Review of Android communicator for $ 210, DualSIM, 5Mp, WiFi
If we talk about the market of Chinese phones, then the clumsy Nokla immediately comes to mind with touch screens, two SIM-cards, TV and a funny translation. But in China they do not only fakes and copies of famous phones. If you look at the websites of phone manufacturers, you can find a lot of interesting models in terms of design and features.
Further photos = traffic!
So I want to tell you about the Sciphone N21 Android-communicator that works with two SIM cards, it is General Mobile DSTL1 and RoverPC Twin (will be released soon in Russia). Why such a variety of names? It's simple, all these companies order this model from ODM manufacturer Yuhua Teltech , and then sell it under their own name.
- Android 1.5
- Network: GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, simultaneous operation of two SIM cards
- 624 MHz processor on the Marvell PXA310 platform
- RAM: 128 MB
- Memory for data storage: 256 MB + slot for a memory card
- Interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (A2DP), miniUSB (USB 1.1 Full-Speed) connector for charge / sync / headset
- Screen: TFT 3 ”with a resolution of 240x400 pixels (WQVGA)
- Camera: 5 megapixels (2560? 1920) with autofocus, video is recorded in CIF resolution
- FM radio, accelerometer
- Battery: removable 1200 mAh Li-Ion
- Dimensions: 111x54x16 mm
- Weight: 135g.
I ordered the communicator on the Scophone website , the price is $ 210 and $ 22.42 for delivery, the package went to Moscow for almost a month and the other day I received it safely. During the external inspection of the parcel, there was a feeling as if someone had sat on it, but when I opened the parcel, I found a box of the phone, carefully wrapped in packing tape, on all sides.
The following components were found in the box:
- network adapter;
- adapter for a European plug;
- headset
- cable for synchronization with a PC;
- instruction;
- MicroSD memory card 1 Gb.
The manufacturer carefully laid the adapter for European outlets. The headset is simple, with a call answering button and volume control. On the memory card were photos of pretty Chinese girls, a dozen songs and 3gp videos.
The device itself looks unusual, such a mirror block of plastic with beveled ribs. The front side is very easily soiled, and gets dirty very quickly, but this does not affect the usability.
The back of the popular, black soft-touch plastic. It’s nice to hold in your hands, doesn’t play anything and doesn’t hang out.
In the photographs, it seems that the buttons on the front panel are touch-sensitive, but when you take the device in hand, doubts immediately disappear. The buttons have a small stroke, and there is no inconvenience when pressed. The 4-way joystick is well pressed, and the center key is so large that it will be difficult to miss it.
On the right side is a two-position camera button and standard miniUSB. Looking at miniUSB, I noticed that it is slightly different from the standard. This does not cause problems, the normal miniUSB cable normally enters the connector, but the wire that came with the device does not fit other miniUSB devices. By the way, the USB 1.1 Full-Speed interface, data is transmitted at a speed of 1Mb / s. On the left side are volume buttons. The side buttons have a weak stroke, and when clicked, the click is poorly felt, although maybe I just came across such an instance. A telescopic stylus hides at the top. There were already a couple of people on the forums who managed to break it, so be careful. Unfortunately, there is no 3.5 mm headphone output, you will have to buy an adapter with miniUSB or use a headset. At the top right there is a small blue diode,
The TFT screen is 3 "in size, resolution is 240x400, 260 thousand colors, the type of sensor is resistive. The viewing angle is large, the brightness at maximum settings is high. Due to the" mirroring "of the screen, it is difficult to read something in the sun, but it is possible. Although the screen it’s resistive, it’s convenient to use your fingers. I would like a larger resolution, but let's not forget that it would raise the price of the device. Due to the narrow screen, some downloaded applications do not fit and sometimes part of the interface is not visible, but this does not mainly affect the functionality.
5 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash. Moreover, 5 megapixels are real, although they like to write 20 megapixels in Chinese phones, and inside they cost 0.3 megapixels. The camera software is surprisingly well designed, there are many different shooting modes. There is a choice of focus mode and a lot of interesting things. The quality of the photos is not bad, but there are not enough colors, the photo is not bright. Autofocus speed is average, depending on the lighting.
Inside, there is a Marvell PXA 310 processor, 624MHz, 128 MB RAM and 256 MB ROM. Of the wireless interfaces, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and Wi-Fi 802.11b / g are available. I connected my Bluetooth headset with my headphones, the rewind buttons worked, there were no problems.
By default, there was Android 1.5 without the Android Market, but version 1.6 is already available, and Google services can be delivered using a special patch.
To insert SIM-cards and microSD, you need to remove the battery, which is not very convenient. The installation mechanism itself looks interesting, all the cards are inserted like a ladder. It is easy to insert a memory card, but with a SIM-card a little more complicated. I need to insert the SIM card onto the slide and put it into the slot, it took me about 40 seconds. There is a sticker with two IMEIs under the battery, the model name DSTL1 and General Mobile are carefully covered with a marker.
Work with 2 SIM-cards is made quite convenient, for example, dial a number and to select which SIM-card to call, press the top or bottom button to the left of the joystick. And if you call by tapping the screen, you will be asked which SIM card to call. With an incoming call, it will be written to which SIM card they are ringing. For both SIM-cards you can register access points. There are 2 radio modules in the device, i.e. 2 of your numbers will be available for calls. If you get bored, you can call yourself. I will not talk about the convenience of using two SIM cards, this is already understandable.
The accelerometer behaves well, no false positives, the screen rotates quickly.
With active use, the communicator will live until evening, the battery is 1200 mAh.
Now the market offers budget devices on Android, for example HTC Tattoo (about 15 thousand rubles), but if you compare prices, I don’t even know what a budget device is. What did the Chinese do is this super-budget device?
In the end, I’ll say that for this money (7000 rubles) this is a very, very, very interesting device, the exact same ones with the Rover inscription will be sold here for 16-20 thousand! For 7000, you can now buy a touchscreen device, but it will not be a communicator (we don’t look at WM) and it will not even have half this functionality. As they say in the advertisement “So why pay more ?!” If you want to try Android for the first time, this device is for you.
I’ll make a reservation, the article is not mine, my friend very much asked to publish it, for some reason they didn’t take it to the sandbox.
At the moment, he received a well-deserved invite, for +50 to the topic, therefore I want to thank all the voters.
upd1. Moved to Android.
upd2. The author received an invite. Love and favor - timsoid