUser App which is recognized as malware):
Speedtest:
…will be added soon .
More Infos:
-Weight: 114 g
-3 Point touchscreen
Misc:
The Turbo-mini F1 has no notification LED. The smart wake function (double tap to wake up, also gestures) is supported and works without problems. Google Apps are preinstalled. The F1 can be easily rooted via One-Click-Tools (iRoot successfully tried). It also supports the budget alternative to NFC called HotKnot (had two HotKnot devices at hands for the first time – it even works !).
Review Video:
Conclusion:
The Doogee Turbo-mini F1 makes a pretty good impression overall. The smartphones combines several decent functions at a low price and weight: Full european LTE coverage, good processor performance, good GPS and nice manufacturing quality. Of course the F1 also has some (mostly budget class typical) downsides like the camera or the storage division. A small FW update which corrects some small software issues wouldn’t hurt either. Anyhow, all in all it is a smartphone with a very nice price/performance ratio which we can especially recommend to friends of sub 5″ displays. (Since I am one myself I think this device will accompany me on ).
Nice review. My compliments. Quite insightful.
I was impressed with the F1 and positive specs for a phone of that price, so I took a risk and ordered 3. One for the missus, one for the mother and one for the brother. All three have been using them for a while now and are quite positive. The phone is fast, cheap and feels snappy
But, and that is where it becomes tricky, all three have issues. One phone doesn't seem to last very long with battery at all and also seems having trouble charging. The others have persistent problems with the camera, constantly having the 'can't connect to camera' bug. Nothing so far has helped solve that, no cache wipe, no other apps, but it usually starts working only after a few reboots. This behaviour disappears after a factory reset, but comes back again after a day or two of use.
Another issue is that after reboot, the shortcuts placed on the desktop are gone. Apps put from the app list into the main screen are gone after a reboot.
I've contacted Doogee about these, but the support is lackluster, as to expected for a china phone, but they did hint to a firmware update. Interestingly enough, they didn't allow my remarks to remain public.
I think the Doogee would benefit immensely from an update to Lollipop and I actually would prefer a full stock Android on the phone. All in all, it is a budget phone, and you could do much worse for a 100 euro's a piece.
Thanks for the positive feedback, always nice to hear . About the camera bug: I have the app Clean Master (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard ) installed and the problem disappears (even if it's just temporary) after I "cleaned" the RAM of the device. Does this help for you too?
But yes, all in all I also think it is a quite nice device for around 100€ (especially since most china devices under 5" have rather bad specs).
By the way, how do you mean that part with "didn't allow my remarks to remain public"? Did you post it on the Doogee site or how?
KloNom said:
Thanks for the positive feedback, always nice to hear . About the camera bug: I have the app Clean Master (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cleanmaster.mguard ) installed and the problem disappears (even if it's just temporary) after I "cleaned" the RAM of the device. Does this help for you too?
But yes, all in all I also think it is a quite nice device for around 100€ (especially since most china devices under 5" have rather bad specs).
By the way, how do you mean that part with "didn't allow my remarks to remain public"? Did you post it on the Doogee site or how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I will try that app. I'll let you know.
And yes, the Doogee site has a public feedback part, and although I did get an answer, it wasn't public anymore.
Just added a small Review Video .
@CrimsonRid: That's kind of bad public behaviour of Doogee. Although it already happened some weeks ago that Doogee tried to push a review author (for the same device) to remove his negative remarks from the review since it is not good for them. It's in german language, but the screenshots are in english:
http://www.gizchina.de/so-nicht-liebe-freunde-aus-dem-fernen-osten.html
Hi,
i am having some gps issues with this phone. The lock is very fast but it is unusable for navigation because the accuracy is very bad. I don't know if it is dropping the gps connection al the time! When i stop somewhere the gps position is jumping/turning around on the screen and sometimes even does not register that i stopped but keeps going forward. I am also experiencing the problem that it can't connect to the camera. Mostly it works again after a reboot.
beograd59 said:
Hi,
i am having some gps issues with this phone. The lock is very fast but it is unusable for navigation because the accuracy is very bad. I don't know if it is dropping the gps connection al the time! When i stop somewhere the gps position is jumping/turning around on the screen and sometimes even does not register that i stopped but keeps going forward. I am also experiencing the problem that it can't connect to the camera. Mostly it works again after a reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the GPS: That is bad to hear, there seems to be some variance in the GPS quality then in the devices. I could use mine for navigation without problems (tried some test navigations in the car).
To the camera: Did you try what I wrote in this post? I also experienced that problem, but then I did not need to reboot the phone at least again.
Thank you very much for the great review.
Krystyna said:
Thank you very much for the great review.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the positive feedback .
Lollipop please
Storage full after only short time, is it a bug or do I need sdcard, cheers.
Would love root and custom rom.
jazz452 said:
Storage full after only short time, is it a bug or do I need sdcard, cheers.
Would love root and custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fear it's not a bug, but just because the internal storage is quite small. You can root the device via iRoot. Then you can try to use apps like App2SD and see, if you can free some space from the internal storage.
i have bought two doogee's f1, i quote your good review.
If someone wants to see , this is video of unboxing and comparison Blue - White:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frGQ0lDajlw
also with root access, moving apps from internal 1,2Gb rom and Sd is not possible
Unfortunetaly there is no way yet to repartition the memory in devices with the new 64 Bit Mediatek SoCs as far as I know . But hopefully this will change in the future.
bad day
first laptop mouse and keyboard died. Now f1 mini is dead , will not charge or turn on :crying:
jazz452 said:
first laptop mouse and keyboard died. Now f1 mini is dead , will not charge or turn on :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks . Did you try to charge for a longer time? Does it not even boot into recovery menu?
KloNom said:
That sucks . Did you try to charge for a longer time? Does it not even boot into recovery menu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's dead as a dodo, ordered knew battery but I fear it's something more sinister. Went flat and then never charged again, left on charge for 12 hours. Bought from China so not going to bother sending it back, it's a poor quality phone that can't handle more than a few apps before storage full messages.
Would I buy another china phone? yep but not one from doogee.
Will update either way when new battery arrives. It's my sons phone so can't be sure of what happened
I got the oneplus one and it's an excellent phone.
jazz452 said:
It's dead as a dodo, ordered knew battery but I fear it's something more sinister. Went flat and then never charged again, left on charge for 12 hours. Bought from China so not going to bother sending it back, it's a poor quality phone that can't handle more than a few apps before storage full messages.
Would I buy another china phone? yep but not one from doogee.
Will update either way when new battery arrives. It's my sons phone so can't be sure of what happened
I got the oneplus one and it's an excellent phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try to get into the recovery mode? If you connect it via USB to your computer, does it recognize it? Also try without battery.
Not recognised with or without battery, just tried, thanks.
Sent from my A0001 using XDA Free mobile app
jazz452 said:
Not recognised with or without battery, just tried, thanks.
Sent from my A0001 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's bad . Does something happen if you keep holding VOL- and Power? This should bring up the (chinese) recovery menu... At least hopefully.
Nothing happens,think it's fried,still waiting on battery from China.
Sent from my A0001 using XDA Free mobile app
Related
Introduction:
Hi,
been looking around for a while but not much attention seems to be given to Mediatek phones here on XDA.
I got one anyway since the performance seems to be rather good and compared to some brands that are well established in the 1st and 2nd world the Mediatek phones are sometimes even better. (Sorry Sony! But your TN displays are horrid.)
Picked Neken N6S from other available competitors in the price range of $200 - $250 shipped to Europe.
More about competitors and different options later.
Specifications:
Neken N6S
2GB DDR2 RAM
16GB ROM = 2GB app space, 12GB user space, ...
MT6592
3000mAh (optional), 2000mAh (default)
Notification LED: Yes
OS.: Android 4.2.2
Dual Sim (2 full sized SIMs, no micro or nano crap)
Display: IPS, 5.0", 1920x1080
Multitouch: 5 point
OGS: Yes
OTG: Yes
Dimensions: 141.7x70.5x10.9mm (2000mAh, presented)
Dimensions: 142x71x11.9mm (3000mAh, real measured, larger battery adds 1mm of thickness, rest is as precise as I can get but it's quite close to presented dimensions)
Weight: 165g (presented)
F. cam: 8.0 Mpx
R. cam: 13.0 Mpx
CPU: 8x1.66 Ghz
GPU: Mali-450 MP4 (MP4 = 4 cores, basically 4 Mali-400 cores)
GPS, A-GPS (no Glonass on Mediatek)
SD card size: supposedly up to 64 GB
Gravity sensor: Yes
Proximity sensor: Yes
Light sensor: Yes
Compass: Yes
WiFi: b/g/n (yes N as well)
Bluetooth: Yes (4.0, but dunno how to verify)
2G: 850/900/1800/1900
3G: 2100 (been to a screen that shows the bands, but don't know how to get there again, if it was some app or settings menu option, there were some other 3G bands but I can't test them, it all works on 2100 MHz here.)
Package:
Bought from Neken on aliexpress/alibaba. (Yes, from Neken directly it seems, hence the option to get the larger battery without buying the standard one as well and lower price due to avoiding resellers aka websites that resell phones)
Price: $238.4 including DHL (3 days shipping, arrived in 2.5 days once DHL had it in hands), excluding tax.
Total price: cheaper than Motorola Moto G 16GB single SIM, cheaper than Sony Xperia SP, cheaper than Samsung Galaxy S3, ... I say it's a steal if it will work at least for a couple years :good:
Contents:
Neken N6S, extended battery back cover, 3000mAh battery, screen protector installed, 2 spare screen protectors, clear hard case (fits only standard battery, not the extended 3000mAh), 1.0A charger (got US plug, probably only US plug available, should work with an adapter in EU too, don't have adapter yet), headphones (better than the ones I have from Nokia), USB cable for charging and connecting to PC, manual (Chinese and English if I remember correctly), ...
Bought separately:
Clear TPU case for Neken N6. Yes everything from N6 fits N6S, more importantly the TPU case can also be used with the extended 3000mAh battery
They will tell you it can't be, it was designed for the standard 2000mAh battery, but I risked it and got it anyway.
The case fits, to my surprise the backside and whole case is not thin, it could be 2mm thick so it does not really stretch but it fits anyway, it's snug but it locks on all 4 corners no problem and all the edges lock as well.
Pictures:
Unprocessed pictures.
New, with dust under the screen protector, fixed it later.
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My camera lying with it's lens on the screen and focused to 0.
Pictures with the clear TPU case, IPS viewing angles:
Yes the buttons are separate, not on screen
And unobtrusively illuminated when touched. They are touch buttons below the screen. That means you get true 1920x1080px of screen estate to use. Darn it, forgot to zoom the wallpaper.
The back.
Almost default home screen.
Tests:
Real tests, done by me. Want some other? Let me know.
Click the picture to view full size, kept them original at 1920x1080px PNG.
Some are done without limited CPU some maybe with, I limit the CPU by default to save battery.
All done at 1920x1080px (unless benchmark forced it otherwise), 1080p is really taxing for mobile GPUs.
Nenamark v2.4:
FPS: 55 - 57fps
Antutu v4:
unlimited CPU: 25 - 26k
limited CPU: 24 - 25k
Antutu device info:
Antutu 3D Rating v4.00:
2494
Epic Citadel:
HQ: 37.0 fps
HP: 39.8 fps
3D Mark 1.2:
Ice storm unlimited: 6947
Ice storm extreme: 3754
Ice storm: 5313
GFXBench:
T-Rex: 8.7 fps
Quadrant:
Score: 12858
CPU: 53202
RAM: 4015
I/O: 4548
2D: 224
3D: 2301
LCD Tester 3.8.3:
Refresh rate: 57Hz
Yellow can be a little to the green side on lowest brightness.
Blacks are enhanced, it seems to hit the limit at 10 or 11 which looks black.
White seems to be alright, goes all the way and only 255 looks like pure white, 254 can be distiguished.
Gamma looks like 1.4, but it doesn't seem off to me. Yes the blacks can be seen sometimes as dark but that's about it.
GPS Test:
No signal inside a concrete building.
All tests outside walking on a road, field, forest.
Strength usually around 30. Probably doesn't go over 40. Is it good or bad?
Lock time after a fresh start usually 20 - 70s. If it had GPS lock before, then it locks instantly.
Some apps are better than other when it comes to getting a location.
Speedtest:
WiFi connected to an old router with WiFi N, 65 Mbps.
30/30 Mbps network connection.
The phone maxes it no problem to 30/30 Mbps.
Pros & cons:
Decent screen, maximum size of 5.0" that I found still pocketable and usable one handed although two hands are more comfy.
1080p can be a bit hard on the GPU when gaming but even Real Racing 3 runs fine on the default high setting. I turned it down all the way to low but it wasn't a slideshow on the default high setting either. Other games ok as well graphic performance wise, but most are boring.
It is truly a shame game developers forget to give users the basic graphic configuration settings so one could easily in-game change to lower resolution, some offer lower graphic details.
Device did not come rooted.
With 3000mAh battery it can play 4.5h of 1080p 8bit video/movies using MX Player HW+ video decoding and software audio decoding, movies are standard PC quality, around 3-4GB each, no low bitrate things but just small enough to fit on FAT32. This is played at FULL brightness, with headphones, cellphone ON (3G), WiFi OFF, BT OFF, location OFF, Clear Motion ON, CPU saving ON. Does not get hot with HW decoding.
Can also play 20 Mbps 1080p 8bit videos using HW decoding. And movies encoded in 1080p 10bit via software decoding but it is using the CPU quite a bit, it has the power to decode it smoothly though.
It is 4h of playback to hit 15% warning and then another nearly 30min to hit 4% warning.
Playing a lower complexity video at minimum brightness it would last "forever" (that's what GSM arena uses for their crappy testing, SD video and airplane mode, etc.).
The OS seems to have a few enhancements, Clear Motion that makes playing video smoother, I don't know how, but it could be interpolating frames to get higher framerate. It really works and a low fps footage from a camera plays more smoothly with it.
I use it.
Next are two audio enhancements, first works IMHO as a equalizer when headphones are plugged in and enhances middle frequencies.
The speaker booster seems as a normalization and makes quiet things more loud which can be useful for movies and playing them without a boost in the video player. But this works everywhere, even for playing songs where it is noticeable too I think.
I don't use the earphone enhancer but I do use the speaker booster since the speaker is not extremely loud.
Headphones are a bit the opposite, I basically use minimum volumes with the two headphones I have.
Device info:
Front camera is not very good, I would not say it has 8Mpx but maybe 5Mpx but still nothing spectacular in terms of noise.
Rear camera is ok, 13Mpx seems real, since the lens is tiny and all that jazz of phone camera is there and it will never measure up to a decent compact camera. Think what you want but iPhone's camera sucks too. Don't expect wonders. Camera operation seems as fluid as I've experienced on Samsung Galaxy S4. The burst shooting mode is fast, I mean it really is fast and much faster than my older compact camera. Focusing is alright, nothing bad. It can track objects too if you like that. Panorama, HDR and so on. Flash is fine, can't compare to other phones.
Rear camera is protected if you use the extended back cover with larger battery, the lens is not sticking out anymore. With the TPU case on the lens is sunk inside.
Touchscreen is ok but rarely some applications seem to have an issue. Real Racing 3 likes to lose touch for gas pedal when holding it down for minutes during some races, RR3 also rarely loses orientation which means no steering or no steering to one side. ON/OFF of RR3 fixes it. LCD Tester today acted up in one of it's tests by moving to the next like if I touch it. Strange because there were no ghost? touches anywhere else at the moment when I moved around but only in that test. So go figure I think the touchscreen is alright, just some applications are not very good at handling the controls.
Screen looks nice, not over saturated, yay! The blacks are a little enhanced though. Whites are fine.
Screen is usable whole, no software buttons. At 1920x1080px (440 PPI) it is impossible to see the individual pixels as close as I can focus. Nice to read text like ebooks and websites. Brightness is alright during the day, outside, I would prefer lower minimum though but doubt any phone goes that low by default.
SD card works, use my older 8GB card, lost some screenshots and such since it crashed but after reformatting it in the phone itself it works alright so far. Will replace it with a bigger and newer one, it did act up in my older phone too.
App space is 2GB and I did not manage to fill it yet and I did install lots of things to try them out.
2GB RAM seems alright, probably even 1.5GB RAM would be ok, but 1GB for Android seems a little bit small if one uses the smartphone a lot, like gaming especially or web browsing.
16GB ROM has nearly 12GB user usable and it is enough space for me especially since I can add as much as I like via an SD card.
Buttons work alright, they do have a tactile feedback, for me it could be stronger but that's me used to robust buttons
Proximity sensor only recognizes near and far, works fine to turn off the screen when calling.
Light sensor works fine but seems to have only about 8 levels approximately/guessing, at least that's what apps show.
Compass works, which is something not all Mediatek phones have.
All the other sensor goodies are there, see Antutu device info.
Phone charges alright via USB from PC, can be turned into charge only and charges best when not being drained at the same time, so of course it charges fastest when it's off, or screen is off, WiFi off, etc.
Not sure it supports fast charging, don't have a fast charger or know how it may detect fast charging on the charger. Had it plugged to a 30A USB port but it has data lines disconnected, no fast charging happened.
Calls are definitely better than my old phone, not very loud which is a shame but the audio is clear and has a decent quality compared to older phones.
Calls and playing music seems alright and does not drain much.
Screen and CPU/GPU hungry applications are the main cause of battery drain then having unnecessary connections enabled, like WiFi, BT, GPS.
TPU case fits both standard and extended battery variant. You just have to find a seller of the color option you like.
So far, 3 weeks later, I am satisfied and find no bugs in the phone.
Build quality is good as I have nothing to complain about. Compared to other phones, I've seen/had similar quality from Nokia.
Bezels are small, spaces between parts are minimal and only sometimes the plastic bulges a tiny tiny bit around the middle close to the buttons on the side. But this took me some time to find out by gliding my fingers around the phone. Had similar thing on a Nokia phone, that's just how plastic works. Back cover snaps well and holds. Phone seems to be all around plastic except the front where the screen is and I guess the black around the display is some metal. Paint seem good. The white back is painted as well and looks a little pearl like if you know what I mean. So it is not just pure white "ugly" plastic.
Installed screen protector was probably put by the seller and it had 3 dust particles under it. Cleaned it up later in my very dusty place, no idea how am I going to ever install a screen protector here, this certainly ain't dust free place
The protector is matte but I got used to it. The screen is glossy though.
No idea if any of the 3 spare screen protectors I have are glossy. But they are two different types/styles/source than the one that is on the phone. Got 2 with the package as gift and another one surprisingly with the TPU case.
GUI has app drawer and holding the home button brings the fake process manager I guess it's called nearly useless app manager that allows you to switch between apps but will not fully/truly close or kill apps if you remove them from there.
Other options:
Jiayu G4S MT6592, 2/16GB, 3Ah - not available at the time, didn't want to wait for it even though I knew it's gonna come out in April with G5S, seeing how overpriced and out of stock Jiayu phones can be I gave it a pass and the price may jump up after the initial sale of the first batch.
iOcean X7S MT6592, 2/16GB, 3Ah - more expensive, weird option for 3000mAh battery resulting in a possible Frankenstein.
Motorola Moto G - difficult to buy in Europe, only single SIM, no SD card, only 1GB RAM, ... seems like unfair comparison with MT6592 phones but Moto G costs more than them.
Sony Xperia SP - the display on most Sony phones is an old and outdated TN panel with poor viewing angles, had it in my hands and it felt like the same poor display I had on my Nokia E51, even more expensive than Moto G, $300 or so.
Jiayu G4 MT6589T, 2/32GB - was a tempting option at the time, for $226 but a wait for G4S would be wiser.
...
Picked it because it has MT6592 with 2GB RAM and a big 3000mAh battery.
The only other option was iOcean X7S which this told to be a clone of or some such, anyway, iOcean is more expensive and the 3000mAh option is Frankensteined on it I think.
Jiayu makes the only other 3000mAh phones but G4S got released only yesterday and I did not feel like waiting another month, waited long enough already. G4 platform is a nice phone but seeing how long it takes Jiayu to adopt new technologies and how out of stock and overpriced it can be I gave it a pass and did not wait for G4S. It is definitely more boxy like an iPhone is. With smaller screen it is easier to carry around but also harder to work on since the screen is smaller and yes it is noticeable, plus it may not be as good for reading due to lower PPI, still decent though. I would see G4S as a main competitor unless it's price goes up too much after the initial sold out.
G5S is probably fine too but one pays considerably more for the metal body.
At 5.0" or with 1080p, this is IMHO the only option right now when it comes to bigger battery. Unless of course you like the bigger battery option and higher price of iOcean X7S.
Update: Similar package of Jiayu G4S costs around $232 + shipping + tax.
From my POV, it's either G4S or N6S depending on how big a screen you want and if you want 720p or 1080p.
Would not opt out of a decent battery if you use the phone frequently. The cell standby and screen eat power plus does anything that uses the CPU/GPU a lot (games).
Clarifications:
Goal:
sub $300 total price
bigger than 2200mAh battery
decent CPU&GPU
minimal dimensions height and width wise
unlimited thickness since I do not care about thinness war and will rather have a device that runs for several days than a paper thin phone that lasts me a couple hours
no bigger than 5.0" = still pocketable and usable by one hand only
working GPS
decent build quality
English as second language, feel free to point out errors. Surprised?
Vellamo:
HTML 5: 1971
Metal: 622
Sample photos, rear camera:
Panorama:
HDR:
If there is light and the object is still the ISO is low and noise is down, but if the ISO goes up then as always with any mobile camera the noise gets in there. Not something that can't be removed in post processing though. As said before, no phone will match a compact camera, physically impossible. And even most/all compact cameras suffer from noise at higher ISO.
---
Reserved for updates and rooting.
gps
As far as Europe is concerned you have to apply a gps fix
in order to let your gps work correctly.
I followed some instructions on youtube and the result is very good.
Type "android gps fix" on youtube...
root to 4.4.2
hello i want to ask if i can update form 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 android .
Have you found any method to root the phone? I bought one as well, and I need to root it, but haven't found any method to do that so far.
koniaris1980 said:
As far as Europe is concerned you have to apply a gps fix
in order to let your gps work correctly.
I followed some instructions on youtube and the result is very good.
Type "android gps fix" on youtube...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I might try it as the initial lock does take some time that I think shouldn't be necessary.
makrotrela said:
hello i want to ask if i can update form 4.2.2 to 4.4.2 android .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno, I have not had the need to mess with the phone on lower than application level yet.
What would the advantage of having 4.4 kitkat be?
4.2.2 is the most common, all apps work.
I don't think there are any Chinese Kitkat phones, or only a couple of questionable source/quality.
Legdotus said:
Have you found any method to root the phone? I bought one as well, and I need to root it, but haven't found any method to do that so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me check, I have not rooted it since I found I don't need root really, maybe when I do more with the phone from a programming POV.
Any tool used for MTK6592 should do the trick to root it.
Often they are chinese tools, I downloaded some for sure.
There is a thread about Jiake X3S, I think there is info about rooting MTK6592.
I have VRoot here from several sources and also MTK Droid tools. Probably the most reliable for MTK phones. Also framaroot but don't know about it. Search and you will find, it should be the same for all MTK6592 phones to get root. Shops often sell phones rooted or with optional root.
---
Phone works fine so far. Real racing still is not as great to control on occasions, no idea if it's a game issue or the controls freezer sometimes as I may lose steering or holding the gas down turns off. But the screen works fine anywhere else.
Most draining is when one fiddles with the phone, not even as much playing a video with HW acceleration, but moving screens and starting, opening, closing, browsing. Apart from heavy 3D gaming of course, that's the biggest battery eater.
Oh BTW, the charger works fine, got a socket adapter from US to EU and works really well, better than USB charging from a computer I think. There must be some trick to allow fast charging over 500mA. Probably the data wires shorted but haven't tried that with my home made USB power supply.
Engineering mode, type: *#*#3646633#*#*
Finally got there again, works for MTK phones.
Trying to update the files manually. Like this.
► How to fix / repair GPS on Chinese smartphones - MTK6592 6589 GPS FIX - S4 jiayu G4 Umi X2 [HD]
Doesn't seem to do anything. Had to create the data folder and I doubt it check the data folder for EPO updates.
The MTKGPS app needs root.
The only thing I find dissatisfactory is the initial fix delay. But I bet it's present on any other phone in this area. Still get an alright signal of 25-35 in GPS test and in debug it does list around 9 satellites.
Legdotus said:
Have you found any method to root the phone? I bought one as well, and I need to root it, but haven't found any method to do that so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have rooted in two seconds using
Framaroot-1.0.9.apk
Guyz .....
i have Neken N6 and i really love this device, but accidentally broke the screen glass and the top left corner ,, everything is extremely working but im not liking to use the device with this small scratch on it , i looked around to but screen assembly but i didn't found, does anybody know where can i get the screen replacement ?...
Thank you
Yung-M said:
Guyz .....
i have Neken N6 and i really love this device, but accidentally broke the screen glass and the top left corner ,, everything is extremely working but im not liking to use the device with this small scratch on it , i looked around to but screen assembly but i didn't found, does anybody know where can i get the screen replacement ?...
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it from Neken via Alibaba/Aliexpress so if anyone is going to have replacement parts it's going to be them since they make and sell the phones.
If I were you I would look there and their homepage to find their contacts and talk to the people, they will not have it listed for sell in the shops probably but could offer it to you if you ask.
I got that way the bigger battery and cover instead of the stock one when ordering my phone, you just have to ask.
Anyone saw an Android update to higher version? Probably not but doesn't hurt to check.
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Cubot S308 Review
As I take a look at the current Chinese mobile market I see a large number of phone makers. Some have already made a name for themselves and some are new. One name that I keep seeing is Cubot. From what I’ve seen they offer decent specs and even better pricing so I decided to give one a try.
Unboxing
I ordered the Cubot S308 from Pandawill using EMS shipping. The ordered processed very quickly and was shipped in a very timely manner. Due to the quick handling on their end, the parcel actually arrived the same day as something I had ordered days earlier in China and had shipped via EMS. When the phone arrived it was well packaged to ensure it wasn’t damaged during transit.
Inside the box was the S308 phone with a screen protector already installed, a spare screen protector, a flip case, the manual, a micro USB cable, a wall adapter, as well as the adapter needed for North America. All bases covered and at a very low price point. All the accessories can really add up, so having them come with the device is a nice touch.
You can check out the unboxing video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_d766qemUI
Specs
5″ 720p display
Mediatek 1.3 Ghz MT6582 quad core SoC
Dual SIM
2 GB RAM
16 GB storage
8MP rear and 5 MP front camera
1800 mAh battery (2000 mAh)
Android 4.2.2
Check out the full video review below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geeIWFMjpaU
Physical Features
The Cubot S308 measures 142 x 73 x 8.2 mm and weights 154 grams. Despite the sharp angular design the phone is fairly comfortable to hold.
The top of the phone has the microUSB port as well as the 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The right hand side of the device has the power button directly below the volume rocker.
On the top left of the device you have the 5 MP front facing camera.
On the bottom right is the speaker, and at the top in the center is the 8 MP main camera.
Display
The S308 features a 5 inch 1280 x 720 IPS LCD with 294 ppi. In screens smaller than 5.5 inches I really like the use of 720p. In most cases it still looks really nice and saves battery life.
I was really impressed with the 720p display on the Cubot S308. It is bright, vibrant and responsive. Viewing angles were also very good. Good start for a budget device.
Software
While the Android 4.2.2 based ROM for the S308 isn’t anything out of the norm, it is fairly stable. Out of time I spent with the handset it only randomly rebooted itself once. Other than that I didn’t experience any lagging or serious glitches. Boot time was a quick 22 seconds, and for those of you that like the plain easy to navigate ROM’s that are found in many Chinese devices, that is exactly what you’ll find here. For those that like to customize, you can always visit the Google Play Store to help you with that. Speaking of which, the Play Store comes pre-installed which is always a good thing.
Wi-Fi
The Cubot S308 uses 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi. I took a speedtest right by the router on my basement level. Then a second on my main level about 24 feet away, and a third at the furthest point of my main level about 48 feet away.
Router= 74.37 mbps
Main floor/mid point=20 mbps
Main floor/ furthest point=7.46 mbps
This handset did a good job with it’s Wi-Fi as I was able to use it anywhere within my house.
Call quality
While not outstanding the S308′s call quality isn’t bad either. Simply put, it gets the job done.
Speakers
The speaker is located on the bottom right side of the back of the Cubot. I wasn’t expecting much other than something acceptable for general media. What I found surprised me. While the speaker isn’t anything more than average in regards to how loud it is, but it does give some descent performance. I listened to a few ringtones and was surprised at how the speaker picked up on the base tones. I decided to put it up against my Huawei Mediapad X1 and found that the Cubot S308 actually picked up and separated the bass tones better than the X1 in regards to ringtones and many types of music. Don’t get me wrong, overall the X1 has clearer, cripser sound but it also costs more than twice as much.
My only gripe is that the speaker does seem to distort quite easily in media with lots of mids and treble such as hard rock/heavy metal, which is unfortunate.
Overall, pretty good job on the speaker Cubot. Especially on a budget device.
Video Playback
I’ve already established that the Mediatek MT6582 quad core is more than capable in regards to playing all types of media, even in basic phones with 1GB of RAM. The Cubot S308 has 2 GB of RAM and did a great job with online video clips, YouTube, and various movie formats. Everything played smoothly with no stuttering what so ever. I used the stock video player as well as VLC and got good results with both.
Web Browsing
The Mediatek MT6582 quad core is the little brother to the MT6592 octa core. I’ve commented many times before that the octa core does a great job web browsing, but the MT6582 is no slouch either. Along with the 2 GB of RAM and less strenuous 720p display to S308 loads and moves between pages fairly quickly. I would say that even for those that do a lot of browsing the Cubot S308 is up to the task.
Cameras
The Cubot S308 has a 5 MP front facing camera that handles videos calling and selfie duties. The 8 MP rear camera does an a fairly good job. This surprised me a little because to be honest I wasn’t expecting much out of the camera. The area it struggled in the most was with lower lighting situations. That’s not to say the shots were terrible but it simply can’t compare with the higher end phones, that have higher end cameras. In well lit environments the camera works like a charm. The focus is pretty quick and it works well. Overall the photography that comes out of this phone surpasses much of the competition at this price.
GPS
The Mediatek GPS has been proven to work well in several devices but the real deciding factor and praise or blame in regards to performance lies with the phone maker. If they try to save a few dollars or don’t think components through it can cause issues. So the story remains the same with the question always being asked “Does the GPS work?”
In airplane mode the device took several minutes to get it’s first cold lock.
I tested the S308 with Google Maps with data and Navfree without data. In both cases the GPS was usable but very slow to adapt to any changes in regards to route.
If you need basic GPS then the phone is fine, but if you want a super responsive machine that can adjust instantly then the GPS is just not up to the task.
Benchmarks
The Cubot S308 is a budget device running a Mediatek MT6582 quad core. The phone isn’t going to rank with the elite flagships because it isn’t intended to. What it can do is give good performance to the average user.
Antutu
16,741
This puts the device in the ballpark of the Nexus 4 and Samsung S3.
Nenamark 2
54.9 fps
CPU Prime
2925
Vellamo
Metal
767
Multicore
1284
Chrome Browser
2182
As you can the scores mark the phone that runs at the level of technology from a couple of years ago. That being said phones like the Nexus 4 and Samsung S3 are still capable phones, and so is the S308.
Battery
With a 2000 mAh battery powering a 5 inch 720p display and Mediatek MT6582 quad core you’d figure the phone would do alright with battery life, but it doesn’t. I tested the phone by putting it in a video loop using VLC and setting the brightness to auto. The phone lasted just 2 hours. The phone does alright on standby and drains at a reasonable rate, but when the screen is on the battery disappears quickly. Perhaps it is a software issue and an update would fix the problem, many descent phones have needed a tweak to get the battery life running at it’s full potential. As it stands now light users or those that just use the phone for emergencies should have little problem, but if you use your device a lot you will likely find a top up charge or two in order.
Gaming
For basic games the MT6582 that is found in this phone is just fine. If you are a very picky, serious gamer it will probably disappoint. The phone will play pretty much anything on the market but the quality is reduced to low levels with more demanding games. They are playable, just not as smooth as high end devices. Of course, this phone costs a fraction of the price, so I feel it does a good enough job to get a thumbs up.
Final Thoughts
Pro’s
Very well rounded in it’s performance
Good display
Better than expected loud speaker
Stable ROM
Descent cameras
Great price
Con’s
Screen battery life
GPS could be better
Overall the Cubot S308 is one of the better devices I have tested at this price. I was curious yet a bit skeptical about Cubot as a brand but I can say that I was impressed with the phone other than the weak battery which is the phones biggest drawback. I would love for Cubot’s next device to be a higher end phone, perhaps with a MT6595. If they were to include much better battery life, adjust the GPS, but keep the overall good feel of the device all while keeping it at a low price, they could be one of those few companies really shaking up the Chinese phone scene.
How about the storage? I just got mine and it has 1 GB of 'internal storage' and 13GB of 'phone storage'. No matter if I choose 'phone storage' as the place were applications should be installed, everything ends up installed into the 'internal storage' which very quickly runs out of space. How do you make it so that applications are installed in the phone storage instead?
memory and battery issue Cubot S308
Deathwing00 said:
How about the storage? I just got mine and it has 1 GB of 'internal storage' and 13GB of 'phone storage'. No matter if I choose 'phone storage' as the place were applications should be installed, everything ends up installed into the 'internal storage' which very quickly runs out of space. How do you make it so that applications are installed in the phone storage instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
for the memory splitting issue there is a new rom version (4.2.2 android) posted on the site "need rom"
it was issued for this reason
Another topic: how the battery is working with you? for me the android OS was not so properly optimized for this device.
Now I do not know if the new roms version has also solved the battery issue.
if someone had also updated the device to this version, please can give me a feedback?
thanks in advance
for those that they are interesting to buy with coupon GBS308HF from Gearbest at 135.99$
Internal memory fix
Try this rom cubot s308-rom 4 gb internal you can find it on needrom, if it works plz thanks me.
It can fix you particion to 4 gb. :good:
Cubot S308
zglordluka said:
Try this rom cubot s308-rom 4 gb internal you can find it on needrom, if it works plz thanks me.
It can fix you particion to 4 gb. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Cubot shipped with 4.4, and I'm still limited to 1gb RAM. I just did a ROM update, so I'll check to see if there is a difference. The GPS is not good for me.
van_jive said:
My Cubot shipped with 4.4, and I'm still limited to 1gb RAM. I just did a ROM update, so I'll check to see if there is a difference. The GPS is not good for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For 4.4.2 version of cubot s308 you can find too on needrom, its with 3 gb internal. or 6 gb.
zglordluka said:
For 4.4.2 version of cubot s308 you can find too on needrom, its with 3 gb internal. or 6 gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it confirmed that it can be flashed in Cubot S308 shipped with 4.4 ?
If yes, can you provide the link of this ROM to avoid any mistake?
cubot
elpa02 said:
Is it confirmed that it can be flashed in Cubot S308 shipped with 4.4 ?
If yes, can you provide the link of this ROM to avoid any mistake?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes m8, its true and they work, both 3 gb and 6 gb versions.
I can post links yet on xda, but you can just go on needrom and search cubot s308 you will find it there. its 4th and 5th in row.
More internal storage space!
Could you please indicate step by step how I can make my internal storage on this phone more than 1GB, I just bought it today and I am already running out of space for new applications?
elithess said:
Could you please indicate step by step how I can make my internal storage on this phone more than 1GB, I just bought it today and I am already running out of space for new applications?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root the phone then Link2SD is the simplest way. Worked great for me!
dan2dons said:
Root the phone then Link2SD is the simplest way. Worked great for me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root phone. Install recovery with "MTK-TWRP 2.8.1.0" or MtkDroidTools v2.5.3. Search "HKPHONEROMEDITTOR.apk" install and run. Choose "MTK6582 Devices (only HKPhone Racer)" option, with slider choose the the amount of internal memory you want, then apply button and finnaly reboot recovery for change. All done. Mine uses 10GB.
My S308 has been updated to V6_CQ_4137C_V0.0.9_20141124 .
It is also rooted with Vroot.
Using it for some days now i face the following issues.
3G signal is poor compared with other devices (ex Xperia M) on the same place same time (both phones side by side) same carrier, same SIM type. S308 3G signal strength is 2 lines down. On the contrary 2G signal is very good.
GPS locks very quick but its accuracy is low. Very often it looses my position and Google maps reroutes all the time.
Native email app crashes (Internal error) asking to report failure. It does not refresh every x minutes as set it , but it downloads emails when refresh manually. I have set up a yahoo account (imap) and a gmail account.
Could it be ROM's problem?
Any advice?
upgrade
i have the cubot s308 Android 4.2 MTK6582 so looking to use V6_CQ_4137C_V0.0.9_20141124 from there site, i believe its kitkat 4.4.2 am i able to flash this upgrade from 4.2.2 as there's conflicting theories on can and can't, don't want to be bricking it, also if it is possible when using flash tools is it download i need to be using or firmware upgrade, cheers for any help.
Unfortunately you can't upgrade to 4.4.2 due to a strange incompatibility of these two versions of the same phone. For the same reason i cannot downgrade to 4.2, since i've read that it has a better 3G reception.
elpa02 said:
Unfortunately you can't upgrade to 4.4.2 due to a strange incompatibility of these two versions of the same phone. For the same reason i cannot downgrade to 4.2, since i've read that it has a better 3G reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well made handsets then, not able to alter or improve any problems with them, suppose speaks for itself were they are made. and cheers for your help.
Is there any battery replacement that would do better than the original one?
self reboot
Hello everyone,
I've a S308 with 4.2.2. My phone reoots randomly especialt with impacts on it. I do not mean strong impacts for eg. when I put my phone to desk in a very gentle way even this couses to restart. Or When ı knock screen even with one finger results same.
Is there anyone face same problem and have a solution ??.
Regars.
Thanks..
fix internal storage
You will need this http://helpadude.com/cubot-s308-4-4-2-stock-rom-6-gb-internal/ to upgrade for more internal memory. Phone is great.
Cubot S308 problems
My son has a Cubot S308 with kitkat, and all is well except for two things:
- Sound is too loud on speakers, even with the volume at minimum. It does not happen with the headphones;
- Sometimes, while loading a game, screen goes black and the phone stops completely. It reboots after a minute or two.
Is there anyone having this issues? How can I fix them? Especially the sound problem. It's very annoying.
Thank you.
Just a small note up first: You can read this review in a nicer format with all pictures in high resolution (including the camera pictures) on my blog :
http://klonom.com/thl-t6-pro/
The ThL T6 Pro is a budget smartphone with 5″ HD display, MTK 6592M octa core processor, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB ROM. It is an improved version of the ThL T6S (read the review here). I kindly received this phone from the Antelife shop. You can buy it for roughly 92€ plus sending right here from Antelife at the moment. You can find the review video like always at the end of the post.
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Let’s start with the specifications of the happy phone:
Specifications:
-MTK 6592M Octa core processor, each up to 1.4 GHz
-Android 4.4.2 KitKat
-1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM
-MicroSD-Slot (up to 32 GB)
-8 MP back camera, 2 MP front camera
-5″ HD display (1280×720)
-GPS
-Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity and light
-1900 mAh battery (accoording to ThL)
-WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0
-2G & 3G (WCDMA)
-Smart Gesture
Items delivered:
The ThL T6 Pro is delivered in the ThL typical white carton box with a silver lettering on the top. Beside the phone itself, the following items are inside the box: USB plug (5 V, 500 mA), USB data/charging cable, half transparent plastic back shell, additional screen protection foil (one was already applied), a headset and a quick start guide. The quick start guide is the usual, few sites long introduction to Android KitKat. The headset feels relatively cheap, it is very light and the headphones resemble to “1-Euro-Shop” ones.
First Impressions:
Something which you notice immediately while unpacking is that the T6 Pro is identical to the T6S from the outer appearence (read the review here). You could switch the both phones and you would first notice while powering on, because also the delivered accesoires are the same. This is not meant to be negative comment, since already the T6S gives a valuable impression and has small optical highlights. The phone has a bar shape, while the top and bottom edges are not straight, but slightly elliptical. Additionally the top and bottom edges are completely rounded off, so it creates the impression of being made in one cast in the first moment.
On the front side you can find the three control elements menu, home and back (from left to right), which are applied in silver color. They do not have a backlight, which is a bit troublesome in the dark. This downside is probably due to the low price. The power button is placed on the right side. I already liked the design of the buttons at the T6S because it is made out of transparent plastic, which makes them nearly invisible.
The same applies to the volume rocker on the left side. Both buttons are embraced by a silver ring, pretty nice in my opinion.
The back has a slightly rippled structure. On the back there are the camera, the flash and the loudspeaker.
Both ports are placed on the upper edge of the ThL T6 Pro, one 3.5 mm headphone jack and a MicroUSB port. The MicroUSB port placed on the upper edge is a small downside for me, since a longer USB cable is needed in case you want to use the phone while charging.
The phone is fed with two SIM cards, one “normal” (mini) sized and one micro. Both are placed at the same place facing each other. Beside the SIM slot you can find the MicroSD slot. The battery needs to be removed for either changing the SIMs or MicroSD. All in all, the phone feels valuable in comparison to its price.
UI/Android:
The ThL T6 Pro is running Android 4.4.2 KitKat just like its weaker twin the T6S. Also the slightly modified launcher is used. It is the normal KitKat stocklauncher, but with different icons. Every icon has a rounded, colorfull tile as a background. I personally like the design moderately, but since it can be changed easily this is not a big criteria. The swiping through the menu works without lags.
Performance:
To determine the performance a bit more subjective, I ran the Antutu Benchmark Version 5. The “budget-alternative” T6S scored roughly 19000 points. The improved version with MTK6592M scores around 26500 points. This is a pretty neat result, especially when being compared to the result of the iNew V3 Plus for example, which has the same SoC but 1 GB RAM more, but “just” scores around 20000 points (look here). I did not notice any lags or similiar while playing. Additionally a sample screen of CPU-Z.
Memory:
The ThL T6 Pro officially has 8 GB ROM. In the default state around 6 GB are usable. The memory is divided into phone and internal memory. The memory which can be used for apps is around 2 GB big, while roughly 300 MB are taken in the default state. There is not much bloatware installed: an additional app store, baidu browser, a speedup app, a torch app and a chineses “game center”. The memory can be extended with a MicroSD card, officially up to 32 GB. I just tried a 16 GB card successfully. The ThL T6 Pro does not support USB OTG.
Camera:
...check my blog post for the camera pictures and information
http://klonom.com/thl-t6-pro/
Display:
As already mentioned, the display is a 5″ IPS display with a resolution of 1280x720p. The display is flawlessly and for an IPS display typical a quite big viewing angle. In my opinion it is not an OGS.
Sensors:
The phone has three different sensors in total: light, proximity and accelerometer. All three sensors I could test successfully with the app “Sensor Box”. Just the light sensor does not seem to work reliable all the time: While testing the sensor stuck at the probably maximum of 640 luxes. I can not estimate, if this is a single or series problem.
GPS:
The first GPS fix out of the box was really fast: just about 10 s and the first fix was done. In the next minute the accuracy increased to about 4 m. Beside this, the GPS did not really convince me. Shortly after the first fix, I noticed that GPS test showed a speed – although I was standing at one point. While test navigation with Google Maps I noticed strong drifting of the GPS location. Also while slowly stopping at a traffic light, the GPS signal partly drifted on for about 10-20s, untill it found the right location. Also while standing at one point the GPS location party jumped right around. I just tested the GPS in the out of the box state, it maybe could be improved by GPS tweaks.
Reception:
I did not encounter any odd attributes with the reception. At all places I had the average normal reception, same goes for the WiFi. Also the bluetooth works well for me, I tried it several days with bluetooth headsets.
Misc:
The ThL T6 Pro has a notification LED at the top left in red. It works out of the as a notification LED. The phone is delivered not rooted and preinstalled with Google Apps. The T6 Pro supports “Smart Gestures“. The battery has a capacity of 1900 mAh (according to ThL) and holds surprisingly long. At the end of the day a had around 50% while using it average.
Review Video:
Conclusion:
I personally like the price-performance ratio of the ThL T6 Pro. It improves most of the weak points of the T6S and makes it to more than a replacement phone. This is under the requirement that not a good GPS is needed or it can be improved personally. All in all the phone gives a great performance for a budget price.
Hello! Can someone help me? I've rooted this phone via iRoot. I installed SuperSU and Busybox but I still cannot delete system apps!! Help please!
Sent from my thl T6 pro using XDA Free mobile app
The third pcitures is No.1 Mi4? I like the ThL 5000, long battery life
jeallybean said:
The third pcitures is No.1 Mi4? I like the ThL 5000, long battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you were right, some pictures got mixed up . Thanks for the note, changed it . Do you have the ThL 5000?
What happens if you try to use a 64GB micro sd card in one of these MTK6592M phones?
Unfortunately I can not tell you based on my own experiences, since I never tried it .
64gb sdcard on mtk 6592
discourse said:
What happens if you try to use a 64GB micro sd card in one of these MTK6592M phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problems to read and write..!!
guufaan said:
no problems to read and write..!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know !
ThL T6 Pro GPS
ThL T6 Pro mobile phone GPS is good?
Krystyna said:
ThL T6 Pro mobile phone GPS is good?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would call it acceptable. It is not really good, means there is some "jumping around" and drifting. But with some tweaks it should be at least OK for using it for simple navigation. But if you are really depending on the GPS feature I would not recommend this phone.
Android Noobie!!
Hello, just a quick question. Will I be able to get Cyanogen on this and if it's possible where can I find a guide on how to do this? Thanks.
Omnifather said:
Hello, just a quick question. Will I be able to get Cyanogen on this and if it's possible where can I find a guide on how to do this? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no , as far as I know there is Cyanogenmod for the T6 Pro.
--> http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...recoveries-t3087786/post60232687#post60232687
lulu14150 said:
--> http://forum.xda-developers.com/and...recoveries-t3087786/post60232687#post60232687
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this nice thread !
KloNom said:
Thanks for this nice thread !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You' re welcome :highfive:
[REVIEW] Siswoo Cooper i7: octa-core, 64 bits, 4G, IPS HD 5", 2GB de RAM, 16GB ROM,
Recently the young Chinese company Siswoo announced their second Android model, taking advantage of the new 64 bits processors from MediaTek.
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As I have already told before, those Chinese manufacturers are each time copying (imitating less) and willing more to highlight something from their own. Today Siswoo is presenting the Cooper i7, and before going into the review, I cannot hide... it's a bullet!
Hardware
Those are the specifications of the last Siswoo smartphone:
And yes, you are right, 64 bits octa-core processor running at 1,7Ghz, GPU Mali T760, 2GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage (of which 12,82GB available for the user) and up to 64GB expandable via microSD, 4G-LTE connectivity ... appetizing, isn't it? Let's go with the review.
Packaging, design and ergonomics
The package is really simple and quite square, the one used by Elephone for the P3000s attired my attention, but this one goes back to the “standards”. Small and with the table of content and smartphone specifications.
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/sF0Pcrfu1Fo
[/YOUTUBE]
Just taking it out of the box, two things surprised me: the design and the weight. It's really light, in a very first moment I even though it didn't have the battery, but yes, it was inside, and even so it stays on 130gr.
As we can see on the video, the device comes inside a small plastic bag and in the bottom inside the box, we will find the charger and earphones. It's very nice from Siswoo's side to include (already applied) the plastic cover for the screen.
Regarding the design, I must confess I didn't like it in a first sight, too simple and too... flat, with round edges.
BUT, once you use it, this feeling changes. And this design influences a lot. As said before, it's very light (although the different of size, exactly the same weight of iPhone 5) and with less than 9mm of thickness, you can carry it very comfortably on your pocket... and being a 5” device.
One remarkably thing on its design are the touch buttons. They are normally off, but when you use the phone or you have a notification, they light in an elegant and practical way. When not, the front part is completely black. On this front, we will also find the 5Mpx camera and the sensors for light and proximity.
Unlike other smartphones, all the physical buttons of the Cooper i7 are on the right side. In the beginning it might be confusing, since sometimes you want to press volume down and you lock the phone.
However, once you get used to that, it's very comfortable, specially because this terminal fits perfectly into one hand, and by having the buttons on the same side, you can manage it completely with just one hand.
The rest on the edges is free... except for the top part, where we find charger plug and jack 3.5 for the earphones.
Turn it. On the rear part, your eyes go directly to the 8Mpx camera with dual LED flash on the top, just below SISWOO logo and on the bottom the speaker and logo with “4G-LTE” like to remember us that we can connect to those networks.
Last on this part, I must say that the Cooper i7 does not slide at all. It's very agreable to touch and it fits perfectly on the hands, so VERY good ergonomics.
Screen
Cooper i7 mounts a HD IPS 5” screen, offering a resolution of 720x1280. It has very good quality, although I think they use dynamic contrast, because I don't feel as much range of tones as in other (first brand) phones. I mean, black is not as black.
The viewing angle is very good and I had no problems using it under bright sun, by having the brightness in automatic mode, it adjusts in seconds to any situation.
We will also find two interesting functions, "Gesture sensing" and "Smart Wake". The first one means that we will be able to navigate through pictures on the gallery and some other apps just by moving our hand over the phone (but without touching it). The second one, allows us to complete some actions by drawing pre-defined patterns on the screen when the phone is locked, like activate radio, camera, change song...
The gesture recognition is working but, at this point is not as perfectioned as in other models like new Samsung Galaxy, with the Cooper i7 you must pass your hand closer to the screen and slower.
The Smart Wake function is really interesting, I liked it a lot. I continually use it for many applications... and with just one movement!
Software, multimedia and games
This terminal comes with Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, although Siswoo has annouced we will receive the update to Lollipop during March.
They didn't apply any customization layer on top of Android (maybe it also influences the high speed this phone goes), in addition it is rooted by default and includes all the usual and popular applications out of the box (Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Skype, Adobe Reader, Documents to Go and the interesting WeCal) so we can start fully using it just after the first booting.
Browsing the web either with WiFi or with 3G/4G connection, it's very fast and fluid, no lags, specially the background applications (like social network notifications)
In the multimedia area is where I really enjoyed myself. Since there were not pre-installed game, I went direct to Fifa 15:UT and another action game called Contract Killer... ¡bingo!
The initial test became some weekend hours playing online tournaments (specially Fifa, I really love it). The fact of being so light and so comfortable on the hands, make this smartphone the perfect portable gaming console, and as I said before, being so fast makes the games start very quickly and loading times are very short. While playing there are no lags, nor freezes and being moving images, contrasts and colors are perceived perfectly.
I have the same feeling when playing videos, the powerful CPU and accompanied with one of latest presented GPUs make the work without any trouble. FullHD, subtitles... even working through the network I had no problem with any type. Regarding the volume, it's OK and the rear speaker has enough relief (inward) so that the sound is not muffled by supporting the phone on any surface.
Coming to the extras, GPS and compass worked very well and once again, without having to wait.
So, in general, the multimedia experience has been very satisfactory.
Camera
The Cooper i7 brings (as usual) two cameras, the front one with 5Mpx and the main one at the rear with 8Mpx, both with interesting characteristics like voice shooting control, the beauty effect (perfect for selfie lovers) or the noise reduction.
However it suffers from the great evil of Chinese phones: lots megapixel unable to perform well in low light conditions.
It was clear that the "buts" would arrive sooner or later.
I have tried the camera inside and outside. Taking pictures outside and with full sun light, the results are very satisfactory for pictures and also recording video.
But when the light is lower, other "first brand" phones like iPhone (who also mounts an 8Mpx main camera) are capable of great pictures...and with this one we will simply prefer not to zoom too much on the pictures.
I would even say that I even like more the results of the front camera (with its 5Mpx and without flash) rather than the main one, so selfie addicts...good for you! Both cameras work perfectly with Skype, just pay attention you don't cover the microphone when holding the phone.
Autonomy
As seen on the specifications, the (removable) battery has a capacity of 2100 mAh, something I found quite tight compared to the more than 3000 mAh we see often on new terminals... but very good compared for example with the 1440mAh on the iPhone 5... and more than enough for one day. I already said I spent several hours playing online.
It's equiped with fast charging technology, nevertheless I would preferred to see the latest ultra-fast charging technology (around 80% in 15min or so).
Conclusions
In the first lines of this review I already stated than although most of Chinese phones have some common points, it is each time more usual to see brands willing to highlight their "personal touch".
In my opinion, Siswoo has been able of achieving a very interesting result in which is only their second model on the market. Not only on the design but specially on the usability, the user experience is very agreable.
We cannot dismiss from our minds that it's not only the aforementioned excellent potential, the Cooper i7 also brings us dual SIM and 4G-LTE connectivity for around 180€ (as per its price on Etotalk including VIP shipping DHL only took 2 days to arrive to my house).
mdabar said:
Recently the young Chinese company Siswoo announced their second Android model, taking advantage of the new 64 bits processors from MediaTek.
As I have already told before, those Chinese manufacturers are each time copying (imitating less) and willing more to highlight something from their own. Today Siswoo is presenting the Cooper i7, and before going into the review, I cannot hide... it's a bullet!
Hardware
Those are the specifications of the last Siswoo smartphone:
[IMG="Specifications"]
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-omHjEmmzagg/VPGBRIFQFlI/AAAAAAAABuY/8la0GNjKY-I/s1600/SiswooCooperI7-specs.jpg[/IMG]
And yes, you are right, 64 bits octa-core processor running at 1,7Ghz, GPU Mali T760, 2GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage (of which 12,82GB available for the user) and up to 64GB expandable via microSD, 4G-LTE connectivity ... appetizing, isn't it? Let's go with the review.
Packaging, design and ergonomics
The package is really simple and quite square, the one used by Elephone for the P3000s attired my attention, but this one goes back to the “standards”. Small and with the table of content and smartphone specifications.
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/sF0Pcrfu1Fo
[/YOUTUBE]
Just taking it out of the box, two things surprised me: the design and the weight. It's really light, in a very first moment I even though it didn't have the battery, but yes, it was inside, and even so it stays on 130gr.
As we can see on the video, the device comes inside a small plastic bag and in the bottom inside the box, we will find the charger and earphones. It's very nice from Siswoo's side to include (already applied) the plastic cover for the screen.
Regarding the design, I must confess I didn't like it in a first sight, too simple and too... flat, with round edges.
BUT, once you use it, this feeling changes. And this design influences a lot. As said before, it's very light (although the different of size, exactly the same weight of iPhone 5) and with less than 9mm of thickness, you can carry it very comfortably on your pocket... and being a 5” device.
One remarkably thing on its design are the touch buttons. They are normally off, but when you use the phone or you have a notification, they light in an elegant and practical way. When not, the front part is completely black. On this front, we will also find the 5Mpx camera and the sensors for light and proximity.
Unlike other smartphones, all the physical buttons of the Cooper i7 are on the right side. In the beginning it might be confusing, since sometimes you want to press volume down and you lock the phone.
However, once you get used to that, it's very comfortable, specially because this terminal fits perfectly into one hand, and by having the buttons on the same side, you can manage it completely with just one hand.
The rest on the edges is free... except for the top part, where we find charger plug and jack 3.5 for the earphones.
Turn it. On the rear part, your eyes go directly to the 8Mpx camera with dual LED flash on the top, just below SISWOO logo and on the bottom the speaker and logo with “4G-LTE” like to remember us that we can connect to those networks.
Last on this part, I must say that the Cooper i7 does not slide at all. It's very agreable to touch and it fits perfectly on the hands, so VERY good ergonomics.
Screen
Cooper i7 mounts a HD IPS 5” screen, offering a resolution of 720x1280. It has very good quality, although I think they use dynamic contrast, because I don't feel as much range of tones as in other (first brand) phones. I mean, black is not as black.
The viewing angle is very good and I had no problems using it under bright sun, by having the brightness in automatic mode, it adjusts in seconds to any situation.
We will also find two interesting functions, "Gesture sensing" and "Smart Wake". The first one means that we will be able to navigate through pictures on the gallery and some other apps just by moving our hand over the phone (but without touching it). The second one, allows us to complete some actions by drawing pre-defined patterns on the screen when the phone is locked, like activate radio, camera, change song...
The gesture recognition is working but, at this point is not as perfectioned as in other models like new Samsung Galaxy, with the Cooper i7 you must pass your hand closer to the screen and slower.
The Smart Wake function is really interesting, I liked it a lot. I continually use it for many applications... and with just one movement!
Software, multimedia and games
This terminal comes with Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, although Siswoo has annouced we will receive the update to Lollipop during March.
They didn't apply any customization layer on top of Android (maybe it also influences the high speed this phone goes), in addition it is rooted by default and includes all the usual and popular applications out of the box (Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Skype, Adobe Reader, Documents to Go and the interesting WeCal) so we can start fully using it just after the first booting.
Browsing the web either with WiFi or with 3G/4G connection, it's very fast and fluid, no lags, specially the background applications (like social network notifications)
In the multimedia area is where I really enjoyed myself. Since there were not pre-installed game, I went direct to Fifa 15:UT and another action game called Contract Killer... ¡bingo!
The initial test became some weekend hours playing online tournaments (specially Fifa, I really love it). The fact of being so light and so comfortable on the hands, make this smartphone the perfect portable gaming console, and as I said before, being so fast makes the games start very quickly and loading times are very short. While playing there are no lags, nor freezes and being moving images, contrasts and colors are perceived perfectly.
I have the same feeling when playing videos, the powerful CPU and accompanied with one of latest presented GPUs make the work without any trouble. FullHD, subtitles... even working through the network I had no problem with any type. Regarding the volume, it's OK and the rear speaker has enough relief (inward) so that the sound is not muffled by supporting the phone on any surface.
Coming to the extras, GPS and compass worked very well and once again, without having to wait.
So, in general, the multimedia experience has been very satisfactory.
Camera
The Cooper i7 brings (as usual) two cameras, the front one with 5Mpx and the main one at the rear with 8Mpx, both with interesting characteristics like voice shooting control, the beauty effect (perfect for selfie lovers) or the noise reduction.
However it suffers from the great evil of Chinese phones: lots megapixel unable to perform well in low light conditions.
It was clear that the "buts" would arrive sooner or later.
I have tried the camera inside and outside. Taking pictures outside and with full sun light, the results are very satisfactory for pictures and also recording video.
But when the light is lower, other "first brand" phones like iPhone (who also mounts an 8Mpx main camera) are capable of great pictures...and with this one we will simply prefer not to zoom too much on the pictures.
I would even say that I even like more the results of the front camera (with its 5Mpx and without flash) rather than the main one, so selfie addicts...good for you! Both cameras work perfectly with Skype, just pay attention you don't cover the microphone when holding the phone.
Autonomy
As seen on the specifications, the (removable) battery has a capacity of 2100 mAh, something I found quite tight compared to the more than 3000 mAh we see often on new terminals... but very good compared for example with the 1440mAh on the iPhone 5... and more than enough for one day. I already said I spent several hours playing online.
It's equiped with fast charging technology, nevertheless I would preferred to see the latest ultra-fast charging technology (around 80% in 15min or so).
Conclusions
In the first lines of this review I already stated than although most of Chinese phones have some common points, it is each time more usual to see brands willing to highlight their "personal touch".
In my opinion, Siswoo has been able of achieving a very interesting result in which is only their second model on the market. Not only on the design but specially on the usability, the user experience is very agreable.
We cannot dismiss from our minds that it's not only the aforementioned excellent potential, the Cooper i7 also brings us dual SIM and 4G-LTE connectivity for around 180€ (as per its price on Etotalk including VIP shipping DHL only took 2 days to arrive to my house).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good, very good to review, but I wonder what is the most interesting device, and what it may have longer duration in time ... this I 7, or R8 ...
now my thanks for the review ...
Hi bodyjoao, from my point of view they are very different devices.
Think that Siswoo is a really new (young) company and up to now they have just launched 2 smartphones, being the first one the R8 Monster. In my opinion they did like that to show everybody what they were able to do, so top of hardware specifications.
Then they presented the Cooper i7 to show that they want to do also more affordable products, but without going to low end range. My impressions have been very good testing the i7, I insist that the weak point for chinese phones is always the camera, but leaving that on a side... I'm really enhoying the i7, it's very very fast on everything... and delicious to play with very light and thin hehe
The R8 Monster costs around 100$ more and... still I'm not sure the camera will be much better.
We have very good news coming from other brands like Xiaomi, were people insist that their cameras are quite good, so I'm confident that chinese companies have already understand that people demand quality and they are giving it little by little... better finishing, better, screens, better storage... It's not always the amount that counts, but the quality
mdabar said:
Hi bodyjoao, from my point of view they are very different devices.
Think that Siswoo is a really new (young) company and up to now they have just launched 2 smartphones, being the first one the R8 Monster. In my opinion they did like that to show everybody what they were able to do, so top of hardware specifications.
Then they presented the Cooper i7 to show that they want to do also more affordable products, but without going to low end range. My impressions have been very good testing the i7, I insist that the weak point for chinese phones is always the camera, but leaving that on a side... I'm really enhoying the i7, it's very very fast on everything... and delicious to play with very light and thin hehe
The R8 Monster costs around 100$ more and... still I'm not sure the camera will be much better.
We have very good news coming from other brands like Xiaomi, were people insist that their cameras are quite good, so I'm confident that chinese companies have already understand that people demand quality and they are giving it little by little... better finishing, better, screens, better storage... It's not always the amount that counts, but the quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am under This phone or the jiayu s3 , But the site don't have now the jiayu s3 for now, and I like this look...I wait for one or tree days and then I decid....
Sent from my HUAWEI G750-T20 using XDA Free mobile app
bodyjoao said:
I am under This phone or the jiayu s3 , But the site don't have now the jiayu s3 for now, and I like this look...I wait for one or tree days and then I decid....
Sent from my HUAWEI G750-T20 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Jiayu is very good one too, I found available on the same store I took the Siswoo -> http://www.etotalk.com/jiayu-s3_p7545.html
And as usual customer they gave me these coupons... first in first served
5 USD Available 77571b3b8a 2015-04-02
5 USD Available 7ef04c0bff 2015-04-02
5 USD Available fc8cabfe8e 2015-04-02
5 USD Available 9c7b4d8e1d 2015-04-02
5 USD Available 857faaa218 2015-04-02
5 USD Available bf36c5bfe8 2015-04-02
I prefer them because of the DHL VIP shipping ... take a look and decide, you will tell later which one you take!
I've been using mine since a couple of weeks, but the home button backlight somehow stays on all the time. Any idea why? Cheers, great review!
yash3339 said:
I've been using mine since a couple of weeks, but the home button backlight somehow stays on all the time. Any idea why? Cheers, great review!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not had this issue... and since yesterday I'm thinking on it and surfing my Cooper i7 up and down to find anything :-/
The only I can think on is, go to Settings -> Display -> BreathLight and try to unable all of them, reboot the phone and then activate them again.
Normally it should light only to notify something.
Goos luck and tell us if it works!
cooper 17
hello
i also plan to buy it, but i fear about the small battery..
could you tell us more about that matter ?
thks
jdcesari said:
hello
i also plan to buy it, but i fear about the small battery..
could you tell us more about that matter ?
thks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More than 1 day with my normal use,... I mean a lot of wifi: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Opera, weather and Youtube for the baby
I've also been using radio and trying 2 different GPS applications (Navmii and Navigate 66) for which I have not only tried the apps but also downloaded the maps for a couple of countries (so more than 1GB downloaded over wifi for those apps)
And planning the trip I have moved cartoons for the baby from my NAS to the smartphone using the wifi, so another 1GB moved there and the battery resisted
It's true it went faster when playing Fifa, because it was online and playing, but with normal use it's much longer.
So it's true that the battery is not as long as for other devices, but you see that also on its thickness, it's really comfortable to bring it on the pocket.
5" HD 720p is poor
it's a great screen with 5" FHD
MTK6752 support screen solution 1080P
thks a lot
you are perfect
Hahaha thanks! but just trying to help and share my experience through reviews
If you liked it, I would appreciate you clic on the "Thanks!" button
Have a nice one!!
Weak wifi on Cooper i7?
Hello,
I just received my siswoo cooper i7 yesterday. I'm also lucky with until now except for one issue: the Wifi is very weak. It has an ok connection next to the router (54 Mbps), but if I move away 4-5 meters (staying in the same room even), it drops the connection or goes down to 12/ 5 / 2 Mbps. I also tried at my office, it wouldn't work if not directly at the router. All my other devices (Moto MB 526, XT320, iPad Air) have good connection even 2 rooms further away and work like a charm.
Anyone else having similar issues? Any good ideas to solve this?
IF SISWOO IS READING -> PLEASE DONT BLOCK ROOT !
ROOTED WITH iROOT SUCCESS
Back and other Button LED = (su) echo 255 > /sys/class/leds/button-backlight/brightness // 0 to turn off
Breathlight (HomeLED) = echo (CODE) > /sys/devices/virtual/breathlightdrv/breathlight/open // 0 to turn off
CODE -> defines blinking rate - havent figured out the system but any numbers between 12 to 20.
Will add if found out more...
What about the storage? Is it unified or partitioned?
I'm still worried about the battery. Otherwise it looks great.
chat1978 said:
What about the storage? Is it unified or partitioned?
I'm still worried about the battery. Otherwise it looks great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean with unified that all the available storage is on the same partition then it's a yes, available storage appears all together as internal SD Card and it all can be used to install apps.
The battery life depends on the usage. I consider it will last a full day with moderate usage (2 - 3 hours SOT, some gaming, some calling, some music listening), but no more that that.
alresave said:
If you mean with unified that all the available storage is on the same partition then it's a yes, available storage appears all together as internal SD Card and it all can be used to install apps.
The battery life depends on the usage. I consider it will last a full day with moderate usage (2 - 3 hours SOT, some gaming, some calling, some music listening), but no more that that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes about the storage. Thanks.
On my daily life, I don't have high expectations from the battery.
But last year, while on route to an island, I drained the battery of THL W200 within a couple of hours just by looking at the ship's location and doing some reading.
Very disappointing. I have a portable battery back but still, I would like something bigger for vacation time!
Full Review Video
Pictures from http://s7yler.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLB3C60yvcc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYR-Y3umZaM
[REVIEW] uleFone Be Touch: 5,5" IPS, 4G, 64bits octa-core CPU, 3GB RAM, fingerprint
uleFone is one of new Chinese brands making good things lately. And in the same way some players are doing, they also wanted to present something interesting before the summer period.
But they want to be like "the others", so they have come with an amazing smartphone which they have presented as their flagship device for the season: the uleFone Be Touch
Something very interesting, since this brand is very young. They’ve worked designing and making parts for other brands during years, but it wasn’t until 2014 they moved to manufacture their own smartphones.
When I opened the box my first though was about that size "It's huge!". But then, I started it and as Megan Trainor sings... "It's all about that bass"
Only that smartphone is not fat at all, it's very thin and light. It's even thinner than other thin devices like the Siswoo Cooper i7 I reviewed some weeks ago.
But let's go step by step.
Design and package
The box is quite standard, white, same shape that we can typically find for the iPhones or Samsung devices, for example. With a sticker showing some info and then most of the specifications on the bottom part.
Once opened, we can see the amazing Be Touch with its huge screen inside a soft bag and on the lower level, we have all the rest which is USB cable, charger (attention 1.5A! more than common units), headphones and quick start guide in English and other European languages... it's not something very necessary (we all know how to start the phone and take a picture) but it's really the first time I see it. And not one single item in Chinese. Sincerely that feels like more quality.
I live you that video with those impressions and something more:
Summarizing, on the front we have the 5,5" screen. On the top, frontal camera for selfies...with flash!!, light and proximity sensor. And on the bottom we have the navigation buttons: menu, back and home... which integrates a great surprise in form of fingerprint reader. Of all that I will talk more in detail.
On the left side we will find the lock/power and the volume buttons.
Going to the bottom side, just the micro and speaker (very iPhone-like). We have the holes for micro USB and jack exit on the top side, and nothing at all on the right side.
If we flip the phone, on the rear part we will see the main camera (using the Sony IMX214 4th gen sensor) with dual led flash and on the middle the uleFone logo.
All that within very tight dimensions of 158.1x77.4x8.6mm and another advantage is that it fits very well on the hand. It’s true that it’s big, but it doesn’t slip.
Hardware specifications
When you put the mark "flagship" over a product, you really want to mean that device is your top-range. Especially when you are a new player on the field and you want to set up what is your quality level and left aside your “Chinese stamp mark”. The Be Touch is much more than 64 bit octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM…So here it is what hides inside this thin beast.
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Model uleFone Be Touch
Color Metal Grey / Silk White
Dimensions 158.1 x 77.4 x 8.60
Weight 160g
Operating system Pre-install Android 5.0 Lollipop
Touch ID Front Fingerprint Scanner, Unlock in 0.1-0.5s
CPU 64Bit MTK MT6752 processor Octa core 1.7GHz CPU
GPU Mali T760 MP2/7000MHz GPU
RAM 3GB LPDDR3 RAM
ROM 16G
Battery 2550mAH
Charger Quick charger 1.5A ooutput
Display 5.5 inches, HD 1280*720pixels, IPS OGS (NEW 2.5D Arc screen) with Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
Cameras 13MP 4th generation camera Sony IMX214 (main) and 5.0MP (OV5648) for the Front camera
Video 1080P, 2K, 4K
Network GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 (band5,band8,band3,band2) ; WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100 (band5,band8,band2,band1) ; FDD-LTE: 800/1800/2100/2600(band20,band3,band1,band7)
SIM Dual sim dual standby, Micro SIM and Standard SIM
WiFi WiFi802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Support dual-band Wi-Fi(2.4GHz/5GHz)
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0
Positioning GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Digital Compass
Hall Effect Sensor, Gravity Sensor,
Ambient Light Sensor,
Touch Sensor, Digital Compass
Regarding the connectivity, needless to say it fully covers all our needs. The WiFi connects and transfers very fast, probably the improvements from Lollipop help, because I haven’t had any troubles of losing signal (as it happened with other devices). I have tried the BT with headphones (Digicare DO) and also with a BT keyboard, working both very well, quick pairing.
The SIM (standard and micro sizes) are located just next to the microSD slot, so sincerely a little bit hard to introduce the card, but once done, the networks are fast detected and connected, so I could use 3G/4G and also make calls very successfully. The voice is very clear and with enough volume.
Display
This is one of the most attracting points of this device. Its 5,5” IPS OGS screen with Corning Gorilla Glass of 3rd generation offers a resolution of 1280x720ppp. I can say that up to the date it’s the best display I’ve seen on a not first brand phone. The quality of the colors and the bright is amazing.
It comes with the dynamic control (adaptive brightness), so it automatically adapts to the lighting conditions to increase or reduce the bright level, making perfectly viewable even under sunshine.
Following the last trends, it also have the “Off-Screen Gesture” function, each time more common and sincerely very useful, since we can program several applications or functions to start without having to unlock the phone: camera, radio, calendar,.. any of the installed apps can be started by drawing a pattern on the locked screen.
Camera
We arrive to one of the most critical points of each review, since normally the manufacturers include camera sensors with a high number of megapixels but not offering the expected quality. uleFone advised they wanted to make the difference and present a great device, so they equipped the Be Touch with a main camera of 13Mpx with a Sony IMX214 4th generation sensor. Apparently this should be a warranty, but we’ve seen many other phones with good lenses giving poor results.
Fortunately this is not (so much) the case with the Be Touch. Until now this is the best (Chinese) one on the quality of pictures and videos. There is still the point to improve when there are poor light conditions. But I repeat the quality even though is much better than with other smartphones.
Here below some examples:
Another surprise comes with the front camera, the chosen sensor is OV5648 from Omni Vision, a high-performance, low-cost 5-megapixel CameraChip sensor for smartphones and tablets, which uses the latest 1.4-µm OmniBSI+ pixel architecture. But what surprised me was to find a led flash next to this camera. No questions about the selfies fever we’re immersed on, so the flash is doubtless a way to increase the quality of our portraits.
Regarding the videos, you can see this FullHD sample recorded outdoors, and even using zoom the quality is really good.
Software
This model comes directly with Android 5.0 Lollipop, so very good news since we have the almost last version of Android since the beginning, with all the improvements already mentioned on different articles like the better battery consumption, more secure environment since first boot, RAM management, WiFi connectivity issues solved, OK Google,…
By the other hand, need to say, that no Chinese stuff (apps) were installed on the phone, very clear Android [Símbolo] Only an icon called “ulefone” which brings us to the manufacturer website.
Another of the key points on the Be Touch is the fingerprint scanner, integrated on the “Home” button. It works really fast (some people say it’s even faster than the TouchID on the iPhone 6), and the way it register new fingers is different from other sensors where we had to slide our fingers. On this case we just have to put the desired finger repeatedly on the sensor until we have the full print marked on red on the screen. Meaning it has been fully recorded.
My suggestion is to place the finger on different positions, so it catches it from different angles and completes the task faster. We can register up to 5 fingers, which is a significant improvement against other devices allowing only 3 prints.
Due to the size of its screen and its powerful hardware, the Be Touch is perfect for entertainment. I installed Kodi (formerly known as XBMC), so I can play FullHD movies and TV shows directly from my NAS over the LAN, without any lags, smoothly and with very high quality of image and sound.
Normally I just try some games like Asphalt or Fifa (no need to say they go like lightning), however, bearing in mind the fingerprint sensor I decided to install my company’s software and use it as mobile office.
Yes, the BYOD is a real trend all around us I installed MaaS360, and configured mail, agenda and other tools. Once again it’s not only the speed of everything I try, jumping quickly from one task to another, but also the size of the screen makes this device very comfortable to read emails, see (and edit) Office documents, use CRM tools… really comfortable, especially when I compared to y iPhone 5’s tiny screen.
Autonomy
As stated above on the specifications table, the Be Touch is equipped with a removable battery of 2.550mAh, more than enough for a full day with average use: calls, wifi browsing, emails, whatsapp, pictures, social networking, Office documents editing… and all that thinking that the use of corporate tools and apps consume more battery.
Conclusions
A couple of months ago I saw the announcement of the Xiaomi MiNote and I really liked it. I though it was a real alternative to first brands smartphones with quality enough and a restrained price. I sincerely didn’t know so much about uleFone yet, and others brand had showed important improvements but still not at a comparable level to first brands.
I’m not meaning that the Be Touch has the same quality of the last Samsung Galaxy S6, but honestly it’s getting close. uleFone should still improve the management of taking pictures with dark conditions and polish some other minor details.
When I opened the box, I presumed that phone was very powerful but maybe too big for a daily use and still had to test the camera results, I take pictures every day. After using it, I can say that it’s a very comfortable device, not heavy at all (just 160gr) and since it’s very thin, it fits very well on the pocket.
I completely recommend it if you are looking for a new smartphone with a lot of possibilities and for a moderated price, around 205€ with Etotalk.com
PS: If you like this post, I'll appreciate if you click on the "Thanks!" button
Just to complete the info from the review above, here some pictures putting the Be Touch (in black) together with an iPhone 6 (white)
Couple of questions.
1. How about the audio quality, through speaker, through headphone?
2. How much heat is generated by the phone when watching youtube or when playing games?
And Lastly, Can you upload some full size images? Thanks for a great review.:good:
Hi, answering your questions:
The sound is very good in both cases. For example, with the Elephone P3000S I clearly notice a lack of volume that I don't appreciate here, I mean watching movies, listening music,... more than enough. In addition the speaker is on the side, not in the bottom, so it always deliver at maximum
Regarding the temperature. After a couple of hours watching Gotham (I finished the 1st season recently hehe) chapters on the Be Touch, it was just a little hot, but for example the iPhone5 gets much much hotter when using 3G for long.
About the pictures... I have published the same review in here -> http://dabarsocialmarketing.blogspot.ie/2015/05/ulefone-be-touch-simply-amazing-with-64.html
I hope the pictures are bigger in size at least if you download them. I can tell you the quality is really good. Some friends viewed those pictures and asked me if they were the samples included on the phone or real pictures taken by me... that's why I take one of my dog (the same that appears on the video sample).
Until now it's from far, the best chinese phone I've used.
Cheers
PS: If you like this post, I'll appreciate if you click on the "Thanks!" button
mdabar said:
Hi, answering your questions:
The sound is very good in both cases. For example, with the Elephone P3000S I clearly notice a lack of volume that I don't appreciate here, I mean watching movies, listening music,... more than enough. In addition the speaker is on the side, not in the bottom, so it always deliver at maximum
Regarding the temperature. After a couple of hours watching Gotham (I finished the 1st season recently hehe) chapters on the Be Touch, it was just a little hot, but for example the iPhone5 gets much much hotter when using 3G for long.
About the pictures... I have published the same review in here -> http://dabarsocialmarketing.blogspot.ie/2015/05/ulefone-be-touch-simply-amazing-with-64.html
I hope the pictures are bigger in size at least if you download them. I can tell you the quality is really good. Some friends viewed those pictures and asked me if they were the samples included on the phone or real pictures taken by me... that's why I take one of my dog (the same that appears on the video sample).
Until now it's from far, the best chinese phone I've used.
Cheers
PS: If you like this post, I'll appreciate if you click on the "Thanks!" button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. But I think those captured pictures are softer in the edges, sharper in the center. May be a software prob.
What is the data rate of video files? (In different resolutions)
My question is actually what kind of sd card to buy for that phone?
Doesn't it make sense to go for the expensive ones with higher speeds or 10mb/s is enough?
drkbg said:
What is the data rate of video files? (In different resolutions)
My question is actually what kind of sd card to buy for that phone?
Doesn't it make sense to go for the expensive ones with higher speeds or 10mb/s is enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, bearing in mind that it records video on FullHD, I wouldn't take a slow card. Personally I always take class 10 at least. If you can take a UHS class it will be better. Think that it's not only the video recording, at least I use to put a lot of stuff on the SD, so accessing apps, taking pictures, games, videos,... everything falls on the SD card, so the fastest the better.
For me, the class 10 is working well.
PS: If you like this post, I'll appreciate if you click on the "Thanks!" button
Has anyone tried 128GB sdcard?
drkbg said:
Has anyone tried 128GB sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahaha I'd really like, but they are soooo expensive
Tell us if you have the chance!
cheers
67EUR is not that much... ok compared to 23EUR for 64GB is a little bit more per GB but still this phone did cost me 180...
Hey dude. thanks for sharing that.
r_kalar_2 said:
Thanks again. But I think those captured pictures are softer in the edges, sharper in the center. May be a software prob.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've checked but don't have the impresion about soft edges... I have published on my spanish blog -> http://t.co/w9CK2Y2w6H
and there you can view full size
Think also that for example the flower picture was very focused very close, I wanted the rest appear unfocused (I don't know the correct term in english). Anyway I hope these full size pictures help I'll try to post some ones else
Cheers!
Will this phone work with USA 4G/LTE? Specifically AT&T? I've heard the wifi range on it is pretty poor, can you confirm that?
Does anyone knows how to root this device? I tried with iRoot but didn't work.
alresave said:
Does anyone knows how to root this device? I tried with iRoot but didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kingroot?
let us know, which rooting method worked
Maor545 said:
kingroot?
let us know, which rooting method worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah please, I was also thinking, although I have not yet investigated. :good:
hello I bought the phone and I'm very happy, but I read in the specifications that the phone can 'do video in 2K or 4K, you did it ???
Sorry for may bad english
gagias said:
hello I bought the phone and I'm very happy, but I read in the specifications that the phone can 'do video in 2K or 4K, you did it ???
Sorry for may bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4k will be supported after an ota update as far as I know
scottharris4 said:
Will this phone work with USA 4G/LTE? Specifically AT&T? I've heard the wifi range on it is pretty poor, can you confirm that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes this phone works with AT&T but no LTE does not work. as far as the wireless connection, this is true, it's not as strong as a g3 or an S five or an iPhone 6 but it isn't horrible. the build quality is very nice. it's worth what they're asking for it.
---------- Post added at 04:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
mdabar said:
Yeah please, I was also thinking, although I have not yet investigated. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried Kingroot , I root, and framaroot.
All were unsuccessful.
Also just read this phone will get 5.1 within the next 30 days.