A huge number of manufacturers on the mobile device market have long made smartphones a massive, affordable product. This, in turn, has led to the fact that mobile phones have become really cheap and almost universal (in terms of their functions), despite the low price. We’ll talk about just one of these devices in this article. Meet the mobile phone THL W100. Characteristics, technical capabilities and reviews about the model - all of this can be found in this article.
general information
You may not even have heard of a manufacturer like THL. It may also be that you still had to learn about such a company, but you did not pay any attention to its products, since we are talking only about one of the Chinese brands that produce mobile devices. Agree that recently they, in fact, began to enter the markets not only of the CIS countries and India, but also of Europe and the USA, due to which the quality of work of such smartphones increased, but at the same time the opportunity to distinguish between them was lost.
It will also be difficult to distinguish THL W100 from other Chinese devices - the phone is made in a classic design for them, it is positioned at a cost related to the lower price segment, and in fact has no highlights. At the same time, the smartphone can be called good, based on the ratio of its price and quality, as well as believing the reviews that could be found about it.
We begin our review in order to understand more precisely what the presented device is.
Equipment
Buying a smartphone, you get an attractive, but not at all original white box with the inscription THL W100. Opening it, it becomes clear that the model is adapted for shipments by mail from distant China to virtually all over the world. This is evidenced by both dense cardboard, glued inside with soft material, and the transport film enveloping the device itself. Yes, and we could not find reviews indicating that the phone was damaged while traveling to the buyer.
After opening the box, the smartphone itself appears, under which the sector (in the box) for additional accessories is located. This includes two batteries, a model power supply, and a headset. It's unclear if anyone is using it, but there is a manual for the THL W100.
Design
Taking the phone in hand, you see in more detail all the features of its case. It is designed in a classic design, which, however, does not have a glossy surface standard for inexpensive Chinese devices. Due to this, perhaps the device looks attractive.
Navigation is located here as well as everywhere: on the upper front part there is a speaker, proximity sensors and lighting, as well as a front camera. In the lower sector, the THL W100 phone has physical keys to go back, go to “Home”, as well as the “Options” button. For identification, they are highlighted in white.
On the top panel of the smartphone there is a power on / unlock key, as well as a USB connector and a headphone input. The left side has a volume control key.
The back cover is made of white plastic, on which it is difficult to notice dirt or fingerprints; there is also a window for the camera and a flash. At the bottom there was a slot for the speaker.
Display
Smartphones THL W100 are equipped with a 4.5-inch display (the diagonal, which at one time was very popular with this class of devices). The image density here, due to the resolution of 540 by 960 pixels, is 240 pixels per inch. When you rotate (change the viewing angle), the image looks a little lighter. As for work in sunny weather, in such conditions the display somewhat loses its brightness.
THL W100 supports up to 5 simultaneous taps on the screen. This multi-touch is quite enough for a small budget smartphone.
operating system
If you believe that the characteristics of the device are noted about the THL W100, then the version of Android 4.2.1 was initially installed on the model. Today, obviously, the developer brought out an update (possibly up to 4.2.2), since the model was released back in 2013 (at that time this version of the software was relevant). However, you don’t even have to think about how to flash THL W100 to a newer version of Android. The device and in its basic modification of the software functions just fine.
It should be noted that the developers have slightly changed the standard design, redrawing the icons and making them more colorful. The logic of some modules was also modernized: for example, applications located on the lock screen. Now, having unlocked the device, the user can get access to the items “Camera”, “SMS” or “Calls”. This is the development of the company THL.
CPU
As for the technical stuffing - the heart of the device, we have before us a device equipped with MediaTek MTK 6589, operating on 4 cores. The amount of RAM is 4 GB.
Of course, you should not expect high performance from this hardware - each of the cores is capable of delivering a clock frequency of up to 1.2 GHz. Nevertheless, as the reviews on Thl W100 show, the phone supports playing even the most bulky and colorful games hosted on Google Play, without any problems or delays - everything goes smoothly and beautifully. Based on this, we can safely say that, despite the low cost, the Thl W100 smartphone will perfectly cope with the basic, everyday tasks facing the user.
Camera
As already stated above, the phone has a front camera for communication via Skype, Viber and other means of visual communication. In addition, of course, there is also a main camera. As stated in the official technical specifications, the device has matrices with a resolution of 5 and 8 megapixels. Judging by the quality of the images, this statement is fair. If you take photos of panoramic objects, a little “noise” will be noticeable on them, but there should be no problems with the transmission of the display of texts (even if written in small print).
Communication
It is stated that the phone supports the ability to simultaneously work with 2 SIM-cards. This is very convenient, because, obviously, it allows you to maintain communication in two different networks, due to which we can talk about reducing the cost of calls (with the right selection of operators). Judging by the network settings, it is impossible to determine which card will be selected as a priority. You can do this the other way - by installing the card in the first slot, only then the device can use 3G on the specified network.
In addition to working with two cards, the phone also boasts a Bluetooth module for exchanging data, GPS and A-GPS options for navigating in the area, and support for working in Wi-Fi networks.
As the review devoted to Thl W100 shows, all of the listed functions work without any complaints.
Autonomy
As we all know, extending the life of Android devices is the number one task for many users. The problem is that such gadgets are not well optimized to work with the whole range of functions that they have, which does not help even the large battery capacity.
On the device we are describing, you cannot call it such - it is 1800 mAh. This is the average battery for this parameter, capable of providing the phone with work for 1-2 days in normal use (or 5-6 hours with more active use). So the W100 model will not demonstrate anything outstanding to you in this matter, unless you independently try to take some measures to extend the “life” of the smartphone’s batteries.
Also, do not forget that two batteries were supplied with the phone - this allows you to replace the battery with another, charged, in case of discharge of the first.
Reviews
Due to its rather high popularity, a lot of reviews were left about the device on the Internet. Most of them claim that the model is worth the money, and working with it is a pleasure. Many people write that the device has a lot of functions, stability and reliability, as well as high-quality assembled.
Of course, there are negative characteristics from people who have experienced factory defects or some kind of defect at the level of smartphone components. In particular, they write about idle buttons, hissing speakers and an error when entering the Camera application. These can be said to be the three categories of the most common problems. You need to deal with them in different ways: in case of the first two malfunctions, you need to find where Thl W100 is being repaired in your city (this is any wide-profile service center, as the company most likely does not have official service points). They will determine the cause of the problem and possibly replace the failed module.
As the characteristics of users show, a problem at the software level, expressed in the inability to launch the application responsible for shooting, is not uncommon. In this case, you need to do a flashing - the procedure for updating the phone software or replacing it with another modification. If you are not an expert in this field, we recommend, again, contacting a service center for professional help.
In general, as indicated in the reviews, the possibility of problems and errors in the operation of the smartphone is quite large. If the model really starts to fail, you do not need to look for how to disassemble the Thl W100 and make some independent attempts to fix the device. First, try restarting your smartphone - as practice shows, many failures can be solved in this way. Only if nothing has changed, bring the device to the service.
Where to get?
Earlier (immediately after its release), the W100 model was sold, like many similar devices, in electronics stores and various communication stores specializing in similar products. In addition, it was possible to get it (at a more affordable price) and at large Chinese auctions, from where the device was sent to any country in the world (often also with free shipping).
Today, when the device has lost its relevance, it will not be possible to find it in communication salons. The way out is to buy a used smartphone, which was in use, or order a model at the same auction where resellers sell the left stock of devices after the model’s debut. However, it will not be so easy to find the “hundredth” at these sites either - it was replaced by new models, in particular, the W200 and others. It is obvious that the manufacturer updated its line with it, and for this reason it will not be easy to find old copies on sale due to their irrelevance.
conclusions
The overall results of our review are not so straightforward. On the one hand, we have a pretty nice smartphone that has a somewhat unusual appearance (due to the lack of similarity with the iPhone and without cheap glossy plastic) and quite serious characteristics (both with a powerful processor and cameras, even with interpolation). In addition to the above, the device has a lot of other strengths in terms of technical equipment, which you can pay attention to. Of course, one can not help but mention the affordable price of such a multifunctional gadget, thanks to which the main part of fans of mobile devices can allow it.
On the other hand, there are a number of negative points. Firstly, this is not the device’s highest autonomy - you can be saved from discharging in a short time either by refusing some functions, or by replacing the battery with another one charged (while somewhere on the road). In addition, reviews that claim that a factory defect was detected on the smartphone, as a result of which one or another function began to fail, are not encouraging. This is another unpleasant moment that can happen to every buyer. Of course, the defect can also occur on other phones - including among the flagships, but since they are typical on the W100 model, we can talk about the weak point of the device and insufficient attention to this problem of the development company.
Should I buy this device?
First of all, you need to understand what you want from it - functionality or stability. If the first, then take a smartphone, it’s definitely worth it: the model is really a full-fledged universal gadget at an affordable price. If you are interested in the reliable and stable operation of the phone, perhaps this model will not suit you, and you should look at more proven smartphones. The choice is yours!