Today, budget smartphones are very actively starting to gain popularity. And this is understandable, because in appearance they practically do not differ from the flagships and at the same time they are much cheaper. Naturally, for the sake of price, you need to sacrifice some characteristics, but all this is trivial, if as a result you get a smartphone with excellent functionality. Explay has a very active policy in the budget segment. It produces high-quality and inexpensive products that compete strongly with other, more well-known manufacturers. Five-inch models, where the Explay model Rio is presented, were no exception.
Users who have already experienced the "Rio Express", the reviews were different. The fact is that each of them purchased this gadget with different goals. Let’s take a look at the main indicators of the Explay Rio smartphone today, and focusing on user reviews, we conclude on the convenience and its main purpose.
Specifications
Specifications can primarily tell the user about the capabilities of the smartphone and the presence of additional functions in it. So, the phone “Rio Express” has the following indicators:
- Operating system: Android OS version 4.2.
- Display: 5 inches, touch, multitouch, 480x854 pixels.
- Processor: 2 cores, MediaTek MT6572, ARM Cortex-A7, frequency 1300 MHz.
- Built-in memory: 512 Mb.
- RAM: 512 MB.
- Memory expansion : microSD memory cards up to 32 GB.
- Communications: GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB.
- Camera: main 2 MP, front 0.3 MP.
- Battery: 1800 mAh.
- Dimensions 73x145x9.7 mm.
- Weight: 175 grams.
What becomes clear right away at the first glance at the “Rio Express” - the characteristics here are pretty weak. Especially depressing is the presence of only 512 MB of internal memory, which is disastrously insufficient for normal operation. So when buying, users immediately order a flash drive.
Packaging and equipment
Smartphone packaging is standard and made from recycled cardboard. Particularly surprised by the presence of a color print, which is not typical for Explay. Opening the lid, you can immediately see the gadget, which occupies completely the entire space around the perimeter. Pulling it out and lifting the cover, you can see the standard set: headset, USB cable, manual, battery and warranty. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not include interchangeable panels for the “Expo Rio”, covers and other trifles. But this is not scary, because they can be purchased separately at a low cost.
Display
The screen at the “Rio Express” received good reviews from users. Most do not immediately believe that for such a cost (about 4 thousand rubles) you can get as much as 5 ”sensory space. But the screen resolution is a little frustrating. It is only 854x480 pixels here, which is undoubtedly not enough for working with small fonts. Still, users would very much like to see an IPS matrix as a mapping body, rather than the old TN version. But even with such parameters, the image on the display is easy to read at medium brightness on a bright sunny day, which is rarely found on smartphones of budget lines.
The screen has average performance, which is typical for state employees. The viewing angles are small and when you tilt with the flowers, something wild happens. All of them become negative initially, then the display simply turns white, leaving only dark traces. But for normal operation with a smartphone, the provided angles are quite enough.
Cameras
Smartphone “Rio Play” has two cameras: front and external. The first produces an image thanks to the 0.3 megapixel matrix. This is not enough to create normal pictures, but it is enough for video communication. The external camera is more powerful and has a 2 megapixel sensor. Its resolution is 1600x1200 pixels. At first glance, it does not pull on its parameters and it seems that the declared parameters are a simple hoax.
Users were very pleased with the LED flash, but the lack of autofocus is a little frustrating. Video shooting can be carried out in a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, which is a pretty good indicator. And now there was only the hope that even though this indicator is a virtue, how does the gaze of the frame rate of shooting fall to the eye - 10. And this is with standard 30 frames!
Drawing a conclusion on the cameras, we can say that they are located here just for show and are suitable only for unpretentious users.
Stuffing and performance
Like all state employees, the smartphone under consideration uses the same basis - MediaTek MT6572. There are two cores with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. RAM is only 512 MB, which is hardly enough for large applications. All popular benchmarks give the same overall performance score - below average. This is what caused the “Rio Express” reviews began to appear not too good. Concluding, we can say that performance is not the hobby of this smartphone, it will not suit lovers of powerful games. But simple toys and resource-less applications will "fly" here.
Memory
All users are very upset by the presence of only 512 MB of internal memory. This allows you to safely say that you immediately need to add the cost of a flash drive to the cost of the gadget. Also, to install applications, it will be necessary to obtain ROOT rights and re-allocate all memory.
As a removable storage medium , a microSD card with a maximum permissible volume of 32 GB is used here. It is enough to store games and other important things in the form of photo and video material.
Design features initially allow you to talk about the possibility of hot swapping flash drives. In this case, you can not turn off the smartphone. But the fact is that when you get out the card, you will surely run into the battery. So here it is necessary to get a power source .
Battery
The Rio Express gadget, which we are currently reviewing, has a 1800 mAh battery as its power source. Users respond very well about the battery life of this smartphone. Very interesting are the test results, which are practically not inferior to the average and flagship models of well-known manufacturers.
So, in the mode of watching a movie of HD-quality with maximum brightness, you can put the battery in almost 4 hours. Well, listening to music will give pleasure for the whole 36 hours, which is quite enough for such a low cost of the smartphone itself.
Software and installed software
As a basis, the Explay Rio smartphone uses Google’s Android version 4.2. The core is standard, the shell also has not undergone major changes. But in the preinstalled software you can no longer find all the familiar applications and stores. Everything has been replaced here with services from Yandex. But removing them will not be a problem if you have access rights (in any case, you need to open them to install applications on a USB flash drive). Yes, and you can also download the necessary options, you just need to connect to the Internet.
User reviews and conclusions
Users who managed to try the “Rio Express” leave mixed reviews. On the one hand, everyone admires that for such a price they got a fully functional smartphone. It is convenient, practical, lightweight and beautiful in appearance. In this case, the sensor responds to touch adequately. But the lack of 3G, the main standard applications, a very weak camera, which does not correspond to 2 megapixels, and a small memory (both RAM and built-in) strongly repels. But wanting more for such a relatively meager cost is not worth it. The main thing is that the gadget works and at the same time demonstrates good results both in terms of performance and battery life.
In the end, what do we get by purchasing Explay Rio? In the hands of a budget employee with a very low cost, but having indicators close to the middle class. If you are not a photographer and do not play too “heavy” games, then this gadget will do just fine.