The line of Xenium mobile phones from Philips has expanded with a Dual-model with two SIM-cards, which has received the big name Philips Xenium Champion X333. Its main advantage is its very long battery life. In standby mode, it can go up to 50 days. The question arises, how did the manufacturer manage to achieve such impressive results? In this we will now try to figure it out.
When you purchase a Philips Xenium Champion X333 phone, you will receive a USB charger, a USB-microUSB cable, a headset, a package of paper documentation and a laser disc that will come in handy when connecting the device to your computer. All this is packed in a small cardboard box.
On the front side there is a photograph of a mobile phone lying inside. In order for the buyer to be able to more fully appreciate the appearance of the "champion", the large photo is complemented by small images showing the front, back and side views of the phone. In addition to the Philips and Xenium Champion inscriptions, the front of the packaging is decorated with the slogan “Charged to Win”.
The exterior of the Xenium Champion X333 can hardly be called exquisite. It is rather "pot-bellied", which reminds the phones of the 2005 model. Despite the good work of the designers who tried to give the device a stylish appearance, this model is unlikely to be popular with the fair sex.
At first glance, it becomes clear that the Champion is for the male hand. Reliability and solidity are felt in its contours. This impression is reinforced by the excellent build quality. All parts fit very well, the body is tightly assembled, no backlash and creaks are found when twisting.
The top end of the phone is beveled. There are no functional elements and indicators, only a decorative insert made of translucent plastic.
On the sides there is a gray aluminum insert. It has cutouts for the volume control buttons on the right panel and the memory card compartment cover on the left. The phone supports hot swapping of memory, you can change the card without rebooting the device.
The metal edging works well for the image, giving the phone solidity. But bearded men are not happy with her. The fact is that there is a small gap between the aluminum strip and the keyboard unit, which acts like a pair of tweezers.
At the bottom end there are two ports protected from dirt by caps. This is a 3.5mm and microUSB headphone audio jack.
The front of the Xenium Champion X333 features a 2.4-inch TFT display, keyboard and small sound holes.
The keyboard buttons are divided into pairs that form neat islands. The keys are quite tight, which is a bit annoying when typing. They have silver inscriptions. The backlight is white evenly and does not illuminate the whole unit very brightly. In the dark, the key labels are easy to read, although people with poor eyesight may find the font small.
The back panel has a pleasant soft-touch coating. It is designed in austere black color. At the top of the panel are lined up LED flash, camera lens and speaker slot. The matrix resolution is indicated under the lens, which is 3.0 MP. To install the SIM cards, the panel must be removed and then the large battery removed. Compared to other batteries, it looks like a real giant.
After installing all the necessary elements, you can test the Xenium Champion X333 in action.
The first thing that attracts attention is the screen. It is difficult to call him "champion". This is another detail that brings back memories of the phones of the previous generation. In addition to the graininess and rather mediocre viewing angles (if you tilt the phone far enough from the direct viewing angle, the image starts to distort up to inverting colors), the display is notable for its low brightness. It is sufficient for indoor use, but outside the dim screen is inconvenient. It is impossible to improve the situation by adjusting the brightness. As you can see, the manufacturer has achieved a long battery life both by increasing the battery capacity and reducing power consumption.
Let's see what the Xenium Champion X333 menu is.In standby mode, various service data are displayed on the screen. The topmost line contains information about the battery status and time of day, the presence of a memory card, missed calls and messages. There was also a place for indicators of the level of reception and Bluetooth activity.
Below are the names of telecom operators and large watches. The date and day of the week are indicated under the clock. In addition, messages about missed calls are duplicated here.
The menu icons look clean and simple. The selected item stands out clearly with a square of light background. If you are not satisfied with the standard layout, you can customize the display of menu items in the form of a vertical list. The phone has black and white themes. The "champion" does not allow to install something new. But you can change the background image and font size.
There is a quick access line at the bottom of the desktop. Links to desired functions can be added to this menu.
Menu navigation is possible in several ways. In addition to the usual joystick, the cursor reacts to number keys and even volume controls. By the way, in the model under consideration they are very convenient to use, since separate buttons are provided to decrease and increase the sound level.
The Xenium Champion X333 phonebook can store up to two thousand numbers. Of course, SIM memory is also available. Both databases are displayed in a single list, which can be inconvenient for individual users.
Each subscriber of the phone book is assigned a name that can be up to thirty characters long, a telephone number, fax number, company name, birthday and address. You can add your own notes to this information, assign a personal ringtone and image to the subject. The search for the desired subscriber is carried out by the initial letters of the contact. Speed dial is available for eight contacts.
Call information is displayed on several tabs. This is a general list containing all calls and sorted calls: received, outgoing, missed. Each tab has twenty numbers. If the subscriber is listed in the phone book, then his name will be indicated, otherwise we will see only the phone number.
The interface for interaction with SIM-cards of two different operators is not bad at all. After turning on the phone for the first time, the cards should be configured: select a name for each, an icon and define the default operator. It is this SIM card that will be used for outgoing calls. To call from a second card, you must switch to it through the options menu.
There is only one radio module in the phone, so only one SIM card is available during a call. The second card can be disabled through the menu; there is no need to physically remove it. Turning off one of the operators will reduce the power consumption of the phone, although for the considered model, energy savings are not very relevant.
The memory of the Xenium Champion X333 can hold no more than a thousand messages. All incoming messages fall into one folder, regardless of whether they belong to a text or multimedia format. The phone has a timer with which you can send a message at a specified time and from a specified card.
If you do not want to receive messages from certain persons, you can use the blocking function. Messages from subscribers from the "black list" will be sent to spam.
In addition to the usual SMS messages, you can receive letters by e-mail. In the phone settings, you should specify the time interval after which the synchronization with the mailbox will take place, the size of the downloaded message and other parameters. You need to configure it manually, as there is no wizard for the E-mail parameters.
The Xenium Champion X333 has a three megapixel camera with no autofocus. The manufacturer does not focus on shooting functions. A separate button for activating the camera is not provided, but there is an LED flash that can work as a flashlight.There are some pretty advanced options in the phone software. These are various shooting modes, self-timer, face detection, white balance functions. You can adjust the size and quality of your images, as well as apply a few simple color effects to them: three tones of sepia, gray, color inversion. But despite the rich functionality, the photo quality of the Xenium Champion X333 leaves much to be desired. In bright sunlight, you can achieve a relatively acceptable view of the image, but shooting indoors is on par with budget vga cameras. It makes no sense to shoot a book text at all.
When recording a video, there are various effects and settings available that apply to photographs. Videos are recorded in a resolution of 480x320 pixels in 3gp format. The stated FPS is 23 frames per second.
The built-in player supports AMR, MP3, WAV, AAC and WMA audio files. It is equipped with an equalizer with good settings: bass boost, dance music, classical, pop, rock. The control menu can be seen after exiting the player to the desktop. It supports the function of quickly navigating to lists of songs, which does not require unnecessary actions. The end call key stops the player. Navigation between tracks is done by pushing the joystick left or right. Among the shortcomings, we can note the blocking of the volume controls when the keyboard is locked.
The player is capable of playing music by category: all songs, artists, playlists and last played. Playlists can be created not only on the phone, but also using a computer.
The display shows the title and length of the track, the song number, and the total number of songs. But the covers written in the tags are not displayed on the screen. The player can be minimized for background music playback. The sound quality is average, the phone in question is not capable of replacing a good player.
In addition to playing music files, the Xenium Champion can receive radio signals. The built-in radio receiver has RDS support and is capable of memorizing twenty stations. In addition, the program you like can be recorded in memory. The recording is carried out in AMR, AWB or WAV formats. Like the player, the radio can be minimized and run in the background.
The phone is connected to the computer via the USB port. In this case, the operating modes "removable disk", "webcam" and "COM-port" are available.
Wireless interfaces include Bluetooth 2.1. Thanks to the A2DP profile, you can use wireless headphones or a headset like the Tekram Bluetooth TM-312 or Rapoo Bluetooth Foldable with your phone.
The battery is still the most notable part of the Xenium Champion X333. This removable lithium-ion battery boasts a 2000mAh capacity. The manufacturer claims that it is capable of providing 50 days of phone operation in standby mode, and up to 16 hours of talk time. In real life, the charge lasts for about two weeks. Moreover, with both active SIM cards, a couple of dozen conversations a day, SMS, internet and multimedia entertainment. For the last three days, the phone asked for a recharge, but it continued to work properly. Under such a load, most of the phones will turn off after three to four days. In terms of the duration of the work, the name of the phone is fully consistent with the actual state of affairs, it is a real marathon champion. This mobile phone will be the ideal companion for long hikes and travels where there is no access to the mains.
The Samsung C3782 and Nokia Asha 202 can offer some competition to the Philips design. They captivate with more modern appearance and comfort. The cost of these models is slightly lower than the "champion" one, but the battery life is much less.
