Tecno unveiled their newest flagship of
2014 In Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday. This
is the company’s foray into new grounds
of full HD AMOLED screen and quite some
work in the design and software. Tecno sells in Africa and has Nigeria and Kenya
as the two largest of their markets, with the former leading. That’s the reason many of their smartphones have hit the West African country first. Kenya got the Tecno Phantom Z launched first and this serves as the global launch that was characterized by a media launch in the mid-morning of Wednesday and a cocktail late in the evening same day who’s audience consists of important people in the industry.

Read: Tecno Phone Specifications
Android 4.4 KitKat
2 GHz Mediatek MTK6592 Octa core
processor
450 GPU
5.2″ 1080p Full HD AMOLED Display
32 GB internal memory, not expandable
2 GB RAM
3030mAh battery
71.9 x 144.5 x 7.9 mm dimensions
16MP rear camera, 8MP front, both
have a flash and Autofocus
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Wide viewing angles, and 15 camera
scene modes
Faux leather back cover

Now we already have our hands on the
new device for review from Tecno and
guess this is where we tell the story. You
know, this is what you expect to find when
you go into the shops when it becomes
available. Should be some two weeks from
now.
First thing you get is this huge box in blue. But don’t get it wrong, it’s got goodies inside besides the phone. The retail package comes with both a smart view cover that snaps on the sides instead of cover the whole rear, or replace the back cover. The other accessory is a 5200 mAh power bank in the package.

The phone itself comes in a slim package,
something like the one Huawei’s Ascend
P7 comes in. On sliding it out you’ll see
the phone on the top of anther flap that
sheaths the earphones, microUSB cable
and power adapter underneath. Another
slim package under there is the one
containing the quick start guide, the
warranty card and a promotional card for
PalmChat app. The SIM extractor is also
there-in held by a card.


Phantom Z is quite some work, the 5.2
inch full HD screen is covered by both the
plastic cover that has a few of the phone
details and when you peel that off there is
the screen protector pre-installed. The
rear also has a paper cover with a few
instructions for set up. On peeling the
unnecessaries off you get to drink in the
beauty of the device that lies underneath
the scratch proof Corning Gorilla Glass.
The front is this black front-for the record
I have not seen a white version of the
device even if marketing says it’s going to
sell in both white and black options-has
both on-screen and physical touch
menus. One is like an absolute home
button that takes you home from
wherever, it is also the one you press and
hold to show the open apps for
multitasking. The other usuals are menu,
back and “home” menus, the latter
functions as home but is also what opens
up Google Now when swiped up, it’s a
KitKat thing. So that is the short story of
why the phone has two home keys.
The top of the screen has sensors on the
left of the ear piece and both the front
camera and flash on the right. The Tecno
logo is quite intrusive in the front as is in
the rear.

The phone build is plastic in the rear that
takes a fake leather design that’s actually
removable but you won’t need to as the
phone battery cannot be removed. The
SIM cards too, storage is not expandable
at 32GB. The sides are metallic, I am yet
to establish what metal it is.


The bottom of the phone has the
microUSB slot flanked on either side by the speaker perforations which remind you of an iPhone 5 and mouth piece. On the phone’s right we have the power button as the sole object that side, the top has the 3.5 mm jack while the volume rocker and SIM tray lie on the left. The SIM tray is an interesting one as it’s able to hold two microSIMs within the same tray. Something that I’d call a first.

The rear has the camera as the most
prominent feature, it’s some bulge right
there with the flash right beneath it. The
Tecno logo is quite bold right under there
and there is the Dolby logo there to
remind you who’s responsible for the
sound system inside.


The phone does have quite bright colours
thanks to the AMOLED display and some
of the few things you pick up within the
first few minutes you have on the phone
include the fancy screen unlock effect
that has options of a crystal ball, opening
particle and a football that bounces off the
screen to unlock. The other is in the
notifications are that has quick shortcuts
at the top for flashlight, calculator,
camera, music and stop watch. I will have
to find out a bit later whether this is
editable or not. It’s handy though the
choice of applications set might not be
the ones frequently used by most.
Nothing’s lost though as there is a switch
right beneath that shows an option of either the phone notifications or other often used settings, with a tap and hold capability to go right into the selected setting further settings. Something I like is that it does come with both home- screens and an app drawer, allowing you freedom to choose the apps you want to show on the home screens. A few flagships like the Infinix Alpha Marvel and Huawei Ascend P7 don’t. Though with the freedom that is Android, you can always download a launcher off the store and get this back.

What else would you like to know? Oh
yes! It comes pre-installed with many
apps, I can count upto 45 including
manufacturer apps. Most of these are no
protected, so should you find the “bloat”
not useful to you then you can uninstall
them. Some of the quite useful apps include Swiftkey optimized for Tecno, a very great idea, Flash Share, an app that allows you faster sharing via Bluetooth, CarlCare app that is there to guide you through reaching customer care by providing local customer service information including an option to dial right from within the app. The app is
universal with country specific info, so
you just click your country and you get
connected.






































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cool

Cool, anoda step 4ward. Launch 9ja Own make we see inside.

Great Review. Tecno is coming up. Though am dissapointed with the absence of Micro SD slot.

Tecno nice specs but when next you try to imitate samsung, don't forget that they always give 1. REMOVABLE BATTERY and 2. SD CARD SLOT and that's what most people want. Amoled display my foot, faux leather my arrse

Randerl:

1000 Likes

for what?

nitwits like you always finding faults.
mtcheeeeewwwww.

@krugal? Samsung is not the only manufacturer that makes a rectangular device with a screen.....they sure are not the only OEM producing phones with an amoled screen or faux leather back for that matter

Judging by pictures and specs I would say techno has outdone themselves with this one....while the absence of a removable SDcard would be missed, i think 32GB inbuilt storage is serviceable.

Kessleek: COPY COPY!!! It has an iphone front and sammy back with their prominent camera buldge...

To play it safe you have to stay with the current trend in the market like most other manufacturers. A drastic deviation could either bring great acclaim(sales) or well you know the rest

xfay:

To play it safe you have to stay with the current trend in the market like most other manufacturers. A drastic deviation could either bring great acclaim(sales) or well you know the rest

What ever you mean with playing it safe, but a non removable battery, and lack of micro sd slot, is not the trending thing now, infact it is a drastic deviation that can bring "you know it"

Kessleek: What ever you mean with playing it safe, but a non removable battery, and lack of micro sd slot, is not the trending thing now, infact it is a drastic deviation that can bring "you know it"

I was actually talking about the physical design(dimension, material, speaker placement).
I agree about the lack of removable storage, though 32GB is ample( heavy media consumers will disagree).
As for non-removable battery a user like me never carries an extra battery and am sure same goes for a lot of other users. why the back cover is removable and the battery isn't is a logic I don't get.....If the battery capacity is trully 3.03Ah the problem would only surface when it starts acting up

Kessleek: What ever you mean with playing it safe, but a non removable battery, and lack of micro sd slot, is not the trending thing now, infact it is a drastic deviation that can bring "you know it"

when HTCs and the gionees made flagships with non-removable battery, a few crusified them, now tecno has one and every one is acting like they bit Chiellini.

is it just me or does the airballoon in the first screenshot resemble the one in the wallpaper that comes with the SGs4

Hotdiamond:
when HTCs and the gionees made flagships with non-removable battery, a few crusified them, now tecno has one and every one is acting like they bit Chiellini.

Its a deal breaker for me. In the place where i stay phcn brings light like once in two weeks. Power bank is even out of the picture cuz there is no light to charge it... Lol they bit chiellini

Na hw much?

I enter here..... I see another specs
I enter there..... I see another specs
I go there sef... I see another specs

Abeg.. Dont let tecno #Wash yuu oh