An Android smartphone that costs N13,500 (approx. USD85) has found its way into the Nigerian, Ghanaian and Kenyan market. The company, Tecno, is pushing it out to the people and the people are embracing it in volumes, I have heard reports about this in Kenya. It is a dual SIM phone that runs on Android 2.3 at this unbelievable price.
Before taking the Tecno N3 for a spin, I had initially used and reviewed the GALAXY Pocket from Samsung. While the Pocket, single SIM, goes for N18,500 (approx. USD$118), the Tecno N3 costs much less and it is a Dual SIM phone. Because of poor network and high cost when connecting other networks, some folks have resorted to carrying multiple SIMs to beat this odds. I have gotten a lot of requests personally from Twitter and from friends close to me to recommend to them a low budget, dual SIMs phones. That is how I landed myself with the Tecno N3.
Should you get the Tecno N3? Let me share with you what I found:
The Tecno N3 has a better screen size [3.5”] than the Samsung Galaxy Pocket [2.8’] and it has more room left for you to see what you are typing because the virtual keypad won’t consume almost all the screen space like it does on the Samsung Galaxy Pocket. Although the virtual Android keypad that comes pre-installed with it is almost unusable, the remedy is to install a third party virtual keyboard, such as SwiftKey and you should be fine.
Setting up the phone wasn’t difficult. First thing I do whenever I get a new smartphone is to look for a way to gain access into the application store. I can’t imagine using a smartphone without a data plan and without accessing the application store. I inputed my Gmail account and I was granted access to the Google Play Store – that’s the name of the application store for all Android powered phones; doing that also synced my Gmail into the phone.
Next I downloaded all the apps I will love to use and I dived directly into using the phone. The Tecno N3 is powered by 2.3 [Gingerbread] Android OS. has some apps preloaded, like the Opera Mini, Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo Messenger, Google Map, Whatsapp, Dx-Power Manager, iQuaran, Simple Bible, Spinlet, 2go and Flash Share. These service were built and pre-loaded into the phone out of the box, so you won’t have to stress yourslef to download them – suprising that Twitter and the Eskimi launcher did not make the cut. .
The battery is a 1,400mAh in capacity. Go here to see the full spec sheet of the phone. SIM 1 supports up to HSPA/3G connection while SIM 2 is just up to EDGE. This can help you know what SIM you’d like to add to SIM 1 and the one you want for SIM 2.
What Works And I Really Love
Google Play Store – There are lots of apps: games and services, that you can explore in the Google Play Store. However, because it is on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and some developers do not supports devices that are below Android 4.0, you’ll be missing on those apps. There’s no cause for concern by the way. The majority of the apps supports even a lower Android 2.2 Froyo, one of the earliest version of Android.
Memory – It supports up to 32 GB external MicroSD flash card. Tecno has bundled an 8 GB external MicroSD along with the device. This will allow for lots of music and app download. The Internal memory is 512 MB ROM and 512 MB RAM. While using the phone, I found that the phone runs smoothly with a few lags here and there when I push the phone rigorously and allow many apps to be running at the background. If you can keep the apps running at a bare minimum, you should be fine. I got tips that Tecno have been working on increasing the RAM of the models that’d be shipped to the market. The chipset powering the phone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7225AB which has 1GHz processing speed.
Flash Share – This a proprietary software that has been built in to work as a tool to share files between one Tecno N3 and another. It can be used to transfer music files, video files, photos and any other files without using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Internet access. I saw it work myself. One can tap and shake the phone and the transfer progress will be initiated. This is the first iteration of the software and they are working on it to make it better. This is a good thing, but it is limited to only this Tecno device for now. It is new and it still has a few bugs here and there.
Radio – Without using the internet, you can listen to your favorite local radio station and catch up with your favorite On Air Personalities and Radio DJs. The Radio just works well.
WiFi and WiFi Hotspot – Knowing that Android phones need access to internet to be able to enjoy their full potential, it will be good to subscribe to a plan to avoid depletion of your mobile phone credit. If you have access to WiFi at home and in the office, you can use it with the N3. WiFi Hotspot that is inbuilt into the N3 will allow you to share your mobile internet data with other WiFi enabled devices, be it your laptop, tablet or other WiFi enabled phones. This simply means you can share the internet on your phone with others. Cool, right?
Battery Life – Of course this is dependent on the rigor of use. But I find that regardless of how hard I used the phone, the 1400mAh battery is a super performer. It takes me the whole day before it shuts down on me. I confirmed from another user and he said the same thing. But, in the office and at home, I use WiFi. WiFi helps the battery last longer as it doesn’t exert a lot of pressure on the battery as the mobile networks do.
Design – I love the design. Easy to hold with one hand. The round curved edges. It is just sweet to hold and sweet to the eyes. Judge for yourself.
What I don’t really like
The Virtual Keypad – This is not as perfect as I’d expect. Virtual Keypad is the number one thing I look out for if I am going to opt in for an all touchscreen and type phone, since I spend a good amount of time typing away tweets, emails, IM, SMS, etc. If the virtual keyboard gives me headache, it is just going to make me miserable. Well, I got a solution for it. Since it is an Android powered phone, Android allows the installation of third party virtual keyboard. What I did was that I went to the Google Play Store and grabbed Swiftkey X. It made typing on the Tecno N3 a pleasure again.
The Camera – The Tecno N3 comes with a not-so-cool camera, especially for taking photos indoor. Flash is absent in the 3 MP camera. I am a shutter bug, and love shooting photographs of the moon, food and nice landscape. The Tecno N3 can thrive if you use it outdoor as it doesn’t have flash. To get the best experience from the N3’s camera, ensure there’s enough light on the subject when you want to snap your photos.
Freebies out of Partnerships
If this is your first time on Android, Tecno has made it easier by bundling a lot of apps along with the phone. Apps that can get you started. They have partnered with Spinlet to provide pre-loaded songs and 175 SC [Spinlet Credit] that the user can use to buy music. With Spinlet you can listen to songs by streaming for free, pay for downloads or subscribe to a monthly plan. Tecno is also in partnership with Airtel to provide a free Airtel SIM plus 6 months free data. For those who enjoy using 2go, a compatible version has also been pre-loaded into the phone.
The Verdict
In my opinion, most of the people that are likely to get this phone will be young folks and first time smartphone users who do not see the need in spending N150,000 [$1,000 USD] in buying a new phones as we hardly get phones at subsidized prices here in Nigeria and other African countries.
The apps that are pre bundles include: Facebook, Spinlet, 2go, Yahoo Messenger, Whatsapp, Simple Bible, iQURAN, Maps, Carlcare Service, Flash share. However, I recommend getting these too: Twitter, Google Plus, Dropbox, Evernote, Feedly, Pocket, Instagram and Dolphin Browser. You are free to explore more and experiment.
Welcome to Android world, if this is your first time. Feel free to ask me questions in the comment
