Getting a decently priced smartphone right is a thorny problem. All too often manufacturers aim for Apple-inspired design and a premium feel despite cheaper components and materials, but fall well short.
On paper, we had high hopes for the ZTE Blade S6 but, unfortunately, it is no exception, despite laudable specs for an enticing price.
It's certainly not a bad-looking device, resplendent with a perfectly reasonable 5 inch FED display which is not going to have pixel-ophiles queuing around the block but won't upset its mass-market target audience.
But when you try to evoke Apple's iPhone 6 mixed with a healthy slice of Samsung's S range you are setting yourself up for a fall.
The curved design might remind you of a certain Cupertino phone but any scrutiny whatsoever will leave you asking why anyone thought apeing the iPhone 6's design was a good plan - when all it would bring is comparison.
The phone feels fairly well balanced in the hand, but the materials used in construction are certainly not lovingly crafted from a block of angel-kissed aluminium.
Nope, this is good old fashioned plastic - good for connectivity no doubt but slippery in the hand. Some plastic cases feel okay, generally when they stop trying to pretend they are metal, but this one is slippery and that's not a great starting point to a big handset.
The internals are, on the case of things, pretty impressive. There's a 64-bit processor, 2GB RAM and a big old 3,000mAh battery - flipping in and out of the various apps running on the phone caused no discernible lag.
The front-facing camera, a 5MP wide-angle offering, is pretty good and the main 13MP camera coped okay in the always tricky show environment - although the flash may not, ahem, light up your world.
The Android 5, optimised for that 64-bit Octa core chip, was exactly as good as you would expect, and we have no doubt that for some this phone will tick a lot of boxes for some people. For those looking for a perfectly fine phone, with better than okay looks and not too shoddy performance this is a thoroughly acceptable offering - especially for a price of $250 (£170, AU$314).
The issue is that you are just left wondering why ZTE didn't go the extra mile and push a true premium level phone or decide to go down a route of designing something that felt more unique to its market.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1AUrNVR
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