2015-04-09, 03:10
I just got my Mlais M52 Red Note a couple of days ago from Gearbest.
This thread is going to be a running review of my thoughts and opinions regarding the phone both as I get to know it, and as I actually have time to write. If you have any questions or anything to add, please feel free.
First, I'll start with the transaction. I bought my phone from Gearbest during their pre-sale phase around a month ago. I spent a few extra bucks for faster shipping. After the pre-sale was over, Gearbest shipped my phone within a few days and it arrived via DHL the following Monday. I believe the total time from the pre-sale ending to the phone actually arriving at my doorstep was just over a week. The phone was well-packaged. The only disappointment was that the phone did not come with an adapter so that I could use the charger in the USA. Poo. Good thing I've got a couple of extra chargers kicking around.
First impressions with the phone were about as-expected. Compared to my previous THL T200C (a 6" phablet), the Mlais M52 Red Note at 5.5" surprisingly felt much much smaller and lighter. It fit better in my pocket, and better in my hand. Being that the battery was supposedly larger than my THL's, I expected a bit more weight. As consistent with [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register], I suspect Mlais may have fibbed regarding their battery capacity. More on that later.
As far as the phone's actual style goes, it's a pretty straightforward, nondescript rectangular phone. The back is sleek (and slick), the logo on the rear is unobtrusive, the camera only barely protrudes, and the volume and power buttons both seem sturdy. There are no physical buttons on the front of the phone, but three backlit capacitive buttons instead. The only eyesore to me styling-wise is the hokey "4G" logo plastered in the top right corner of the phone.
Admittedly, by my own personal preference, I had gotten quite used to the on-screen buttons as opposed to these capacitive buttons. For what they are, they seem to work fine, though.
The phone came with a slot for a standard SIM card, a micro-SIM card, and a micro-SD card. I utilized the latter two and was immediately up and running. The startup tone and animation both seemed surprisingly elegant as opposed to what I've seen on other budget phones. The OS loaded and the old familiar AOSP interface was at my fingertips. The display itself looks absolutely stunning. Being a 720p (1280x720) display in a slightly smaller screen than my THL T200C, the Mlais M52 looked downright fantastic. In fact, as I'm staring at the display while writing this (and while Antutu is running), I wouldn't tradeoff the display for a higher resolution if I could. 720p looks fantastic on this device.
Antutu just finished. I'm a happy camper.
I changed the runtime from Dalvik to ART.
The Antutu score came in at 42,598.
BOOYAH!!!
Gotta get back to work. More to come later.
This thread is going to be a running review of my thoughts and opinions regarding the phone both as I get to know it, and as I actually have time to write. If you have any questions or anything to add, please feel free.
First, I'll start with the transaction. I bought my phone from Gearbest during their pre-sale phase around a month ago. I spent a few extra bucks for faster shipping. After the pre-sale was over, Gearbest shipped my phone within a few days and it arrived via DHL the following Monday. I believe the total time from the pre-sale ending to the phone actually arriving at my doorstep was just over a week. The phone was well-packaged. The only disappointment was that the phone did not come with an adapter so that I could use the charger in the USA. Poo. Good thing I've got a couple of extra chargers kicking around.
First impressions with the phone were about as-expected. Compared to my previous THL T200C (a 6" phablet), the Mlais M52 Red Note at 5.5" surprisingly felt much much smaller and lighter. It fit better in my pocket, and better in my hand. Being that the battery was supposedly larger than my THL's, I expected a bit more weight. As consistent with [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register], I suspect Mlais may have fibbed regarding their battery capacity. More on that later.
As far as the phone's actual style goes, it's a pretty straightforward, nondescript rectangular phone. The back is sleek (and slick), the logo on the rear is unobtrusive, the camera only barely protrudes, and the volume and power buttons both seem sturdy. There are no physical buttons on the front of the phone, but three backlit capacitive buttons instead. The only eyesore to me styling-wise is the hokey "4G" logo plastered in the top right corner of the phone.
Admittedly, by my own personal preference, I had gotten quite used to the on-screen buttons as opposed to these capacitive buttons. For what they are, they seem to work fine, though.
The phone came with a slot for a standard SIM card, a micro-SIM card, and a micro-SD card. I utilized the latter two and was immediately up and running. The startup tone and animation both seemed surprisingly elegant as opposed to what I've seen on other budget phones. The OS loaded and the old familiar AOSP interface was at my fingertips. The display itself looks absolutely stunning. Being a 720p (1280x720) display in a slightly smaller screen than my THL T200C, the Mlais M52 looked downright fantastic. In fact, as I'm staring at the display while writing this (and while Antutu is running), I wouldn't tradeoff the display for a higher resolution if I could. 720p looks fantastic on this device.
Antutu just finished. I'm a happy camper.
I changed the runtime from Dalvik to ART.
The Antutu score came in at 42,598.
BOOYAH!!!
Gotta get back to work. More to come later.