This smartphone promises a lot of extremals, active athletes and autotourists, that is, all those who wanted to distance themselves from the benefits of civilization, but did not dare to abandon the familiar and universal Android gadget.
Let's try to find out whether the sensational domestic smartphone teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R met the expectations of fans. Reviews, characteristics, pluses, minuses of the model, as well as expert opinions regarding the St. Petersburg brainchild of âAlcatelâ - in the review.
A bit of educational program
Such devices have existed in the mobile device market for quite some time. If we do not focus on various military and industrial equipment such as geodetic instruments, walkie-talkies and other heavy-duty terminals, we will see that long before the first mobile phone appeared, the mass consumer was offered shockproof and waterproof watches - first mechanics, and a little later, electronics.
Every year, cellular communication develops and multiplies its consumer - moisture-proof and reinforced designs of mobile gadgets begin to appear. At first, the devices were protected only from splashing water or rain. The pioneers in this segment were the brands Siemens and Nokia, which released in the early 2000s. shockproof and moisture resistant models of Nokia 5210/5100/5140 and Siemens ME45 / M65 / M75. Gadgets turned out to be quite decent, but times have changed a lot, and this class in today's realities has gone under the wing of the Chinese.
The design recipe for such devices is almost the same for all Chinese brands. They take the usual and unremarkable stuffing of some budget gadget, put a simple platform with a mediocre screen and camera, and then all this puts on a solid âarmorâ. Some companies that take special care of the client and their reputation equip the devices with capacious and high-quality batteries, and sometimes add something interesting like a walkie-talkie radio.
Further, the resulting device is sold under some big name - âJeepâ, âLand Roverâ and others like it, or offered to foreign distributors, that is, OEM brands who have the right to stick any label on this gadget and pack it in their company box.
Texet
Any sensible OEM-brand, which St. Petersburg "Texet", one must think, is, is fighting with Chinese suppliers not only for the price, but also for the quality of mobile products, which, as a rule, varies greatly among eastern companies, and in everything - materials, assembly, electronic components, and even in software.
Despite all the factors and nuances, we will consider the teXet smartphone as an independent product that has passed through bureaucratic and very picky Russian certification, which means that it has been burdened with some kind of warranty and service.
Equipment
The box is made of high quality and fairly durable cardboard. Itâs nice to hold it in your hands, it doesnât âsmellâ of second-class consumer goods from the packaging: colorful design, a brief description of the gadget on the back and signs of compliance with Russian standards and communication systems.
Completeness:
- teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R phone itself;
- The manual is completely in Russian;
- network charger with USB and micro-USB outputs for synchronization with a personal computer;
- hands-free headset;
- a carbine with a nylon strap, a compass and a small element for dismantling the cover;
- plugs for the headset (3.5 mm) and the mains charger.
The package bundle is clearly incomplete for this kind of gadgets. If the device is intended for extreme people who are going to conquer mountains, forests and fields, then the car will probably be the only possible source of charging the phone, rather than the usual 220 V. But, unfortunately, there is no charger for the car in the box with the teXet X-driver Quad TM- 4082R. The feedback on this is unambiguous: the owners believe that you can easily do without a toy compass and a strap with a flimsy carbine that serve as unnecessary surroundings, but instead it would be better to put at least some kind of adapter for the cigarette lighter.
First impressions
For a person who is used to working with ordinary smartphones, the gadget visually looks like âWow!â In terms of tactile sensations, the device offers a completely different operational experience than a regular smartphone.
The design turned out to be quite heavy and thick - 261 grams with a thickness of 18.3 mm. The body is rubberized with massive sidewalls and fits firmly in the palm of your hand. It seems that in the hands is some kind of serious industrial device like a construction or geodetic tool.
Design teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R
Reviews regarding the design are ambiguous, itâs a matter of taste - someone likes it, but for someone itâs awkward and repulsive. The V-shaped slot of the speaker, flashes on the back, the shape of the nameplate and the holes of the cameras - all this does not look like frank plagiarism and looks decent, but somewhere itâs also nice and organic. Moreover, all claims to the design are dissolved and leveled in the general brutality of the gadget, that is, in its extreme tourist style.
If you look at modern mobile devices that have captured the entire market, which cannot be called a flat âbladeâ, the class of shock-resistant and moisture-proof gadgets remains the only segment where the design idea can at least somehow unfold (just like in the era of button devices). Itâs quite another matter that venerable A-brands do not want to take any part in the development of the class, and all the stylistic notes are set by Chinese designers with their specific methods and taste preferences, which could not but affect the teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R . Owner reviews note the presence of a long-forgotten classic style in the gadget, which also adds to the device of fans of retro style. Otherwise, this is a regular device: a little ârudeâ, but at the same time with a degree of grace.
Platform
The teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R was built, the performance characteristics of which will be given below), which is called, according to all the "laws of the genre" of protected gadgets. The basis is taken, even if not the weakest, but budget platform, which, by the way, outperformed quite a few direct competitors in benchmarks. The device is equipped with a four-core processor MT6582 series, has on board 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory for user needs.
TeXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R (firmware 4.4.18.02.15 Jelly Bean) feels great in 2G and 3G GSM networks, and also correctly supports all the main wireless protocols Wi-Fi and "Bluetooth". There are GPS and FM radio modules.
As such, the proprietary customization of teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R (you canât even imagine a software review for this reason, because thereâs nothing to talk about) is not enough: a screen saver for standby mode and a couple of icons where one contains a link to the recommended software with âMarket Playâ, and the other is a set of paid subscriptions for news, horoscopes, weather, etc. In all other respects, the platform can be called ânakedâ.
We must pay tribute to the St. Petersburg "Alcatel" for the fact that they did not stuff the teXet smartphone with all sorts of advertising applets, as many similar companies do, especially on branded devices (MTS, Megafon, Beeline). Of course, they could not resist and still put in the subscription icon, but everything seems to be honest here - the amount is announced and nothing is slipped on the sly.
Judging by the benchmarks, teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R (black) with great difficulty scored 18,845 points and ended up somewhere in the tail. But if we compare it with the âmonstersâ virtually in terms of performance, while the âliveâ speed is quite comfortable - the system synergizes well with the iron inside: it doesnât freeze, does not slow down, and doesnât fail.
Screen
As for the characteristics of the screen, it is a matter of habit and pretentiousness. Naturally, if you had to hold a flagship smartphone with Super Amoled and Retin in the openings earlier, our âheroâ has a 800 by 480 pixel screen that looks like a dumb dinosaur. By today's standards, in principle, the way it is. But for gadgets of such a plan and characteristics, such screens are the norm, competitors have more modest devices for the same price, so you donât have to twist your face.
In defense of such displays, we can say that it loads the system much less, significantly increasing battery life, which is very important for extreme phones far from 220 V. The glass for the Texet smartphone is designed quite competently, so there are no problems with visualization. The only thing worth noting is that the picture is clearly not enough brightness, and in the afternoon and even in the late evening hours you have to twist the indicator to 100%. In direct sunlight, the screen fades (the glass for the smartphone reflects all the rays), and to read the information, the gadget needs to be covered with your hand or searched for a shadow.
Communication
The flagship smartphone âTexetâ is equipped with dual-SIM functionality with one radio module, that is, alternate operation of SIM cards. You can call in standby mode to any of the cards, however, when a subscriber makes a call or transmits any other data using one SIM card, the other is automatically blocked. By their functionality, SIM cards are also divided: the first works in 2G and 3G networks, and the second only with 2G.
There are no critical comments on the quality of communication: the speaker, although not outstanding, but twisted to the maximum, allows you to hear the interlocutor on a noisy street. The only negative, and the teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R case is probably to blame, the speaker cuts both high and low frequencies, so the voice on that end sounds somehow unnatural. In the reviews of the owners this point has been discussed more than once, but users do not consider this nuance to be a serious problem.
The same thing is observed with the microphone - the interlocutor hears you quite distinctly, but unnaturally and with âdryâ notes. The manufacturer sins for sealing, responding that protection against water damps high frequencies. The call signal is quite loud, so you can hear it even from a backpack behind your back. Due to the massiveness of the body, the vibration alert is very weak, which was quite expected.
Work in browsers is comfortable and does not cause serious complaints - the speed of 2G and 3G is similar to competing devices. The owners in their reviews noticed one glitch: if the connection from one card disappears and reappears, then the gadget does not find it, so you have to reboot the device to solve this problem. Apparently, the dust and water tight smartphone does not hold a weak signal as well as we would like.
Camera
On the official website of the company, the specifications for the cameras are listed in the specification: front camera - 1.3 megapixels, and the main - 8 megapixels. Either the manufacturer messed up something, or there are some kind of variable models, but gadgets with slightly different characteristics flaunt on the main Internet trading platforms just like on the store shelves: the main camera is 5 megapixels (2880x1720 px) and the front camera is 0.3 MP (640x480 px).
St. Petersburg âAlcatelistsâ do not give any comments, so it is not clear whether individual batches are so equipped, or such indiscreet interpolation was made. In any case, if you should carefully adhere, then you can get the parts (preferably branded) for the teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R and replace the cameras with more sensible ones. It is better to do this in the service center, there may also be all the components necessary for this procedure.
By modern standards, the pictures are obtained not so bad, but some faceless: the module is clearly budget and you should not expect anything special from it. In the classic mode (pointed and shot), the result may turn out to be the most unpredictable: sometimes even in poor lighting the pictures are more or less normal, and in perfect light - some kind of blurriness and fading.
Very often sharpness is blurred in the frame and blurred areas are visible almost everywhere. Also, the camera suffers from incorrect gamma calibration (lying colors). In general, there are enough opportunities for Instagram, and to show your friends âhow we went campingâ will do.
Regarding the front camera, there is nothing special to say - lovers of beautiful selfies will have to relax in the background of scenic spots. Of course, if you âtake a breathâ of your portrait as a souvenir, you can see the face, but this camera is unfortunately not suitable for anything serious.
Video
The device can record video in a resolution of 1920 by 1088 pixels, more or less acceptable by modern standards (precisely 1088, not 1080), which also indicates the presence of interpolation (stretching the frame programmatically).
The quality of the video is approximately the same as the pictures - the same budget and dull. The disadvantages of the camera are especially noticeable in low light conditions: sharpness drops, detail and fog appears. In the gathering twilight or drizzling weather, recording some more or less sensible video will not work.
The gadget can be used as a car DVR by downloading the necessary software from the same âMarket Playâ, which, without exaggeration, is a dime a dozen. We talked about the picture (everything is bad), but what the Texet dust and water tight smartphone boasts is the reading range of car numbers. The capabilities of the gadget are slightly superior to similar profile devices writing in HD-resolution, although they do not reach the full HD-development. The capture angle, of course, is less than that of ordinary navigators, but we still have a smartphone in our hands, and not a full-fledged car gadget.
Offline work
The smartphone is equipped with a very good 3100 mAh battery. In the most active mode, the device will last about 4.5 hours. Web surfing, calls, SMS will put the battery in 6.5 hours. If you use a headset and minimize brightness, then the phone is enough for 12-13 hours of video viewing. You can use the gadget directly as a phone for several days.
There is no sense in installing all kinds of âoptimizersâ, âacceleratorsâ and âbattery doctorsâ so actively advertised by Texet itself. All these applications will hang in the deviceâs memory and also âeatâ the battery.
Protection
The protection class declared by Petersburgers according to the unified European classification is IP68. And this means the ability to work in a submerged state (number 8) and complete isolation from dirt and dust (number 6). There are some nuances here: the classification does not specify the time or depth of immersion with the device, leaving this moment to the conscience of the manufacturer.
The official resource âTexetâ and the detailed manual for the gadget are silent on this occasion, and in the instructions there are sometimes light puns like: âdespite the shock resistance, the smartphone case cannot be called shockproofâ. On the one hand, this seems to be correct, because ordinary gadgets can also have IP68 protection. The same Sony devices have one, but the manufacturer does not recommend dropping them. The standard that allows you to "drop" the device on any hard surface is MIL-STD-810G (military), but in our case it is not claimed.
Nevertheless, the impact resistance of the gadget, both on the site and in the description, is explicitly emphasized. It is specifically said that the case was reinforced with metal plates on the back wall and under the screen, and in addition, the display is additionally equipped with a special Asahi glass, which, according to the text, is âthree times thicker than ordinary glasses for smartphonesâ.
Summarizing
If you look at the cost of the teXet X-driver Quad TM-4082R smartphone (the price is about 10,000 rubles), its main characteristics and other secondary indicators, then in comparison with direct competitors the gadget looks very advantageous and even dumps somewhere. And this despite the fact that a venerable device from some âSonyâ or the same âYablokoâ passes over the mark of 60 thousand rubles and differs, as a rule, only in high-speed stuffing (well, why, in fact, for an extreme tourist, a game device )
In general, the model leaves a pleasant impression of operation. The smartphone is really tenacious, and, having passed âfire and waterâ, it continues to work without any glitches and other failures. It seems that if you do not intentionally drown the apparatus at depth and do not kill against stones, then you will live happily ever after. Anyway, when buying this kind of gadgets, do not flatter yourself that they will withstand an atomic strike or a global flood. By and large, such a device has a good image function for a good 50%, to some extent harmoniously complementing beautiful outfits.
As a permanent mobile help, âTexetâ can be recommended only to those who at all costs want to be unique among friends and colleagues, lovers of an extreme tourist style and financially limited patriots.