Cubot X6 - My Review

Timfy

<Mods... if I've posted this in the wrong place, please feel free to move it>

Couldn't find a massive amount of info on the Cubot X6 here on Boards so I'm posting my review of the device here in case it helps anyone make up their mind one way or the other.

Note: I am in no way connected to any of the companies mentioned below, nor do I have any affiliate links. I did used to be employed by Vodafone UK, but on core networks... I haven't worked there for some time.



After long deliberation I decided to take a punt with the Cubot X6. I purchased it via Amazon for £109.99 (sterling). Delivery was free and amazingly it was delivered two days later.

First impressions were good. The packaging was professional and once unwrapped and assembled, it reminded me very much of a Sony Experia Arc.

It is a dual SIM phone and so I inserted both a Vodafone.ie (primary) and a Three.ie (secondary) SIM in the corresponding slots, which are one mini and one micro in size. I also inserted a 16GB micro SD card (Not supplied with the phone)

On first starting it up it gave me an error... great start! A reboot brought it back to life and I was treated to a rather ostentatious Cubot start up screen. This gave way to a standard Android desktop arrangement. Mine is running Jelly bean 4.2.2. By no means the latest version of Android but implemented with the minimum of fuss, with no obvious crapware. It fully supports the Google play store.

Both SIMS registered a 3G signal on their respective networks and, after setting the phone to always ask when dialling a connection I was able to phone out on both numbers. Calls can also be received on both numbers without having to faff about.

The Cubot was a slick mover when it came to speed. Having an ARM Cortex A7 running at 1700MHz and 8 cores, performance was never going to be an issue and the MediaTek MT6592 system on a chip combined with the ARM Mali-450 GPU running at 700MHz and calling on 4 cores did not disappoint.

Out of the box the Cubot X6 comes with 1GB RAM and 16GB of storage. For me this is ample storage and apps can be installed onto the SD card to save precious phone resources.

So far I have installed around thirty apps, mostly utilities. All have worked flawlessly with the exception of the Amazon app. Not sure if it's a phone issue or an Amazon issue.

One worry that I had was that many people comment on the poor quality of the GPS system on the cheap Chinese androids. On mine it works flawlessly, getting a quick fix and staying stable whilst in use.

So... so far so good. Well there are a few compromises. The cameras can best be described as utilitarian. They work, but you are not going to win any prizes for your images! Perfectly okay for Facebook etc and the front camera works well enough for Skype.

The IPS screen, despite it's relatively lowly 720x1280 resolution is bright and clear and the touch matrix works well.

The WiFi has been fine so far, with solid connectivity to several routers at both g and n speeds.

Phone calls have been clear and the speakers are good enough for using on speaker phone. They are poor at music reproduction however. Bluetooth also works well but is only v2.0 which is a shame as I have several v4.0 only devices.

Special mention has to go to the supplied case which has a classy brushed metal finish, a grippy back and an embedded magnet that puts the phone to sleep automatically when you close it.

The battery was the other item that concerned me slightly after reading reviews, however I needn't have worried. The 2200mAh battery easily last me two days of moderate use with WiFi and BT permanently enabled.

So to sum up...

Pros.

• Good looking device (personal taste I realise!)
• Better than expected battery life
• Excellent dual SIM phone call handling
• Very fluid to use, no lags or hangups.
• Screen better than specs would suggest
• GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth all work well. (although only BT v2.0)
• Great case
• Cheap!!!

Cons.

• Poor music reproduction
• Camera quality charitably put as not great!
• No flashing LED for notifications.
• Middle of the road storage capacities
• Android V4.2.2 Jellybean is not exactly bleeding edge!

TL:DR

A great phone for the price with excellent performance and better operations than the specs would suggest.

siobhan.murphy

I dropped my x6.can see crack and touch not working but replacement screen 60 euro!!