Walton Primo X2: The Most Desired Bangladeshi Branded Android Mobile Ever!

Reports, Shahnoor Rabbani

1080p, 5 inch displays, quad-core processors and 2GB RAM’s are all staples for the 2013 flagship smartphone model and Walton ticks all the above boxes with the Primo X2 – its latest flagship.
We begin our review with the exterior of this indigenous beast. Raw specifications aside, the phone is quite a looker with an anodised aluminium finish for its black version and a chic plastic white one (that should appeal to the fairer gender). The “Gorilla Glass 3” does a splendid job and even though the white X2 is more prone to scratches, the black version is Teflon coated.

The phone may be a tad big for one-handed usage in average Bengali hands  considering its wider dimensions than regular phone. But the 127.6g is quite an achievement. At first sight the X2 reminded me of an XPERIA with a hint of iPhone, but that’s not a bad thing by any means. There’s an air of premium attached to this device which was missing from its predecessor – the X1 – and even the power/lock and volume rocker buttons are crafted to precision with good sturdy clicks, ensuring there are no accidental presses.

Moving on to the performance- The X2 is able to perform regulation tasks such as browsing through the menu, scrolling, opening apps and typing without a hitch. Browsing multiple complex webpages and multitasking all can be done nicely.

Photo courtesy: Android Kothon

The X2 runs Android 4.2 jellybean topped-off with Amigo UI; a decent addition to stock Android with its fluid & punchy animations, certainly will attract the younger crowd.

However, heavy 3D gaming is not the X2′s biggest asset as it scores a paltry 14fps on the Epic Citadel benchmark – quite a few notches below players like the Galaxy S4 that score around 45fps. That does not mean the X2 is a gaming slouch either as all the latest games can be played with ease, just not with maxed-out graphics. Overall the quad-core 1.5 GHz MediaTek MT6589T does more than an adequate job but hardcore mobile gamers might want to give this a closer look. The 5 inch 1080p IPS screen of the phone exhibits good natural colours with appreciable contrast and viewing angles. The ultra-high pixel density of 441ppi ensures reading text while browsing the web is simply a joy. However, sunlight legibility remains a weakness and under direct sunlight, things can become a little murky (as far as the screen is concerned).

Battery-life of the X2 was a pleasant surprise with it passing through an entire day of heavy browsing, gaming and calling. I ended the day with over 40% charge left. Moderate users should be able to get two days of usage out of this 2150 mAh battery – which is quite an achievement to have fit in, considering the anorexic waistline of the X2.

There are a couple of disappointments with the X2 though, and one particularly being the phone’s sound quality. Not only does the loudspeaker give-off a tinny tone but it’s not loud enough for noisy environments.

Then there is the fixed storage at 32 GB of which 24.94 is user-available with no options to expand. The battery is also non-removable as it is in unibodyform so overclockers might want to rethink before doing so.

Moving on to the camera: the 13 MP backside illuminated snapper does a decent job in almost all lighting conditions, although autofocus is not always on-par. Details and colour are all more than satisfactory and noise is kept well under control without the loss of too much detail.
There is also a 5 MP front-facing camera which is great news for those into taking ‘selfies’. The camcorder records videos at 1080p at 30fps and does a decent job although, here again auto-focus exhibits similar issues.

Verdict

For its price, the X2 is a little expensive considering the X1, Walton’s next most-expensive set. Of course, it is still excellent value for the rich feature-set it comes with, considering other phones with similar specs cost a lot more. The camera is good too (keeping-a-side the auto focus glitches).  There are few down sides though:  the cartoonish looking interface which we, as a serious user, found a bit annoying. Games with intense graphics occasionally get slowed down. The call quality is not on par to the specs that this phone offers. But for younger folks who are looking for a phone that looks cool, performs even cooler and does not make you fork over 40k taka – this is the phone to get.

SPECS

Display: 5 inch IPS Full HD, 1920× 1080, 441ppi with Gorilla Glass 3
OS: Android 4.2.1
CPU: 28nm1.5GHz Quad-Core
ROM: 32 GB, RAM: 1 GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, BT, 3G etc
Camera:  Primary Omni 13.0 Mega pixels with BSI 2, F/2.2 & 5 lenses & Secondary 2 MP. Have EIS, gyroscopic stabilization, ISO Speed: 100 up to 1600 and many more.
Sensors: Gyroscope, Accelerometer (3D), Gravity, Rotation Vector Proximity, gesture control and many more
Battery: 2150mAh
Price: Tk. 23,990/- (Black Limited Edition: Tk. 24,990/-)

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