One of the most affordable offers in the entry-level smartphone segment is rightfully considered the Philips S308. Reviews about this device, its technical specifications and other important information about the device - all this will be given as part of our review.
Contents of delivery
Completely familiar to the entry-level device, the Philips S308 White has a complete set. Reviews of dissatisfied owners of this gadget confirm this. And the equipment he has is as follows:
Mobile phone.
Battery with a nominal capacity of 1400 mA / h.
A simple stereo headset (the sound leaves much to be desired, it is better for music lovers to immediately buy better headphones).
Protective film for the front panel of the device.
Cord with connectors USB and microUSB.
Charger adapter.
In fact, the complete set lacks only two accessories: an external flash drive and a protective case. They will have to be bought separately, since without them it will be difficult to fully reveal the potential of this device.
Design and ergonomics of the gadget
This smartphone model does not differ in a special design refinement. The upper edge is straight, and the lower is made in the form of an arc. The front panel is made of ordinary thin glass. It does not differ in special durability. As a result, an additional protective film is included . In turn, the back cover is made of matte plastic. Also, the main camera and LED flash are displayed on it. Here, at the bottom of the device, is the main speaker of the device. Build quality is impeccable. The body elements are so well fitted that there are no backlashes or creaks. The number of controls on this gadget is minimized. The power button is located on its right edge, and the standard volume swing is displayed on the left. Under the display are three touch control buttons. The only criticism is the lack of backlighting for the touch buttons. In the dark, at first it will be difficult to control them.
Computing platform
A very modest chip is installed in the Philips S308. Reviews indicate a low level of performance of this processor. It's about MTK6572. This is a dual-core solution based on the A7 architecture. Its maximum clock frequency is only 1 GHz, the minimum is 500 MHz. It is manufactured according to the standards of the 28 nm process. And when the computational load is reduced, the processor can immediately reduce the frequency, if just one module is enough for operation, the second one is turned off. In reality, this CPU is enough for most everyday tasks: watching movies in HDRip quality, listening to music, surfing the Internet, playing simple games and reading books. The only thing this processor will definitely not cope with is the most demanding 3 D-toys. But you can’t expect this from an entry-level smartphone.
Graphics subsystem
The developers did not forget to install the graphics accelerator in the Philips S308. A review of the technical parameters of the device indicates the presence of a Mali-400 video accelerator. It provides a minimum level of performance, and its main task is to unload the central processor. The display matrix is made using outdated TFT technology. Accordingly, viewing angles are far from ideal, and the picture quality is mediocre. The screen resolution is quite modest, as of today, and is 800 pixels in length and 480 in width. But such technical parameters are quite enough for normal operation on this mobile phone.
Photo and video
The weaknesses are cameras in the Philips S308. Their characteristics are really modest at the moment. The main camera is based on a 5 megapixel sensor. At the same time, there are no such elements as autofocus or image stabilization system in this device. Therefore, the quality of the photo is very mediocre. There are still big problems with white balance, and because of this, the images are distorted. The video is generally a bad situation. This camera records videos in 800x480 format. And their quality is poor. Even worse is the situation with the camera that is displayed on the front of the device. She has a sensitive element of only 0.3 megapixels, which is barely enough for making video calls.
Memory
A total of 512 MB is installed in the Philips S308. Reviews indicate that this is clearly not enough for the smooth operation of the device. Of these, only 220 MB is allocated for the needs of the user, and the rest is occupied by system processes that cannot be stopped: the smartphone freezes. When you start demanding applications, the device starts to “fail” and slow down significantly. But - on the other hand - this is an entry-level smartphone, and you can not expect high performance from it. A 4 GB drive is integrated into the device itself. Of these, 800 MB is allocated for the installation of programs, and 1.27 GB is intended to store the user's personal data. The rest of the disk space, as you can easily understand, is occupied by system software. The previously given parameters are obviously not enough for comfortable work, and this problem can be solved only by installing an external flash drive in the gadget. The corresponding slot is in this device, and the maximum capacity of an external memory card can be 32 GB.
Autonomy
A fairly modest battery of 1400 mAh comes with a Philips S308 smartphone. According to the manufacturer, this is enough for a whole month of operation of the device in standby mode. But it is unlikely that someone will succeed. In reality, with a mediocre load, one charge of the complete battery will last for 2-3 days. If you use this gadget even more intensively, you will have to put it on charge every night.
System software and add-ons
As the system software in this device, “Android” is used, one of the most common currently versions 4.2. You do not have to wait for updates for it, and you need to be content with what is already there. Among other software, you can highlight the familiar set of applications from the search giant Google. There are also basic built-in applications, for example, "Calculator", "SMS messenger" and "Calendar". The developers did not forget about social services. In this case, we are talking about the international networks Facebook, Instagram, Linkenaydi and Twitter. But their domestic counterparts will have to be additionally installed from the Play Market.
Communications
An impressive set of interfaces contains a smartphone Philips S308. User reviews highlight such ones:
Support for 2Zh and 3Zh networks. Only here, with the second type of mobile networks, only one SIM card can be installed, which is installed in slot 1. But the second one, which is located in slot 2, can only work in networks of the 2nd generation. In the first case, the peak data transfer rate can exceed even 7 Mbps. But in the second - this figure is a very modest 5 Mbps.
The main way to connect to the global web on this gadget is rightfully considered to be "Wi-Fi." In this case, the information transfer rate can reach 150 Mbps. The only drawback of this wireless interface is its relatively small range, which at best can reach 10 meters.
Another important wireless interface for transmitting information is the Bluetooth. It is best used to exchange information with exactly the same mobile devices. Its range is similar to “Wai Fai” and in the best case can reach the same 10 meters.
The developers did not forget to install a navigation sensor on this device. In this case, we are talking about ZhPS. With its help, this simple smartphone can be turned into a full-fledged ZhPS navigator.
For connection to a PC and for charging, the microUSB port is used.
Well, to connect an external speaker system to a smart phone, a classic 3.5 mm jack is used, which is displayed on the upper edge of the gadget.
Reviews
Note the main disadvantages and advantages of the Philips S308 Black. Reviews highlight such device flaws:
But he has the following advantages:
High build quality.
Affordable price, which more than compensates for all its shortcomings. At the moment, it is less than $ 100.
The presence of a slot for installing an additional flash drive.
Summary
Despite all the previously mentioned shortcomings, the Philips S308 turned out to be pretty good. Reviews of the owners about him convince of this. All the disadvantages of this device are offset by its low cost, which currently stands at about $ 100.