14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not every day that we learn about companies that enter the smartphone market. Thomson, manufacturer of modems and specific infrastructure, has decided to launch its first handset, the X-View 2.
This is a bold move coming from a company that has no experience in this domain whatsoever. Even though the newly announced device may seem appealing at first glance, it does come with a pretty awkward combination of features.
For example, the X-View 2 boasts a huge 5.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, which only supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution. We would have expected Thomson to include a higher quality screen for their first smartphone.
When it comes to hardware, the X View 2 is clearly not aimed at the high-end smartphone market. The device is equipped with a MT6570 chipset that packs a 1 GHz processor, probably single core.
The CPU is complemented by an Adreno 220 graphics processor unit and 512MB of RAM. There’s also 1 GB of ROM inside, along with microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
The phone features a slim (10.9mm) design for its size (150 x 81mm), but it’s pretty heavy (212g, battery included). Samsung Galaxy Note which sports a similar 5.3-inch display only weighs 178g (battery included).
Anyway, the good news is that the X-View 2 is powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, though it’s highly unlikely to see this one being upgraded to Jelly Bean in the future.
Furthermore, Thomson’s first Android smartphone features dual-SIM capabilities and a 2450 mAh Li-Ion battery, which has yet to be rated by the manufacturer.
Last but not least, the X-View 2 packs a 5-megapixel main camera on the back, which features LED flash, autofocus and video recording. No word on the availability of a secondary front-facing camera for video calls yet.