I’ve been to Six Smart Wireless Centers and waited for five hours, and I can say this: “Yes, it is.”
…but there are some catches with this good deal, of course.
After more than three weeks of not having a phone, here I am cherishing this MyPhone My28 that I got from Smart. Here’s the lowdown of my experience with it.
The Ups
Android Lollipop. I treat Lollipop as the best Android software version so far, no if and buts.
Load rebates for a year. I get 100MB data allocation as well as a load rebate of Php30 for an accumulated Php100 load purchase for a month for 12 months, which is a bonus from Smart. The catch here is that you are limited to using SIMs from the Smart network (Smart, Sun, TnT), but since I’m a Sun Cellular user, that’s fine with me.
Quad-core phone. The 1.2GHz Quad-core Spreadtrum SC7731 Chipset in the device means it’s a quad-core phone, in which I can use multiple apps in one instance. I tried this with the Rio before, and I’m happy with its performance — as long as I don’t open up too many apps in one sitting.
It fits in my palm, and my pocket. When I was using the Rio, I had a hard time fitting it in my pocket, so it won’t matter to me now if the My28 is a 4-inch phone, seriously.
The GPS works fine. Same as with the Rio, I was able to use GPS in my place. nothing wrong with it so far.
Good for Instagram. I’ve set my Instagram again to public as I share these photos, and it works well —but unlike the Rio, it does not have auto-focus.
Here are some other shots.
Apps, apps and more apps. I was able to download more than 20 apps in the My28, but there was a catch when I tried to upgrade the Google Play services, Gmail and Maps apps — it gives me an error code of -503, in which Pat (of DTV Pilipinas) shared a tip, and I told myself, “I’m going to make a factory reset.” It worked, fortunately. Above that, no phone-specific problems so far (and finally, I can use a screen recorder as only Android Lollipop and above supports it).
The Downs
The Home, Back and Menu buttons don’t lit up so I have to guess which button was I pressing to during nighttime.
I am told more than three times that this one heats up as it performs many tasks, which is true. Now I have to monitor if the device heats up or it slows down so I can close the apps.
I am also told about its 1450mAh battery, which is pretty quick to burn out if the phone is used often. In my case, I have to bring a power bank to continue using it. I should make it a habit to not use the phone (or even turn it on) when charging to prolong its life (a bit). One thing to note is that for some reason, the LCD’s backlight seems to be a bit aloof at times especially when I’m charging the phone, so I don’t recommend charging it directly in the socket.
[As of January 11] I observe that the standby time is doing well — that means if you don’t use data or if there are no apps running, the the phone’s battery consumption slows down. In short, if you want to prolong your battery just use it for emergencies, sarcastically speaking.
I don’t recommend to use this to record video. I’ve used Periscope and uploaded a video on Instagram using the My28, and it’s bad. I’ve recorded a video offline, and its performance is like the Rio that I’ve used before.
Slow app performance. I can browse my Facebook faster on Chrome than on the Facebook app itself. I just realized now that I was having a hard time using each app, and I’m planning to uninstall some non-important applications soon.
Bottom Line
Overall, I am satisfied that I paid Php888 for a phone which usually costs more than a thousand. It has a bundled Smart and TnT sim, (but I won’t be using the TnT number since I have my Sun number) and it’s the perfect gift to start 2016.
I have to remind you again that getting this has costed me five hours, so it’s important to get some patience (I have none, unfortunately) when you try to get it. I think the sale of the My28 won’t last till February, so you have to get to have one of these right now.
I reiterate – this is the best deal to start the year. I’m pretty sure tech blogs like Yugatech and Unbox.ph and most pundits agree with me. Here’s the specs if you’re interested in getting one.
I’ve just updated this post as I change my opinion of the My28 from “very satisfied” to just “satisfied,” considering the app performance and the battery woes.