Explay Rio is a budget phone, with its drawbacks, but also pluses. Let's start with the shortcomings - there is no 3G, therefore, using the Internet will be problematic, it is also worth noting weak cameras and a lack of built-in memory, while the problem with memory is solvable, but the cameras will have to be content with those that are. Let's add that for the money that Explay Rio costs, we get a good five-inch screen, with fairly high-quality viewing angles, a powerful processor, and yet a stable operating system that, in spite of everything, does not crash or lag. The design of the phone pleases the eye, while it is possible to replace the color panels.
Phone EXplay Rio: characteristics, price
OS - Android;
Number of SIM cards - 2pcs;
Weight -175 gr;
Size -73*144*10;
Screen diagonal -5 inches;
Image -854*480;
Camera -2 Mp;
Front - 0.3 MP;
Processor - dual-core 1300 MHz;
RAM -512 MB;
Built-in memory - 512 MB expandable via SD card up to 32 GB;
Battery -1800 units;
PRICE - from 80 to 160 dollars;
Phone EXplay Rio: reviews
— The screen conveys colors well;
- The operating system works quite fast;
- Weak cameras, although this phone was clearly not created in order to be able to shoot the world around them;
- RAM is clearly not enough, however, with small dances with a tambourine, this problem can be solved;
- In general, Explay Rio pulls even most modern games;
— Affordable price, as a big plus;
- Acceptable GPS, which in some cases works better than car navigators;
Widget from SocialMart
— High-quality glass on the screen, which is not scratched;
- The screen has good viewing angles;
- The battery charge is enough for the whole day, but no more. Remarkably, some buyers experienced battery swelling after a year;
- Cameras do not have autofocus;
— Explore Rio is one of the best options for surfing the Internet, especially for the money the phone costs;
- Has a fairly loud speaker;
— It is possible to order panels of various colors. What is remarkable is the cost of the original case - it is a little expensive compared to the cost of a smartphone;
- Two SIM cards will not limit you in communication;
- Build quality is quite acceptable;
- By the way, the manufacturer even provided a flash on the camera;
- In general, it works stably in most cases and does not irritate its speed like most budget phones;
- The materials from which the phone is made are of high quality and durable, for some it constantly falls, while the performance remains at the same level;
- For your money, a very multifunctional device;
Conclusion
An excellent budget phone that will allow you to use the Internet for your money, while nothing will slow down, you can also play games, and even this year of release. In general, Explay Rio is a good choice for those people who are just starting to master smartphones, or even for work, since the phone has two SIM cards on board. I was pleased with the pleasant shell from the manufacturer and the stability of the system. In general, this model can be recommended for purchase, as for the declared price we get a rather impressive set of features, while both the design of the device and its assembly are pleasing. We hope that our review was useful to you, read us and visit again.
We tried for a long time to find an adequate competitor to Explay Rio in all respects, including price, but we did not find it. Smartphones similar from a functional point of view are noticeably more expensive, and similar in price - significantly lose to Rio.
The only viable competitor for the Qumo QUEST 500 is a relatively old smartphone: it is too big, heavy, has an outdated version of the Bluetooth module and a previous version of Android.
Appearance
As a rule, inexpensive smartphones are dull black bricks made of cheap plastic. But Explay RIO is not like that.
It is both bright and for its price a smartphone, perhaps even too well assembled - no backlashes and crunches, dangling buttons, quickly scratched or peeling plastic.
A smartphone with a white back cover and ends came to us for testing, but other bright colors are also available for sale: orange, purple, and classic black is also available.
Below the screen are three touch buttons to control the Android OS interface (in addition to the touch screen): menu, home and back.
At the top end there is a headphone jack and micro-USB for charging and synchronizing with a computer. When connected to a computer, Explay Rio allows you to access the memory card as a removable disk.
The volume rocker is located on the left side.
On the right is the power/lock screen button. It is convenient to press it using a smartphone, you do not need to stretch your fingers.
And in general, the smartphone lies in the hand like a glove, it does not create discomfort.
The battery is removable here, access to the SIM-card and micro-SD slots can only be obtained by removing it.
Screen
Explay Rio is equipped with a 5-inch TFT-screen with a resolution of 854x480 pixels that supports multi-touch (up to 2 clicks at the same time). Yes, it's not HD, but in reality the image clarity is sufficient. With a margin of brightness, there are also no particular problems - some much more expensive smartphones have much worse brightness.
Software and interface
The smartphone runs on the Android 4.2 operating system with a standard interface, but with redrawn icons. As a pre-installed software, there is a complete set of applications from Yandex, including the Yandex.Store store. In this regard, the standard Google Play Market for Android is initially absent, but it can be downloaded from the Internet and installed - thus, you can get access to two app stores at once, although you can find everything you need in Yandex.Store: social network clients , IM-messengers, games.
Explay Rio lock screen
Explay Rio main screen
Application list
In addition to applications from Yandex, the manufacturer pre-installed a file manager (for managing files on an SD card), several game stores (EA Store and Games & Soft) and a “flashlight” - a simple application that includes an LED flash. Here, by the way, you can send an SOS signal. We hope you do not need it, but suddenly.
Since the smartphone supports two SIM cards, you can manage their behavior in the settings menu: assign the main SIM card for various actions (voice calls, sending SMS / MMS, mobile Internet). Instead of specifying a specific SIM card, in each case, you can select the "Request" option - and then, when performing this action, the smartphone will ask you which SIM card to use.
For each SIM, you can assign your own name (by default - the name of the operator), set the color (by default - blue and orange for the first and second SIMs, respectively).
By the way, Explay Rio uses mini-SIM (or “regular” SIM) slots, but if you have a micro-SIM or nano-SIM, you don’t have to change it, just use an adapter (in communication stores, a set of adapters usually costs 150-200 rubles for sale).
Explay Rio also has sound profile settings. As a rule, modern smartphones use only three profiles: normal, vibrate and silent, but some users who are used to the old "dialers" need more. Here you can set up as many profiles as you need.
And another nice feature that came from the "good old" times - automatically turning off and on the smartphone on schedule. Of course, you can just turn off the sound at night, but even with the sound turned off, the smartphone consumes the battery and mobile traffic. By the way, Explay Rio also knows how to automatically turn on according to the configured alarm clock.
Otherwise, everything here is like in any normal smartphone: Internet, GPS, games, and all that.
Performance
What is a smartphone capable of for 3800 rubles? Actually, a lot. The only functional limitation in it is the small amount of internal memory, so, of course, you can’t do without an SD card. Well, you have to remember to transfer installed applications to this card. Otherwise, the 2-core MTK6572 processor and Mali-400MP graphics will even allow you to run some modern games. By the way, a couple of years ago Mali-400MP was exclusively in flagship smartphones, some of which are still popular.
Ashpalt 8: slow but playable
We tested Explay Rio with AnTuTu Benchmark and it said "Good".
Of course, space performance from such an affordable smartphone is not worth waiting for. But for everyday work, social networks, Internet browsing and even movies - it's enough. We specifically tested the playback of HD movies on Explay Rio - no problem, even with MKV format. But, again, a memory card is required (the smartphone supports micro-SD cards up to 32 GB).
The main thing is that the interface does not lag here, as on most cheap smartphones.
Camera
The Explay Rio's simple 2-megapixel camera lets you prepare shots for Instagram, other social networks, and your contact list.
Gallery of pictures.
Clicking on a thumbnail will open the full size image
If you want photo masterpieces, it is better to buy either a smartphone for 20-30 thousand, or a camera.
Battery
The 1800 mAh battery of the Explay Rio smartphone is enough for a couple of days of active work, up to 3 days in the “dialer” mode, or 8-9 hours of video playback. In general, there is no need to complain about autonomy. So AnTuTu Tester gave 532 points to the smartphone - a figure above average. Another reason not to take the most sophisticated devices - as a rule, they are discharged much faster, even if they just lie in your pocket.
Total
Explay Rio is the most affordable 5-inch smartphone on the market. At the same time, qualitatively assembled, quite smart, and with support for two SIM-cards. You won’t have to complain about its telephone functions either: the connection is stable, the voice transmission does not cause complaints, but the external speaker is very loud, it’s hard to miss a call.
Thus, Explay Rio is a dual SIM phone that costs like a regular dual SIM phone, but is also a smartphone with a 5-inch screen.
Explay Rio package can be called standard. In addition to instructions, a cable for connecting to a PC and a charger, there is also a mediocre headset. There are no interchangeable panels and a cover included with Explay Rio.
Dimensions - 3.9
We compared the dimensions of the Explay Rio smartphone with other five-inch smartphones and can note that it is quite heavy for a model made of plastic - 172 grams. As for the thickness of the case, it is quite typical - less than 1 cm. It is inconvenient to control the smartphone with one hand.
The main material used in the Explay Rio phone is matte plastic, pleasant to the touch. The smartphone, in our opinion, looks nice, and there are almost no fingerprints left on the case. The build quality is normal, even good for such a price, and in appearance you might think that you have a device with a price more expensive than it actually is.
Explay Rio is available in purple, white, black and orange to choose from.
Screen - 2.8
The display diagonal is 5 inches, the screen resolution is 854 × 480 pixels and, as a result, the low pixel density per inch is 196, which is especially noticeable in small fonts. I would like to see an IPS matrix, but for the sake of a low price, a TN matrix is \u200b\u200bused. The screen has average viewing angles and a low level of brightness (321 cd / m2), without a margin for a sunny day or bright lighting around. The picture is fuzzy and unclear, as are the colors on the display. Despite the average brightness, the display remains readable in sunny weather. There is also an auto-brightness function, but it seems that it does not regulate anything: when the function is turned on, the brightness is dimmed, but then it no longer reacts to changes in illumination. The quality of the display corresponds to the low price of the smartphone.
Camera
The Explay Rio smartphone has a 2 MP camera with LED flash and no autofocus. The camera interface is standard, but the settings are inconvenient and do not allow you to increase the photo resolution from 1-megapixel shots to 2-megapixel shots with a resolution of 1600 × 1200 until you change the aspect ratio (from 16:9 to 4:3) in a separate setting. Initially, there was a feeling that the declared 2 megapixels is just a hoax. The maximum video resolution is also 1280×720, which is not bad. However, the recording speed is only 10 frames per second, instead of the "standard" 30. But the sound is recorded in stereo. The device has a front camera, but, in our opinion, it is present only for show. The quality of the camera is low, it will suit only the most undemanding users.
Photos from the camera Explay Rio - 2.4
Working with text - 1.0
There is no own keyboard on the Explay Rio phone, it has a keyboard from Google preinstalled. The solution, one might say, is standard for such brands. We also note the convenient and familiar layout of the keys, the ability to quickly dial numbers by holding the key, but for some reason, gesture input (Swype) is not supported. The device has a poor dictionary in the keyboard: it does not know most of the Russian words, so if you make a mistake when entering, it is unlikely that the keyboard will automatically correct the typo. In our opinion, this is the main drawback of the keyboard. But, thanks to the large display area, texts are relatively conveniently typed on the Explay Rio, but due to the same size, doing it with one hand is no longer very convenient.
Internet - 3.0
As in the case of the keyboard, the manufacturer did not replace the built-in browser with its own or reinstall some other browsers on the phone. There is nothing wrong with that, the standard Android browser is easy to use and quite fast. The browser supports auto-adjustment of text to a predetermined size, for this, after increasing or decreasing the text, you should double-click on the screen, and the text will automatically adjust. There is no separate reading mode, but you can simply disable the loading of graphics and images on the pages.
Interfaces
The Explay Rio smartphone has the following interfaces: Wi-Fi (b / g / n) (support for dual-band Wi-Fi, of course, is not available), Bluetooth and GPS. Surprised by the lack of support for 3G. With buttons and connectors, the standard case is the volume key on the left, power on the right, micro-USB 2.0 connector and headset jack on top.
Multimedia - 4.2
We tried to play various video files on the Explay Rio smartphone. The smartphone supports almost all common formats and codecs. The player plays videos in high quality, including Full HD resolution. There is no choice of subtitles and audio track. The audio player in the smartphone plays only popular MP3, AAC, WAV formats. However, if you find a FLAC format track through the file manager, then the smartphone also plays it, but the Audio application does not find them. Formally, the Explay Rio smartphone plays tracks in the FLAC format, but listening to them in this form is simply inconvenient. In our opinion, using Explay Rio as a compact video player or audio player is not the best option.
Battery - 2.1
The Explay Rio has a removable 1800 mAh Li-Ion battery, which is a good capacity for such a modest price. Average test results for a budget phone: when watching HD video at maximum brightness, the device is discharged in 3 and a half hours (for example, Galaxy S4 Mini in 6 hours), when listening to music - in 36 hours (35 hours in Galaxy S4 Mini ). The Explay Rio cell phone was fully charged in 2.5-3 hours.
Performance - 1.5
Explay Rio uses the budget MediaTek MT6572 platform with two cores in the processor and a frequency of 1.3 GHz, the graphics subsystem is Mali-400 MP, and the amount of RAM is 512 MB. As you can see, the characteristics are very modest. The speed of work is not the strongest side of Explay Rio. In our tests, we occasionally observed stuttering when scrolling through pages in the browser, but for calls and SMS, it is more than enough. The use of such a chipset is due to the desire to set a low final price for a smartphone. There is simply nowhere to download games on Explay Rio, there is no place, and only games that are undemanding to hardware will be launched.
Memory - 2.5
The amount of built-in memory in Explay Rio is 512 MB and this is not a joke. More precisely, this is a joke, but a bad one from the manufacturer. That is, you can safely add the cost of a memory card to the price of a smartphone. The memory card is not defined as internal memory, installing large applications will turn into a headache, as you will have to root and re-partition the memory. After that, it will be possible to put some game, which is still likely to slow down.
Without a memory card, a smartphone is nowhere, for it, of course, there is a slot, cards up to 32 GB are supported. There seems to be a possibility of hot-swapping a memory card, you need to remove the cover and insert a card, the battery does not interfere with this, and you do not have to reboot the device. But the battery makes it difficult to pull out and replace the card, that is, it is for the “replacement” of the memory card that you will have to reboot.
Peculiarities
The main features of the Explay Rio smartphone are a nice appearance with a normal assembly, problems with tiny memory and the lack of services from Google, including the Play Market. You will have to download the Play Market separately, go into the settings and allow the installation of third-party applications and install the store from a memory card. Given the amount of 512 MB on the phone, you may have to install again on the same memory card. Along with the need to “rut” due to a small memory, there are already a lot of actions and unnecessary headaches that just work with a smartphone. Otherwise, this is a typical Android with slightly redrawn icons for standard applications.
Explay Rio features a bright 5 inch TFT display with a resolution of 854*480 pixels. The built-in GPS module and a large display with good viewing angles allow you to use Explay Rio as a navigator, you just need to download a navigation application or maps. The smartphone has two slots for SIM-cards. Explay Rio is powered by a powerful dual-core processor MTK6572 with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. The RAM of the device is 512 MB, the built-in memory is 512 MB, and the smartphone's memory can also be increased up to 32 GB using a microSD card.
MAIN SPECIFICATIONS
Nutrition
Battery capacity: 1800 mAh Battery type: Li-IonAdditional Information
Announcement date: 2014-05-27General characteristics
Type: smartphone Weight: 174 g Control: touch buttons Case material: plastic Operating system: Android 4.2 Case type: classic Number of SIM cards: 2 Multi-SIM mode: variable Dimensions (WxHxD): 73x143x9.7 mm SIM type cards: normalScreen
Screen type: color TFT, touch screen Type of touch screen: multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal: 5 inch. Image size: 854x480 Pixels per inch (PPI): 196Calls
Type of melodies: polyphonic, MP3 melodies Vibrating alert: yesMultimedia features
Camera: 2 million pixels, built-in flash Video recording: yes Front camera: yes, 0.3 million pixels. Audio: MP3, FM radio Dictaphone: yesConnection
Interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, USB Internet access: WAP, GPRS, EDGE Standard: GSM 900/1800/1900 Satellite navigation: GPS Protocol support: POP/SMTP, HTMLMemory and processor
Processor: MediaTek MT6572, 1300 MHz Number of processor cores: 2 Built-in memory: 512 MB RAM: 512 MB Memory card support: microSD (TransFlash), up to 32 GB Video processor: Mali-400 MP Memory card slot: yes, up to 32 GBMessages
Additional SMS functions: text entry with MMS dictionary: yesOther features
Control: voice dialing, voice control Airplane mode: yesNotebook and organizer
Organizer: alarm clock, calculator, task plannerToday, budget smartphones are very actively beginning to gain popularity. And this is understandable, because in appearance they practically do not differ from the flagships and at the same time they are much cheaper. Naturally, for the sake of price, you need to sacrifice some characteristics, but all these are trifles if you get a smartphone with excellent functionality as a result. Explay has a very active policy in the budget segment. It produces high-quality and inexpensive products that are in strong competition with other, more well-known manufacturers. Five-inch models are no exception, where Explay presents the Rio model.
Users who have already experienced Explore Rio have mixed reviews. The fact is that each of them acquired this gadget for different purposes. Let's take a look at the main indicators of the Rio smartphone from Explay today and, focusing on user reviews, draw a conclusion on convenience and its main purpose.
Specifications
Specifications can first of all tell the user about the capabilities of the smartphone and the presence of additional functions in it. So, the phone "Explay Rio" has the following indicators:
- Operating system: Android OS version 4.2.
- Display: 5 inches, multi-touch, 480x854 pixels.
- Processor: 2 cores, ARM Cortex-A7, frequency 1300 MHz.
- Built-in memory: 512 MB.
- RAM: 512 MB.
- microSD expansion up to 32 GB.
- Communications: GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB.
- Camera: main 2 MP, front 0.3 MP.
- Battery: 1800 mAh.
- Dimensions 73x145x9.7 mm.
- Weight: 175 grams.
What becomes clear immediately at the first glance at the Explore Rio is that the characteristics here are rather weak. Particularly depressing is the presence of only 512 MB of internal memory, which is catastrophically insufficient for normal operation. So when buying, users immediately order a flash drive.
Packaging and equipment
The packaging of the smartphone is standard and made from recycled cardboard. I was especially surprised by the presence of a color print, which is not typical for Explay. Opening the lid, you can immediately see the gadget, which completely occupies the entire space around the perimeter. Taking it out and lifting the lid, you can see the standard set: a headset, a USB cable, instructions, a battery and a warranty. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not include replaceable panels for the "Experiment Rio", covers and other little things in the kit. But this is not scary, because they can be purchased separately at a low cost.
Display
The screen at "Experiment Rio" received good reviews from users. Most do not immediately believe that for such a cost (about 4 thousand rubles) you can get as much as 5 ”sensor space. But the screen resolution is a little frustrating. Here it is only 854x480 pixels, which is certainly not enough to work with small fonts. Users would also like to see an IPS-matrix as a display body, and not the old TN version. But even with these parameters, the image on the display is easy to read at medium brightness on a bright sunny day, which is rare in budget smartphones.
The screen has average performance, which is typical for state employees. Viewing angles are small here and something wild happens with colors when tilted. All of them become initially negative, then the display simply turns white, leaving only dark traces. But for normal work with a smartphone, the provided angles are quite enough.
cameras
Smartphone "Explay Rio" has two and external. The first produces an image thanks to a 0.3 megapixel matrix. This is very small for creating normal pictures, but quite enough for video communication. The external camera is more powerful and has a 2 MP matrix. Its resolution is 1600x1200 pixels. At first glance, she does not pull on her parameters and it seems that the declared parameters are a simple hoax.
Users are very pleased with the LED flash, but the lack of autofocus is a little frustrating. Video shooting can be carried out at a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, which is a pretty good indicator. And as soon as there was a hope that even though this indicator is a virtue, the frame rate of shooting - 10 - hits the eye. And this is with a standard 30 frames!
Drawing a conclusion on the cameras, we can say that they are located here just for show and will suit only unpretentious users.
Filling and performance
Like all state employees, the smartphone in question uses the same basis - there are two cores with a frequency of 1.3 GHz. RAM is only 512 MB, which is hardly enough for large applications. All popular benchmarks give the same assessment of overall performance - below average. This was the reason that the reviews began to appear not too good for Explore Rio. Drawing a conclusion, we can say that performance is not the strong point of this smartphone, it will not suit lovers of powerful games. But simple toys and non-resource-intensive applications will "fly" here.
Memory
All users are very upset by the presence of only 512 MB of internal memory. This allows you to safely say that the cost of a flash drive should immediately be added to the cost of the gadget. Also, to install applications, it will be necessary to obtain ROOT rights and remap all memory.
A microSD card with a maximum allowable capacity of 32 GB is used as a removable one. It is enough to store games and other important things in the form of photo and video material.
Battery
The Explay Rio gadget, which we are currently reviewing, has 1800 mAh as a power source. Users speak very well about the battery life of this smartphone. Very interesting are the test results, which are practically not inferior to the average and flagship models of well-known manufacturers.
So, in the mode of watching an HD-quality movie with maximum brightness, you can drain the battery in almost 4 hours. Well, listening to music will be a pleasure for as long as 36 hours, which is quite enough for such a low cost of the smartphone itself.
Software and installed software
As a basis, the Explay Rio smartphone uses Google's Android version 4.2. The core is standard here, the shell has not changed much either. But in the pre-installed software, you can no longer find all the usual applications and stores. Here everything is replaced by services from "Yandex". But removing them will not be a problem if you have access rights (in any case, you need to open them to install applications on a USB flash drive). Yes, and you can also download the necessary options, you just need to connect to the Internet.
