Cubot Note S

Review

Connectivity and communication

The budget shelf does not mean that the manufacturer can forget about installing the most important communication modules – in the case of Cubot Note S we have a Wi-Fi with the hotspot function, Bluetooth in the 4.0 version (for example, it worked without any problems with the HDMX Jam Plus speaker), GPS with aGPS (not too fast, not always precise, during a 2-hour car ride it lost the signal three times), while from physical connectors we have the microUSB and the 3.5mm mini-jack. For transferring image we can use the Miracast technology. We have HotKnot (an equivalent of NFC, we can transfer data by touching two devices) as well.

The smartphone supports two SIM cards – in the micro size. Only one of them can work in the 3G network, the second one switches to 2G. The lack LTE support is a big disadvantage. Default cards for making calls, texting and transferring data can be set up in the menu. The quality of calls is decent, the sound is bearable, we can hear and understand our interlocutor without any problems. The quality of calls in the loud speaking mode is quite different. Interlocutors complained about an echo and distortions. The phone does not support video calls through the mobile network, but we can record voice calls (to the OGG format). For typing we have the preinstalled Android keyboard.

Memory and efficiency

The user is left with 12GB of space from the 16GB declared. What is more, microSD cards of up to 32GB are supported.

The heart of the smartphone is a quad-core MediaTek CPU marked as MT6580 with 1.3 GHz – this is neither a fast nor an efficient unit, but it is enough for most usages. Mali-400 MP is responsible for graphics. The amount of RAM is surprising – 2GB is rarely seen in the budget shelf price. And how it is with the efficiency? Basically it reflects the price. In an everyday usage the device works smooth, but not exceptionally fast. We need to wait a bit for loading more demanding apps. Just like with the Internet. We need to give Cubot some time to load contents of websites, but after that browsing, zooming, swiping and so on works without any problems – even when it comes to more advanced websites for video streaming. Cubot Note S can deal with games as well. The simpler ones, so-called casual ones are no problem for it, but even the more demanding ones can be played as well. Like Real Racing 3 – well, we must be tolerant when it comes to graphics (pixels, pixels…), some races load rather long and the image sometimes lags (especially in animations before races) but the gameplay itself is alright. I must honestly admit that in a such a cheap model this was a big surprise. I will add that the smartphone likes to heat up in the upper part of the back panel – the hotter it is the more it reflects on its efficiency.

Source: GSMchoice.com

• Show all |
•  1 
•  2 
•  3 
•  4 
•  5 
•  6