Highscreen alpha rage internal memory utilities. "A fierce fighter in the budget segment." Review of Highscreen Alpha Rage. Appearance, connectors and controls

Greetings to all. In today's review, we will return to Android devices, this time we have a smartphone visiting us, but the smartphone is not an ordinary one, but one of the best representatives budget segment. One could say, even a little more, this phone is a new attempt by the Highscreen company to make the very best smartphone in its class (those who study the company’s advertising policy understand what I mean). So, what is so interesting about Highscreen Alpha Rage that it can be considered the very best? Firstly, a fairly powerful MT 6589M processor, built on Cortex A7 logic, and with fairly powerful PowerVR SGX544 graphics. Large display 4.5 inches, and most importantly the price tag is about 5 thousand rubles. Actually, for this money there are simply no analogues in terms of screen size and performance, for this money there are simply no analogues (on the official Russian market). So in this regard, he is actually the very best, just as the company is trying to present him to us. Let's figure out what's hidden under the loud advertising, and whether everything is as good as it seems at first glance.

Specifications

Device model – Highscreen Alpha Rage
Supported communication standards – GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G
Operating system – Android 4.2.1
Number of supported SIM cards – 2
Screen diagonal – 4.5 inches
Screen resolution – 854x480
Screen type – color
Matrix manufacturing technology – TFT-TN
Touch screen – yes
Type touch screen– capacitive (up to 5 touches)
Pixel Density Per Inch – (PPI) 218
Processor (SoC) – MediaTek MT6589M
Processor architecture – ARM v7
Processor logic – ARM Cortex A7
Number of cores – 4
Processor frequency – 1200 MHz
Built-in modules – 3G, GPS, Bluetooth
Video processor - PowerVR SGX544MP (1 physical core)
Built-in memory capacity – 4 GB
Memory card support – micro SecureDigital up to 32 GB
Volume random access memory- 512 MB
Camera – 5 million pixels.
Maximum image resolution – 3072x1728
Flash - LED
Video recording – yes
Maximum video resolution – 1280x720
Front camera – yes, 0.3 million pixels.
Interfaces – USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
FM radio - yes
Satellite navigation - GPS.
Battery type - Li-Ion.
Battery capacity – 2000 mAh.
Case material – plastic
Dimensions – 67x136x12 mm

Packaging and accessories

The device is packed in a regular cardboard package, without any color drawings that attract attention. Such packaging is typical for all the company’s devices belonging to the low-end and mid-range segment. The box is relatively small in size, but not the smallest. A feature of the design of the Highscreen brand packaging is a drawing of a smartphone with a translucent panel, under which its board is visible and where its characteristics are partially described (of course, the board is more schematic).

Removing the cover, we see the phone itself, which is securely fixed.

The equipment included with the device is more than standard - charger, data cable, headphones, battery, instructions and warranty. Please note that the warranty card contains the name of the company that owns the Highscreen brand - Vobis.

The complete headset, despite its interesting appearance, has a rather mediocre sound, which many will not be happy with. In general, its quality does not even reach average.

The included cable is traditionally also a charging cable. The charger itself has an output characteristic of 5V 0.5A.

And the battery itself is 2000 mAh, made using Li-ion technology.

Appearance

The smartphone itself in all its glory, in the packaging film (which displays its main features) and without it. At the top there is a light and proximity sensor on the left, as well as a camera for video calls on the right. Also at the very top there is speaker. The device has 3 standard touch buttons below. At the very bottom of the front panel there is a microphone.

The smartphone has a soft-touch coating on the rear panel (similar to the coating on the front panel), which is undoubtedly a rather thoughtful move; the rubberized coating not only looks good, but also prevents slipping, is pleasant to the touch and is not as susceptible to contamination as a glossy surface. The smartphone has a 5 megapixel rear camera with flash. At the bottom there is a speaker cutout. The smartphone has 1 speaker (mono sound).

On the right side of the device there is a power off button. Also between the front and back panels you can see the plastic body of the smartphone stylized as metal.

On the left side of our smartphone there is a volume rocker.

At the top there is a headphone jack and a microUSB interface. The placement option for the USB connector is not the most successful and not the most common (most often and the most convenient location of the connector is on the bottom end of the device, and not on the top).

By removing the cover we get access to the battery, SIM cards and memory card.

Comparison of the appearance of devices. From left to right: Highscreen Spark, Highscreen Rage and LG Google Nexus 4. As you can see. In terms of dimensions, the device differs little from a similar (diagonally) 4.5-inch smartphone. The frames are not expanded, the proportions are not much different.

Functional Features

1. Interface

This is the standard Android theme without any changes. The number of preinstalled programs is minimal. 4Sinc is a program for accessing cloud storage and file manager. The remaining “additional” programs are taken from the function settings.

There is a standard set of widgets.

The top line contains up to 10 notification icons, which is standard for this resolution and aspect ratio of the device

Installed operating system– Android 4.2.1, which has recently become the norm for mid-range and budget devices, but at the time of release it was one of the cheapest devices with this OS. Actually below, in the assembly section there is a vendor signature of the Vobis company.

There are also no visual changes in the settings menu.

But in the screen settings menu, there are some changes, which indicates a not entirely standard assembly. A “scenes” item has appeared, which apparently determines the type of watch. There is also a “Themes” item, which determines the color of the installed shell (separators, indicators, and so on).

In the wallpaper item, there is an additional “video wallpaper” item, which allows you to set a video file as an animated desktop.

Naturally, there are standard and live wallpapers.

The presence of the “Auto” setting (in the brightness menu) indicates the presence of a light sensor.

In the sound menu, in addition to setting up sound profiles, it is possible to enable the technology for improving sound in headphones (the sound actually becomes somewhat larger and richer, although to feel this, you will have to buy normal headphones).

As for RAM, 468 megabytes of RAM are allocated, of which 90 to 150 megabytes are always free. Of course, this is not enough; there can be no background switching between a heavy game and an application, if there is a heavy process and its transition to background mode, the application automatically terminates in the background.

As for the internal memory, about 1 gigabyte of memory is available to the user for applications and about 2 gigabytes for the application cache, however, it is possible to switch between the built-in memory and an external SD card (just switch and reboot the device and all applications will be installed on the external memory card ).

It is possible to synchronize the device as a USB drive, which is certainly not uncommon, but the lack of this option is sometimes very frustrating.
2. Screen

As for the screen. Contrary to initial assumptions and announcements, the device has a regular TFT-TN matrix, and not a TFT-IPS, as previously stated, viewing angles and brightness correspond to a conventional TFT matrix (not particularly brilliant viewing angles and not the largest, but quite sufficient brightness reserve). The viewing angles of the device, as you can see in the picture (photos in reflection have been added to get a more or less complete composition), are not very outstanding, but for a device at this price this is not so bad. As for glare resistance, in general, the brightness margin is enough for a sunny day to make out information, but it is far from comfortable viewing information in the sun.

3. Camera

3.1. Camera settings

There are many settings available in the camera settings. It is possible to use geo-tagging and face detection.

There is the possibility of software video stabilization.

There are exposure settings, sharpness settings and shades.

There is an adjustment for white balance and flicker reduction (you can adjust the refresh rate, similar to monitors - ideal for shooting directly from device screens). There is also an effect setting.

In addition to resolution, you can also adjust light sensitivity, which is not so common on Android devices.

For video, the settings are simpler, but the same is available. In addition to changing the resolution and settings listed at the beginning, there is a function for adding effects and slowing down the video (under the slowdown, in fact, there was a timer to delay the start of shooting, apparently in order to get into the frame yourself).

To focus an image, just touch the focus point with your finger; to zoom in (digital zoom), just use a 2-point gesture on the screen (a familiar way to zoom in a browser)
There are also several shooting modes:

When you hold the mode icon for a long time in some modes, a hint appears at the top. There is also a built-in editor, but we will not dwell on it, it is quite standard.

3.2. Examples of pictures and videos

Examples of outdoor shooting. As you can see in the pictures, the camera in the device is mediocre, the photos are not saturated, and in order to focus and not blur the photo, you will have to practice. Of course the pictures were taken on standard settings, so maybe changing them can improve the quality a little.

Examples of subject photography and text photography. As for photographs of objects and text, this camera, like the cameras of most smartphones, is not suitable for subject photography; it is not worth taking pictures with, unless there is no other choice. Of course, by adding lighting you can slightly enliven the photo, but you will not get a masterpiece. As for shooting text, in general the text is readable, even with standard settings, which is undoubtedly a plus for those who constantly have to photograph text.

As for video, the camera is capable of recording videos in a resolution of 1280 by 720; overall, the video quality is not that bad, but far from ideal, but in general, given the price of the device, this is not surprising.

In general, general impressions of the camera: the camera in the device is above the “for show” level and, although it is not the main focus of the device, will satisfy the requirements of some users. As for the built-in flash, it is quite weak, even compared to other devices that have 1 LED on the flash; it may be suitable as a flashlight, but it is absolutely unsuitable for shooting in the dark.

4. Built-in applications

Let's consider only applications that are not always found in the list of preinstalled ones.

The 4Sinc application, after registering or authorizing in the service, allows you to save data to cloud storage (the company reports 20 gigabytes as a gift, but this is the starting package of space when installing this application).

System Update is a separate update checking tool.

The device has an FM receiver and a corresponding application to work with it.

Like most Chinese smartphones, this device has the ability to set the time to turn off and turn on.

Built-in file manager, allows you to access all files on your smartphone.

Testing and Performance

1. Synthetic tests

In the popular Antutu tester, our device showed quite decent results for its class. This result fully corresponds to the installed hardware.

And, in fact, some information about the device from Antutu.

As for the rest of the tests, our participant showed himself to be “cheerful” here too, having coped with absolutely all tests at the proper level.

As for the battery test, this time I tested first at minimum brightness, then at maximum. Result: at minimum brightness the test lasted more than 6 hours, at maximum a little more than 4 hours (synthetic result in the screenshots).

The touch screen supports up to 5 simultaneous touches.

2. Game tests

The gaming performance of the device is quite high for its class; the device allows you to play modern games, although not always on high settings, but among budget ones, this solution is one of the best and is second only to the MT6582M, released relatively recently. As you can see in the processor diagram, it supports the USB-OTG function, however this device she is not available.
For gaming tests, 4 games were tested: Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8, Dungeon Hunter 4 and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour.

Dead Trigger 2 runs smoothly on any graphics settings. The only thing is that sometimes there are freezes between levels, which I did not find on more productive solutions; apparently, the small amount of RAM affects it.

In the game Asphalt 8, the system allows you to set only low and very low settings graphics, which affects the picture, but the game has no problems with these settings.

DH4 sets the graphics settings to medium, which is also visible in the textures (it is impossible to manually adjust the graphics).

The game Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour sets low graphics settings, it is impossible to adjust, but the game also runs freely on auto-tuning, without any problems or freezes.
Overall, the gaming performance of Highscreen Alpha Rage is at an acceptable level, most modern games will go to automatic settings(medium-low), which of course will not allow you to enjoy all the delights of the graphics of all games, but will at least allow you to play them.

3. Video tests

For clarity, I use a table similar to the previous one, since I already had a stencil and a set of videos, I didn’t come up with anything new, I just tested the set and entered the results into the stencil. In general, the smartphone copes well with video files, however, this time I did not focus on which codecs were used to play the file (hardware or software), but most files were played back without problems, regardless of the codecs (the heaviest file gave an error and did not started).
I also checked the ability to play online video from Youtube service through special application and directly from the browser - there were no problems there either.
As for the sound from the device's speaker, it can be called good, especially considering the class of the device. The volume level for multimedia is loud enough. In terms of the volume of the call, it could be louder (it’s not always possible to hear), but all this is subjective.

4. Autonomous operation

A few words about battery life. In addition to synthetics, I did some research on the battery capabilities, the results are as follows:
- active use (games), with maximum brightness turned on Wi-Fi network and 2 active SIM cards - about 4 hours;
- active use (games), with medium brightness, in flight mode – 6 hours 10 minutes;
- Internet surfing, average display brightness – about 7 hours;
- watching movies, airplane mode, average brightness – 8 hours;
- watching movies, maximum brightness, 2 active SIM cards - about 6 hours;
- mixed use (calls, games, SMS, music, surfing) – 9 hours 30 minutes;
- standby mode, 2 active SIM cards – 3 days;
- standby mode, disconnected communication - almost a week;
- Voice connection(continuous) – about 6 hours of conversation;
- use in “phone only” mode, voice calls and SMS – about 25-30 hours;
- use as a GPS navigator, average brightness, active 3G network - about 3 hours;
- reading books, minimum brightness, airplane mode - about 11 hours;
- listening to music, continuous playback, flight mode – 34 hours.
In general, the battery life of the device is not particularly good; with active use and even mixed use, the device will barely last for a day, so those who like to work for a long time (for example, on the road) will have to buy a portable battery. In general, the device shows quite normal performance. battery life for its class and price.

Summarizing

What we have? For a modest 5 thousand rubles, we got a device with excellent performance, with a 4.5-inch display diagonal, good sound, a mediocre battery, screen and camera. Actually, the desire of the Vobis company to release the “best” devices on the Russian market is once again not empty words. One could say even more - There are not so many direct competitors in terms of price-quality ratio (price-performance) for the device, or rather there is only one– the recently released Just5 Spacer (higher performance, larger diagonal, but it is not yet available for sale). The device has many analogues in price: Explay Golf (has lower performance, otherwise identical), Huawei Y511 (similar), XDevice Note II (larger diagonal, significantly inferior in performance), DNS S4003 (slightly lower price, smaller diagonal, weaker graphics and processor). By the way, one of the undoubted advantages of Highscreen Alpha Rage is also the consistency of the price in all stores; it is difficult to find it more expensive than the recommended 4990, while its competitors can boast of a range of prices.

Advantages and disadvantages:
+ excellent performance for your money;
+ diagonal 4.5 inches;
+ low cost;
+ quality of assembly and execution;
+ operating room Android system 4.2.1;
+ support for two SIM cards;
+ soft-touch coating of the case;
+ good sound;
+ ability to install applications on an external memory card;
- mediocre screen;
- battery could be better;
- little RAM
All the disadvantages of the device are due only to its budget, if you take into account the price, then there are simply no disadvantages of the device as such, because in this segment there are no devices that do not have at least one similar drawback.
That's all, AnSoReN was with you, see you soon!
P.S. I thank the DNS company and Dmitry Volnevich personally for providing the platform for the review and for his great contribution to the development of reviews on the company’s website.

The Highscreen brand invariably pleases us by the fact that it tries to produce smartphones with care for the consumer’s wallet. Until recently, the positioning of brand devices was based on the scheme [valuable characteristic] plus [the most affordable price taking into account this feature]. Last summer, Highscreen presented two smartphones at once that implemented this formula 100%.

The first “swallow” was Highscreen Spark, the most affordable dual-core smartphone in Russia (albeit with a caveat - if you do not take into account ultra-budget carrier models). By the end of August, Highscreen Alpha Rage went on sale - at this moment the most inexpensive smartphone with a 4-core processor in Russia. There are no reservations here. In addition, the model runs Android 4.2 OS, which also seems to be an attractive “option”; the memories of how hard the popularization of Android 4.0-4.1 was carried out are still fresh in our memory.

Equipment

The ecological box made of recycled cardboard contains a standard set of instructions, warranty, accessories, charging block and microUSB cable. Despite the fact that the headset does not shine with quality, it looks quite attractive. The warranty book again reminds us that Highscreen operates the so-called European service model. The brand has a single central service center in Moscow, where you can send devices from anywhere in the country for free - just use the services of Russian Post. As a result, Highscreen seriously saves on costs, while simultaneously receiving, in fact, about 42 thousand services throughout Russia.

Appearance, connectors and controls

For Highscreen Spark and Highscreen Alpha Rage it would be nice to create an independent mini-line. The fact is that when compared live, it becomes obvious how similar these models are. By itself, Highscreen Alpha Rage looks in full accordance with its position. This is a discreet smartphone that is a classic “average” Android model. That is, there seems to be nothing to reproach, but there is also nothing to praise for original design solutions. However, we note that the model demonstrates a sharp contrast with those “brick-shaped” dual-SIM devices that we saw until the end of 2012. Now, at first glance, you can’t tell how many SIM cards the device supports, which seems like a definite compliment to the model.

Some dissonance is caused by the thickness of the case. When you hold the model in your hands or see it in someone’s possession, the thought of as much as 12 mm in thickness cannot come to mind. Maximum – 9-10 millimeters. Another example of a clever design find, when strict right angles in the design of the case are replaced with roundings. By the way, due to them, the device fits perfectly in the palm of your hand; sharp corners, due to their absence, do not rest against the hand. The cover is made of a material with a matte surface and, oddly enough, protects against fingerprints better than soft-touch plastic.

On the front of the Highscreen Alpha Rage there is a neat speaker grille, light and proximity sensors, a camera, and a row of three touch keys. The backlighting of the buttons is, frankly, dim. However, this seems more like a plus, since users often complain about the keys being too bright. The existing level is more than enough to “identify” the buttons in the dark.

The layout of the physical keys should appeal to both right-handers and left-handers. In both cases, the volume and power buttons are intuitively located under the thumb and middle finger. The elements are not installed too low, but not too high either.

On top there is a headphone jack, next to it there is a microUSB connector. It is noteworthy that a sparkling stripe insert runs along the ends. Some element of style.

Elements on the back cover serve as decoration for the smartphone: the “chrome-plated” rim of the camera slightly raised above the body and the vertical (instead of the usual horizontal) speaker slot attract attention.

The lid “sits” tightly, the body of the smartphone does not creak or play, here we see an example of a decently assembled budget model.

Card slot micro memory SD“autonomous”, you don’t need to disturb the battery to insert a card. SIM card slots are organized in “two floors”. An original choice, more often the slots in dual-SIM smartphones are located next to each other, rather than on top of each other.

Cameras

From the front, Highscreen Alpha Rage offers a 0.3 megapixel module, from the rear – a more serious 5 megapixel (with autofocus). The shooting application turned out to be extremely thoughtful. Thus, you can arbitrarily specify the focus point by touching the desired area on the screen. To zoom, you just need to pinch or spread two fingers on the display - it’s better than calling up the slider and varying its position. The shooting menu is non-standard and has already been encountered several times in Highscreen smartphones, for example, in Alpha Ice and Alpha GTX. The most memorable aspect is the side-by-side keys for recording video and taking photos.

The quality of the photos “corresponds to the stated megapixels.” Typical “sores” are observed, such as errors in determining exposure, which causes noticeable blurriness of the picture. Of course, the pictures will not be suitable for a personal photo archive, but images reduced to 800-1,000 pixels look decent and are more than suitable for posting “instant” photos on Instagram or social networks.

Screen

Looking at the price of the model, you immediately assume the absence IPS matrices. That's right, a regular TN-TFT display is installed. But there is a definite plus, the front side is covered protective glass to avoid the rapid accumulation of scratches. In addition, a 4.5-inch large screen for a smartphone for 4,990 rubles is a notable achievement for the Russian mobile market.

Did the resolution fail? You can’t say for sure, given the price, 480 x 854 pixels (FWVGA) are quite expected. You can’t achieve a crystal-smooth picture like in HD, but the screen doesn’t suffer from excessive pixelation either. I would like to see more natural color reproduction, although the observed quality is expected given the type of matrix. Viewing angles are average, with deviations the brightness decreases. Inversion appears only on one side. The “non-standard” resolution caused some concern, but of the games we tested, only Frontline Commando was “capricious.”

Performance

The 4-core processor is represented by the MediaTek MT6589M model with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and the PowerVR SGX544MP graphics chip. The combination looks strong, although it is clear that in terms of overall power it is inferior to top processors flagship smartphones. RAM – only 512 MB. Not the largest volume, but let's not forget that we are talking about a budget model. Just a year ago, in the budget segment, the amount of RAM was only 256 MB, which was really not enough not only to run 3D games, but even ordinary applications. The “half gig” present in Highscreen Alpha Rage is a level with its own characteristics.

The device is capable of handling almost all three-dimensional titles, playing Full HD video and solving other complex tasks. But only “solo”, the limited amount of RAM does not tolerate multitasking. Therefore, if you turn on the player during the game or open many tabs in the browser, be prepared for “brakes”, miracles do not happen. If you load the memory at a time with only one main process, there are no problems - the smartphone flips through web pages quickly, does not get stuck in the system interface and produces 20-30 FPS in 3D entertainment.

Of the benchmarks, we limited ourselves to two Vellamo tests - Highscreen Alpha Rage was in the top ranks in both tests.

As mentioned above, the smartphone does not experience any particular difficulties with games. The effect is that a low resolution a priori puts a lower load on the graphics subsystem compared to HD or Full HD screens.

System

Users often believe that brands that produce smartphones independently determine which Android version will be used in the device. In reality, only the chip maker is in charge of this issue. Therefore, let's say, if for Sony Xperia M Android 4.3 never appears, then it will be Qualcomm's fault, not the Japanese company. MediaTek has something to praise for in this regard - last year the company's chipsets gave a sharp boost to the popularity of Android 4.1. As for the MT6589M, Android 4.2 is fully adapted for it. This makes it possible to use the current platform in a smartphone at a modest price.

Own memory in Highscreen Alpha Rage there is not much, only 4 GB. Therefore, the smartphone does not suffer from the dominance of additional applications, except that new wallpapers have been added. But the big plus is that the popular system options are highlighted in separate programs - system update, modem mode and Bluetooth. The result is these shortcuts for quick access to functions. There are also “non-standard” programs; there is a backup tool, a file manager and a 4Sync cloud service client. The latter gives owners of Highscreen Alpha Rage 20 GB of space, while on a free basis, only 15 GB are provided to everyone.

Autonomous operation

We immediately put the battery capacity as an advantage for the smartphone. 2,000 mAh – this is what 5-inch models and/or devices with “gluttonous” filling are often content with. Unsurprisingly, in our high-load tests, the Highscreen Alpha Rage lasted two full days. When we tried to give up gaming and only used 30 minutes of 3G Internet in total, the model lasted three days on one charge.

Conclusion

In 2012, we never even dreamed of anything like this for 4,990 rubles. Let's say, from the start, a Higshcreen Jet Duo with a 3.2-inch screen, a 2 MP camera and a single-core 800 MHz processor was offered for 6,490 rubles. Compare with Highscreen Alpha Rage: 4.5-inch display, 5 MP camera, 4-core processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz. And a design that at least does not evoke negative emotions. In fact, the model's shortcomings fit perfectly into the expected compromises based on the price: an average screen and camera, little RAM, and a low display resolution. However, the combination of excellent performance and battery life alone comes at a price. Although no, 4,990 rubles is quite inexpensive for such advantages.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of cheap smartphones. I prefer to pay dearly for “megahertz and megabytes”, which will still be relevant in at least a year. However, the market is growing mainly due to budget devices, which, no, no, are in the focus of my attention. For example, I really want to try Xiaomi Red Rice and Motorola Moto G. However, for now these are only desires and, a little, dreams. But reality threw into my hands a completely different budget device - Highscreen Alpha Rage. Not being impressed by its appearance at first, I went online to evaluate what was what. It turned out that this smartphone, in general, is not so bad, and at a price of 4,990 rubles, it has few real alternatives (of course, in official retail).

Before moving directly to the text, I would like to outline the audience who can live with Highscreen Alpha Rage. In my opinion, there are schoolchildren and students on one side of the barricades, doctors and teachers on the other. In short, those who are accustomed to treating large expenses with increased responsibility. If only because he receives (earns) not the largest sums. Hence the meaning of the title of the review.

Unintelligible appearance

It is very difficult to make a frankly inexpensive smartphone attractive from the outside, but it’s clear that Highscreen didn’t even try. Rounded corners, beveled side edges, pseudo metal edging around the perimeter - all this has already been seen a thousand times on smartphones from other companies. Especially Samsung.
The screen is covered with glass, which is quite easily soiled. Back panel- something between regular plastic and soft-touch. I don’t really like that a tide forms in the area of the camera lens - the frame of the “eye” painted to look like metal will quickly peel off.

Under the cover we see the original system for installing SIM cards - one above the other in two floors. Well, at least the microSD card slot is easily accessible. The battery is removable, with a capacity of 2,000 mAh. The battery life with active use of the smartphone is a day, with moderate use - two.

I didn’t notice any serious ergonomic flaws in the Highscreen Alpha Rage; due to the relatively small diagonal screen, the device fits well in the hand, the buttons are pressed normally. There are only two of the latter: on the left side there is a volume rocker, on the right there is an on/off key. Headphone and USB cable jacks are located on the top edge.

Set as a set

In the original box, the appearance of which vaguely resembles boxes Xiaomi smartphones, battery detected, USB cable With charger, a warranty card with instructions and a wired headset of poor quality.

Display - large

The display for a smartphone for 4,990 rubles is large, 4.5 inches. As mentioned above, the screen is easily soiled, and due to the use of a TN matrix, the viewing angles are very small. However, if you don’t plan to look at the display often with someone else, it will do. Non-standard resolution, 854 x 480 pixels. I was worried about compatibility with games and programs, but my worries were in vain. The cache that I use with other MTK smartphones and tablets did not act up with the Highscreen Alpha Rage. The brightness level is moderate; outdoors on a clear day you have to turn it up to maximum. Which, in principle, is often characteristic of higher quality IPS matrices.

All the beauty is inside

Highscreen Alpha Rage is built on the MediaTek MT6589M platform, which opens the MT6589 series. It includes a quad-core ARM processor Cortex-A7 with a frequency of 1.2 GHz and GPU PowerVR SGX544. In light of the recently announced eight-core MT6592 platform, of course, there is nothing remarkable here, but for inexpensive smartphone The presence of the MT6589M is a big plus, because it provides decent performance, which will be discussed below. I note that HTC, LG or Samsung devices, even more expensive ones, offer users very dull single- or dual-core platforms like Qualcomm MSM7227A (HTC 200, LG Optimus L5) or STE Novathor U8500 ( Samsung Galaxy Ace 2).

The smartphone supports GSM (850/1900 MHz) and UMTS (2100 MHz) networks. It provides Wi-Fi adapters 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as GPS receiver.

The amount of RAM has gone under the knife to reduce the price of the smartphone - only 512 MB is available. But the amount of flash memory is standard 4 GB, of which about 2.6 GB is available to the user. Due to the presence of a microSD slot, which I already wrote about, a small amount of flash memory is not a problem. Actually, you can also put up with 512 MB of RAM. The main thing is not to download several games at once and monitor memory usage by other applications.

What do schoolchildren and students need from a smartphone? So that “games can run without lags.” And here I dare to point out that Highscreen Alpha Rage is a draw for games. And not ordinary 2D games like Angry Bird, Hill Climb Racing or Plants vs. Zombies, but also quite three-dimensional ones like Asphalt 8 or Modern Combat 4.
Benchmarks favor a low screen resolution and a fairly powerful GPU (despite the fact that it operates at only 156 MHz). AnTuTu rated the capabilities of the Highscreen Alpha Rage hardware platform at almost 14,000 points, thereby confirming that the device is of an average level in terms of performance. The rest of the benchmarks are generally consistent with AnTuTu.

OS - “naked” Android 4.2

Pure and unencumbered by any add-ons Android 4.2 is what drives Highscreen Alpha Rage. With a small amount of RAM, this is a big plus; there is no extra reason to unload from memory unnecessary applications.

Among the programs installed by the developers, there is a file manager (not bad, but was replaced by the more familiar ES Explorer), an FM receiver with good sensitivity, a video player (I didn’t use it because I immediately installed BS Player) and a music player. The latter pleases with the ability to turn on the function of enhancing bass and adding depth to the sound (3D), but they do not add sound quality to the included headphones. There is also a program for quick access to 4Sync cloud storage (20 GB “exclusive” for the model, otherwise – 15 GB), if you suddenly find yourself running out of space on Dropbox.

Separate menu items allow you to quickly check system updates, enable 3G sharing via Wi-Fi, perform backup data to the memory card.

Camera

The cameras in Highscreen Alpha Rage shoot in satisfactory quality. Actually, the front one is forgivable, there is no special quality required, but I would like more from the main one.
With good ambient lighting on automatic, the pictures turn out to be quite good in terms of detail and noise, but still a bit dark - you can’t do without exposure correction. Color rendition is slightly biased toward cool tones, but this is more or less typical for almost all smartphones.
With a lack of light, the white balance suffers, noise and problems appear in autofocus, which was also, in general, expected. What I didn't expect was the functionality of the camera menu. Is smart auto mode, mode panoramic photography and HDR! Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by such an abundance of possibilities from such an affordable device.

The camera records video with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at a speed of 30 frames per second.

Verdict

Terrible on the face, kind inside - this is exactly about Highscreen Alpha Rage. Repulsive in appearance, this smartphone has a good set of consumer qualities (no matter how hackneyed it may sound), especially considering the low price. Therefore, it is not surprising that the target audience demonstrates (judging by thematic forums) increased interest in him.

Hi all! I am the owner of such a miracle as, one of the few who have it on this site. But you know what? I'm wildly and terribly tired of the standard firmware, albeit with GravityBox (and all sorts of tomatoes boasting that they have 4.4.2). So I decided to flash myself another one, namely 4.4.2 ProjectDoge. For those interested, let's go to the cat .
Did you think it was easy and quick to flash? So nothing.
In order to be able to enjoy various types of firmware, we first need to install a kind of platform for them - firmware from the Indian analogue of Xolo Q600.
First, download this folder. Unpacking the archives. In the end (after final unpacking) you should get this.

Launch SP Flash Tool. Click on Scatter-loading.

A file selection window will appear. Go to the folder with the unpacked firmware and select the file MT6589_Android_scatter_emmc.txt. Let's check this box.

Click Firmware -> Upgrade. Next, turn off the smart and take out the battery. We insert it back but do not turn it on, but connect the PC. Multi-colored stripes will run in the program. We wait for the end (I have 6 minutes) and the green circle appears.
Achtung! If you do not have drivers installed for Preloader, then download and install them without them there will be no cinema the stripes won't run!
Now we are loading into the new firmware. We will flash 4.4.2 via CWM, so we need to install it. To do this, we get root using and install. Download this file and throw it into the root of the flash drive! Launch Mobileuncle MTK Tools and select Update Recovery. After that, we look for our file, tap on it, confirm and reboot into Recovery. Just in case, make a backup: Backup and restore -> Backup. After the backup process is completed, we boot into the system and throw this archive into the root of the memory card. Next, we boot into CWM and select Install zip from SD card -> Choose ZIP from SD card -> select the archive with the firmware -> Confirm the installation -> follow the installer’s instructions (click “next” several times). After that, select Reboot System now and reboot into the new firmware.
Achtung! For those who were upset when they saw a damaged image instead of a logo, I’ll say that they shouldn’t be scared - everything is fine, just wait a little.
After all these manipulations, this awaits us.

Cons, pros, comments and other crap.

Pros:

Google Now
your device is now Nexus 4
you are saved from installing a long and tedious hat like Root, BusyBox, Xposed with several modules
Xperia keyboard

Minuses:
The only serious disadvantage I can highlight is the damaged logo. Smaller disadvantages: Xposed modules are not activated and when loading it screams about an OTA update, which I was never able to install. But the notification is closed, so this is a very small minus.
On 4pda they yell that the IMEI is lost when flashing the firmware, but for me it was never able to work.
Achtung! If the IMEI still disappears, then all you can do is listen to music and play games. It is recommended to make a backup of the IMEI even before starting all the manipulations using Mobileuncle MTK Tools (IMEI backup Restore (MTK) -> Backup IMEI.) and put it away so that, if necessary, you do not turn the phone into a player for 5000

I have a smartphone in my hands. Flat, inconspicuous, but at the same time light and stylish in its own way. There are thousands of them. The screen slows down slightly - after all, it’s a budget phone - it costs just under 5 thousand. And at the same time it has a 4-core processor. In AnTuTu, the device scores an unexpected 13532 points - this is the result worthy of smartphones a class higher. But they cost 3 or even 4 times more. But if you can get the same thing for 5, why overpay?! I would probably buy one like this - as a second tube for hitchhiking and biking. However, I am an unbeliever, Thomas - let's study the smartphone better - as you know, free (or cheap) cheese is only in a mousetrap, maybe the smartphone has some obvious shortcomings?..

Alas, the very first action with the phone puzzled me - how are SIM cards inserted here? I was dumb for about 10 minutes. Then I realized that they are located on top of each other. And very close. How they were able to stuff this device so much, I don’t even know - this is the first time I’ve come across such a solution.

I don’t believe in freebies—there’s no such thing. Should not good smartphone cost so little. But after a couple of days of using the smartphone, no noticeable disadvantages emerged. Everything works, there are no problems or brakes. Actually, the difference from the “older” models seems to be only in the screen and weight - this smartphone is smaller and lighter, lower resolution. Theoretically, the device’s cache should quickly fill up, since the RAM is small by modern standards - 512 MB, but this problem can be solved by installing special software. I personally have not encountered any performance problems with the device. Another plus is that I found some pretty good headphones in the box. Which has not yet become the norm even for top models.

The smartphone coped with all the tasks that fell to it. So I didn’t find any obvious shortcomings. Although there is still one thing - in my opinion, coverage back cover The device is too slippery - it tries to jump out of your hands. Another small minus is the camera. But I personally was quite satisfied with the quality of the images produced. And I was very surprised by the number of camera settings - I haven’t seen anything like this even on top models. Those. The camera can be well customized to suit you. However, on the contrary, I twisted something, and it got worse. For those who don’t want to tinker with the settings, there is an automatic mode.

In general, this device broke my stereotypes regarding budget smartphones. It is quite possible that over time it will become a bestseller. Friends, if you or your friends have these, I would be grateful for your feedback. In the meantime, a couple of photos taken by Alpha Rage:

Today I was sick, so I didn’t go anywhere, but filmed what came to hand. Christmas tree)

Autofocus on the camera, frankly speaking, is not the most agile. But still it does its job.

With the camera settings set manually, the footage became somewhat blurry. Yes, this is not a DSLR.

Please note that depending on the camera’s displacement relative to the front light, pictures of different quality are obtained.

But in any case, this 5-megapixel camera is quite enough for Instagram. Happy shooting!)

Highscreen Alpha Rage

General characteristics
Standard GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G
Type smartphone
Operating system Android 4.2
Case type classic
Housing material: plastic
Number of SIM cards 2
Dimensions (WxHxD) 67x136x12 mm

Screen
Screen type color TFT, touch
Touch screen type multi-touch, capacitive
Diagonal 4.5 inches.
Image size 480×854
Pixels per inch (PPI) 218
Automatic screen rotation is available

Calls
Type of ringtones: polyphonic, MP3 ringtones

Multimedia capabilities
Camera 5 million pixels, built-in flash
Video recording available
There is a front camera, 0.3 million pixels.
Audio MP3, FM radio
There is a voice recorder

Connection
Interfaces USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
GPS satellite navigation
Internet access WAP, GPRS, EDGE, email POP/SMTP, HTML

Memory and processor
Processor MediaTek MT6589M, 1200 MHz
Number of processor cores 4
PowerVR SGX544 video processor
Built-in memory 4 GB
RAM capacity 512 MB
Supports microSD (TransFlash) memory cards up to 32 GB

Messages
Additional features SMS text input with dictionary
MMS yes

Nutrition
Battery type Li-Ion
Battery capacity 2000 mAh

Other features
Light and proximity sensors
Notebook and organizer
Book search available
There is an exchange between the SIM card and internal memory
Alarm clock organizer, calculator, task planner

Additional Information
Price: 4990 rub.