We unbox the highly anticipated MyPhone Rio!

We’ve been floored by the response to our original post detailing MyPhone’s latest quad-core smartphone, the Rio. The original article has been one of the most read posts in the site, and we’ve received a lot of requests to do a review of the device as soon as possible. Since MyPhone hasn’t delivered the review unit of the Rio yet, we’ve gone ahead and bought our own device from their Megamall branch earlier today for Php 4,999, literally a few minutes after their kiosk got their shipment. So today we’ll be doing an unboxing and initial review of the device!

MyPhone Rio Specs

• 1.3GHz Quad-Core MT6582M Processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 5-inch HD IPS Display, 1280 × 720 resolution
• 4GB of internal storage, expandable up to 32GB
• 8-megapixel main Camera with Autofocus
• 2-megapixel front Camera
• Wi-Fi, Wireless Display, USB-OTG, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• Dual-SIM
• 3G, HSPA+
• 2000mAh Baterry
• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Packaging and contents

The MyPhone Rio sports a box that’s a departure from the company’s previous offerings. The box of the Rio has an outer sleeve made out of cardboard with the words RIO cut out in the front, with the tagline “Live life with colors” immediately below.

Once you remove the sleeve, you’ll see the actual white box that houses the Rio.

Inside, you’ll find the Rio clad in whatever color you chose (ours was a nice, orange color) along with the standard MyPhone goodies: headphones, USB cable, charger and the Rio’s manual.

Initial Review: One of the nicest MyPhone devices we’ve ever handled

There’s no denying that the MyPhone Rio is a good looking device. The Rio is very nice to look at in person, and utilizes a polycarbonate shell that’s similar to the one used in the Nokia X. That’s right – the Rio uses a polycarbonate outer shell that you can pop out to access the phone’s internal bits, which includes the dual-SIM slots, battery and the microSD slot.

The polycarbonate shell gives the Rio the appearance of a unibody design, which adds to the premium look of the device. Comparisons to the iPhone 5C will be inevitable, but we think that the plastic finish of the Rio is a bit nicer compared to Apple’s offering simply because it uses a more matte finish rather than the glossier finish that’s present on the 5C. It’s also safe to say that the build quality of the Rio is very good – the polycarbonate cover goes on simply and securely, and leaves no obvious gaps anywhere in the device.

The button layout is typical Android – on the left lies the volume rocker, while on the right lies the power/lock button. The top of the device houses both the 3.5mm jack and the USB charging port. You can find the capacitive Android navigation keys on the bottom of the bezel, much like your typical Android smartphone. One thing we did notice though, was that the power button of the Rio is recessed a bit too much for our liking compared to the volume rocker. We found that we had to press down harder to ensure that really did press the button when we needed to.

The hardware specifications on the Rio is certainly impressive, especially considering its price point: 1.3Ghz quad-core MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM, 5-inch HD IPS display and 8-megapixel camera. It’s definitely a game changer, considering its specs and more importantly its price – a few months ago you could probably have a smartphone with two or three of the Rio’s main features for around Php 5,000, but not all of them, which explains why people are so excited for the device. You’d be hard pressed to find a smartphone that has a 5-inch IPS display and a quad-core processor under 5K, never mind the 1GB of RAM.

As far as performance is concerned, the Rio is certainly a capable smartphone. Initial benchmarks with AnTuTu give the Rio a score of 16938, which is definitely good, again considering the price point. There is some noticeable lag while navigating the device, but it’s not that bad, and it’s certainly something we can live with.  We also noticed that the icons in the Rio isn’t your standard Android fare, and has been given a bit of visual flair by MyPhone, though the changes aren’t as extensive as Cherry Mobile’s custom UI on the Cosmos Z2.

That’s it for this review. We know a lot of you are expecting a full review of the Rio, so we’ll try to get through it as fast as possible without compromising the review process. But right now everything is looking pretty good, and the MyPhone Rio is shaping up to be one of the most sulit smartphones you can buy under 5K. Check back later next week for our full review.