Jumia Kenya sells Android smartphones from dozens of vendors, a huge chunk of them from China. Besides the usual culprits that include Huawei, Tecno, Infinix, Oppo, and Xiaomi, there are others you’ve probably never heard of, among them UMIDIGI, Oukitel, BlackView, DOOGEE, Ulefone, and so on. The list is huge.
The Android Go device that’s congregated us here comes from one of these little-known companies, Ulefone Mobile. You can also jump to their About us page and see who they are and then read on.
On Jumia, you’ll find multiple Ulefone smartphones, but it’s the Ulefone Note 7 that is of our interest. At Kshs 5,999, this is one of the most affordable Android Go smartphones on the market. Furthermore, it’s probably the only Go-powered handset with a triple-lens camera on the back.
Considering the asking price tag, though, tone down your photography expectations. I haven’t used it, but if you are the “me too” type, the Ulefone Note 7 should make you feel better just for owning a smartphone with a tri-lens setup. Even better, you can grab one for your little bro or maybe your domestic manager and let them be carried away by the tri-lens camera wave.
For newbies who have just ditched their kabambe and are excited about owning anything as long as it’s a smartphone, the Ulefone Note 7’s hardware package should be more than enough. There’s a 6.1-inch display screen with a waterdrop notch and a resolution of just 1280 x 600 pixels, which is lower than the standard HD (720p).
The processor is a quad-core MediaTek MT6580 clocked at 1.3GHz mated with 1GB RAM and 16GB of expandable storage (up to 64GB). Keeping it alive is a 3500mAh battery unit, which should last over a day or maybe even two considering the power-sipping display screen resolution. However, it will take some waiting to fill it up thanks to the supported charging speed (5V, 1A) that pumps a maximum of 5W when charging.
The waterdrop notch on the front houses a 5MP lens with an aperture of f/2.0 and doubles up as a facial recognition sensor capable of unlocking the device in 0.2 seconds, the company claims. It’s the only biometric recognition feature on the Ulefone Note 7 since it misses out on the fingerprint scanner.
On the back, the triple-lens camera setup has an 8MP primary lens with a surprisingly wide aperture of f/1.8, promising bright enough photos, but don’t expect magic in poorly-lit conditions even with the dual-LED flash. Two 2MP lenses that “enhance the quality and clarity of photos to a great level” flank it.
Other features include microUSB port, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and dual-SIM support among others. Speaking of SIMs, the Note 7 doesn’t go beyond 3G connectivity for both SIM cards, which shouldn’t be a concern for someone in the village where 4G isn’t available or those who feel that 4G “eats” their data.
Do you think Kshs 6,000 can buy a better phone? Name it in your comments below, if so.
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