Elephone S3: edge to edge display, 4G LTE, all the good stuff

Finding a good smart-phone could be an issue, too many variables to consider, but this sure has it pinned, with just a few trade offs. We’ll talk about those in a minute; but first, a few pictures and then the specs.

Technology

• GSM: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
• 3G: HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
• 4G: FDD-LTE 1(2100) / 3(1800) / 7(2600) / 20(800)
• SIM Type: Dual SIM (Nano + Micro)
• OS: Android OS, v6 Marshmallow

Design

• Dimensions: 142 x 70.5 x 8.3 mm
• Weight: 145 g
• Display: 5.2 inch bezel-less 1080 x 1920 pixels, 423 PPI, IPS LCD with Dragontrail Glass protection
• Sensors: Fingerprint, Accelerometer, Proximity
• Build: All aluminum alloy
• Colours: Iron Gray. Gold. Silver

Hardware

• Processor Type: Octa Core 1.3 GHz
• Processor Name: MT6753 / MT6735
• Graphics Processor: ARM Mali-720
• RAM: 3 GB
• Internal Storage: 16 GB
• External Storage: MicroSD card up to 128 GB

Camera

• Rear: 13.0 megapixel, Sony IMX135, autofocus, OIS, dual LED flash
• Video recording: 1080p
• Front-facing: 5 megapixel

Multimedia

• Music Support: mp3, aac, aac+, eaac+, amr
• Loudspeaker: Mono
• Video Support: mpeg4, h.263, h.264

Connectivity

• Bluetooth: v4.0
• WiFi: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Dual Band 2.4G/5G, Wi-Fi Direct
• GPS: Yes
• USB: microUSB v2.0

Miscellaneous

• Charging: Quick Charge
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Polymer 2910 mAh
• Launch Date: March 2016
• Availability: April 2016
• Launch Price: $189.90

CONS

The only trade offs I see here, is the screen and the battery. An AMOLED screen would have sealed the package, but well, it costs less than $200(between 40 and 50 thousand naira). For the battery, it’s not terrible – at least on paper; but a 3,000mAh battery would have been nice to have.

PROS

What I do love about the phone are

• The fingerprint Sensor: It’s nice to have a phone with a fingerprint sensor that doesn’t break the bank(Apple and Samsung come to mind).
• That edge-to-edge display: Dayum! If every phone could have that – wait, no… it’s going to be pretty tricky to hold. But meh, it still looks pretty
• 4G LTE: With MTN promising 4G network in no distant time, having a phone that is 4G enabled before then sounds like a good plan to me.
• The Price: Of course this is the most important part. It’s hard to see a phone this good with this kind of price tag – except it’s a One Plus device.