Sneak Peek: Starmobile Knight, Icon, Diamond V3 & V7

MANILA, Philippines – Since the first locally designed Android-powered smartphones started selling in the country it’s been interesting to see how Philippine-based cellphone companies are able to keep prices down while keeping up with global innovations, and a continuously improving spec sheet.

One of these companies, Starmobile, which in 2011 begun its quick rise to become one of the most popular local cellphone brands, is scheduled to release four new quad core smartphones in late June and early July.

Rappler got early access to these devices, basically a few hours for us to go through the new features, and see how each phone performs. Below is a quick rundown of specs, our initial impressions, and links to hands-on videos.
 

Starmobile Knight

Most impressive of the bunch is Starmobile’s upcoming flagship smartphone the Knight. Reminiscent of the iPhone 5 in terms of look – the Knight comes with an impressive spec sheet that includes a quad core processor and an 18 megapixel camera. Unlike the iPhone however, the phone’s back plate can be removed, allowing users to replace the phone’s battery or insert a micro-SD card to expand the on-board memory.

Unique to the phone is its SIM layout. The Knight is the first dual-SIM phone we’ve seen come with one standard sized SIM card slot and a micro-SIM slot. The move an indication that the company intends to break into a new consumer market.

We were also happy to see the phone come with a 2000mAH battery – one you’d usually only find in larger phablets (phones usually above 5-inches that tow the line between a typical smartphone and a tablet. For more on that see the Starmobile Diamond V3 & V7 below).

We were also happy to see Starmobile’s all-Filipino engineering team come up with customizations to the Android platform with a feature called Pop-in Picture that allows users to keep a video playing over open apps. To be honest it’s nothing new, this feature is available in some high-end smartphones like LG’s Optimus G Pro but it’s good to see features such as this one come to budget smartphones, and to know that they’ve been developed by local engineers.  

While we can only speak based on the limited time we had with the phone, initial tests have us extremely pleased with the phone’s overall look and feel. If real world performance is anything close to that of a solid quad core smartphone, it is definitely one that you should consider regardless of budget. The only thing the phone lacks is LTE support. The phone will retail for P11,290 and will be available in the second week of July 2013.

SPECS:

• 1.2 GHz MediaTek quad core processor
• 4.7-inch screen
• 720p HD screen (720x1080p) (315 ppi)
• Corning Gorilla Glass
• 18 megapixel main camera
• 8 megapixel front camera
• 4GB of space (expandable to 64GB with optional micro-SD card)
• 1GB RAM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 3G / HSPA+
• Dual Sim (1 standard size, 1 micro SIM)
• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Starmobile Icon

Because of its rubbery back, the Icon reminds us of the Starmobile Flirt which we fell in love with when we reviewed it on TechRap back in May. The Icon appears to be a quad-core version of the Flirt although it is noticeably a bit thicker.  The processor speed bump is a welcome upgrade potentially giving users uninhibited performance even when running the most intensive of apps. The Icon will retail for P7,990 when it debuts first week of July 2013.

SPECS:

• 1.2GHz Snapdragon quad core processor
• 4.5-inch screen
• qHD screen (960×540)
• Dragontrail Glass
• 8 megapixel main camera
• 5 megapixel front camera
• 4 GB of space (expandable to 32GB with optional micro-SD card)
• 1 GB of RAM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 3G / HSDPA
• Dual SIM
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

 

Starmobile Diamond V3

The original Starmobile Diamond, a 5-inch smartphone released earlier this year, was Starmobile’s first foray into the phablet market. It was meant to be the only phablet in the company’s product lineup but its popularity seems to have changed that. In July, Starmobile expands its phablet line adding two more Diamond smartphones, the Diamond V3 and Diamond V7. The numbers referring to it’s screen size – 5.3-inches and 5.7-inches respectively.

The V3 includes several interesting features including Glove Touch which allows users to continue using the screen even with gloves on. It also includes an app that comes bundled with Starmobile TV tablet, the Engage 7 TV called Streaming TV. What this does is provide users with a more seamless way of accessing paid streaming services like “I Want TV” from their smartphones. Specs are pretty impressive considering the phone’s price range.  The phone will retail for P8,990 and should be available before the end of June 2013.

SPECS:

• 1.2GHz Snapdragon quad core processor
• 5.3-inch screen
• 480×854 resolution
• Dragontrail Glass
• 12 megapixel main camera
• 2 megapixel front camera
• 4 GB of space (expandable to 32GB with optional micro-SD card)
• 1 GB of RAM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 3G / HSDPA
• Dual SIM
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Starmobile Diamond V7

The biggest phablet in the Diamond line, the V7 is 5.7-inches. One big question users have about phablets is whether or not these huge devices are practical. But that hasn’t stopped manufacturers from pushing the limits of what’s possible in terms of smartphone size. Samsung in fact has 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch versions of its Galaxy Mega smartphone. Admittedly a phone that big might look weird when pressed against any normal-sized head. But when it comes to a phone size it’s always subjective with the most important factor being how big your hands are.  I have a friend no taller than 5 feet 7 inches who tells me the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the perfect size for him, I on the other hand prefer phones in the 4-5-inch range.

Speaking of the Note 2 – the Diamond V7 looks to compete directly with this device as it comes with a stylus. Unlike the Note however the stylus doesn’t fit into slot on the phone but attaches magnetically to a bundled leather flip case. We didn’t get to see both the stylus and the flip case in the pre-production model we played with. Would be curious to see how well the stylus performs.

Also worth noting are the phone’s 2600 mAH battery and 18 megapixel main camera. No word on pricing and availability at the moment.

SPECS:

• 1.2GHz MediaTek quad core processor
• 5.7-inch screen
• 720p HD screen (720x1080p) (257 ppi)
• Dragontrail Glass
• 18 megapixel main camera
• 8 megapixel front camera
• 4 GB of space (expandable to 32GB with optional micro-SD card)
• 1 GB of RAM
• WiFi, Bluetooth
• 3G / HSDPA
• Dual SIM
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

 

– Rappler.com