Elephone Launches P9000, P8000, S1 Smartphones – First Impressions

April 15, 2016

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Elephone, a Chinese smartphone maker, is launching their new phones in the Philippines through an exclusive partnerhip with Lazada Philippines to offer their smartphones at jaw-droppingly low prices.

Elephone is an eight-year old Chinese smartphone brand that is one of the more well-known in China for offering fairly solid smartphones at affordable prices. The brand is not yet quite recognized outside of China (it’s not even listed on GSMArena yet) , but Elephone is making a push to enter more markets.

SALE STARTS MONDAY, APRIL 18, 12NN!

The Shenzhen-based Elephone will be offering three models for sale on Lazada starting April 18, 2016, at 12 noon: the P9000, the P8000 and the S1.

THE PHONES ON SALE

Elephone P9000 – Php 11,499 + FREE WIRELESS CHARGER!

5.5-inch OGS (one glass solution) screen – thinner, more sensitive screen with a better display
1920 x 1080 resolution
1.6mm narrow bezel – big screen without the bulk!
4 GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory
Helio P10 64-bit Octacore SoC, 2.0 Ghz – has lower power consumption
13 Megapixel Sony IMX258 CMOS sensor camera with an F/2.0 large aperture and laser-aided autofocus, 8 Megapixel front camera
Two-tone Dual LED flash
Dual SIM (both micro), hybrid tray (SIM 2 slot is used for micro SD; cannot have 2 SIMs + 1 micro SD at the same time), up to 256 GB micro SD supported
Wifi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, the usual…
Android Marshmallow 6.0
Quick-charging
Uses Type-C USB port
Wireless Charging (wireless charger is usually bought separately, but if you purchase during this event, you will get the WIRELESS CHARGER FOR FREE!)
Fingerprint scanner / unlock
Customizable mute button
NFC
Metal frame
3000 mAh non-removable battery
FREE transparent phone case
Click here to see the complete specs

Elephone P8000 – P7,799

5.5-inch full HD IPS display
1920 x 1080 resolution
3 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory
1.3 Ghz 64-bit Octacore SoC, MT6753
13 Megapixel Samsung rear camera, 5 Megapixel front camera
Dual SIM (both micro) + micro SD slot up to 128 GB
Wifi, 4G LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, the usual…
Android Marshmallow 5.1 Lollipop (upgradable to Android 6.0 by mid-May 2016)
Quick-charging (2A input, charge 0% – 10% in 10 minutes)
Fingerprint scanner / unlock
4165 mAh non-removable battery
FREE screen protector
Click here to see the full specs, click on “Parameters”

Elephone S1 – only P3,999!

5 inch IPS display, on-cell lamination
720P HD resolution
double-sided glass and metal frame
1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory
1.3 Ghz MT6580 Quad Core CPU
13 Megapixel Sony IMX149 camera (has HDR), 2 Megapixel front camera
camera uses a sapphire lens, making it more durable against scratches and breakage
rear camera flash
Dual SIM, dual standby (Micro+Nano) + micro SD slot up to 64 GB
Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, WCDMA (non-LTE)
Feeme OS & Android 5.1
Fingerprint unlock
1800mAh non-removable battery
Click here to see the complete specs, click on “Parameters”

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I saw the three Elephone models during the Elephone launch and had a chance to play with the P8000 for a few minutes.

My first impressions:

P9000

The phone is light and slim, and looks and handles like a 5-inch phone even if it actually has a 5.5 inch display that is only a needle’s width from the edge of the phone. After turning on the P9000, I noticed that the display was impressive for a phone at this price range. Colors were bright and punchy. Phone was responsive. Specs-wise, Elephone managed to squeeze in some awesome features at half the price of other phones – features such as NFC, wireless charging, 4GB RAM, dual tone flash, etc… The P9000 has a single Home button, and you have to learn some gestures to navigate using just the one Home button, you I think you can turn on an onscreen navigation bar in the settings.

It looked like it was running stock android for the most part, but I think they put a light skin on top for the single button thing and a little customization.

Camera quality is something that non-premium branded phones usually scrimp on, and is one of those things that can be a deal breaker for me if the camera is poor. The P9000 camera sounds really good on paper – it has a Sony IMX258 CMOS sensor that is similar to what DSLRs have! However, I didn’t get the chance to play with the P9000 so I can’t tell you if the camera is actually any good, but a little googling online showed that the Sony IMX258 had good reviews. Sony camera sensors are generally much better than Samsung’s, in my opinion.

The reasons to buy this phone are – you get features from premium flagship phones at half the price! 4GB RAM! If you are the type who has a lot of apps running, especially a lot of social media apps like Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, Viber, WeChat, etc… you know you’ll need a lot of RAM. The more RAM, the merrier!

This is bang for the buck, especially if you want premium flagship features but don’t want to pay premium flagship prices. Click here to get it on promo!

P8000

This is a solidly built phone with 3 GB of RAM and a big 4165 mAh battery that only sells for P7,799! It was fast and responsive, with a nice 5.5 inch HD display. It was also solidly built, the back cover looks seamless that I was even afraid to open it up for fear that I might damage the phone – that is how much it looked like it was all one piece with the frame. I like the gold color, it looks like a Chinese New Year phone that will bring luck to the user, haha. The back cover has a carbon fiber design. All in all, the phone looks amazing and looks like it costs more than P8,000. I think it even looks better than the P12,000 – 14,000 priced phones out there.

Under the back cover, there are 2 SIM slots and 1 micro SD slot. The battery is non-removable.

The P8000 is a little heavier than the slimmer and lighter P9000 and S1 – this is because of the P8000’s bigger battery. The speaker is average, and I would say the camera is also average vs current crop of flagship phones, but much, much better than I expected at this price range. The camera also has HDR capabilities and can focus on a really close subject (macro) much faster and much better than my Samsung Note 2’s camera. Low light capability was also much better than my Note 2’s (yeah, I know it’s 4-yrs old, but it’s still going strong ;P ). Sample pictures (no flash) I took with the P8000 inside a hotel ballroom with dim lighting were acceptable and had very little noise.

While going through the settings, I found that it had Miravision, a MediaTek feature that provides better video. Not sure if it has Miracast or screen mirroring, but I saw something called Cast Screen on the notification bar toggles.

See more pictures of the P8000 below. Click here to get it on promo!

S1

I couldn’t believe it only costs P3,999! It looked like a high-end phone, slim and with glass on both the front and the back of the phone. It looks very high-end and elegant for a sub $100 phone, seriously. It uses the Freeme OS instead of regular Android though. However, it was responsive, and I did not experience any lag when I played with it.

But, remember, this is a P3,999 phone. The camera isn’t the best, and you only get an 8 GB internal memory. But then again, I have never heard of a P3,999 phone having a fingerprint scanner, 1 GB RAM, and a 13 Megapixel Sony camera that can do HDR, either.

If you want a pretty-looking phone but don’t want to spend too much, and don’t mind the less than stellar camera, this is a good phone to consider! Great for those who are just starting to make the switch to smartphones and don’t need the bells & whistles, but want a good-looking phone.

CONCLUSION

These Elephone models look beautiful and would definitely appeal to people who are drawn to a phone’s looks. The care they put into the aesthetic appeal of these phones is something I appreciate. These Elephone smartphones, the S1 particularly, look so much more appealing than the regular, generic-looking Android smartphones from its competitors.

They are also available at affordable prices, but are feature-packed, as well – another appealing trait for value-conscious customers such as myself.