TP-LINK Neffos C5A smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

TP-Link continues to delight its fans with budget novelties. Each time they bring to the market inexpensive devices with quite decent characteristics. And today the TP-Link Neffos C5A smartphone "flew" into the review. The announcement of this model took place on February 15, 2018. Fans of unpretentious mobile devices liked it.

The warranty for it is 2 years and costs only 5000 rubles. This phone is perfect for work and study.

Device design and assembly

This budget option does not stand out in design. Simple design and nothing more. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary gray brick. There are no inscriptions or drawings on the front. There is a strange thing here, which is practically not found in a series of budget smartphones - the flash of the front camera! This function is not installed on all phones, even the middle class.

The model has only one body color - gray-blue. Naturally, the lid is made of medium quality plastic. But for such a price, there is no better gadget.

Unfortunately, the glass does not have an oleophobic coating, but this is not critical for a budget model.

The detachable back cover may squeak slightly if pressed down too hard. Such defects do not appear during normal use.

Layout

The table shows the main characteristics of the device:

On the front there are:

• Front camera peephole;
• Front camera flash;
• Proximity sensor;
• Speaker for conversations.

3 navigation buttons are installed at the bottom of the display. They work without backlighting.

The volume rocker and power button are located on the right side. But on the left side there is nothing.

MicroUSB port and a single speaker were placed on the lower right edge.

The headphone jack is made in the upper edge, and it is shifted slightly to the right.

The main camera eye and LED flash are installed on the back panel at the top. Below is the inscription Neffos.

The main speaker and TP-Link inscription are installed on the bottom. The two small dot-shaped projections near the speaker are designed to prevent sound muffling when placed on a flat surface.

Located under the cover:

• Flash card slot;
• Slots for two micro SIM cards;
• Removable battery.

Ergonomics

This phone is quite compact. Everything is strict here: average screen size, small dimensions and average weight. Also, nothing special differs from other cheap models.

Screen

The budget device is equipped with a five-inch screen. Matrix type LCD. This is the cheapest matrix possible. 854x480 pixels has a resolution of this screen.This is perhaps the only drawback of this device. The weak matrix also affected the low resolution of the display. And in principle, there is nothing to sin, because for that kind of money it is very difficult to find a good apparatus for study and work.

Accordingly, the screen lacks brightness and contrast. Viewing angles are generally a problem. If you even slightly tilt the device to the side, then it will already be difficult to see the time. But there are also advantages: for example, you are on the subway or on the bus and you urgently need to send an SMS, then in this case, the person sitting or standing in the neighborhood will not see the contents.

But looking at the price, we can conclude that competitors in this price range, the screen is not better.

MiraVision serves as a standard screen adjustment tool. Thanks to this function, you can configure:

• Brightness;
• Saturation;
• Contrast;
• Picture mode.

But these functions will not solve problems with poor screen quality, since there are no viewing angles.

Performance

The performance also does not stand out much. A typical budget employee with a MediaTek processor - MT6580. The processor is equipped with 4 cores with a clock speed of 1.3 GHz. Mali-400 MP2 serves as a video core. The developers have allocated little memory: 8 gigabytes of built-in and 1 - operational. Such a RAM will pull the weakest games, and on medium ones it will already start to slow down.

The phone itself works quite quickly and without sagging. Great for the average user who is interested in listening to music, chatting in messengers, surfing the Internet and just making calls. With other functions, the phone will be problematic.

Cameras

The main camera has 5 megapixels. This means that it will not work for normal photographs. Shoots normally only in excellent lighting conditions. In low or even medium light, pictures are blurry. But there is a camera shutter and image autofocus. This is not often found in state employees. The image detail is at a very low level, but there are competitors' phones for such a price, the main camera TP-Link Neffos C5A looks pretty decent.

The smartphone is capable of recording video at a resolution of 1920x1020. However, given the weak camera module, this advantage will not allow you to record good video. Electronic stabilization smooths out these disadvantages a little.

The quality of the front camera is only suitable for Skype video calls. The resolution is only 2 megapixels. Only programs like skype can work more or less with this camera. If you try to make a call in the vibe, then the maximum that will be on the screen is the pixels that cover your face. The physiognomy, of course, can be seen, but it will be a big problem.

There are face enhancement and panorama modes in the camera menu, but they also work poorly.

Autonomy of work

A removable 2300 milliampere hour battery is installed here, which is enough for a full working day. Since it is only intended for basic functions, the battery will not drain quickly. If such a battery was on a more powerful model, then it would discharge much faster. And on this device, the battery capacity may be enough for more than one day. If used in active mode, the phone will be discharged after 5 hours.

In standby mode, it can lie from 4 days, and the mode of infrequent calls will have to be charged in 2 days.

Communication capabilities

As for the sound quality, everything is at a good level. Despite the fact that both the main and the speaker have good volume, the sound quality is still lame. The sound in the headphones is also of low quality, as if recorded through a voice recorder. Wireless modules work without fail.

Device firmware and software

Works with Android 7.0 operating system. Despite the fact that the controls are identical to pure Android, there is not quite a proprietary NFUI shell installed here. Compared to the Neffos X1 series, it is noticeable that the developers have added a feedback application, and also slightly redesigned the settings menu. The firmware itself works well. No bugs or glitches were noticed.

In the settings, these functions:

• Wi-Fi;
• Bluetooth;
• SIM card management;
• Data transfer;
• Screen control;
• Extra options.

The information about the phone contains the following information:

• System update;
• System version;
• Build number;
• Detailed model name;
• Legal information;
• General information;
• Latest system update;
• Communication module firmware.

Output

• Affordable price;
• The software runs smoothly;
• Low energy consumption;
• Talk time is enough for 2 days;
• For its price, smart enough;
• 2 year warranty;
• There is a flash of the front camera;
• Autofocus on the main camera.

• Weak screen resolution;
• Poor brightness;
• The camera shoots badly;
• The front camera is not suitable for selfies (except for video calls);
• Small amount of memory;
• Plastic case;
• When pressed firmly on the cover, it starts to creak.

In general, this is a typical budget smartphone, where the cost is equal to the quality of the device. The device, which costs $ 75, can only satisfy undemanding users who are content with basic functions. Suitable for schoolchildren and students, or seniors who want to look stylish.

The main advantage is the correct operation of the operating system! Also, the warranty for 24 months is good news. That is, if system breakdowns occur due to the fault of the manufacturer, then he will fix everything for free, if the warranty period has not expired.