If you’re looking for a phablet on a budget, the recently announced MyPhone Hail might tickle your fancy. It’s equipped with a 5 inch screen and dual core processor at an SRP of Php4,598. That kind of price for a smartphone with a 5 inch screen is kind of unheard of, so MyPhone had to cut some corners, right?
The Screen
The MyPhone Hail’s display has a resolution of 480 x 854 (FWVGA), giving it a pixel density of 196ppi. That’s pretty subpar, but hey, it’s a sub-Php5k phone. There is no indication as to what kind of panel it uses, but at that price, it’s most likely a basic TN (twisted nematic) LCD display.
The Chipset
The MyPhone Hail is powered by a MediaTek MT6572 SoC with 1.3GHz dual core processor and Mali 400 MP1 GPU. It’s a fairly decent SoC that can score somewhere around 10k on Antutu with phones like MyPhone’s own Rain 3G. Gaming performance should be acceptable given that the FWVGA resolution won’t task the CPU/GPU that much.
The Software
The Hail will run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, which is the latest version of Android that most local smartphones run these days. Of course, there’s KitKat 4.4 and Jelly Bean 4.3, but I honestly can’t recall a single locally-branded smartphone that runs either version. 512MB RAM is a little thin to run Jelly Bean on though. Expect about 300+MB RAM to be available at most.
Memory and Storage
The budget phablet is equipped with 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. RAM is a little disappointing, but should be decent enough for most purposes. 4GB internal storage is fairly acceptable as it’s the norm among most locally-branded smartphones.
The Camera
You’re getting a 5mp rear-facing camera and VGA front camera with the MyPhone Hail. Not a world-beating setup, but it should do just fine for basic imaging needs.
Wireless Connectivity
Corners had to be cut somewhere, and it looks like it’s in the wireless connectivity department. While the MyPhone Hail supports WiFi, and Bluetooth, there’s no 3G connectivity. That means you’ll have to make do with EDGE/GPRS if you want to surf wirelessly without a WiFi hotspot. Personally, if you’re going to get a smartphone, 3G shouldn’t be a feature to forgo. 2G is painfully slow and always being on the lookout for a WiFi hotspot is a hassle.
Battery
[Update]: Battery was previously reported as 1,600mAh, but is actually 2,000mAh. Thanks to Khristian for the heads up.
The MyPhone Hail is powered by a 2,000mAh battery. That’s pretty much what you would expect of a phone with a power-guzzling 5 inch screen. Battery life should be decent since the FWVGA screen won’t tax the SoC as much as an HD screen.
Impressions
At Php4,598, the MyPhone Hail certainly looks like a good deal. You’re getting a 5 inch screen, a respectable dual core processor, and Android 4.2 out of the box. However, it skimps out on some key features that would have made it an great buy instead of just a good one. 3G in particular seems to be a glaring feature omission, especially when a lot of folks like to access their social media accounts on the go these days. If you can live without 3G and don’t mind the limited RAM, the MyPhone Hail is a good option.
MyPhone Hail Specs
- 5″ FWVGA capacitive touchscreen
- 1.3GHz dual core MediaTek MT6572 processor
- Mali 400 MP1 GPU
- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB internal storage, expandable via micro SD up to 32GB
- 5mp rear-facing camera
- VGA front camera
- 2G EDGE/GPRS
- WiFi b/g/n
- Bluetooth
- 2,000mAh battery
- Price: Php4,598
Source: MyPhone
Update. 2Ah po yung battery.
Hi Khristian, thanks for the heads up. The article has been updated 🙂