The Kenyan Smartphone market is becoming competitive with each passing day. The big players in the market are gradually losing the firm grip they once held over the hearts of consumers. With the smartphone penetration level in the Kenya on an upward shift, the demand for quality budget phones has never been higher. However, the consumer is the ultimate winner in this battle.
Introducing the Tecno Phantom F7 smartphone, a handset dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S3 ‘nemesis’. Tecno Phantom A is clearly a campaign by Tecno to solidify its presence in the smartphone market with a deliberate focus on developing nations.
Read Also: Samsung Galaxy S3 Quick Review
Will there be a shift on who calls the shot in the emerging smartphone markets? Who knows, let the future decide that.
Here is a comprehensive and in depth review of the Tecno Phantom A smartphone.
Display
Tecno Phantom A comes with a brilliant 5″ 16 million colors capacitive touchscreen. The screen is about 50mm larger than the 4.8 Inch Super Amoled display of the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone.
The display has a 720 x 1280 pixels (HD) dimension and packs in a 296 ppi resolution density, which is by the way is quite impressive considering that the S3 has 306 ppi resolution density.
However, it is worth mentioning that the screen lacks a Gorilla Glass layer protection layer, which has become more of a necessity for premium handsets.
Body and Design
The first impression of a product is critical at influencing most buying decisions.
Tecno Phantom A designers definitely capitalized on this.The handset comes in a slim body case measuring in at 143.5 x 70.8 x 9.1mm, which is just perfect for one handed operations.
The glossy plastic cover feels good in the hands but is a fingerprint and smudges magnet. The phone is bundled with a free leather flip cover in box.
Technical Specifications
Now to my favorite part, the ‘stats for the nerds’. A strip down of the Tecno Phantom handset will reaffirm the point that the phone may look like the Galaxy S3 but technically speaking there is a slight difference on the components powering the device.
CPU
The CPU provides the torque to power the smartphone operations. While as the Tecno Phantom A comes with a 1.0 GHz Dual-core CPU the Galaxy S3 comes is packed with a Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU.
The comparison between the two is clear as day and you should expect an occasional lag in operations for the Tecno Phantom while multi-tasking between ‘heavy’ apps.
RAM
The Tecno Phantom A comes shipped with 1 GB of RAM.
A Must Read: Epic Duel: Samsung Galaxy S3 vs. Tecno Phantom A
Operating System
The Tecno F7 comes with Android Ice Cream sandwich in box just like the Galaxy S3 but so far, there is nothing on the rumor mill on whether the phone is upgradable to Jelly Bean.
Memory
The Tecno F7 comes with 4GB internal memory plus a card slot that supports a 32GB of Micro SD. In contrast, the S3 comes with 16/32/64 internal storage with a card slot that supports up to 64 GB of Micro SD.
Tecno was generous on this one though as the phone will come with a free 8GB micro SD card.
Connectivity
Tecno F7 comes with GPRS – 85.6 kbps; EDGE – 236.8 kbps plus 3G capabilities of up to 7.2 mbps uplink; Up to 5.76 mbps downlink. Additionally it packs in a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n chip plus Bluetooth version 3.0.
Multimedia
The Tecno F7 comes with an 8MP Auto focus camera equipped with a LED flash for low light shooting which is just similar to the Galaxy S3. Additionally, it will come with an 1.3 MP front facing camera for ‘selfies’ enthusiasts.
Battery Life
Tecno F7 comes with a 2100mAh battery that holds in enough juice to power the device through a day or two on normal usage.The phone also comes bundled with a power back that can provide a full recharge for your phone when far from the mains or during a blackout. This is specifically an essential for developing nations where daily periodic blackouts may be the norm.
Tech Trends Diary Verdict
The Tecno F7 has clearly created a fuss in the entry-level smartphone scene.
For such features and at such a competitive price it will definitely draw in a lot of interest from potential buyers. Tecno Mobile has succeeded to bridge the wide gap between cost and features that had existed for quite a while now.
Personally, I would say, at first I thought it was just an attempt to produce a cheap alternative to the S3 but I am certain with the Tecno Phantom A we should expect even more from Tecno Mobile.
Tech Trends Diary Rating
Tecno Phantom A [usr 9.1]
Competitors
Tecno F7 could be a perfect cheaper alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S2 phone and a bit but not perfect alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S3 phone. This is among a range of many more handsets from an array of Manufacturers such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos or the popular Nokia Lumia 720 Windows 8 handset.
Price in Kenya
Tecno Phantom A has a suggested retail price of Ksh 19500.
By the way, it will be awesome if you rate this gadget.
Kevin is a tech enthusiast and the lead writer at MobiTrends.co.ke. He has been writing about smartphones and tech related topics since October 2012. About Us | Contact Us
