Device Review: No.1 X1 Rugged Smartphone

We are almost at the end of Q2 for 2015, and we have seen most of the flagship phones for the year already. While flagship phones usually offer bleeding-edge specs and are the most sought after phones, there is a huge market for non-flagship phones. Some offer value, others offer unique differentiating features.

Today, we are going to look at the X1 phone by a Chinese company named N0.1. The company promises a truly rugged IP68 Certified phone. The device has a Quad core processor and supports 3G in the USA, as well as dual Sim Slots for all you two-phone tech people.

Box Contents:

• Phone
• Wall charger with USB cable
• Multipurpose tool (to open the back cover)
• OTG Cable
• Battery

HARDWARE

The phone packs the Mediatek MTK6582 quad-core processor, being clocked at 1.3 GHz and the graphics are handled by the Mali 400 GPU. This combination is used to keep the cost low. That being said, the device runs a stock version of Android that will keep things flying on the MTK processor.

The display is only a 720P resolution panel and it is protected by rugged housing.  After stress testing, it held up to cracking walnuts, being driven over and a face down drop test.  The sound is good and the camera preformed well under good lighting and under water! Call quality was good on both ends.

The Device specifications are:

• MTK6582 Quad Core Processor at 1.3GHz
• Mali-400 GPU
• 5” 720P IPS Display
• 1 GB RAM
• 8 GB storage options (also includes a Micro SD expansion slot up to 128GB)
• 3300 mAh battery
• 13 MP Back Camera with LED Flash / 5 MP for the Front
• Android JB 4.2.2 (the system says 4.4.2, but the Easter egg for JB shows up)
• Bluetooth / Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/ Compass
• Connectivity
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• 3G WCDMA 850/900/2100 MHz
• 320 grams

Over the course of a week of testing, the 3300 mAh battery consistently lasted for over a day’s worth of heavy usage. The hardware has a low energy requirement, which will be helpful for long trips and travel. The box says that the battery is 5800 mAh but the number that on the battery unit itself says otherwise. The battery is comparable to the thickness of the Note 4 Battery.

The body of this device looks and feels like a regular device inside a heavy-duty protective case. This adds to the weight of the device, but does not take away from the look. The unit we reviewed is a 2 tone gold and black version.

The Phone was put through some hard tests. Needless to say, we would not recommend you do this at home to your device.

Here is the list of the testes preformed on the Device:

• Under Water test (passed)
• Drop Test (Passed)
• Driving a car on it (Passed)
• Smashing walnuts with the Screen (Passed)
• Hammering Nails with the back cover (Passed)

INTERFACE

The Device runs an almost stock version of Android 4.2.2, but for some reason the system shows 4.4.2. After further testing and looking around for some features of KitKat, I found they were missing and the Easter Egg of Android JellyBean gives it away. The device runs smooth out of the box. You can expect no lag or stutters during normal use. The UI is mostly stock with very little changes (like the power menu being modified to allow us to reboot and not just shut down). The device came with Google Play Store and Google Maps preloaded. I needed to update them and install the rest of the Google apps that I wanted for my testing period.

After running an Antutu test on the device, it scored 19,979. That is the lowest score on the list of comparisons. This is mostly due to the specs, but you need to take benchmarks with a grain of salt. I played Asphalt 8 with no problems, and watched YouTube videos at 720P with no issues. I used it as my main device with for about a week with no issues.

We do not have information on updates to KitKat or Lollipop, but for the price and features that is fine.

DESIGN

The Design of the X1 is all about being a tough device. The specs are more on par with a mid-range devices. However, you get that in a truly rugged frame. This is not a phone that will break from your usual drops.

You get a decent camera that will perform well, a Cell phone with Dual Sim cards capable of getting 3G speeds in the US. The Call quality is good on both ends, and the speaker will not blow you away but does a good job.

The device looks good and works well for the specs it has, and you cannot ask for more at this price point.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The X1 is really tough, and will take a beating and keep going. In a normal review I would never test a device like I tested the X1, but given the point of this device, check out the video for the tests I did.

The device sells for about $170 US dollars including shipping, and it’s unlocked. You get a great phone for the price. I recently reviewed the Moto E and the price was about the same but you get LTE on the Moto. The 3G radio did quite well on AT&T in the US getting 7MB down and 1MB up. This is a great budget phone that can hold its own when it counts.

If you are in the market for a phone for outdoor actives, and under water photography for a reasonable price then this is the device for you.

Here is a link for the No.1 X1 specs and retail locations.

The post Device Review: No.1 X1 Rugged Smartphone appeared first on xda-developers.

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