Mobile Planet, the authorized distributor of Elephone Smartphones in Nepal, has launched the Elephone S1 smartphone and is available exclusively from Kaymu for an introductory price of Rs. 12,500.
The highlight of the phone is the fingerprint sensor on the back, which we normally find on a midrange and high-end phones these days. The phone also comes with a metal frame reminiscent to that of Samsung Galaxy S6. It has a glass panel on the back and has a non-removable battery of 1800mAh capacity. The phone offers a 5-inch HD display, a quad-core processor (MT6580), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable storage upto 32GB via microSD card, 13MP rear camera, and a 2MP front camera. The phone is currently running Android Lollipop 5.1, with Freeme OS out of the box.
Connectivity wise, the Elephone S1 supports 2 SIM card slots with 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The company is also offering freebies like a screen protector and silicon case with the purchase of the phone.
Early Impressions:
We spent an hour playing with the phone and were amazed at the build quality. The metal frame provides a premium feel, however, the glass panel on the back is a fingerprint magnet. The fingerprint sensor is not the fastest we have seen, but it will do the job. The Freeme OS looks much similar to the Xiaomi’s MiUi with no app drawer.
The rear camera does a decent job during daylight with accurate color reproduction, and details while zooming in. Having said that, during low light there was a fair amount of noise and lacked in details. The HD display is bright and has accurate colors, but the contrast level is mediocre at best.
The only letdown of the phone is its performance and storage. The phone comes with a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, which might just be enough for day-to-day tasks, but the phone tends to heat up upon continuous use and while playing games.
| Pros | Cons |
| – HD display | – Average Performance |
| – Metal body | – Not available from retail shops |
| – Fingerprint sensor | – |
