We review the KingCom S!gma Evo!

Today we’ll be reviewing the KingCom’s S!gma Evo, a budget smartphone that has some really top-end features. The S!gma Evo is one of the few phones out in the market today that uses a fingerprint scanner for security, joining the ranks of higher profile (and more expensive) phones like the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6, Ascend Mate7 and so on. If that wasn’t enough, the S!gma Evo also comes with a 5-inch Super AMOLED display which does wonders for the phone’s battery life – on paper. Let’s take a look at the specs:

KingCom S!gma Evo specs:

• 1.4GHz MediaTek octa-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 1280 x 720 resolution
• 8GB of storage, expandable via microSD card
• 13-megapixel rear AF camera
• 5-megapixel front camera
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, HSPA+
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• 2200mAh battery
• Android 4.4 KitKat

Very nice, elegant design

For a phone that has better specs than other similarly priced smartphones, the S!gma Evo has a very understated and elegant design. While the phone has a mostly plastic construction, the overall build quality is rather tight and there’s no obvious gaps or evidence of shoddy construction anywhere. The frame of the S!gma Evo is plastic, and the removable back has a nice matte finish that help you get a better grip on the device.

The power button is located on the right side of the phone, while the volume rocker is located on the left. Both the USB port and 3.5mm jack is located on the top of the device. While the phone uses capacitive keys for navigation at the bottom of the display, there’s not much in the way of icons that show which button does what.

Turning the phone over you’ll see the 13-megapixel camera, along with the LED flash. Right below that you’ll see the fingerprint scanner of the S!gma Evo. The scanner itself isn’t as good as the offerings of other international companies, and uses the old-style strip that requires you to swipe the pad of your finger over unlike the capacitive fingerprint scanner that Apple uses for the iPhone 5s.

The fingerprint scanner works most of the time, though you do have to make sure that your finger is right over the sensor. It’s the limitation of the technology, and it does get annoying after the nth time that the scanner fails to read your digits. To be fair to the S!gma Evo, if you do your part right (and keep your finger centered over the scanner when you swipe over it) the phone will read your fingerprint 9 times out of 10.

Aside from just unlocking your phone, you can also use the fingerprint scanner to lock individual apps and folders in it. This prevents anybody from snooping around your phone even if you manage to leave it lying around.

One of the nicest displays we’ve seen in a budget device

Aside from the fingerprint scanner, the S!gma Evo sports a very nice 5-inch, HD Super AMOLED display. While the display does suffer from the same problem as the early Super AMOLED displays of Samsung (namely over saturation of colors) it’s still a rather decent display. Aside from the obvious problem that we outlined, the display is rather good, and looks pretty dang sharp, specially considering how much the phone is.

Has enough grunt to power nearly everything you need

The S!gma Evo is powered by MediaTek’s venerable MT6592 processor, with a slower 1.4GHz clock which is paired with 1GB of RAM. We’ve seen what the processor can do before, so the benchmark of the S!gma Evo (and its eventual performance) comes as no surprise. The processor is no screamer, but it still manages to run apps and games decently though you may need to turn down the graphics settings down in more demanding games to reduce lag.

Camera is very good for the price

The 13-megapixel rear camera is pretty good, especially considering the price. Photos taken with the S!gma Evo are clear and crisp overall.

Battery life is okay, but we expected more

Slapping a Super AMOLED display on a phone is one of the surefire ways to increase the battery life of a smartphone. That’s because an AMOLED display generally uses less power than a regular IPS display.

That’s why we’re slightly disappointed that the S!gma Evo only managed to clock in around 4 hours of runtime during our battery drain test. Though to be fair, it’s important to note that we ran the battery test with WiFi on, streaming an full HD movie from our NAS and with the brightness set to 100%.

Using it as our daily driver for a few days, we managed to clock in a respectable 9 hours of useful battery life – that’s with a mix of gaming, browsing, text and calling.

While we’re on the subject of battery life, we’re really happy that KingCom has decided to throw in an extra battery pack in the retail package absolutely free. How’s that for a freebie?

Verdict: One of the more innovative budget phones currently in the market

The KingCom S!gma Evo is certainly one of the nicer, more innovative smartphones out in the market today. While other companies are content in just rehashing the same thing over and over again, KingCom has managed to get a phone that has two unusual yet useful features that genuine value to the overall package. Speaking of value, KingCom is selling the S!gma Evo with the included freebies listed in our unboxing as well as free Solo II earphones when you buy it through Lazada.