I came across the Umi London, which is a $69 phone, it has decent specs and it sports a very good build quality.  In fact, it may be the most premium-looking super cheap Android smartphone we have tested so far. Learn more in our full review.

Thanks to Chinavasion for sending Umi London Umi Smartphone

Umi London Review: VIDEO REVIEW

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsl_DWl8t9g[/embedyt]

Umi London Review: UNBOXING

The device ships with all the usual stuff you would expect to come with any smartphone.

Umi London Review: DESIGN and DISPLAY

The very first thing you are going to notice is that the device has a fantastic build quality for the phone this cheap.

It uses a solid metal frame, tactile metal buttons and rounded edges that definitely help with the grip.

The phone has a 5” 720p display, which may not sport the highest resolution but it is sharp enough for the daily use.

The capacitive buttons are not backlit but we have a notification LED light that most of the cheap phones lack.

One annoying thing is that the backplate is very hard to remove and I suggest using a credit card to do that. Under the hood, you can find 2 SIM card slots, microSD card slot and a removable 2050mAh battery.

The loudspeaker quality is just average as on most of the cheap phones.

Umi London Review: HARDWARE and PERFORMANCE

The Umi London sports a quad-core MTK6580 chip, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

These are definitely not the flagship-grade specs but the phone is doing an okay job handling some 3D games like Asphalt 8 on the medium graphics. Well, there are quite a few skipped frames and a bit of stutter but you can still enjoy playing the game.

Umi London Review: BENCHMARKS

Umi London Review: UI

The phone ships with the stock-looking Android 6.0, which has a few added features like a bunch of different gesture and motion controls. Most of them are gimmicky to me but the ones I usually use work fine.

Sometimes it may take a bit longer to load an app or switch between different apps but in general, the user interface performance is pretty good for a $69 phone. However, you may have a little bit of random stutter if you install a lot of apps, so keep that in mind.

Umi London Review: IMAGE QUALITY

As you may have guessed, the image quality is quite terrible. Well, you may get some usable shots for social media needs but nothing more. Same can be said about the 2MP front facing shooter.

Umi London Review: CONNECTIVITY

I didn’t have any connectivity issues with this phone except for the fact the GPS lock speeds could be faster.

Umi London Review: BATTERY LIFE

The 2050mAh battery does not sound impressive on paper and the performance of it is not so great.

The phone may get you through the day only if you are a light user. I could get just over 3 hours of screen-on time.

Umi London Review: CONCLUSIONS

Umi London is yet another cheap phone from China but it has a very good build quality and it actually looks quite premium for just $69.

The phone also rocks a pretty good display and Android 6.0 with some extra features out of the box.

However, you have to know that you may have a little bit of stutter if you install a lot of apps on the phone. Also, both cameras are quite terrible, and the battery life is just average.

All in all, Umi London is a premium-looking cheap Android phone that has quite a lot to offer but it has a few shortcomings that justify a low price of the device.

The post The Most Premium Super Cheap Android Phone? appeared first on Gizmochina.

UMi has been releasing a number of interesting smartphones in the past few months. The company’s UMi Super flagship turned out to be a pretty good device and in fact, we are giving away a unit for free. You can check out the giveaway from here. Now, UMi has just released the UMi London smartphone. UMi’s smartphones have always had a key selling factor and with the UMi London, the company is attracting customers who would like to have a rugged yet beautiful smartphone. Although there are rugged phones already available, most of them look ugly. So, if you want something that will last a fall on the concrete, UMi London could be a good choice.

So, what makes this phone rugged as compared to other smartphones? Well, UMi reveals that the phone comes with several technologies that help it survive a 6-meter drop. The phone comes with DG Twin Shield Tech developed by the company which consists of:

1. Dual 2.5D glass protection which is stronger than single glass.
2. 3M pressure absorption technology which can absorb up to 0.23mm pressure due to strong impact.

Along with its rugged body, UMi London is attractive as well. It comes with space grade aluminum alloy frame and a 4.8mm dual curve body which makes it easier to hold. The best thing about the device is its price. The phone retails at just $69.99 which is great!

You can read more about the device from here and even participate in giveaways from the following links:

UMi London :http://umidigi.com/page-umi_london_overview.html

Join Giveaway here: http://umidigi.com/page-umi_super.html  

The post The Beautiful & Rugged UMi London Available From June 27 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Umi is ticking off the major cities in Europe with the naming of their phones. We already have the Umi Rome and now the next stop is Umi London.

The name is not the only thing exciting about the phone. Umi is touting the new phone as the toughest dual protection smartphone.

Umi says the London can survive a drop from a height of 6 meters with the Umi London protector and a drop of 1.5 meters without any protection. Thanks to a unique technology called DG Twin Shield. The technology which is developed by Umi uses a combination of glass and a 3M double-coated foam tape which absorbs the shock and prevents the phone from damage when it falls.

Umi London will have a 5” HD screen, 1GB of RAM, 8GB ROM, an 8MP rear camera, 2MP font facing camera, run Android Marshmallow 6.0, and be powered by a 2050mAh battery. SoC is a MTK6580 processor clocked at 1.3GHz. the phone is priced at $69.99.

Chinese manufacturers definitely have a thing for European cities. What city do you think will be next? Let’s see your guesses in the comment box below.

The post Umi London: The Toughest Dual-Protection Smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.