Anyone who follows the smartphone market and tries to keep abreast of developments and trends in this rapidly developing area should be aware of this year's trend - large screens (5 inches and above) and quad-core processors. A couple of years ago, I, and I think most of you, it was difficult to imagine a smartphone with such a large display. And what about four cores in such a device? However, time passes and technological progress dictates its own trends. Today we will look at the ThL W8 smartphone - one of the first smartphones from this manufacturer (the second model is ThL W7s), which received a 4-core processor based on the MT6589 platform. I came across a model with 8 GB of memory on board (there is 4 and is expected to be 16 GB). A little over 5.5 GB is available to the user.
The ThL brand is quite well known not only in China, but also in our post-Soviet expanses. Thanks to the production of high-quality and high-quality smartphones, they have already managed to prove themselves well and deserve, though not yet large, in comparison with eminent brands, an audience, but nevertheless, an audience of loyal users. You can read more about ThL in our separate article - Getting to know ThL.
It is worth noting that thanks to Magic Mobile, the ThL W8 smartphone (and other ThL smartphones) are officially presented in Ukraine, are on the IMEI white list and have a 12-month warranty and service. This is an important point and a clear plus of this manufacturer.
Specifications ThL W8
Platform: МТ6589, Cortex A7 - 4 cores with a frequency of 1.2 GHz each
GPU: PowerVR SGX 544MP
Display: 5-inch IPS, 1280x720 pixels, 16: 9, capacitive touch screen, 5-touch multi-touch
Memory: 1 GB operative, 4/8 GB built-in
Expansion card support: microSD up to 64 GB
Operating system: Android OS 4.1.2
Network: GSM + WCDMA dual mode dual standby, GPRS / EDGE / HSPA, 2G: GSM 850M / 900M / 1800M / 1900 MHz and 3G: WCDMA 850/2100 MHz
Camera: 13 MP with autofocus and LED flash + front 5 MP
Connections: Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n), Bluetooth 2.1, USB 2.0, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Navigation: GPS, support A-GPS
Sensors: proximity, position, illumination
Battery: Li-ion 2000mAh
Dimensions: 144 x 73 x 10mm
Weight: 157g
White color
Equipment
The package includes everything you need when using a smartphone: a protective case (back cover with a soft overlay on the screen - installed instead of the usual back cover), a protective film on the screen, a charger from the mains (5V - 500 mA), cord microUSB, headset (quite good quality), 2 2000 mAh batteries and Android user manual.
Appearance
The design of ThL W8 is very similar to that of the popular model from Samsung - Galaxy S3. Apparently, the manufacturer decided that it is correct to use a similar design, since the model is worldwide popular. And it is difficult to blame him for this - why invent a wheel?
The case is quite thin - only 10 mm. Looks stylish and nice to hold. A steel frame is located around the perimeter of the case.
Personally, I use a smartphone with a 4-inch display and picking up the ThL W8 with a 5-inch display, I was not scared, did not begin to lament “well, why such a thing” and I missed the “Kondraty”. The smartphone very comfortably lay in my rather big palm and from the first minutes I confidently surfed the vastness of the menu and launched various applications. Perhaps the optimal size and a reasonable compromise - and it is convenient to operate and the screen is large enough. Of course, people with small palms will have to connect a second hand to control the smartphone.
On the lower part of the front side, just below the display, there is a mechanical button - pressing it takes you to the main desktop. To the left and to the right of it are touch buttons "Menu" and "Back", respectively.They have a backlight that is activated when pressed and glows for about 5 seconds.
The speaker is located in the center above the display. There is supposedly nothing to the left of the speaker, but this is not so - there is a hidden indicator light that glows in a different color: green, for various events, for example, if an SMS message has come and red, with a low battery or active smartphone charging.
To the right of the speaker is the proximity sensor, which is activated at a distance of about 7 cm, followed by the light sensor and the last peephole belongs to the 5 MP front camera for video communication.
On the left side, the volume rocker is located alone. Average hardness. You can't accidentally press it.
On the right side there is a power button. The developer made the right move, deciding to place the power key not on top, but on the side. Due to the rather large size of the smartphone, it would be very inconvenient to turn it on and block it if the key was on top. And it turned out so conveniently and you can do this procedure with one hand.
Above, it's common to see a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a little bit unusual to see a microUSB jack here. However, in operation it turned out that this move turned out to be quite justified, and if you charge your smartphone and use it at the same time, then the wire does not bother you at all.
Well, on the bottom end you can see the microphone hole and a small gap to the right of it, with which you open the back cover. It opens quite softly - the nails will stay in place.
On the back of the ThL W8 we see the main camera's peephole, next to it is the LED flash. In addition to the logo, there is also a speaker on the bottom.
The assembly is of high quality - there are no squeaks or backlashes.
Open the back cover using the aforementioned slot at the bottom end.
We see 2 slots for sim cards and a slot for microSD memory cards. Supports memory cards up to 64 GB (finally, hurray MT6589!).
The Li-ion battery has a capacity of 2000 mAh. The set includes 2 such batteries.
Display
ThL W8 is equipped with a 5-inch display made using IPS technology. This provides rich colors and excellent viewing angles. The display resolution is 720x1280 pixels. Number of dpi - 320. Frequency - 32 Hz.
The capacitive touch is made of glass, is scratch-resistant (not GorillaGlass, but still) and has a 5-touch multi-touch.
The margin of brightness is excellent (on screenshots, the brightness level of the display is about 60%). In the sun, the image loses a bit in saturation, however, the information remains readable and no problems with the perception of information, even with direct sunlight on the screen, did not arise.
Platform
ThL W8 is equipped with the new MT6589 quad-core platform. Compared to the previous popular dual-core platform MT6577, which is built on a 40 nm process technology, the MT6589 is already built on a thinner 28 nm process technology, which promises us less power consumption of each of the cores and, accordingly, less heating. This is confirmed by the fact that the new platform uses the ARM Cortex A7 processor, which is currently the most energy efficient processor in the line. In addition, MT6589 received support for FullHD displays, 13 MP cameras, can encode and decode video in a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, work with 3G HSPA + networks with a transmission rate of 42.2 Mbps and has support for new versions of DirectX. All in all, a decent set of new features. But I think it's worth getting into practice. Let's take a look at the performance of the ThL W8 in popular benchmarks.
AnTuTu
Quadrant
The results are impressive - more than a 2x lead over its predecessor MT6577 with a dual-core processor. Yes, it does not reach the eminent tops on advanced 4-core platforms, but the price, the price ..
Video playback - 720p, mkv.
No slowdowns - everything goes smoothly. In dynamic scenes, everything is just as great.
Operating system and shell
ThL W8 is powered by the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and has a proprietary shell from ThL, with its own color schemes and icons. No Chinese characters - everything is in "great and mighty", and a little bit of English names.
This is what the unlock screen looks like.
On the unlocking screen, you can choose one of four actions - actually, unlock the phone, call, write an SMS message or activate the camera.
After unlocking, we see such a desktop.
Nothing extra.
Calls and messages
ThL W8 can work with two SIM cards in GSM and WCDMA (3G) networks. Working with two sim cards is implemented using the Dual Sim Dual Stand-By method, when both cards are in standby mode and you can call any of them. With the active use of one card (for example, if you are talking on the phone at the moment), the second number will not get through to you at that moment. However, after the end of the conversation, you will receive an SMS message with information about the missed call.
The SIM card in the first slot is used as the main one by default. By default, you will be asked each time with which card you are going to make a call or send a message. But you can always choose once in the settings which card you will use for these purposes and more windows with requests will not appear.
Using 3G
You can insert a SIM card with 3G into any slot - there is no difference. To start using 3G, you just need to "get" the shutter from the top of the screen and click on the "Data transfer" icon. The card will be activated, it will take about 10 seconds and the 3G is ready to use.
I used 3G from Utel. Below are the results of the speed test.
Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi wireless module supports 802.11 b / g / n standards.
The first screen shows the signal strength 10 meters from the transmitter, and the second one 15 meters from the transmitter through one wall. Wi-Fi works great - no problems.
It is possible to use a smartphone as an access point and distribute the Internet to everyone.
Gps
After a cold start, the search for satellites takes 4 to 6 minutes, on average. For faster work, you can activate A-GPS and after 15-20 seconds satellites will begin to be located. Naturally, this requires at least one sim card to be inserted. A smartphone can easily be used as a navigator. Fortunately, the size of the display also contributes to this.
Camera
The developer claims a 13 MP matrix of the main camera, but this value is achieved by interpolation. However, it is possible to replace the usual “soap dish”, even in the middle price range, without any problems. The quality of the photos is quite good (clicking on the photo will open it in full size).
The following camera settings are present:
In addition to photos, you can shoot videos in FullHD quality (and again hurray MT6589). Video is recorded in 3GP format.
Battery
The battery capacity of 2000 mAh is common, and the presence of 4-cores may suggest that the smartphone will not last long without recharging. But, thanks to the energy efficient platform on the new tech. process, ThL W8 is in no way inferior in battery life to dual-core models based on MT6577. And this cannot but rejoice.
Antutu Tester gave a result of 699 points.
After a full charge of the battery, which lasted 3 hours and 50 minutes, I used my smartphone for almost 3 days in the "10-15 calls, 5-10 SMS and mail check" mode. If you load it intensively with games and watching movies, then you can count on about 6 hours of work. Standard mode of modern smartphones.
conclusions
After several days of using the ThL W8 smartphone, I didn't want to part with it. I'm used to it. This model has no obvious disadvantages. Yes, the design is typical but nice. Yes, the case is plastic, like the overwhelming majority of models, but it is assembled with high quality and does not creak or backlash. Yes, the 4-core platform is inferior to eminent rivals, however, it is more than enough for all tasks, including the most modern 3D games.
The screen pleases with bright colors and excellent viewing angles. Its nice interface based on Android 4.1 is convenient and works smartly. And with all this, the sane price for a 5-inch smartphone on a 4-core platform. At this point, I'm sorry brands, with the price you are definitely in flight.
If I asked myself the question of buying a modern smartphone for a reasonable price, today I would opt for ThL W8. In the near future, an update of this model is expected and there will be a FullHD display, 16 GB of internal memory, and 2 GB of RAM. However, this will be later and, possibly, the price will be higher. Now my choice would be obvious.
