REVIEW: Symphony Xplorer ZVI - Sleek metal powerhouse

BUILD AND DESIGN

Symphony's Z series nomenclature continues this time as the sixth generation. The big phone goes for the contemporary aluminium chassis route with a sleek, sharp edge. It's easy to hold and the minimalistic flat surface devoid of any buttons give it a clean appearance. Perhaps a black bezel would have gone a step further in making the front look cleaner. There is just one rocker button on the side with a power button below it. The back is a textured plastic cover. We are still divided on whether we like that textured surface or not but it fits snugly and doesn't emit any creaks.. Solidly built and sharply designed, it will please most users.

DISPLAY

The big 5 inch display is an AMOLED 1280x720 pixels HD resolution protected by the now standard Gorilla Glass 3. Obviously small text is sharply rendered and in typical AMOLED fashion, colours are sharper and a little saturated. What you get is a very vibrant display with rich reds and blues.

UNDER THE HOOD

You get plenty of bang for buck with the Mediatek 1.4 GHz Octa Core processor supported by 2 GB of RAM. It has stood up well through multiple test sessions and task switching. Our scores on AnTuTu rank it almost on par (at 27418) with the HTC One (27832) and slightly below LG G3. Screenshots of all the test scores are on site.

STORAGE

16 GB onboard storage coupled with 32 GB expandable memory allows plenty of storage space for all your media files.

GAME ON

While the GPU isn't the latest, it is the best in class for a sub 15k taka device. The Mali 450-MP4 GPU holds up well for almost all new games we tried out.

CAMERA

The back camera is a 13 MP unit. The autofocus is reasonably fast unless you are very close to the object. In that case you need to hold it very still and focus carefully using the on-screen tap method. Pictures come out with excellent detail and very little grain in moderate lighting conditions. Resolved detail is pretty high and colour reproduction is spot on for most of our shots. Its best work is in daylight conditions. While the stock camera app has a plethora of options we recommend a downloaded photo app off the pay store for better control.  For selfie connoisseurs this has a great 8MP front unit that takes clearer pictures but you need to hold still if the lighting is less than optimum.

HDR, panorama, face beauty, Motion Track Mode and a V-sign Capture mode where you take your triumphant selfies showing off the victor sign. This should come in handy during those popular SSC examinee group shots.

SOFTWARE

The device comes preloaded with 4.4.2 Android. While most of the buyers will prefer to have the device come with games preloaded, the ZVI has quite a number of added bloatware. Exclusion of that and keeping a stock, clean Android OS would be a more preferred option for power users looking for an affordably priced device.

BACKUP

The 2050 mAh Li-Polymer battery may seem like a small power source but the AMOLED display is known for its low power consumption even in HD guise. It provides 10.2 hours usage on 3G, 15.3 hours on 2G and 527 Hours Standby Time. We've run an average of a whole day with typical usage of Facebook, messenger, gaming and online browsing. Keep the Facebook updates off and you will save plenty of battery power.

DOES IT POCKET?

Yes, including sliding easily into tight jeans.

SPECS
 

Display: 5.0 inches,  720 x 1280 pixels, HD AMOLED
Camera:    8MP Front camera, 13 MP Rear Camera
OS: Android 4.4.2 Kitkat
CPU: Mediatek 1.4 GHz Octa Core
RAM: 2GB, ROM: 16GB
GPU: Mali 450-MP4
Battery: 2050 mAh 

Price: Tk. 14,990/-

VERDICT

The ZVI offers great value for money combining a capable power plant wrapped up in a sleek, sturdy shape. Performance is consistent offering decent backup. The device has all the processing power you would need at a very affordable price. It also has the looks to match the performance. People will love the aluminium band and top but the rear textured cover is a bit of a hit and miss.