THL W8S War Machine Unboxing and Initial Review

THL W8S War Machine Unboxing and Initial Review

It's the THL W8S aka War Machine!

THL W8S War Machine Unboxed!

We were finally able to get our hands on a review unit of the THL W8S War Machine courtesy of the good folks from the THL Local distributor, Novo 7 Tech (thanks Adrian and Oli). We’ve been playing around with the device for the last couple of days and it’s definitely an impressive over-all daily driver. It has almost all the bells and whistles that you’d want from a high-end smartphone except for LTE.

The THL W8S reminded us a lot of the THL W11 Monkey King which isn’t a bad thing since our review of that smartphone was pretty good. We’ll be putting this phone to the test in the next few days but allow us to kick it off by sharing with you our unboxing!

THL W8s Spec Sheet

  • 1.5GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT6589T processor
  • PowerVR SGX544MP graphics
  • 2GB RAM
  • 32GB internal storage, expandable via MicroSD
  • 5.0-inches Full HD IPS LCD display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3
  • 13.0 megapixels primary camera with autofocus and LED flash
  • 5.0 megapixels secondary facing camera
  • 3G, HSPA+, WiFi, WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
  • 2,000 mAh battery
  • Android Jelly Bean 4.2
  • SRP: P12,495

Packaging and Unboxing

War Machine toy NOT included in the package, hehe. We bought that for this review.

The THL W8S comes in a glossy hard carton white box. In case you’re wondering why there are no photos or prints of the armored warrior from Iron Man, the “War Machine” tag is actually a local nickname given by the distributor. They’re probably referring to the power behind the device since it does have a pretty impressive spec sheet. It’s good to note that Novo 7 Tech is selling custom made cases for the THL W8S with an Iron Man theme (see below).

Wooo. Php200 for this hard plastic snap-on back cover.

Unboxing the THL W8S was very straightforward. We popped open the lid and we were immediately greeted by the phone. Our first impression? Just like what we said in our initial hands-on post, first thing that came to mind was “Wow it looks like a Galaxy S3”.

THL W8S officially unboxed!

We set the phone aside first and scrounged around the box to see what else were there. We found the usual suspects like the earphones, micro USB to USB cable, and the wall charger. What caught us by surprise though was an extra 2,000mAh battery! Yep, the THL W8S comes with two batteries already! Awesome. To make sure you never run out of juice just always make sure you have the extra battery charged to full. Definitely a much appreciated freebie.

What's in the box?

In terms of the actual contents of the box, the THL W8S is a winner. They could use some improvement though with the packaging. It’s a waste that the extra battery freebie is not mentioned anywhere in the box and that the specs aren’t prominently displayed. Fortunately Novo 7 Tech has several kiosks and the product info and extras are shown in their collaterals.

Hardware: Galaxy S3 and the Lenovo P770 Had a Baby

Back reminds us a lot of the Lenovo P770 :o

When it comes to the hardware design, the THL W8S is a dead ringer for the Samsung Galaxy S3. It has the same curved and rounded edges. It even has the same big home button, hehe. Of course there are key differences. The THL W8S packs a full HD 5-inch display which is better than the GS3. Another notable difference is the back plate. Instead of a bland glossy plastic plate, we get a still plastic plate but it does have a brushed metal design (not made of metal just looks like it). The design is very similar to the back plate of the Lenovo P770. So yeah, the THL W8S is like the offspring of Lenovo and Samsung, hehe. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though since they were successfully able to get the best from both.

Despite the 5-inch display the THL W8S was easy to use and handle with one hand thanks to the ergonomic rounded and curved edges and corners. The pillow shaped back also lets the phone nestle comfortably in one’s palm. Definitely a joy to hold.

Curved with big home button. Just like the GS3! Hehe.

The display is also impressive. 1920 x 1080 pixels on a 5-inch screen is a treat for the eyes and it’s perfect for watching videos especially since the THL W8S has 32GB internal storage that’s expandable as well by an additional 32GB via microSD card.

So far we have to give it two thumbs up for hardware!

Software: Strong Performer

Not your usual Android flavor

Just like the THL W11 Monkey King, the THL W8S runs a launcher that lets you use several themes. The default one loaded is very similar to iOS since there’s no app tray. All the apps, folders, and widgets are displayed on the home screens.

In terms of performance we were pleased with the over-all experience offered by the THL W8S. There was barely any lag and that’s probably because of the 1.5GHz turbo quad-core processor combined with the generous serving of 2GB RAM. That set-up definitely is enough to power through a 5.0-inch Full HD display.

Full Review Coming Soon

Abangan!

We’ll be putting the THL W8S through the paces in the next few days for our full review. We’re definitely interested to see how good the camera is on this device since the THL W11 had superb optics. We also want to see if the 2,000mAh is enough for it to last a full day with heavy usage.

The THL W8S War Machine is already out locally for Php12,495. It’s available in Novo 7 Kiosks in malls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Latest Reviews

Best Phones in the Philippines

Best Guides

Recent Posts