The Cubot Note S smartphone is a budget gadget from a relatively young Chinese brand. Despite the fact that the company can not boast of a variety of lines, or any other advantages in terms of design and manufacturability of devices, it manages to successfully develop series after series. And this already speaks of the quality of the products and, albeit a small, but devoted army of fans.
The new Cubot Note S phone is positioned as a budget phablet that does not exceed the price level of 7 thousand rubles. He was dubbed a phablet for a 5.5-inch screen diagonal corresponding to this term and the presence of a stylus in the kit. The price is well knocked down by the low-cost MTK hardware platform based on the Cubot Note S MT6580 quad-core processor. This chip has average characteristics and in benchmarks it keeps at about the level of Snapdragon 400 and Exynos 4412, under which came the Xperia C3 from Sony, Zenfone 5 from Asus and Samsung Note 2. But even then, the Mali 400MP graphics core is noticeable lagged behind competitors.
We will analyze it in more detail and find out what kind of new Cubot Note S budget phablet it is (review, technical specifications, device capabilities - hereinafter) and draw the appropriate conclusions - is it worth buying or not. The opinions of specialists will be taken into account, along with the reviews of ordinary gadget owners.
Equipment
The phablet is packed in a very nice and neat box where we will see Cubot Note S itself, a silicone case, a modest stylus, a standard 5V / 1A charger, a micro-USB cable for charging the gadget and synchronization with a personal computer, as well as a short manual , and in English.
The smartphone is carefully packed in a special transport film and is additionally protected by a silicone case. The presence of the latter is very pleasing, but the absence of headphones and an OTG adapter for Cubot Note S saddens. Reviews on this subject are very different: for some, the completeness of the device is quite enough, and someone sets other brands as an example, indignant at the lack of an intelligent headset, special adapters and other accessories.
Design
The model turned out to be typical for the budget segment of phablets - a 5.5-inch screen and a good 4150 mAh battery. Dimensions turned out appropriate: 77.2 x 152.3 x 8 mm with a solid weight of 163 grams, where the lion's share, of course, takes the battery.
Appearance Cubot Note S (Black / White) does not seem to be rejected, but it does not attract. The main controls are located as standard: from the top right - the volume rocker and the power button, touch keys - under the screen.
Build Features
At the top, we will see a connector for micro-USB and audio output. The speaker is covered with a metal mesh. In the lower part there is a microphone, and partially under the protective glass of the screen. There is no duplicate microphone, which means that the device has no noise reduction. On the back in the upper part there is a slightly bulging camera eye, and a flash to the right is a flashlight.
One of the most interesting details is the protective glass with slightly rounded edges, made using 2.5D technology. This nuance makes the gadget more neat and presentable in contrast to similar budget employees with right angles on the edges. This even gives a touch of solidity and high cost to the Cubot Note S phablet. Owner reviews very warmly received this albeit small, but quite competent design move.
Although the device has a removable back cover, it is surprisingly high-quality: without squeaks and any backlashes - a complete sense of solidity. The absence of an indicator of events is a little upsetting, but as for the rest, nothing bad or good can be said about the design of the model - it's a matter of everyone’s taste. Naturally, I would like to be thinner and lighter, but if only not to the detriment of the autonomous performance of Cubot Note S. Owner reviews on the phablet trace a very clear similarity with Redmi Note 2 from Xiaomi. They coincide with almost all the main parameters, only the Kubot is 0.2 mm thicker, and its autonomous characteristics are more interesting.
Screen
With its 5.5 inches, the screen has a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels. The spread is not the best, but nevertheless, the pixelation is barely noticeable, and even if you look closely at Cubot Note S. The review and color gamut at a very decent level, thanks to the IPS matrix, the picture is bright and juicy. The maximum brightness value is enough to work with the device on a sunny day.
Although viewing angles have a good margin of rotation, flipping photos or watching movies with friends is not very comfortable: the side sections are inverted, and the upper and lower fade even with an average change in the degree (> 35 °) of the tilt of the Cubot Note S. This feature has been noted more than once, but it cannot be called critical at this price for the device.
Sensor
The model’s sensor is quite sensitive, there are no inconveniences or discomfort during operation. Maybe the finger does not slide as fast as we would like, but it does not leave a lot of prints, thanks to the sensible oleophobic coating. Nevertheless, the model does not have protection like GorillaGlass or the like, therefore it is better to buy a protective glass and not remove the factory film.
It is also worth noting that the sensor has one very interesting functional component that other budget models lack - SmartWake, that is, waking the gadget in double tap and managing the desktop, coupled with calls by drawing on the screen. Wireless image transfer technology (WirelessDisplay) is also present.
The only thing that upset some owners a bit was the light sensor. It seems to be working, but too stepwise, and the speed, exactly like the spread of borders, does not shine.
Performance
The heart of the Cubot Note S is MT6580. This is a four-core processor from Mediatek with a frequency spread of 420-1300 MHz on the ARMv7-A architecture. The core has relatively good energy efficiency on those. process at 28 nm.
The graphics are managed by the well-proven Mali 400MP2 series chip with hardware support for high-resolution video and OpenGL ES 2.0. On board there is 16 GB of internal memory and 2 GB of RAM, where about 12 GB is allocated for the needs of the user, and this is quite enough for many owners. If the amount of internal memory is sorely lacking, then you can easily expand it to 32 GB using micro-SD.
Offline work
What really pleases is the battery life of the device. If the rechargeable batteries of similar gadgets of this segment do not exceed the performance of 3000 mAh, the Kubot has on its board a heavy but powerful stand-alone argument at 4150 mAh.
At maximum brightness, without connecting energy-saving modes, the phablet played video in HD-format for a little more than eight hours. The only drawback that owners complain about in their reviews is the charging time (almost 4 hours). And alas, it is impossible to do anything with this: neither changing the charger, nor any manipulations with the controller will help.
In a standard operating scenario, the Kubot lasts about half a day longer than similar budget phablets. This largely distinguishes the gadget from the general mass of inexpensive smartphones.
Summarizing
Before deciding for yourself whether to buy a device or not, we outline the main advantages of the gadget along with the disadvantages.
Pros:
- good screen and detailed settings;
- “Naked” “Android” without embedded applications;
- 2 GB of RAM on board;
- excellent battery life;
- price.
Minuses:
- outdated video chip (poor performance in games and friezes on Full HD-video);
- the capabilities and characteristics of the camera are poor;
- no event indicator.
As a result, we see more advantages than disadvantages, and the advantages are more obvious. Finding an intelligent phablet in less than 7 thousand rubles with such characteristics is very difficult. The model is intelligently assembled, has a large screen and good performance. The gadget will not fall apart on the road, and additionally purchased protection (inexpensive and branded) will protect the screen from scratches and damage. The technical capabilities of the device will be enough for about a couple of years, which is good even for the tablet category, not to mention smartphones.
In general, if you do not make serious complaints about games and watching high-resolution videos, the model will fit perfectly into your everyday life, and for a very affordable price. The verdict is clear: recommended for purchase.