You know, I’ve reviewed quite a few smartphones over the time but some of the devices keep astonishing me. I just came across the unknown and unheard 6” all-metal phone that is called PPTV King 7. It not only looks great but it is powerful and it costs just $130. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Banggood.com for sending the PPTV King 7 for a review

PPTV King 7 Review: VIDEO REVIEW

PPTV King 7 Review: UNBOXING

The phone ships in a premium box where all the items are packed neatly but there are no extras included.

PPTV King 7 Review: DESIGN

The King 7 is a truly premium-looking device since it is made almost entirely of metal (except for the top and bottom parts for antennas), the metal buttons are tactile, and they do not rattle, and finally, the phone sits nicely in the hand.

The phone is huge due to its 6” display, which has 2K resolution and it is definitely one of the best panels you can’t find on any device in this price range. I know that many people complain about the black bezels around the display but I’m okay with that. Well, you can’t have it all at this price point.

We have an 8MP camera and a nice pulsing notification LED light on the front. I don’t like the fact that there are only the on-screen navigation keys but at least you can switch the position of them.

As for the main camera, we have a 13MP shooter that is coupled with a dual-tone dual LED flash.

When it comes to audio, the loudspeaker is easily one of the best in this price range.

Also, the sound quality via earphones is just great since the PPTV phone has a built-in Hi-Fi audio chip. Finally, the top-mounted IR blaster works just fine with my Samsung TV.

PPTV King 7 Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

When it comes to the specs, the King 7 is a little outdated but it is still plenty powerful for such a low price.

The phone ships with the Helio X10 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which can be further expanded via the microSD card slot.

The 3D gaming experience is pretty good. Although you may see some skipped frames on the highest graphics in some games but switching graphics to medium solves the issue.

PPTV King 7 Review: BENCHMARKS

PPTV King 7 Review: USER INTERFACE

As far as the user interface, you will love it or hate it. The phone runs on the outdated Android 5.1 and there is a heavily customised PP OS UI skin on top of it.

The performance of the UI is pretty good as I didn’t have any lags or stutter. You may love the user interface because there are plenty of customization options, various settings and tweaks to play with. On the other hand, you may hate it since there is no app tray, the icons look cartoonish and you may not need all those extra features if you are a more conservative user.

Well, I can definitely live with this user interface as it has been running smoothly but I always prefer stock Android, so I downloaded the third-party launcher.

PPTV King 7 Review: IMAGE QUALITY

IT IS HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED TO DOWNLOAD FULL RESOLUTION CAMERA SAMPLES TO SEE THE ACTUAL IMAGE QUALITY. THE PICTURES UPLOADED ON THE WEBSITE ARE 50% SMALLER IN RESOLUTION.

As for image quality, you should not expect any stellar results from a cheap phone like this. Still, you may get some nice-looking photos that are pretty sharp and detailed. However, the camera has some issues with the edge-to-edge focusing and there could a little bit more detail in some of the shots.

The selfie camera has a pretty aggressive beautification mode so the images will definitely look great on social media.

The video quality is just mediocre as on most of the cheap phones. Unfortunately, I could not play any 4K video samples on my Mac due to format compatibility issues but make sure to check out the video description for original camera samples. See the video review or download original camera samples using the link below.

Download full resolution camera samples 

PPTV King 7 Review: CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the phone performs well. The signal strength and call quality are good, the Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS work fine.

PPTV King 7 Review: BATTERY LIFE

The King 7 ships with the 3610mAh battery and it has to power a huge 2K resolution display. I was sceptical once I first saw the spec sheet but surprisingly, I managed to get over 5 hours of screen-on time on a mixed use, which is a good result. Unfortunately, the phone does not ship with the fast charger.

N.B. charging graph indicates the time when the phone was connected to the computer for approx. 1-2 mins for data transfer.

PPTV King 7 Review: CONCLUSIONS

Honestly, I have never heard about the PPTV company before but the King 7 exceeded my expectations, to say the least.

For the price of just $130, this phone is a great value since it has an excellent build quality, very nice and sharp 6” 2k display, a little outdated but still decent specs, feature-rich UI and a pretty good overall performance.

Obviously, the phone is not for everyone due to its size. Also, some may hate the black bezels around the display, the phone runs on the outdated Android 5.1 and there is no fingerprint sensor.

Still, if you consider that this phone has a decent camera, great sound quality and a pretty good battery life, the PPTV King 7 is an awesome phone for the price, despite previously mentioned shortcomings.

The post PPTV King 7 Review – The Most Underrated Cheap Android Phablet? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Let’s admit, very large smartphones are not for everyone but they have some advantages that other phones lack. I came across the 6.44” smartphone that you have probably not heard of. It costs just $130 but I was amazed by how much value it offers. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Banggood for sending Ramos MOS1 Max for a review.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq4iZUjbDAE[/embedyt]

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: UNBOXING

I’m talking about the Ramos MOS1 Max phone that comes in quite a premium packaging. Inside the box, you can find all the usual items that you would expect to come with any phone.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

The key aspect of this phone is its size and that is because of a huge 6.44” 1080p display, which is surprisingly great, sharp and vibrant for such a cheap phone.

Also, the phone is made almost entirely of metal (except for the top and bottom parts for antennas). The device sits nicely in the hand but you will definitely need two hands to handle it.

I love the fact that there are no moving parts whatsoever. The dual-micro SIM card tray stays firmly and buttons do not rattle, and they have a good tactile feedback.

I don’t like the fact that we have only the on-screen navigation buttons. A great thing is that there is a notification LED light, which sits next to the 8MP front-facing camera.

Usually, the loudspeakers suck on the cheap phones but I have to tell you that the Ramos Mos 1 is one of the better devices in this department.

Same can be said about the sound quality via the headset jack as the phone sports a Hi-Fi audio chip.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

For the price of $130, the phone sports some pretty good specs. The device ships with an octa-core MTK6753 chip, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is, however, not expandable.

The 3D gaming performance is not as good as I expected as there are quite a few skipped frames even if you play Asphalt 8 on medium graphics.

On the other hand, the 2D games work just fine and the phone does not overheat.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: BENCHMARKS

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: USER INTERFACE

What I love about this phone is that it ships with the stock Android ROM and the device is pretty fast on the daily basis, and I didn’t have any lags or hiccups. However, we have the outdated Android 5.1 version and I’m not really sure if we are going to see an update to the Android 6.0 anytime soon.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: IMAGE QUALITY

As for image quality, you should not expect any stellar results from a cheap phone like this. Still, you may get some nice-looking photos that are pretty sharp and detailed. However, the camera has some issues handling the dynamic range, there could a little bit more detail in some of the shots.

The selfie camera can take images that will definitely do the trick for social media.

The video quality is just mediocre as on most of the cheap phones. See the video review for a video sample.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues and even the GPS lock speeds and accuracy were okay. The only downside would be that there is not 5GHz Wifi band support.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: BATTERY LIFE

The battery life is one of the highlights of the Ramos phone as it ships with a beefy 6100mAh unit. I could not kill the phone in one day and I would say that you will be able to get at least 2 days of moderate usage out of this phone. Also, the phone supports a quick-charge tech and I was able to fully charge it in around 1:40 mins.

RAMOS MOS 1 Max Review: CONCLUSIONS

The MOS1 Max was the very first phone made by Ramos that I had a chance to review. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much value this phone offers.

It all starts with a gorgeous 6.44” display, excellent all-metal build, great sound quality, stock Android user interface and awesome battery life.

However, the MOS1 Max is not for everyone due to its size. It is not really possible to handle the phone in one hand or even put it in the pocket but if you are watching this review, you are probably looking for a phablet.

Other shortcomings worth considering would be the lack of the microSD card slot, the outdated Android 5.1 user interface, only the on-screen navigation buttons and subpar 3D gaming performance.

Other than that, the Ramos MOS1 Max is a great offering for the price if you are looking for a super-sized phone, despite a few shortcomings.

The post The Best Cheap Hi-Fi Phablet? appeared first on Gizmochina.

This is not a Pepsi commercial, this is a Pepsi smartphone. It doesn’t matter if you like drinking Pepsi or not, this device is really good… and it doesn’t even cost a hundred bucks. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Banggood for sending Pepsi P1s for a review.

Pepsi P1s Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6INCfU88Pns[/embedyt]

Pepsi P1s Review: UNBOXING

It all starts with beautiful presentation and all the items are packed neatly. In the box, you can find all the usual stuff and some extras like a pair of earphones, a screen protector and a soft TPU case.

Pepsi P1s Review: SPECS

Pepsi P1s Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

No one will ever tell you that this phone does not even cost a $100. The device sports an all-metal shell and it is well-constructed. In fact, I dropped the phone on the rocks from about 2 meters and the only damage there was – a few dings on the metal frame and metal buttons. Speaking of the buttons, they are nice and tactile.

We have a 5.5” LCD 1080p display, which is sharp, bright and vibrant, and it is one of the best panels on such a cheap phone.

Just above the display, there is a 5MP selfie camera. Unfortunately, there is no LED notification light and the capacitive buttons are not backlit.

As far as the main camera goes, we have a 13MP shooter coupled with the LED flash. Just below the camera, there is a fingerprint scanner, which is not the fastest around but it is accurate enough and it works straight from the standby mode.

The loudspeaker sits on the bottom and I have to tell you that it is one of the best I’ve heard in a sub-$100 phone.

Pepsi P1s Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Pepsi phone is no slouch when it comes to the internal hardware. It ships with an octa-core MTK6592 chip, clocked at 1.7Ghz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

These are not the flagship-grade specs but the phone handles 3D games pretty well. I enjoyed playing Asphalt 8 on medium graphics without any stutter but the phone gets quite warm quickly.

On the other hand, the device never got too hot that it became uncomfortable.

Pepsi P1s Review: BENCHMARKS

Pepsi P1s Review: USER INTERFACE

Speaking of the UI performance, it is good too. I didn’t have any hiccups or lags. The phone ships with the dido OS, which is a surprisingly good implementation of the already dated Android 5.1.

All the icons that sit on the home screens, have some Pepsi design elements. While it justifies the purpose of this phone, I’m not a huge fan of that cartoonish look. On the other hand, the user interface has quite a few customization options and some added features like a bunch of gesture and motion controls.

Pepsi P1s Review: IMAGE QUALITY

You can’t expect much from a cheap phone when it comes to the image quality but the Pepsi phone is capable of taking some decent looking images when there is enough lighting.

Some of the low-light images may be usable but don’t expect any stellar results.

A front-facing camera can take just mediocre-looking selfies but they may be enough for social media.

The 1080p video, on the other hand, is one of the best in class. See a video review for a video sample.

Pepsi P1s Review: CONNECTIVITY

When it comes to connectivity, the phone supports 4G and it can take either 2 SIM cards or a combo of 1 SIM and the microSD card.

I didn’t have any connectivity issues. Even the GPS lock speeds were fast and the GPS was accurate.

Pepsi P1s Review: BATTERY LIFE

The phone ships with 3000mAh battery that performs quite well. The device will get you through the day and I was able to get around 3.5h of screen-on time, which is not the best result but I can definitely live with that.

Unfortunately, the phone does not support fast charging feature.

Pepsi P1s Review: CONCLUSIONS

The Pepsi phone is a one pleasant surprise, to be honest. I didn’t even know it existed before I decided to review it. The device exceeded my expectations considering its low price tag.

It has a nice looking all-metal design and excellent build quality and brilliant display. Also, the phone performs well and its UI may look a bit cartoonish but it has some nice features.

Also, the camera can take some decent looking daylight images and the phone has a good loudspeaker.

On the other hand, you have to consider that the Pepsi smartphone lacks the notification LED light, its capacitive buttons are not backlit, the phone ships with the already dated Android 5.1 and last but not least, the phone ships with a few pre-installed bloatware apps.

All in all, the $93 Pepsi smartphone may not be the perfect device but it is definitely one of the best phones you can buy at this price point, despite a few shortcomings.

The post Pepsi Smartphone Review! A Fantastic $93 Smartphone! appeared first on Gizmochina.