*Drinking game, take a shot each time I say PHONE...in which I butcher it with my accent* Anyways, welcome back to another cheapo review! This thing is something...if you have used this or a Mobiwire phone let me know down below. Also what do you think of this phone...it will be interesting to hear your thoughts. Thanks again for tuning in and I'll see you all soon! TIMESTAMPS: Intro, Timestamps etc: 0:00 A lookback at the Vodafone Smart N10: 1:04 V Smart 4G Current Pricing & Alternate Options: 2:20 Vodafone Advertising & Quick Specs: 3:44 The OEM & First Look at the thing: 5:36 The horrific bezels & under the battery: 6:40 Power On, A better look at the display & many questions: 8:09 Performance, Stock Apps & Shortcuts: 9:46 Networks & Call Quality: 10:54 System App List & Notification LED: 12:04 Battery Life, Sounds, Display Issues etc: 13:11 Accessibility, Security, Updates etc: 15:00 System, About Phone, some Apps & Camera: 16:09 Camera Test - Photos: 18:10 Camera Test - Videos: 19:43 Camera Quality & UI Cutoffs: 23:34 Browser Test: 24:53 DreamLab, Files & FM Radio: 26:00 More Apps, GPS Test, Phone Dialer etc: 27:20 RU-vid Test: 28:30 Speaker Test: 29:38 Geekbench Scores & The Nokia C02 is better: 31:09 Gaming Test - Grand Theft Auto III: 33:06 Attempted Ark Test & I won't review a Windows Phone soon: 34:16 Double checking the Specs & some confusion: 36:02 QuickShortcutMaker & Conclusion: 38:01 Teardown & Investigation: 39:54 Does it live on, Proper Specs & Final Thoughts: 43:06 Thanks for making it to the end & Rambly Outro: 44:01 Be good people!
nope. midrange devices from that era were way worse. 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 480x800 screens and 4mpix cameras were kinda the norm back then (I have an HTC 8S from late 2012 with very similar specs, and my Lumia 630 from 2014 isn't much better)
@@devilkazumi578 that's because they're trying to achieve a "modern" look without spending extra money on the display, I assume. so instead of making at least the top better thinner, they made the side bezels thicker to make them look symmetrical. and the tight corner radius also doesn't help at all. but the worst part _is_ the top bezel. It's so thick, there's no reason for the teardrop notch to even exist. but having a flat bezel isn't trendy...
No, they wouldn't have been. The Moto G 2013 and 2014 both had 1GB of RAM and also a Quad-Core and ran absolutely fine and adequate - with Android 4.4 to 6.0 mind you. Anything beyond 7.1 doesn't do well with these specs.
Kinda shameful for such a big name operator. Years ago when Orange was also selling phones under their own brand they were using ZTE phones that were actually acceptable for their money
@@tylern6420 Orange is french network but has few other locations but not as big as they use to be thats why you only saw them in poland for example and are unfamiller (think vodafone but french and in orange ) they use to be in the UK for example but then merged with two other networks to become new one called EE but orange is still in france for example
A while ago I complained about having a Nokia 1.4 and I finally managed to buy a decent phone. I ended up going for a Samsung A14 which is good but not too expensive and oh boy, the performance difference is absolutely humongous. I'm not even going to mention the camera quality, battery and storage. I really feel bad for people who are stuck using "new" phones that manage to perform worse than a 10 year old phone.
I have a refurb LG G8 that cost like $115 after taxes lol. Works super well and it's processing power/camera absolutely DESTROYS any modern $100-200 budget phone. Takes amazing quality photo/video and the SD855 is strong enough to emulate PS2 games. Plus it has the built-in HiFi headphone amp + DAC in the 3.5mm jack, wireless charging and a super nice 1440p screen (has slight burn in, but for how cheap I got it it doesn't bother me).
Well I know it doesn't matter much in the bigger picture, but it means something to me. I caved in and bought a fast wily phone from Samsung, the S20 5G. It's not new but not old. And it's as fast as I want and it could store and play back stuff, like it were my computer, except more high-end. Anyway, I think I can relate to what you're saying. A person really can't go wrong anymore, it seems, just so long as people stay FAR AWAY from duds like what's in this video. 🙂
It's funny the top bezel is big enough to house a front camera without the notch, but to make it looks "modern" they made the bezel even bigger with that notch 😂 and the notch design has been outdated for a while now
And the notch design has overstayed its welcome. It was unwelcome from the start imo. I never liked any of the variations... the pinhole, the punchout, the widow's peak, the teardrop. To me, these are *all* insults to a smartphone's screen. Apple started this ***t, and Android just had to go and ape it.
(8:54) I believe they just bought off-the-shelf LCD panels in bulk from some company and just stuck that model into an existing design they had already prepared with some other existing components, instead of designing the phone around the display panel first. Edit: I remember a GPD handheld where the display looked nice until reviews exposed the intrusive (to me) screen cutout.
In the UK they're branded as Mobiwire on the vodafone network. I think the reason they show the 2g and 3g is because some countries still use them if you use this phone abroad
But if you travel overseas, the phone won't work cause it needs to be unlocked from Vodafone Australia, which costs $50. That was why I was wondering why they were showing them.
@@SMOOREZ if you are abroad using your Australian Vodafone sim card you'll be able to roam on the local Vodafone network, for example if you came to the UK you'd be able to use the UK Vodafone network with your sim without having to unlock your phone. I did it many years ago, I had a Siemens C25 locked to Vodafone, went to Greece and was able to use the local network (which I think was Panafon which was owned by vodafone)
Was about to say yeah. Roaming is a thing, and it'll either connect to the local Vodafone(-owned) network or a partner network. In the EU this is mandatory for providers to support, so you can get phone coverage in just about any EU country (hardware support permitting... LTE bands and all that nonsense) with your local SIM, and there are laws that mobile data can't be a cost trap abroad either. Made use of this when I went from Germany to the Netherlands, Belgium and France earlier this year and it was smooth sailing, other than getting multiple "welcome to [insert local phone provider here]" SMS as the phone hopped back and forth between networks close to the border
Yeah, give me touch buttons over a useless bezel. Same with the front camera. Why cut down the screen just to add a notch when there is so much room to put the cam that keeps the screen useful. Same with the rounded edges. That adds nothing to the functionality, but limits usability.
I work at an Aussie big box retailer and never sell Vodafone stuff cause their coverage is garbage here. We have a drawer of these and always wondered how great it'd be. Thanks for scratching that itch! 🤣
My aunt wanted to teach my grandma how to use an Android phone and Viber, because she keeps racking up huge phone bills, so my aunt gave her an Alcatel 1 from 2018. That phone has a Mediatek MT6739, which is what this Vodafone has... And even at Android 8.0.1 Oreo it can't play a RU-vid video, and Viber takes a long time to open... My grandma HATES it and obviously wants her beat-up and slightly spicy Overmax Vertis 2210 back. Wow Mediatek was shit back then
Mediatek was and still is absolute shit. Even if their "high end" Helios SoCs perform... "OK" (ie like a Snapdragon from 3+ years earlier), they still aren't worth bothering with as they're completely closed source. There's almost no chance of running custom ROMs on them to make them perform better or cut out all the bloatware
@@Knaeckebrotsaege the helio is shit, my phone runs the g88 and boy, my camera sensor is from samsung the isocel jn1 50mp, it can do about 2k video recording but is hindered by the g88, it can do vivid quality images, but it is hindered by the stupid processing unit, all my photos are in somewhat sepia.
In Germany they've been doing that for decades. When UMTS/3G was brand new, they rereleased a Motorola V975 as their own, calling it the Vodafone V980, complete with hardware and software brandings galore, and "nice" little limitations like not being able to pick your own mp3 ringtone, only ones downloaded from vodafail for absurd prices etc.
$49 I just bought this Vodafone V Smart 4g, includes free $35 of call credits, end of year sale, I needed a basic 4g because 3g is being switched off shortly, it works good.
I know this is just my opinion and only works if you can buy a used phone, but I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S10 this year and got it for about the same price as that phone. (the only reason why I had to update was that a few applications required a newer android) 😅
I actually did use a cheapish Vodafone smart phone for a while when my One M9 died, replaced it with a Nokia 7.1 less than a year later, a Smart E8. It was fine but had a loathsome camera, identical to the £25 Smart First 6 I'd used briefly ages before.
mind you - personally, i dont mind your 2+ hours videos (no offense, but its not like i listen attentively all the time .. i leave you rambling in the background while doing work .. it is oddly soothing) .. so i would not mind your videos being uncut of sorts. Meaning to say .. no do not worry about long videos
I had to stop the video at 4:27 to let you know that the tablet I'm watching this video on, a Sky Elite T8 Plus, is powered by the Mediatek MT8765WA. I'm not sure the difference between the WA and WB, but, I guess I'll find out later. I've never seen this chip used in anything besides other government subsidized tablets. During the pandemic the US government heavily subsidized tablets for all Americans, regardless of whether one qualified for other assistance or not. I paid $20 for mine brand new from an "Obamaphone" tent. Known ultra budget US brands like Sky, Maxwest, Foxx, and probably some others were involved; but, they each looked and had specs suggesting they all rolled out of the same factory. It's been a good little media consumption and PS1 emulation tablet. Also, thank you for not taping your videos at 50/60 FPS. I've never been able to say this before without it sounding stupid as it's never really related to anything in any of your prior videos. My tablet can run 720p30 video all day long; but, it gets jerky with HD content at 50/60 FPS. I often have to choose between watching videos that are in standard definition + smooth or good looking + stuttery. It'll be interesting to see if your phone exhibits the same behavior. I'm going to shut up and finish watching your review now. EDIT: Just finished the video. I ran CPU-Z and Device Info HW on my tablet. The specs look mostly the same as what you showed. There were a couple of differences that stood out to me. 1) Clock speed: The 8765WA is supposed to be clocked at 1.3ghz like the chip in this phone, which I've already forgotten the number of, however, in all the hardware info apps it's shown to be running at a rip-roaring 1.5ghz. 2) The chip in the phone is running 32bit, but, DI Hardware said it can support 64bit. The 8765WA in my tablet only runs 64bit. I don't know if it can run 32bit, or not. Fun fact: the launcher in my tablet is called Quickstep as well. I wonder if that's a Mediatek thing? It runs full fat Android 11, none of this silly Go nonsense, because it has 3GB of RAM instead of 2GB like this phone. I kind of wish it could've shipped with 12L for tablets. I think it was new enough from a build date standpoint; but, the design was probably set in concrete months before.
26:02 - Oh, so basically Folding@Home - I guess it made sense back in the day on the PS3 or on a modern PC - but on a phone, and especially *this* one? I don't think you'll fold many proteins with this one.
For some reason, Seeing the phone in this video makes my Samsung A03 Core looks as if it was iPhone 12. _Although my new phone is on it's way from EU to SEA rn_ 😅.
It's not a good phone, but I honestly don't care about bezels generally - even here I obviously wouldn't ever choose this, but if I only had this I wouldn't care about those bezels. And you would stop noticing them reasonably quickly if it was your normal device you used all day every day.
Its crazy how I once genuinely used and daily'd vodaphones (Smart Kicka VE and 2× Smart 7 minis) Im nostalgic about it but glad I now have better tech 😂
I don't mind the large bezels as it makes it easier to hold without accidentally touching and activating something on the edges of the screen, but the notch and rounded edges look stupid. The chin also should've been where the 3 buttons went. At least it has a removable battery, expandable storage, and headphone jack...
Man if I'm a phone designer, I would rather put the front camera on the bottom like back camera of 5th iPod Nano or Sharp Aquos Crystal or Mi Mix front camera, and get rid of that gimmick notch screen.
Being in the US we don't have vodafone.... But our budget providers have phones like this so they can frequently make them "Free" Either with (what is basically) a contract, or free with a month or 3 (or more) of service. The problem is you can almost always get a better deal by waiting for something like a Motorola G 5G or an Iphone se or something. So really they just exist to take up space and screw the unlucky soul who needs a new device "NOW" when the Noikia and Motorola Options are sold out.
I'm still okay with bezels in particular on the camera side. Clip on a lens, depending on the lens. Atleast I'd have ample space to operate the virtual keys to swipe the notification screen up or down on portrait mode. This I can't with lense on modern phones.
Wouldn’t mind a Smoorez video about the Vodafone V Smart 2 4G which is the successor to the V Smart 4G. The V Smart 2 has USB-C instead of micro-USB, RAW DNG capture option in the camera settings and still has Welcome vibes. I bought my V Smart for $89 at Big W last year (before it came down to the $49 clearance price).
the animations doesn't have much impact on the performance, your best friend is to try to only open one app at a time, since this phone is going to struggle with multiple apps open though 3 GB is actually good, & are able to help you open multiple apps compared to a mere 2 gb that end up only having 600 MB free at most, with the 3 gb you can have 1.6 gb free, which is quite acceptable & managable
As far as I can see, the only plus on this device is a replaceable battery. If it can be done on such a small budget, why can't other manufacturers do it?
Because there is zero waterproofing or space saving on this design at all, so it's probably cheaper for them to throw in an off-the-shelf battery in a plastic case. This phone would probably die if you so much as cried near it
@@PotatoPirate123 Both variants they currently sell in the US support swappable batteries, XCover6 Pro and XCover Pro. And still a bit over 4000 mAh capacity while being just shy of 10mm thick total. Which is really good for a rugged device aimed at the industrial sector. Of course unprotected consumer aimed devices are thinner, unless you use a nice rugged case. Manufactures just prefer you to buy a new device instead of putting the effort in to make it thin, waterproof and have replaceable batteries. Although I do agree with you on this phone, it's most likely just slapped together with stuff they had laying around or found in a bin somewhere lol
Smoorez can you add INR to the Conversion aswell (atleast to the companies that exist in india like Vodafone they dont sell any handset here but cool to know i suppose). its easy to convert but if it is in the video it would be handy :)
The only thing I can say is, why give it on screen buttons and a notch when you have a bezel to put that. Like in the old days. I still have my old Honor 9 here, that thing has buttons in the chin, the front cam in the bezel, but Android 12 through custom firmware, 64 GB storage, micro SD slot, dual SIM, headphone jack, quad Cortex-A53 + quad Cortex-A73, 4 GB RAM. It's overall still a totally fine device today.
It just seems to get worse and worse with every comment, even favorable comments, where this (phone) is concerned. It's none of my business, I know, I'll never own such a thing as this, but I get depressed somehow, sortof like when I see Ashens bringing something home from Pound Land.
In the US if you're willing to keep it locked and in-service for, I think, 90 days you can get a Samsung A03s for $50 on most of our prepaid carriers. Motorola makes a number of G phones (off topic but remember when E was the budget line and G was the midranger - now we've G Gos which are completely pointless considering the G Pure is much better and goes for the same money , the aforementioned G Pure, G Plays, and even the G Power got cut down to being a bargain phone in 2022) that you can get around the same price after carrier subsidy. Nokia also plays there; but, they usually ship crap like this Vodafone or the Moto G Go. Why buy a quad core when you can get an octocore for the same money? For $100-120 US you can get a 5G phone in a box from those same prepaid carriers. TracFone's Samsung Galaxy A13 5G, Nokia's G300, and the Moto G 5G go for that price all day long...
the price for this in my country you can buy a secondhand realme 5 with 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM plus sdcard expansion and power by qualcomm snapdragon 665 processor
Emergency calls only?.?? I don't know about the UK or Australia but here in America we don't need an active phone plan , wifi or a SIM to make emergency 911 calls. All we have to do is just dial 911 and the call will go through. So a phone like that will still be considered usable.
Its exactly the same here in Austalia, so for some reason this phone was behaving as if it couldn't register with its provider so was behaving as if it didn't have the a sim.
Using obsolete junk as a budget device? And that doesnt even have type c? Most low end phones have type c. I would never give this to anyone that needs a phone because if you get a midrange Samsung phone for free or something you'll be in a much better mood. I would shop around for a decent phone for a decent price.
Help! You made a reference to the fact these phones are re-branded. I've bought a Vodafone V Pro 4G (to be used as a 'tablet' of sorts for my infant) and for the life of me can't find a single case for sale ANYWHERE. I also can't find what other names it goes under as the specifications seem totally unique to only this 1 phone. If anyone can shed some light on what other model names this goes under or where I can find a case that would be GREAT :) Thanks,
Great video. I do enjoy your humour. The phone really doesn't look great. Lol it has a decent ish camera. My Ginger Ninja (AKA Dermot) wasn't too impressed with me liking the fairly good ( if grainy) video of Ripley. In fact he was lying on my chest then decided to thrust his ear into my mouth and block my view of the TV. Lol I still used my old Nokia 3310 as a back up phone. And I think it is still better than this Vodafone thing lol. 😂🎉😅😊
"you don`t even have two rear cameras" that`s me on school, i own an ancient iPhone 5 SE, straight from 2016 btw i have a friend that owns an Moto G4 Play, it`s from 2018 and has 1/8 of my phone`s storage (my phone has 128 GB)
I disagree on your take on its design. I like having bezels, and I like that it isn't copying 2023's design trend of cameras taking up as much space as possible on the back of the phone. My only issue with it is the notch, which isn't needed there at all.
The screen looks terrible, I said aloud "looks like a kid designed it" this thing is trash for its price. Still, interesting to see it, thanks for making videos like this for us.
How about you buy the Nokia and double down? I miss Nokia and it would be at least a tribute to Nokia and how great they were, shed some light on em they're on their last legs I believe.
Dreamlab is like Folding@Home or Bionic. Mining for a good thing i suppose. Even you cant much bandwidth or performance the small amount you can give is still something :)
It looks like the exterior product designer is overhyped to put all current aspects of modern design on a budget phone, like makes top left camera island but it spaced badly, a screen with oversized bezel radius but ended making status bar over ugly... And slap a overheight screen design (looks like the designer forgot to measure the screen) that ended hardware department just fit the screen on the top camera edge, leaving a big chin. Unbelievable. Almost like some dude made a mess on PowerPoint.
