Starmobile sent us over their latest Mobile TV smartphone, the Knight vision. While the local smartphone scene is on a revamp of providing more value for money with higher specifications for less, they approached the “Wow” factor methodology by providing a unique solution for consumer problems.
What’s special about the Knight vision? Well first you will notice in plain sight is the metal frames that gives it a premium feel, but what lies behind is its retractable antenna for its digital TV receiver. Technically its the 1st Digital receiver on a smartphone available in the Philippines.
Here are the specifications of the Knight Vision
- 1.3Ghz Mediatek MT6582 quad-core processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 5.5-inch HD IPS display, 720 x 1280 resolution
- 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 64GB
- 13-megapixel AF Sony IMX Exmor RS with OIS
- 8-megapixel front camera
- Dual-SIM | Dual Standby
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS,
- ISDB-T Digital TV receiver
- 2450mAh battery
- Android 4.4 KitKat
The Knight Vision is nice to hold with its metal frame added and they were generous to add an anti-friction coated screen, unfortunately there is no anti-scratch protection. Display wise the HD IPS panel gives a bright display that can handle outdoor readability and more importantly watching videos on the screen is enjoyable with good color production.
Digital TV
Using the Digital TV receiver is easy, settings to search for Philippine channels takes a few while but will scan all available digital signals in the area. What’s good for Digital Signal versus analog is the clarity and additional information, now you can see EPG (Electronic Program Guide) which are details of what is being shown now and next.
Just make sure you are in a good area for signals, although majority of TV channels now are broadcasting Digital, their overage isn’t that enough to penetrate households or areas like Davao. We brought the Knight Vision in Davao and unfortunately signal coverage there is very limited.
Speakers of the Knight Vision is pretty weak, considering that this is built for TV entertainment they could have improved more on the part.
What’s on the back?
One of the dual sim slot is accessible even if the battery is inserted, good for quick swapping moments. A MicroSD card is also available for expanding the current storage of 16GB ROM.
Its good to know that Starmobile Knight uses a laser imprinted antenna for better signal broadcast. This means that if you depend on 3G data, you’ll definitely be glad to have this.
Performance
Performance of the Knight Vision won’t wow anyone, at almost 18k in Antutu gives it an everyday performing smartphone. Perhaps this is a tradeoff of providing the DTV for the smartphone.
The 2GB RAM and Quad-Core processor is enough for everyday performance, just don’t expect to run some games like Asphalt 8 or NBA 2015 smoothly. Hopefully Starmobile can provide a Lollipop update, this would improve the performance at the same time satisfy the craving of consumers for the latest specifications.
Great Value Package
In our previous Starmobile devices, we were not disappointed with the included accessories. Same as the Knight Vision we got generous accessories, overall package is
- 2 x Screen Protector
- 1 x Crystal Case
- 1 x Earphones (Simillar to iBuds)
- 1 x Standard Adapter
- 1 x Flat USB Cable
The included earphones uses a L shaped plug so it won’t broke easily, plus the quality of the earphones is not bad at all. It delivers good bass and treble, just make sure the music / file your are playing is high quality.
Camera
When it comes to the 13mp Sony Camera with OIS, here are the camera samples. Though it can’t handle on low light photos, taking photos in good lighting delivers great color outputs. Sharpness of photos could improve more but given the camera sensor, no doubt an update will arise to fix this issue.
You might frown with the processor performance, but its good to know that battery life is outstanding for the 2,450mAh battery. We managed to achieve a good 9 hours of battery life with mobile data activated. Standby is also outstanding with less than 3% of battery drained in over 6 hours, so no worries of not charging it when going to sleep.
Conclusion
The Starmobile Knight is a jack of all trades by having everything from a quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, great battery life, decent display, complete accessories and of course…Digital TV. Though having everything still has its cons by still being in Android KitKat 4.4, so hopefully Starmobile can upgrade the Knight Vision to encourage more people buying the smartphone.
So what’s the conclusion? For Php9,990 if you are in search for an everyday entertainment smartphone, including mobile TV then the Knight Vision is it. Other than that, you might want to look into other smartphones.
What’s Good
- Digital TV Receiver
- Great Battery Life
- Complete Packaging
What’s Bad?
- Still on Android 4.4 KitKat
- Processor not that strong
- Weak Speakers
