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Monday, November 11, 2013

ZTE Nubia 5

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Though ZTE has plenty of low- and midrange devices under its belt, the number of high-end handsets that it releases for the US are few and far between. So when the Chinese-based manufacturer launched the impressively souped-up Nubia 5 and made it available to US consumers online and through Amazon, needless to say, I was excited.

Compared with ZTE's most recent top-tier phone, the Sprint Vital, the Nubia 5 shows marked improvements: a faster processor, a slimmer profile, and a higher-resolution screen to name a few.

The device does have a couple of drawbacks, however. For example, it lacks LTE capabilities, and offers only 16GB of storage (which turns out to be about 9GB or so left of usable storage) without any option to expand.

But while these factors may keep the handset from being wholly comparable to the current flagships of other, more successful manufacturers (not to mention there's the highly anticipated Nexus 5 to factor in as well, which is expected to be as unlocked and global-ready as its predecessor), the phone still performs great, is reasonably priced at $450, and is a working testament to ZTE's determination to make a serious name for itself in the US.

Design
The Nubia 5 has solid, high-end build quality. Though its aesthetic is nothing we haven't seen before (in fact, it uncannily looks like HTC handsets of recent past, like the Droid DNA or the Butterfly 2), I like its matte, rubberlike back, and the faux-metallic trimming along the phone's sides. Those accents lend a professional feel, and the way the top edge slightly tapers off is also a nice detail.

The device weighs 4.51 ounces, and measures 5.43 inches tall and 2.7 inches wide. It has a slim 0.29-inch profile. If you're like me and have a small grip, you may find the phone hard to maneuver with just one hand. True, the handset isn't noticeably any bigger than some others on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S4, but it may seem somewhat tall inside certain pockets.

On the left and right edges are a narrow volume rocker and sleep/power button, respectively. Because both keys sit rather flush with the surface of the Nubia, it's difficult to find them by feeling around. Up top is a 3.5mm headphone jack and on the bottom edge is a Micro-USB port for charging.

The Nubia 5 has a trim, 0.29-inch profile.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The back of the smartphone houses a 13-megapixel camera with flash and two small clusters of perforations for the audio speakers. The camera lens, accented with a stylish red rim, bulges slightly outward from the surface. Because you can't disassemble the back, the 2,300mAh battery is nonremovable.

Equipped with a 5-inch IPS touch screen, the device's display is one of the sharpest I've seen on any ZTE handset. It has a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution and 443ppi, so HD videos and images appeared crisp, and colors were accurately portrayed. Menu icons and text looked smooth, and the screen had a satisfyingly wide viewing angle. In addition, an issue I've often had with ZTE phones is finding their touch screens less responsive than they should be. The Nubia's display was sensitive and responsive to the touch; typing was accurate and tapping on items was a breeze.

However, the display could be brighter. Though it's indiscernible on a day-to-day basis, it was notable when I saw how much dimmer a video or a swatch of white looked on maximum brightness compared with on the GS4 and the LG G2.

Above the display is a 2-megapixel camera, and below it are three hot keys that light up red when in use. Although it's obvious that the middle circle button is the home key (which you can also long-press to launch recent apps), the other two keys are just small red dots, and their meanings aren't immediately clear. To clarify: the left calls up settings and the right is the Back key.

Software features
The Nubia 5 features a UI that has simple but sleek icons and menus, and lets you choose between a black and a white color themes. I like this UI more than the somewhat immature aesthetic of LG's Optimus 3.0 UI.

Oddly enough, the device doesn't feature an app drawer. Instead, you'll find all your apps in the pages of your home screen, where you can also organize individual app folders. While iOS users may not have any trouble with this, Android users will definitely find this inconvenient. The drawer allows users to have a clean, uncluttered homepage. Without it, your homepage will begin piling up with apps, and you'll inevitably end up having to swipe through several pages or create numerous folders just to get to them all.

ZTE Nubia 5 (homepage) No app drawer here: similar to in iOS, all apps will be accessible only through the home page.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

The device runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and includes the regular mill of Google apps you come to expect: YouTube, Search, portals to the Play Store for Books, Games, Magazines, Movies & TV, and Music, Chrome, Maps, G+ Photos, Hangouts, Gmail, and Google+.

You'll also get basic apps such as native browser and e-mail clients, a calendar, a notepad, a clock with alarm and stopwatch functions, a news and weather app, video and music players, a sound recorder, and a calculator.

ZTE also threw in some extra goodies, like an FM radio and a flashlight, a Smart Tag app that works in conjunction with the phone's NFC capabilities, Twitter, Facebook, the Kingsoft Office mobile office suite, Evernote, Dropbox, and the WeChat messaging app.

The phone has Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of ROM. Unfortunately, there is no expandable microSD card slot, so unless you start getting into cloud computing or transfer out your Nubia's contents every so often, there's the (likely) chance you'll run out of storage. Especially since those 16GB end up being more like 9GB of usable, formatted memory.

Camera and video
The device's 13-megapixel camera features a Konica Minolta sapphire lens and image stabilization. Though ZTE has made handsets with a 13-megapixel shooter before with the Sprint Vital, the Nubia's photo quality was much better. Check out the photos below and be sure to click each one for the full-resolution version.

ZTE Nubia 5 (indoor) Even given the dim lighting, cups and other objects inside this Starbucks still come out clear.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) ZTE Nubia 5 (outdoor) In this outdoor photo, these blown-glass figures are vibrant and sharp.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) ZTE Nubia 5 (closeup) A close-up photo of this flower-print scarf shows plenty of detail.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET) ZTE Nubia 5 (SSI) In our standard studio shot, you can see the flash gives a blue cast to the white background, but objects remain well-defined.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

For one thing, the camera operated much quicker (though if you're shooting in HDR mode, you will have to wait awhile for image processing), and images were well-defined and in focus. Though there is no obvious macro zooming function, close-up shots turned out detailed and sharp. Moreover, colors had more pop and were more accurate than with the Vital, and images taken in dimmer lighting still came out less grainy or "crunchy-looking."


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Vodafone 3G fails to meet Ofcom requirements

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AppId is over the quota

Vodafone's 3G coverage has failed to reach regulator Ofcom’s coverage obligations, falling short of the required 90 per cent.

As part of the 3G mobile spectrum license, Ofcom requires all UK network providers to achieve coverage for 90 per cent of the country’s population, up from 80 per cent in 2000.

EE, Three and O2 all meet the 90 per cent obligation, but Vodafone fell short by 1.4 per cent.

However, Vodafone has promised that this discrepancy will be rectified by the end of the year by introducing its 3G signal to more mobile masts that it originally intended.

“Ofcom is fully aware of our plans to ensure compliance by the end of this year,” said Vodafone in a statement. “Our network investment stands at more than £900 million this year alone and we remain on track to deliver indoor coverage across 2G, 3G and 4G to 98 per cent of the population by 2015, two years ahead of the regulator’s deadline.”

Ofcom will be monitoring Vodafone’s 3G coverage and will reassess the UK network provider in the New Year.

Analysts believe it won’t take Vodafone long to improve its 3G coverage and should meet the 90 per cent requirement before the end of 2013.

“I don’t see it being very much of an issue for them to catch up and quite probably it will happen before the end of the year,” said Matthew Howett, an analyst with research firm Ovum.

This is especially evident by the speed of Vodafone’s 4G rollout.

“4G coverage will be better and much more likely to be complied with given the spectrum at 800MHz travels further distances and penetrates buildings well,” added Howett.

Ofcom is looking to prioritise mobile coverage and recently released a report highlighting mobile coverage on UK roads is poor. Next year it will look to increase coverage on the UK railway lines.

Next, read our pick of the best tablets of 2013.


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Sunday, November 10, 2013

ZTE Open Phone Review

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Web-based Firefox OS platform easy to create apps forVery cheap for a full smartphoneNon-premium app cultureInaccurate touch keyboardLow-resolution screenMediocre camera with no flashThe ZTE Open is the first Firefox OS phone to be readily available in the UK. As we reported a few months ago, ZTE has taken the unusual step of selling it via eBay, and at the princely sum of £59.99 contract free. It's a tempting proposition if you're limited on funds, or just fancy trying out the first mobile operating system from open Internet evangelists Mozilla.

SEE ALSO: 10 best cheap mobile phones

The ZTE Open is very much an entry-level handset. Its appearance is reminiscent of the HTC Wildfire, although our sample is considerably more orange. There is a blue version available too, but ZTE is currently only selling the orange one in the UK. The power button and 3.5-inch jack are on the top, the volume rocker is on the side, and the MicroUSB port is on the bottom, so pretty standard smartphone fare.

ZTE OpenApart from these features and the single touch button below the screen, which acts as a home button as it does on an iPhone, every other function works via the touchscreen. Pressing power on the top wakes up the screen, and then a swipe up reveals icons to start the camera or fully unlock the phone.

The main interface sits somewhere between Android and the iPhone, with screens you can swipe between. You can also swipe down to see any notifications, with a selection of common settings along the bottom, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode and access to the full settings page.

The main screen simply houses a clock, and the right-hand screens contain icon grids of the apps you have installed, in a similar fashion to the iPhone. The left-hand screen, however, contains an innovative smart search facility called Everything.

This is essentially a searchable compendium of mobile-optimised websites. It's almost a portal, with for example the Social section giving you access to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Myspace, LinkedIn and so on. You feel like you are using dedicated apps, but these are all the mobile sites for these services.

The screen is not a particular strong point for the ZTE Open. Our comparison with the HTC Wildfire wasn't just about looks; this phone also only sports a 320 x 480-resolution 3.5-inch screen.

Viewing angles are on the poor side, and it's not the brightest or most colourful screen either, but it's adequate for watching the occasional kitten-related online video, with the speaker loud enough for this as well.

There's a built-in FM radio, too, although this only works when the supplied headset is attached. Another area where the ZTE Open isn't exactly state of the art is the camera. This is rear-facing only and has a resolution of 3.15Mpixels. Images aren't exactly sharp, particularly in low light, and there is no flash. So the photography experience is about four years out of date, and Skype video calling won't be particularly pleasant.

ZTE Open
The single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon Cortex-A5 runs at 1GHz, which is rather mediocre by today's standards, as is the paltry 256MB of RAM. But the ZTE Open doesn't feel particularly sluggish. In fact, it's adequately smooth in operation. One area where this phone does not feel smooth, however, is when entering text. The touch keyboard is inaccurate and the lack of predictive text entry makes it particularly painful to use.


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Acer Liquid Z3 Phone Review

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AppId is over the quota
Sub-£100 price tagUser friendly Quick ModeDual SIM capabilitiesPoor 3.5-inch screenLifeless 3-megapixel cameraCheap feeling designThe Acer Liquid Z3 is a sub £100 handset and a direct follow-on to the Acer Liquid Z2. Running Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS, the Z3 isn’t the most cutting edge smartphone doing the rounds, but dual-SIM capabilities and a dual-core CPU make it a more appealing option to those looking for a defined work-life balance. With a 3.5-inch display, the Z3 is a direct rival to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fame. Available in both black and white, retailers are offering the Acer Liquid Z3 between £79.99 and £99.99 on a SIM-free basis.

SEE ALSO: 10 Best Cheap Mobile Phones

The Acer Liquid Z3’s design does little to shake off the phone’s budget billing. It is a cheap looking handset with a gloss plastic body finished with a matt removable rear plate. Although the softtouch rear gives the phone a confused, two-tone look, the textured nature of the back panel provides the Z3 with added grip.

This added purchase proves a welcome addition against the phone’s boxy design too. Although relatively small in stature, the Z3 feels a little bulky and awkward when held. The phone's 10.4mm thickness is pretty standard for the entry-level market, as is its 120g weight, but blocky corners mean the Z3 never really fits comfortably in the hand.

A sizeable bezel further detracts from the Z3’s design. Although the phone is small when compared with the flagship likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2, its 3.5-inch display feels a little lost within the expansive plastic framing. This is not particularly unusual on the budget smartphone scene, though, with the bezel-heavy design similar to that on the Samsung Galaxy Fame and the LG Optimus L3.

The Z3's button placement is reasonably strong, causing no major concerns during use. All physical controls are in no danger of accidental presses, and the few physical buttons included – power/sleep and a volume rocker – feature a pleasing level of resistance. Overall, the Acer Liquid Z3’s design is basic, sadly doing nothing to set the phone apart from the mass of basic Android offerings on the market.

Acer Liquid Z3

Screen quality is one of the Acer Liquid Z3’s most disappointing features. Although sub-£100 handsets are not renowned for their premium screens, the Z3's display is more like those found in phones half the price, such as the Vodafone Smart Mini. The Acer Liquid Z3’s screen is small, bleak and offers grainy, unappealing visuals that do nothing to encourage its use as a multimedia provider.

The phone features a 480 x 320 LCD panel that yields just a 165 pixels-per-inch. The result of this low grade panel is images that feel diluted and substandard, even for a budget phone.

The Z3's screen quality is depleted by washy colours and a lack of detail and clear, sharp edges to images. Using the Z3 to browse web pages, text looks undefined and slightly blurred while images are blocky and of a disappointingly low quality. When viewing back video content, this low quality display provides a stilted experience which fails to flow or promote continued use.

Sadly, it’s not just visually that the Liquid Z3’s screen disappoints. The phone’s touch elements are a little slow and unresponsive at times, meaning the phone can feel laggy, and somewhat irritating in use. Although supporting multi-finger gestures, the Z3 feels clunky and jumpy when carrying out pinch-to-zoom actions, with the touch panel often avoiding commands and acting with a mind of its own. Accentuating an issue felt by many touchscreen phones, the Liquid Z3’s screen feels especially prone to being smeared and depleted by greasy finger marks and all other amounts of grime.


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Samsung Galaxy Ring (Virgin Mobile)

If you are looking for a prepaid Android budget smartphone, you can do better than Samsung Galaxy ring Virgin Mobile. Although the fine entry-level phone sound specifications on paper - a 4-inch touch screen, dual-core processor and 5 megapixel camera - in the real world, the ring below expectations of $149.99.

We saw the high performance of smartphones from Samsung before, such as 99 cents contractual Galaxy S3 Mini, AT & T; This makes it very disappointing that the ring drops below several levels.

Do yourself a favor and opt instead for the LG Optimus F3, another smartphone $ 150 with comparable features, which also supports the 4 G LTE.

Design and construction
Visually, the ring is cut from the same cloth that many other phones in the lower end of Samsung catalog. Unless you know where to look, you sometime difficult to distinguish from the axiom of Galaxy (US Cellular), Galaxy admire 2 (Cricket) and Galaxy S3 Mini (AT & T).

It has the same bubbly corners, rounded and smooth, smooth, shiny surfaces. In fact, I have more than once grabbed the wrong phone thinking it was the ring. The device is blue-gray, with a strange black border around the screen and the front camera, almost like a filter. It intervenes in regard the same dimensions as his cohort, but thicker: 4.8 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide by 0.47 inches deep and weighing 3.4 ounces.

The phone is comfortable on the ear and the hand, but it feels a little thick in the pockets.

Do not forget that the filter on the screen I mentioned it a minute ago? This is not a good thing. When the 4 inch screen is at rest, it seems grey opaque and wispy, almost like the e - ink, or the surface of an old television. Samsung screens often are a reflection, but mirror of the ring surface bounces more, more even than the Galaxy admire 2 and Mini S3 that look so.

At least the colors are vivid and rich with the resolution of 800 x 480 pixels (233ppi), but good luck trying to read anything in the Sun. My suggestion: try to find yourself a job shadow.

Samsung Galaxy ring has an incredibly shiny finish and a small image.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Typing on the virtual keyboard of the screen, is a little cramped, especially if you have handled more big-screen phones. Samsung trace-based software can help take the sting out of tapping if you are tired of accidentally write the wrong thing.

Navigation is standard Samsung with a physical home button that also pulls up these recent apps (this model does not seem to have voice loaded by default S). Press and hold the Menu button to get instant Google.

A Micro USB charger is at the bottom and is joined by a (up to 64 GB) microSD card slot and rocking the volume on the left spine. In a usual good Samsung change, the power/lock button is at the top, which must befall accidental bootups and there is a physical camera on the right shutter button.

This 5 megapixel camera with LED flash is on the back. The other half of the equation of the camera, a 1.3 megapixel camera, is sitting in the front. You need to pop off the hull back if you want to remove the battery 750mAh 1.

OS and features
Running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, topped with a layer of Samsung's TouchWiz, the ring is reasonably up-to-date. I would hold my breath for any upgrade sponsored for Android 4.2.2 4.3 or higher, but you don't really miss not too when it comes to major functionality changes and interface.

Ring offers the standard package of Google's titles, like Navigation, browser Chrome, YouTube and many doors in the store's set of Google apps and content entertaining. More essential tools of Android mobile - a music player, a calendar, a calculator, a system clock - come with all devices.

The dedicated camera key is a nice touch, or would be, if it launched a little faster.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Samsung star and Virgin Mobile, too, pepper ring with preload, as a manager account, apps, and an RSS feed. Packs of ID Mobile load apps and wallpaper on a certain theme - say, sport - in a predefined profile.

If Android seems a bit overloaded for your tastes, the now-standard easy Mode is stab from Samsung to training wheels. It's a nice touch that you will see in various forms from several manufacturers.

With regard to connections and communications base, the ring has Wi - Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0 cutlery, but there is no support NFC, then you will not be able to use S-Beam beam Android adaptation or Samsung.

Cameras and video
Camera 5 megapixel usual Samsung can take some eye-catching photos with rich, deep colors and sharp edges. The ring of the Galaxy, unfortunately, was not invited to the feast of the photo. Focus Auto is still a bargain and worked here. Photos, however, are released faded, dull colors with indistinct contours. There is a LED flash, but as a general rule, the more natural light, you can submit, the better.

The same mediocrity that afflicts the main camera is also photos taken with the front 1.3 megapixel, dull and blurry camera for most, but still usable if your standards are not high.

This 5 megapixel camera photographed surprisingly low.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

If you want to fiddle around with the camera settings, you will be able to adjust the size and resolution of the white balance and choose some filters and modes, such as night and the landscape. There is a panorama, which is always a nice option to have, but not designated macro mode. Instead, wait to lean in for close-ups.

I am sad to say that HD video 720 p of the ring has let me down. Image capture has been fairly good, but the camera pumped once more the colors dull, flat and flexible instead of sharp lines, defined edges. Videos shot outdoors in natural lighting will look the best, but you can forget to preserve the conversational gems.

The low microphone has not been able to pick up the individual voice amidst the din of the traffic outside and inside, a hilarious conversation between two colleagues and me has almost entirely mute since about 5 or 6 feet below, only pick their audio when I arrived within 2 feet. Even in this case, my own audio sounded calm when played at maximum volume on the speakers of the ring. Video sounded stronger thanks to my high quality headphones.


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ZTE Blade V Phone Review

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Great valueNeat-looking metallic rearDecent screenPoor cameraSome lagQuad-core CPU a red herringThe ZTE Blade V is one of the lowest-cost quad-core phones ever made. You can buy one for under £100, making it a quarter the price of high-end quad-core phone like the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Given the low internal memory and the laggy interface, the benefits of such a processor are limited. But this remains a solid budget phone that looks better that most cheapo mobiles.

The ZTE Blade V is a plastic phone – it’s all you ever get at this price – but it’s one with a rather snazzy finish. Taking inspiration from the original ‘pebble blue’ Samsung Galaxy S3, it has a brushed metal effect on the back, designed to make it look upmarket.

It doesn’t do a bad job either. With a small-but-chunky body you would never mistake this for a top-end phone, but the blue metallic rear looks more luxurious and more exotic, than the black plastic used in most budget phones. However, look closer and it suffers from the same sort of aesthetic problems as most cheap phones – the three-tone, seam-heavy sides are not beautiful.
ZTE Blade V 11
At 10.9mm thick, the ZTE Blade V is quite chunky by current standards, and its screen bezel is fairly wide too. However, that’s not to say it’s much worse than the competition. The pricier LG L5 II and Galaxy Ace 3 are around 1mm thinner, but don’t offer hugely better style or build quality.  

Thanks to its mid-size 4-inch screen, the Blade V is perfectly comfortable to operate in one hand despite its chunkiness. There are no layout surprises here, either – aside from that the microUSB socket is on the left edge rather than the bottom.

The blue back of the ZTE Blade V comes off, revealing the removable (therefore replaceable) battery and the microSD card slot. Expandable memory is a necessary feature here as the phone only has 4GB of internal storage.
ZTE Blade V 3
Although stripped-back in some respects, the Blade V does have some extras generally missing from bargain basement phones. For example, there’s a multi-colour LED indicator above the screen that flashes green, red and amber depending on the notification in waiting. It’s a neat addition in a phone like this.

The ZTE Blade V also uses light-up soft keys, making it a pretty handy phone in the dark. You can turn the notification light off if you find it a night-time annoyance, though.

Read more: Best Android Phones

With a 4-inch display, the ZTE Blade is nowadays among the smaller-screened phones. It has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, giving a pixels-per-inch rating of 233.

It’s not sharp enough to produce the immaculate text and images you’d see on a higher-end phone. Display quality is sound but – as we expected at the price – not fantastic.
ZTE Blade V 14
Colours are solid but a little muted and top brightness is good, but the reflectivity of the screen makes it a bit of a pain to use outdoors when it’s sunny. It has an IPS panel, making angles viewing no problem, but the screen is really a bit too small to share videos longer than a short YouTube clip.

There were always going to be compromises involved in a sub-£100 phone display, but ZTE has made the right ones. Many phones at the price have lower-resolution screens, where ths Blade V's 480 x 800 pixels is the acceptable baseline these days. The screen cover of the phone is glass rather than plastic too, which is less likely to get scratched in day-to-day use.


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Virgin Mobile Awe

Virgin Mobile Awe is slow and has a poor camera, but don't completely write off the unit immediately.

Firstly, it has strong and consistent call quality, respectable 3G speed. But perhaps the saving grace of the appliance is priced extremely low.

Currently going for $89.99 but originally released with a price tag of $99.99, the fear is a good deal for what it is. And while you can get a better combined if you are willing to spend a little more, the fear is a good choice for those who are conscious of every dollar.

Design
Compact and lightweight, the Awe looks more input range of Android devices. It has rounded corners and edges that curve slightly outward a large bezel. 4.96 Inches high, 2.56 inches wide, 0.41 inch thick and weighing 4.4 ounces, it's comfortable to steer with one hand and slips easily into jean pockets.

On the edge left are two bulbous buttons to adjust the volume and a Micro-USB port, and at the top are a jack and 3.5 mm headphone output power/sleep button. The right edge houses a shortcut convenient to launch the camera.

Virgin Mobile Awe (battery door)Iridescent AWE battery holder is decorated with ridges.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The battery compartment is in style with curving lines and ridges that can make feel you. Grey with a rubbery coating mast, the back is iridescent, but it won't trap fingerprints. You will see the camera 5 megapixel camera with LED flash on the left and two small slits at the bottom of the enclosure. You can lift and remove the cover using a small indentation on the bottom right. Located below is a 1, 650mAh battery and a microSD slot card is expandable up to 32 GB.

The 4 inch IPS touchscreen has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The screen is sensitive to my shots and faucets and texts and menu icons appear clear. However, because of the low resolution, high image definition seem not very sharp, and same default wallpaper looked "crunchy" or grainy images. In addition, it has a narrow viewing angle, which becomes even more difficult to do outdoors in the sunlight.

Above the screen is a front camera 1 Megapixel, and here are three quick access keys (back, home and menu) that illuminate white when in use. When you long - press the home, you can call these last few apps or launch instant Google.

The software features
The handset runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and you will get a number of Google applications, including chrome UPSs Photos, Gmail, search, more, Hangouts, maps, access the game store for books, Magazines, movies and TV and portals of music and YouTube.

It also comes with the task basic applications as an alarm clock, native e-mail management and client browser, a calculator, a calendar, a music player, of news and weather app, a tape recorder, a timer, a video player, a voice dialer and a world clock. Two other, more rare apps are improved by Qualcomm and TouchPal X. The first is a location service application, while the second is an optional keyboard and the insert text function, you can enable.

Virgin Mobile preloaded three of its own apps as well. One is MyAccount, that allows you to check your plan data and telephone, and the other is the food, a new application that brings together pop culture news and music.

Virgin Mobile Awe (screenshots)Virgin Mobile apps include MyAccount (left) and a new application called the feed.

(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)

The latter is ID Mobile, which allows you to download preset, apps Fund screen and other elements according to which ID profile that you choose. For example, the Green package includes tools to help you lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle of the environment. Just note that removing a package ID Mobile will not uninstall the apps that you downloaded - you will need to manually delete.

When you first start the smartphone, "The Essentials" package is already loaded, and you will find shortcuts on your home pages to download more Virgin Mobile apps and applications such as Wikipedia and Pandora. It is important to remember that they are shortcuts, that invites you to download these applications in the game store and not the applications themselves real.

Additional features include Bluetooth 4.0, 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB of ROM.

Camera and video
Quality of the photo for the camera 5 megapixels was adequate but unimpressive. For example, it is slow to start, to concentrate and to take subsequent snapshots. Even after you have the Awe still for a few seconds when a photograph to prevent motion blur, pictures manage to look a little fuzzy and colors are muted. You also see a noticeable amount of grain and noise, particularly in the lighting dimmer. Look at pictures of Awe below and note that you can click on each photo to enlarge.

The 5 megapixels and face cameras have autofocus, digital zoom, five options of white balance, five ISO levels (from 100 to 800), geotagging, compositional grid, three grades of photo and three options antibanding. However, the rear camera can pull in six sizes of picture (640 x 480 at 2, 592 x 1 944 pixels), while the 1-megapixel camera can shoot in two (from 640 x 480 to 1280 x 720 pixels).


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