Earth - to the peasants, Androids - for everyone

MegaFon Login, which appeared last year, made a splash in the market of budget devices, becoming the most affordable Android smartphone. On December 1 of this year, the sequel - MegaFon Login 2, went to the company, which was made up of the Optima model - with a slightly larger screen, but also available; and MegaFon Login 2 tablet and MegaFon 4G Turbo with 4.5 "display and LTE are the cheapest 4G smartphones on the market in Russia, according to J`son & Partners. All four devices are candidates for New Year’s sales hits Today’s review.

Let's start with a short presentation of the participants:

MegaFon Login 2

Display: 3.5 ", 320x480, capacitive
Dimensions and weight: 119.9x62.5x12.5 mm, 112 g
Processor: dual-core, 1 GHz, MediaTek MT6572M
Memory: 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, microSD support up to 32 GB
Camera: 3.2 MP; front camera 0.3 MP
OS: Android 4.2
Internet: 3G
Battery: Li-ion 1500 mAh
Price: with the simultaneous connection of the Internet XS option - 1990 rubles; without connection - 2990 rubles



Increased battery, dual-core processor and slightly reduced weight at the same price - 1990 rubles - means that successful sales of the MegaFon Login smartphone will be continued by its successor with an index of 2 in the name.

MegaFon Optima

Display: 4.0 "480x800, capacitive
Dimensions and weight: 122x64.4x11.95 mm, 112 g
Processor: dual-core, 1.3 GHz, MediaTek MT6572
Memory: 512 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, microSD support up to 32 GB
Camera: 3 MP
OS: Android 4.2
Internet: 3G
Battery: Li-ion 1300 mAh
Price: while connecting the Internet XS option - 2790 rubles; without connecting the option - 3340 rubles



New MegaFon Optima model: a four-inch smartphone can really be considered the optimal format for the phone (do not believe to me - look at one famous brand that manages one diagonal for its phones).

MegaFon 4G Turbo

Display: 4.5 ", 720x1280
Dimensions and weight: 133x66.2x8.8 mm; 123 g
Processor: 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960
Memory: RAM 1 GB, ROM 16 GB, microSD support up to 32 GB
Camera: 8 MP , front - 1.3 MP
OS: Android 4.0.4
Internet: LTE
Battery: Li-ion 1780 mAh
Price: 4990 rubles The



shock chip of this model is taken directly to the name: this is the most affordable new smartphone on the Russian market with LTE support. more - with a large display, slim body and powerful processor.

MegaFon Login 2 tablet

Display: 7 ", 1024x600
Dimensions and weight: 197.6x122x11.8 mm, 350 g
Processor: dual-core, 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8225
Memory: RAM 512 MB, ROM 4 GB, microSD support up to 32 GB
Camera: 3 MP, front 0, 3 MP
OS: Android 4.1
Internet: 3G
Battery: Li-ion 3000 mAh
Price: 2990 rubles + tariff option “Internet S” (780 rubles)



Full-fledged tablet for less than $ 100? Definitely, I love the progress! With this Login 2 Already not even the cheapest seven-inch tablet, but one of the most balanced in terms of price / quality ratio in its niche.

Design

There is no need to talk about a single style of MegaFon devices - these are, rather, some averaged “just smartphones”. Only 4G Turbo stands out more or less - the full-face device resembles old iPhones due to the shape of a rectangle with rounded corners and a metal border around the perimeter.



When looking at the profile, this impression disappears - the back cover has a significant protrusion in the upper part, where the camera is located and where the SIM and microSD cards are “charged”.



This is the thinnest device among all the devices in the review: apart from this “shelf” of relief, the body (exactly in the part that the user holds with his hand) is only 8.8 mm thick. "Waist", a 4.5 "screen and, of course, the presence of LTE transfer 4G Turbo to the first division of budget smartphones, which is quite capable of comparing with devices of the middle price category. Its design can also be recognized as the most functional - in the entire line of devices only 4G Turbo there is a hardware button for the camera.

The 4-inch Optima, perhaps rounded off on all sides, differs in the most harmonious appearance. 12 mm thickness is within the normal range. Contrast volume and power buttons, as well as a bezel of the camera and microUSB connector complete the image of youth go gadget.



Smartphones Optima and Login 2 are distinguished by the presence of touch keys “Menu”, “Back” and “Home”. However, in terms of ergonomics, this is a fat plus.



On 4G Turbo and the Login 2 tablet, these keys are already completely virtual - less convenient, but allows you to make devices more compact.

Iron

Obviously, miracles do not happen - for smartphones to be so cheap, developers had to save. But it’s stupid to approach smartphones for 2000 rubles with the same requirements as for top gadgets. The budget device market lives by its own rules. Reading reviews not of journalists, but of the buyers of these and other budget smarts themselves, I noticed that the basic requirements for them are quite simple: for toys to go, and there should be good build quality. To assemble a budget gadget that meets these requirements is a completely solvable task, and the developer, the electronic giant ZTE Corporation, dealt with it.

The first evidence of savings is memory. 512 MB of RAM is not enough even for a budget smartphone. Saving on internal memory is not so critical - even if on Login 2 and Optima only 4 GB are used, of which 3 gigabytes are occupied by the system, and the user has only a gigabyte - but microSD memory card slots more than compensate for this. And the owner of 4G Turbo will not need them either (although microSD support is also available), as The smartphone’s own memory is 16 GB. On processors, savings are not evident: the minimum time requirements - such as dual-core processors with a frequency of at least 1 GHz - are met.


Login 2 | Login 2 smartphone


Optima | 4G turbo

Another saving from the “don't mind” category is the quality of external speakers. The sound in them sometimes wheezes in the spirit of old computer speakers - from those that were once sold for 200 rubles. “It's not a pity” - because hardly anyone uses their smartphones or tablets as a music center. And the sound quality in the “ears” depends more on the model of headphones. At least when listening to music from the iPad Air or from MegaFon Login 2, I did not pay attention to the difference.

The 3.5 mm audio outputs on smartphones are located on the top, on the tablet - on the bottom. The latter is a solution as non-standard (although it was once familiar), as well as convenient.



Another fact that attracts attention is the standard SIM-card slots: no micro or, God forbid, nano. Presumably, this is also a factor of cheaper development. However, they didn’t save on quality: smartphones were built in all honesty, there was no backlash and creaking on all gadgets - everything is very reliable, which is especially important for the budget segment.



The power buttons on smartphones are also on top, but the microUSB connector on all four gadgets is located differently, and on the tablet and 4G Turbo, besides, “upside down” - we must assume that there is no talk of a common platform here.

On the whole, all four devices cope well with the task of being an efficient and reliable handheld computer, and brilliantly for their price.

Software

From a comparison of the characteristics, it can be seen that the versions of Android on devices go differently - from Android 4.04. on MegaFon 4G Turbo up to 4.2.2 on Optima and Login 2 smartphone. However, the difference between them is more likely cosmetic - I don’t think that Habr is the place where you should seriously discuss the difference between screen unlock options.

When you turn it on for the first time, the MegaFon branded jingle, familiar from the company's commercials, sounds. The settings procedure is standard for any Android. The shell is the advantage of budget smartphones - almost bare Android, which added all the MegaFon applications - including MultiFon , navigation, GetUpps! etc. MegaFon Optima stands out a bit, a modified Android 4.2 on which is called DNA Lancher:



At the same time, everything is very democratic: applications can be safely removed - they are not sewn tightly (unlike, in fact, Google app).

the Internet

In a predictable way, a smartphone with LTE is tearing and tossing: the results of MegaFon 4G Turbo speed tests are more than an order of magnitude ahead of measurements of 3G counterparts.



4G Turbo | Login 2



Optima | Login 2 (tablet)

One of the reasons, in addition to the natural advantages of the standard, as I already wrote once , is that LTE devices are so far less widespread, while MegaFon’s 4G network is fully deployed - in other words, there’s no one to plug in channels yet, Unlike 3G, so you need to seize the moment right now.

New Year unpacking

The New Year's review of gadgets suggests that it will be read, implying the choice of a gift. However, the equipment of all devices without surprises: along with smartphones - microUSB to USB adapter, charger and simple "ears". Included with the Login 2 tablet is only an adapter and charging, but what is the present in itself - a tablet for 2990 rubles . (“Internet XS” option, which allows you to purchase a smartphone at the indicated preferential price, is purchased separately and paid for 1-4 months depending on the region). MegaFon 4G Turbo is the cheapest 4G smartphone on the market , with the best hardware among the reviewers with 16 GB of memory on board - the best choice for 4990 rubles . However, for the same money you can take two smartphones at once: Login 2 for 1990 r. and Optima for 2490 p . So there will be enough gifts for everyone - and enough for everyone for gifts.

Holiday greetings!