KingCom Pi Phone Venus Review: Big, Beautiful Phablet

KingCom Pi Phone Venus Review: Big, Beautiful Phablet

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 11

We review the Pi Phone Venus!

We’ve had a good few weeks with KingCom’s Pi Phone Venus, the company’s 7-inch phablet. It might not look it, but it’s actually one of the more powerful devices we’ve reviewed as of late, even though it’s more tablet than phone at its current size. Regardless of how imposing its size is, it offers decent value for money, but it’s not without its faults. Before we begin, let’s check out the specs again:

KingCom Pi Phone Venus Spec Sheet

  • 1.7GHz Octa-core MediaTek MT6592
  • Mali 450-MP
  • 2GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
  • 7-inches Full HD IPS display, 1920×1200
  • 5MP primary autofocus camera with LED flash
  • 2MP secondary camera
  • Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
  • 3G, HSPA+, Bluetooth 4.0
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Android 4.4.2 KitKat
  • 3,000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery
  • SRP Php7,998

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 09

A little big, but not unmanageable

Probably the first thing that you’ll notice with the Venus is its sheer size – it’s radically bigger than most phablets out in the market today. Actually, the size of the Venus puts it more in line with a tablet than a phone, and that’s not really a big deal – there’s been phone/tablet hybrids before, and while they’re bulkier and pose a bigger challenge to use than a normal phablet, they’re not impossible to use everyday.

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 08

As far as the design of the Venus goes, it’s very unique, and we’re liking how the device is radically different from all the other phones that are in the market today. The Venus has a lot of sharp corners and angles, and uses a very nice looking champagne gold finish everywhere except the front. There a gloss white bezel surrounds the 7-inch full HD display, and curiously enough the Venus uses on-screen Android navigation buttons instead of your typical capacitive ones.

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 10

All of the physical keys are located on the right side of the device, which includes the power and volume rocker buttons. The battery is completely sealed inside the device, and you access the dual SIM slots of the Venus through the easily removable top that also reveals a expandable microSD card slot.

The 7-inch, full HD display is bright and is easily readable even under direct sunlight. Overall display quality is great, with plentiful viewing angles and good color reproduction.

Obviously a phone this size would be a challenge to use even for folks who have big hands. While you can take calls the old fashioned way by putting the Venus up on your ear, we strongly recommend using either a Bluetooth headset or a pair of headphones. It’s obviously impossible to use the Venus one handed, but that’s just the price you pay for using a phone as large as this.

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 02

Fairly powerful hardware, with a catch

On paper the Venus is pretty powerful, as it’s running an octa-core processor running at 1.7GHz paired with 2GB of RAM. The Venus happily gobbled up almost all of the apps that we threw at it, including games like Real Racing 3 and Clash of Clans.

Probably our only complaint is the heat levels that the Venus produces under heavy load. It definitely gets warmer than other phones out in the market once you start playing games, which is a big concern. We’re assuming that the thermal dissipation of the Venus’ design isn’t the best, so we recommend playing in short, 30-minute spurts with the phone.

If there’s one thing the Venus is particularly good at, it’s consuming media. The big 7-inch display is bright, vivid and has relatively good colors like we said earlier, which makes it a great tablet to binge watch your favorite TV shows on. One caveat though – the speaker is rather weak, so you might want to pair it with a good pair of headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 04 KingCom Phone Pi Venus 05 KingCom Phone Pi Venus 06 KingCom Phone Pi Venus 07

So-so camera

With the Venus approaching tablet territory, we knew that it probably wouldn’t have such a great camera. We were right – the 5-megapixel main camera isn’t the best even with bright light, with the resulting photos coming out too warm for our tastes.

All-day battery

For a device that has such a large frame, we were expecting the Venus to have a bigger battery than the 3,000mAh it comes with. We found that the Venus, with moderate use, is capable of lasting for around a day on a full charge which is typical of what you’d expect from a device that’s powered by the older MediaTek octa-core processor that’s commonly used today.

KingCom Phone Pi Venus 03

Verdict: very decent big-screen phablet for the masses

The KingCom Pi Phone Venus is one of those phablets that look too unwieldy to use at first glance but offer great value when you actually start using it. While its sheer size is certainly an issue when you’re using it as a phone, its powerful processor, large display and good image quality make it a great choice if you’re looking for a handy tablet that can double as a phone. The KingCom Pi Phone Venus retails for Php 7,998.

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