Russian teXet unveils its first smartphone: dual-SIM gargantuan phone a la Galaxy Note
If you thought that the Samsung Galaxy Note was a niche device with its 5.3-inch monstrous screen, you might be right, but it’s not alone - Russian teXet has just stepped on the smartphone market with its own similar teXet TM-5200. The handset features a 5.2-inch TFT display, but the resolution is much lower than the 800 x 1280 pixels on the Note - the teXet TM-5200 only has 480 x 800 pixels.
What makes the teXet really stand out, though, is its dual-SIM option. One of the SIM cards supports 3G connectivity, so you wouldn’t be losing much in terms of speed.
Except for that the handset is nothing extraordinary in the hardware department - it packs a Chinese MediaTek SoC with a single-core processor clocked at 800MHz, while the graphics are handled by the PowerVR SGX531. Overall, this should result in decent (but still below average) Android performance - the Quadrant score is around 1,000 and the handset can allegedly run Asphalt decently. The teXet TM-5200 also comes with a capable, 2,500mAh battery, just like the one in the Galaxy Note.
Initially, the phone will feature Gingerbread, but an OTA update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will be made available around April.
The good news about the teXet TM-5200 is its price tag. In the local Russian market the handset will retail for a mere $360 (10,990 rubles) off-contract and it’s coming pretty soon - in March.
teXet is also readying the ruggedized waterproof TM-3200R and the budget TM-3200. Of course, all of those handsets are expected to appear only on the Russian market, and probably some neighbouring countries, but just the fact that other companies have iterated Samsung’s phablet Galaxy Note idea seems to prove that new form factor is accepted well among some. What about you, would a budget Galaxy Note catch your eye?
source: NoMobile
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