Full Review: Starmobile Navi!

With a price tag of just Php4,690, the Starmobile Navi grabbed a lot of attention in the local tech and gadget press when it was announced during Starmobile’s Gold Rush event last November. Aside from being a head turner due to the design, it also packed respectable and competitive specifications, including a quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, HSPA+ connectivity, and even the addition of GLONASS to its navigation capabilities (we’ll discuss this more in detail shortly). We’ve been using a unit as one of our back-up phones lately and we’d like to share with you guys our full review.

>>> SEE ALSO: Starmobile Navi Unboxing and Hands-on Impressions

Starmobile Navi Spec Sheet

• 1.2GHz Quad-core Processor Cortex A7
• VideoCore IV GPU
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB Internal Storage, Expandable via micro SD Card
• 4.0-inches WVGA Display
• 5.0-megapixels primary camera with LED Flash and Auto Focus
• VGA secondary camera
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• 3G, HSPA+, WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth
• Android Jelly Bean 4.2
• 1,500mAH Battery
• SRP: Php4,690

Not bad right? It’s a pretty specced out device despite the Php4,690 price tag. Perhaps the biggest concerns are the 1,500mAh battery (too low for quad-core devices) and the 4GB internal storage. Anyway, let’s jump into the review!

Hardware Build: Not Your Usual Sub Php5,000 Smartphone

Up front the Starmobile Navi might look like your usual sub-5000 smartphone but the real difference is with the over-all form factor and the back plate. Instead of a flat rectangular candy bar shape the back of the Navi tapers off from the center on both sides. The shape is actually more comfortable to hold and better for grip. They also did away with the usual glossy mono-color design and went with a faux brushed metal pattern which gives it a more premium look.

Here are some photos of the back plate for your reference. Note the red Starmobile logo which stands for quad-core.

All the other buttons and ports are in their usual places along the sides of the device — the volume rocker, power lock, micro USB port, and the headphone jack.

Display can be good but it can be bad depending on viewing angles

For the front of the device we have the 4.0-inch display. The resolution is WVGA and that’s actually decent given the price tag but we’re more concerned with the viewing angles. If you look at it from the right angle, the colors look good. Blacks are deep and colors are sharp. However when you change angles slightly it quickly washes out. This is something that a lot of sub-5,000 smartphones have still to fix and address.

If we do have one major criticism though it would be the stock on-screen keyboard. We strongly recommend that you guys change it to any of the keyboards you can get from the Google Play store. We kept missing keys on the stock keyboard but it felt much better once we switched to SwiftKey.

Over-all in terms of design and form factor, the Starmobile Navi manages to differentiate itself well against most of the devices in the same price category. We would have given it much more praise though if they were able to solve the viewing angle issue of devices in this class.

Solid Performer

As expected from a smartphone with a quad-core processor and 1GB RAM, the Starmobile Navi hit over 13,000 on the Antutu Benchmark Test. Translated into real life experience, we barely saw any major lag spikes or delays for core functions. Animations and transitions all were smooth even if we have a live wall paper. However when we loaded a more complicated and RAM hungry live wall paper like the Halloween theme of Paperland Pro, the machine bogged down completely, hehe.

We tried a couple of the usual games to test the graphics capability of the phone and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was able to handle most of the stuff we threw at it. We played Dead Trigger 2 (a bit laggy in later stages), Plants vs Zombies, and the new craze, Zombie Tsunami. The phone can play the game, but the color wash out brought about by bad viewing angles can be disruptive to gameplay, especially if the games you play require you to move the phone for controls.

All the other stuff worked well — social networking, readers (pulse, Interaksyon, etc), photography apps, and messaging (WeChat pre-installed).

By the way, if you have an Android smartphone please do download the UnboxPH app! *plug plug plug*

What is GLONASS?

The question we get asked the most about the Starmobile Navi is about “GLONASS”. To be concise, GLONASS is an extra set of satellites that you add to GPS and aGPS which helps in pinpointing and locking in on your position faster and more accurately. This is very helpful if you frequently use navigation apps like Waze or Google Maps. And that’s the reason why the phone is called Starmobile “Navi”, because of the presence of GLONASS. Most smartphones in this price range (or even twice this price) just have GPS and aGPS.

Camera: Above Average

The Starmobile Navi has a slightly above average 5MP shooter. The optics are able to capture the details well but there’s still a level of white washout especially when you don’t have ideal lighting conditions. As for low light picture-taking, you’re better off just getting copies of pictures taken by people with better cameras, hehe.

Sample shots below for your reference.

Battery Life: Sorely Lacking

Here’s our biggest issue with the Starmobile Navi, and with most phones in this category — battery life! 1,500mAh is simply just not enough to power you through the whole day especially if you will use 3G/HSPA+ often. With heavy usage we barely got 6 hours out of the Navi. We’re not singling out this phone though since really 99% of devices in this price range with the same set-up (quad-core, 1GB RAM, and 1500mAH battery) always need a mobile charger for a full day of use.

At this point in time we still have yet to see a smartphone in this price range crack this problem. 😮

Verdict: A Lot of Hits, a Few Misses, Over-all it’s Good for the Price

For Php4,690, you can’t really have everything, hehe. That’s the reality of things. However for Php4,690 you can get a nice-looking, powerful, and feature packed (HSPA+, GLONASS) smartphone with the Starmobile Navi. Just make sure you make adjustments for the two main issues we pointed out: viewing angles and battery life.