In the world of mobile technology, progress is leaps and bounds. But there is still a niche for devices with low performance, plain design and a small screen. These are entry-level budget smartphones. And the battles of competitors flare up exactly the same as in the premium segment. The “old people” (like ZTE, Huawei and Samsung) are fighting the influx of “youth” (Xiaomi, Digma, Meizu), but the forces are too unequal. And only ZTE is somehow still holding on to this segment. At one time, the company introduced the entry-level smartphone ZTE Blade A5. A pro version is also there. Although it is rather weak, it will do for the budget segment. Let's look at its technical characteristics and listen to what people say about this gadget. But first, some facts about the manufacturer. This is very important, because it helps to better understand how this manufacturer has not yet buried its smartphone department.
A little about the manufacturing company
The ZTE brand appeared in 1985. Even then, the company was engaged in the production of network equipment. Everyone is well aware of their network cabinets and devices for wireless communications. The first smartphone of the company appeared at the beginning of the two thousandth. Then he did not particularly stand out against the background of more powerful devices of recognized masters of the genre. Then the device was unclaimed. But the manufacturer was not going to stop. After some time, users turned their attention to the brand. In Russia, the company owes its success to the mobile operator Megafon. It was he who began to sell devices "ZTE" in installments. Among them was the ZTE Blade A5 phone. But to this day it remains relevant. In a sense of the word. It is already not powerful enough for many applications, but it can still call and send SMS.
It is worth noting that there have never been scandals related to ZTE. Unlike the same "Huawei". This company tried to do everything on its own. the peculiarity of this company is that the controlling stake in the enterprise is under the control of the state. This allows the company to stay afloat without any special difficulties. But let's move on to the ZTE Blade A5 phone. What is interesting in it and how can it be attractive to a modern user? The answer to this question is contained in subsequent chapters of the material. We hope that representatives of ZTE will forgive us neglect of their gadget. So, we consider the design of the "old man." He, of course, went out of fashion, but the main thing - not in appearance, but in the "inner world".
Appearance of the device
Let's start with the design. You can’t call the ZTE Blade A5 the top of design art. He looks ordinary and even faceless. As a material for the case, fairly cheap plastic is used. The front panel is a screen with thick frames. Under it is a row of buttons for controlling smartphones. And above the display is a speaker, a front camera (completely useless) and a proximity sensor. On the rear panel (which, by the way, is removable) is the camera module, flash and speaker. Control elements of a mechanical type are located as standard - on the side faces. The screen is closed with a regular touchscreen. There can be no talk of protected glass. As well as the grease repellent coating and anti-glare system. Therefore, the device does not look particularly attractive. But this should be a budget gadget.
Performance
Now consider the hardware platform ZTE Blade A5. Characteristics say that this is not a very powerful device. Judge for yourself. The device does not have a particularly efficient processor from MTK with a clock frequency of 1.3 gigahertz. Although it is quad-core, it is of little use. RAM is only 512 megabytes. It is not surprising that the device is constantly buggy and slows down. Android 4.4 is too heavy for this toppings. And that is a fact. The internal drive is 4 gigabytes, which in the modern world of mobile technology looks very funny. Now about the schedule. It is monstrous, because it uses a hopelessly outdated graphic coprocessor. The device is not even able to play HD-video. Not to mention the games.
Screen, network
The screen is small, with a dull touchscreen and very poor color rendering. There is no contrast either. Although what to demand from a budget device with a TN-matrix? The device only supports 3G networks and is not able to work with GPS. Such a budget gadget.
Device firmware
Now consider the software platform ZTE Blade A5 Pro. In the regular version, it is exactly the same. The operating system is Android 4.4. This firmware is good for everyone, but a bit heavy for such a device. In addition, ZTE engineers did not care about optimization at all, as a result of which the OS mercilessly “eats” the battery and cannot work normally. It is better to install another firmware here. But how to flash ZTE Blade A5? To do this, you must first obtain root rights using the Kingoroot or Framaroot program. After that, you will need to install third-party recovery. And then you can download another firmware and install it from a memory card. There are special versions of lightweight firmware that make this smartphone work much faster and save battery.
Positive feedback from owners
This section will be very short, as there are no people who would praise the ZTE Blade A5. Price is what can be good in this device. This refers to the standard version with the original firmware. Those who were able to change the version of the operating system and installed lightweight firmware, note that the gadget began to work much better. With the change of firmware, the touchscreen began to behave more adequately, and the smartphone began to work much faster. But the main thing is that the battery consumption has significantly decreased. This can not but rejoice.
In a sense, the device can be considered good if it is finalized. It’s good that you don’t need to spend money on it. Only free time. It is worth noting that some owners spoke well of the ZTE Blade A5 version for all operators. That is, only the model that is sold under the Megaphone label has problems. Then it's not so bad. Apparently, the “specialists” of the mobile operator were somewhat wise in the firmware itself. Hence the inappropriate behavior of the smartphone. Be that as it may, it's time to move on to negative comments, of which there are many more.
Negative owner reviews
Here, already the commentators parted in earnest, screaming ZTE Blade A5 in every way. Negative reviews concern everything: design, performance, camera, battery and communication quality. All polls users complain about the poor quality of communication. In many places, the gadget simply refuses to search the network. Also, owners massively complain about an insufficiently powerful battery. The device barely survives the day under normal use.
And another bad feature of the ZTE Blade A5 is the characteristics of the hardware platform. Nowadays, a smartphone should be more productive. Otherwise, it will not even pull simple applications. The authors of negative reviews, as well as the authors of positive comments, believe that there is only one strong quality in the ZTE Blade A5 - price. She did not change for this model and amounted to 2 620 rubles. This is really good. Everything else is just frustrating. By the way, it seems that negative reviews were written by those who could not change the firmware on the smartphone. If this were done, then the negative impressions of the device would quickly disappear. Be that as it may, it is clear to everyone that this device does not meet current trends and user requirements. he even copes with his direct duties with difficulty. Why is he so needed?
Conclusion
So, we reviewed the phone ZTE Blade A5. What do we have in the dry residue? This smartphone was once good. But his best times were left behind. Today, it no longer meets the requirements of most users. Only the price is attractive in it. In all other respects, this is a morally and physically obsolete gadget. It is definitely not worth buying. It’s better to add a small amount and take something from Meizu or Xiaomi. They have some pretty interesting budget devices that are ten times more powerful than our current hero. This way you can save time and nerves.