TECNO came to the Nigeria mobile phone scene to take care of the feature phone market while providing dual SIM and ability to add micro SD card to feature phones as the unique selling points, while making the phone very affordable.
With poor mobile network and high interconnectivity rates, dual SIM phones became popular. Brands like Nokia and Samsung joined the fray. Today, TECNO has another major mile stone—boldly ventured into the premium smartphone category with the latest edition of the Phantom family, the TECNO Phantom 5.
Phantom—TECNO’s flagship category
After recording so much success in the feature phone category, TECNO ventured into the smartphone category, making smartphones that run on Google’s Android. These phones were very affordable as well—selling less than N15,000 ($80). TECNO also recorded huge success with smartphones in the low end category. Soon enough, they branched into the mid range and premium range category.
The Phantom happens to be TECNO’s foray into high end phones, with the first Phantom being the TECNO Phantom A. That was just the beginning. After the Phantom A (then A+), other followed—the Phantom A2, A3, and Z (then Z mini). There have been 4 major Phantom in the series. The naming convention was changed and TECNO came with the Phantom 5—the 5th Phantom in the series.
Design: Meet the TECNO Phantom 5
Phantom 5 comes in two distinct colour, Luxury Champagne Gold and Elegant Space Gray. I have seen and played with the two—but I am more enchanted by the Luxury Champagne Gold edition.
It is a 5.5 inch phone with an awesome edge to edge screen display which made the phone at 5.5 inches not to look too large—making it easier to use with one hand. The Phantom 5 has finger print scanner that is placed at the back of the phone just below the 13 MP camera. The TECNO logo is just below the finger print scanner, but it is very subtly inscribed there.
At the top of the phone is the 3.5 mm jack port and the USB charging port is at the bottom of the phone. To the right side is the power button and the volume rocker. Also to the right, but closer to the base of the phone is the micro SD card slot—phone supports up to 128 GB micro SD card. The only thing at the left side of the phone is the SIM slot—housing two micro SIMs.
The material used in designing the Phantom 5 is different from the one used for the previous Phantom Z and Z mini. This time around, it has a premium aluminum finishing with uni-body design. You cannot take the 3000 mAh battery off or remove the back of the phone. This design is the one Apple has been using on the iPhone for some time—it ensures there are no moving parts in the phone.
Phantom 5 is a 4G/LTE enabled device. However, you cannot use the VoLTE feature as the phone is not built with that feature. Information reaching us has it that the new Samsung GALAXY Edge not only has the 4G/LTE feature, but also supports VoLTE and it has been tested to work with SMILE 4G network.
We tested the Phantom 5 with a SMILE 4G/LTE for data and it works as well, delivery superior speed.
The Phantom 5 is a beauty to behold. What are some of the catch and downsides of the phone? Let me start with the catch.
Full specification of the TECNO Phantom 5
Camera/Video
It shoots 1080p video as the max quality it can shoot. No 4K yet. The video quality is awesome and evidenced by what we experienced while using the phone to Periscope (Periscope is an app that allows for live video streaming on a mobile phone—available on iPhone and Android Phones). We used the SMILE 4G/LTE network and viewers wanted to know what phone we were using as the video quality they were seeing is awesome.
Camera is equally as stunning. While the quality of photos delivered by a smartphone is not measured in the megapixels, the 13-megapixel shooter on the Phantom 5 is awesome—must have some super dope camera lens processor. Coupled with the wider angle the phone shoots.
The volume rocker can double as the hardware camera shutter button. This means one can use the rear camera to take 13 MP selfies as well. Not to forget the front facing flash that illuminated selfies you take indoor while at a night party/event.
Finger Print Scanner/Sensor
Unlike Apple and Samsung, TECNO has chosen to add the finger print scanner at the back of the phone. This reminds me of Huawei Mate 7. It is the first phone I have used with fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone. TECNO claims that the phone can read your finger print in 0.7 secs and has very limited error rates. Up to 10 fingers can be registered to it and the scanner allows one to use the finger print by placing fingers in 360-degree manner. Just place any part of your finger print and the phone is unlocked.
Nothing was said about the finger print being able to work with Google Play Store or any Payment service. I also did not get any prompt telling me I can use the finger print security to access my Google Play Store.
Operating System
The Phantom 5 runs on Android 5.1—which is the latest publicly available Android Operating System. But as soon as I got the unit I am using for review—I got a system update the phone. For sometime, fans of TECNO have been crying for software and system update via OTA—over the air—but they finally got it and it OTA is also available on the Phantom 5. Mobility Arena is reporting that there is going to be a software update to Marshmallow by June 2016 on the Phantom 5. I say this will be a first from TECNO if it is delivered.
What this means is that those who get the Phantom 5 are going to enjoy their phone for a very long time to come.
Dolby surround sound and High Fidelity earphones
I enjoyed watching YouTube on the phone’s 5.5 inch screen display with the Dolby surround sound enriching my experience more. Then when I plug in the Hi-Fi metallic earphones, the sounds are really awesome.
The Not so good – design
I do not like the sharp edges used in the designing of the Phantom 5. What this means is that if the phone falls, you might end up losing your screen.
One more thing I do not really like is the phone is very slippery when using it with one hand or two hands. The phone slipped from me many times. For those who like to use a naked phone—a phone without pouch or leather jacket—you have to be extremely careful, else, you are going to drop the phone and end up with a shattered screen.
However, there is a leather smart pouch that ships with the Phantom 5. You can easily use it to prevent the phone from being slippery when you use it with one hand or when it falls to the floor.
Besides this minor itches I have with the phone, the Phantom 5 packs a whole lot and yet costs just N69,900 ($350)
