Solidly built, decent processor, expandable memory, very low price
Not a looker, so-so screen, low onboard memory, no front-facing camera
Chinese manufacturer ZTE has some pretty fancy high-end phones. But the Blade Q Mini definitely isn't one of them. It's a budget Android but one that aims to deliver some decent specs where it counts while keeping the price very, very low.
Chassis and screen
It's solidly, if uninspiringly built. It's the usual smartphone black oblong though it has nicely rounded edges and feels like you can knock it about a bit without too many ill effects. At 9mm thick it's 2mm slimmer than the Blade V, which costs around twice as much.
It has the same 4-inch screen as the Blade V with a so-so resolution of 800x480 pixels (233ppi). It's not HD, but it's reasonably bright, even if busy web pages can start to look a bit fuzzy. It's okay for most browsing and you can view movies too, just about, though the screen's size means you'll prefer to use the onscreen keyboard in landscape mode rather than portrait.
Software and processor
It's running android 4.2 Jelly Bean -- not the latest 4.4 but certainly no surprise at this price point. Not a problem either since this version will give you as much functionality as you need from this sort of device. ZTE has added a few tweaks to the OS though there doesn't appear to have been much need, and some seem counterintuitive -- you open the lock screen with a long press on the lock icon for instance, rather than brushing it to the side like you would with most Android handsets.
The dual-core processor is clocked at 1.3GHz and backed by 1GB of RAM so we shouldn't expect miracles. However, within its constrictions it delivers a reasonably credible performance.
There's little lag when switching between apps and all seem to open smoothly with minimal delay. It certainly doesn't have that quick-as-thought feeling you get from the best of the quad-core powerhouses but it's not frustratingly slow either -- and at this price point, that's very much a bonus. Our AnTuTu benchmark test gave it a score of 10,896, which puts it behind ZTE's Grand S Flex but nipping at the heels of the quad-core HTC Desire 500 for instance.
There's only 4GB of memory on board which probably won't be enough for any high data HD games, and won't hold much video either, but you can add up to 32GB more via microSD card which fits under the quite sturdy plastic rear cover.
Photography
The 5-megapixel camera comes with autofocus and an okay LED flash, plus a few interesting settings including HDR, panorama and smile capture (which works, incidentally, though not very reliably). Picture quality's not bad by any means, and on a par with cameras on considerably more expensive phones. There's no front-facing camera though. None at all. Which cuts out the possibility of video calls.
Conclusion
The ZTE Blade Q mini is unlikely to be anyone's favourite phone.
But for its bargain basement price it's a decently solid workhorse that delivers pretty good smartphone functionality -- a nice solution for kids or as a backup device when you're going places you don't want to risk your high-ender.
Software: Google Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Processor: Dual-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7
Memory slot: Yes
Display: 4in TFT, 800x480 pixels
Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports: microUSB, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera: 5 megapixel with autofocus, LED flash
Video playback: MPEG4, H.264, H.263
Audio playback: MP3, eAAC+, WAV
Radio: Yes
Battery: 1500mAh
Size: 126x64x9mm
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
