Blu’s Buggy Bargain, whoa, try saying that five times fast. Not easy, huh? Over the last month, I’ve had the opportunity to use, evaluate and review the Blu Life One X (2016), and for a reasonable $149.00, this is a buggy yet solid. Let me clarify the usage of the wording “solid” by implementing my self-designed definition of the word: solid – (adj) pedestrian; useful without being spectacular. I will be upfront by stating I use this word to describe many of the Life One X features, so always use this as a reference guide.
All-in-all, BLU continues to go about their business of pumping out solid…yup… devices at budget-friendly prices. For anyone willing to make some feature sacrifices, this may be an absolute bargain; with bugs.
TAKING THE TOP OFF: THE UNBOXING
Known in the tech world as the “Budget Phone King”, many would expect an unboxing befitting the budget price in attempt to cut costs. Dare I say this is not completely the case for the Miami-based company, as the “flash factor” is present. I find it somewhat apropos as Miami is synonymous with flash and flair…I’m sending that like out to you Pitbull. More-or-less, we have a simple black rectangular box, but the 3-D device picture and sleek metallic silver branding definitely gives you a hint of style and flair. We observe this metallic silver BLU (“Bold Like Us) themed branding on both the top and bottom interior and exterior housings, the 4G LTE logo, Life One X labeling, the BLU website information (www.bluproducts.com), and FCC/Device identifications in black lettering within an adjoining white dialog box. As I often do for something notable, I give kudos, so kudos to you BLU for a nice unboxing experience.
Inside we are introduced to the phone in its plastic wrap sitting atop a velvet lined support. Seated underneath the phone, we find the standard USB 2.0 cable, charging adapter, and included headphones, all in similar wraps along with our usual manuals. Lastly, similar to other BLU devices, an included screen protector and phone case are found in the bottom of the interior housing. Low quality best describes the protector, as its not as dense or solid as a 9H or tempered one, but still nice to see its inclusion. Also, the case is reminiscent of the S-View for Samsung Galaxy phones, with an upper quadrant opening, allowing for quick view of notifications without unlocking the phone. I never found myself using it as I am not a big fan of this particular style, but again, nice to know BLU maximizes the experience with goodies not usually included by other manufacturers.
THE ENTREE: HARDWARE, SPECIFICATIONS AND PERFORMANCE
No one will mistake this phone as premium feeling, but the continued principle of solid fits so perfectly. On front we get the glossy black display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, surrounded by a metal band and removable plastic back covering. Giving kudos once again is in order as the devices feels nice in the hand with its tapered edges, curved back that fits fabulously in the palm, and the ergonomic stylization allowing great one-hand use. Without overstating, this is not a phone in league with the HTC One M9, Samsung Galaxy S6 or Apple iPhone 6s, with their respective glass/metal bodies for the premier aesthetics and feel, but maintains a solid, simple charm.
On the right side, we find a top and bottom antenna, accompanied by the volume up/down toggle and power button. The volume toggle sits above the power button, and both have a great tactile feel. Although neither possesses distinguishing traits, I never found myself pressing one while attempting to use the other. On the left side, we find symmetrical antennas to their right counterparts and nothing else. Atop you’ll find the customary 3.5mm headphone jack sitting alone as no noise-cancelling microphone was present, and the USB port and main microphone on the bottom.
The 5.2” IPS LCD display, with a 1080p full high-definition resolution (approximately 424 pixel-per-inch density) provides a quality viewing experience. I find a close equivalent to the LG Nexus 5X as both having impressive screens, with the Nexus slightly edging out a win because of its brightness and sharper contrast. Don’t get me wrong, the Life One X boasts excellent viewing angles, but still leaves something to be desired. Possibly an uptick of sharpening and outdoor visibility may be the only thing lacking to make this one of the better 1080p, LCD screens, but still well worth the money.
Nestled on top of the front display we get the LED indicator, the earpiece and front 5 megapixel camera. I will touch more on the camera in the software section, but again, the word solid comes to mind. I never got the “oh my gosh” selfie shot, but to capture a quick picture for friends and family, or an adequate shot for social media, it will certainly suffice. At the bottom of the display, we find more BLU branding, with the noticeable subtraction being hardware navigation buttons, replaced by on-screen software ones. On the back is the 13MP camera, accompanied by dual-LED flash, and a bottom mounted grille speaker. As with other BLU devices, the speaker quality proved unimpressive with volume reaching high levels, but with distortion and devoid of great clarity. Similarly, the rear camera generates decent photos, but absent is great contrast and quality of detail. Again, solid and functional are the underlining truths to take away from the hardware aspects.
Removing the plastic back gives access to the dual-sim slots, micro-sd card slot, and the 2,900 mAh non-removable battery. I was pleasantly surprised BLU incorporated such a large battery given the size and screen resolution, and easily obtained all-day usage with above-average screen-on times; that is when the device isn’t acting buggy. Usual on-screen outputs ranged in the 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hour range of moderate to heavy usage while checking/writing emails, viewing personal photos and video, browsing websites, taking photos, light gaming, and lots of YouTube watching. But one day, the device went berserk and flirted with full-on beast mode, after a random reboot. Even know, I’m still not sure what happened, maybe a software glitch caused something to go haywire, but I just could not drain the damn thing no matter how hard I tried. Included is a screen shot of that day, where I achieved seven (7) hours of on-screen time. The unit was scaring me so much I contacted an old priest and a young priest to be on standby in case an exorcism was needed. A clear indication of the buggy software one could incur when buying this phone. However, one aspect I actually liked quite a bit was this device sips power so efficiently when not in use. On a Tuesday during my review time, I left the phone on my desk at 97% with the screen on and screen timeout set to 30-minutes, and came back an two hours later to 96% battery remaining. Extremely impressive in my book if you ask!
Call quality falls into the okay category as incoming voice sounded clear but somewhat muted, while outgoing voice was detailed as either robotic sounding or accompanied by static interference. Data speeds in the testing area were impressive, though, with speeds averaging 27Mbps on T-Mobiles LTE bands 4 and 12. Again, I find the word solid a great way to describe the performance of the Life One X.
Powering the device is a 1.3GHz Octa-Core MediaTek processor (MT-6753), accompanied by 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, Mali-T720MP3 graphics card, and a 4G LTE support (Bands 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 7(2600), 12(700), 17(700)) which is suitable for a majority of T-Mobile LTE bands and some AT&T bands. Although standard for other manufacturers, this is a stark deviation from other BLU devices supporting only 3G or HSPA+ speeds. The MediaTek processor demonstrates to be no match for powerhouse counterparts like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series or Samsung Exynos; but, common usage will yield nice results. Additionally, by today’s standards, 2GB of RAM won’t make any jaw drop in wonderment, but my testing showed solid performance with little to no stutter. Having multiple applications opened did bog the device down, but with proper management, any hesitations in performance would be minimal. Snappy certainly is an overestimation of performance, but solid fits the description without a doubt. If we were to hop into a Delorean and go back to 2012, there is little doubt the Life One X would be viewed as an upper-tier phone of the day. Heavy gamers and photographers-in-training may want to stir clear of buying this, but for someone looking for a casual yet solid experience, it’s not a bad selection.
TELL ME MORE: SOFTWARE AND CAMERA
The words buggy and inconsistent come to mind whenever I review a BLU Device, and this is no exception. I say this with the utmost conviction, never have I reviewed a device from this manufacturer incorporating like software or devoid of glitches, and this one continues that trend. The Life One X sticks mostly to stock Android Lollipop (version 5.1); with a few icon pack tweaks, an inclusion of software customization, and other software gesturing additions. I would not call these inclusions a skinned version of Lollipop, but perhaps that is a good thing. Keeping Android closer to pure as possible is what most users appreciate, especially since the software is not at optimal performance. The included App Drawer was also a welcome inclusion, resulting in decreased need to install a third-party launcher, a big difference from previous BLU phones devoid of such feature. But, software continues to be the bane of BLU’s existence. There were several useful features included such as: double-tap to wake, screen drawing gestures to open applications, flip to silence and snooze, pocket mode, and voice unlocking, all diminished by lag and app stuttering. One such example was the screen draw gesture to open the camera, in which you would draw the letter “c” for quick access. I love this feature on all my OnePlus devices, and hoping for similar success on the Life One X. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by inconsistency in successful usage and even phantom activation. I don’t know if it was me, or if the magical camera fairy waved her wand, but this feature worked marvelously when in my pants. Trust me when I say I know possess some great photos of the inside of my pants’ pocket. Joking aside, these inclusions would be a delight if BLU provided updates to improve performance when bugs are apparent, but I am skeptical due to the company’s previous track record. The same can be said about the operating system upgrades, as we are now entering month five of Android Marshmallow, and no word from BLU Headquarters on when the switch will occur. I see this as a potential deal breaker for those looking for updates to make a more fluid experience. However, at such a great price point, many may end up overlooking this inconvenience.
Much like everything on this phone, the cameras are solid without being spectacular. The application is easy to use with almost no hiccups, and utilizes a great button layout. As stated earlier, the back camera is 13 megapixels, with a 4:3 aspect ratio, or you could drop down to 10 megapixels for a 16:9 aspect ratio. A degradation of quality is apparent in switching to the lower resolution, but proved quite nominal. One quick note about the flash I learned the hard way, it is bright and can cause some serious shadow-effect problems when used, so proceed with caution when using. I did enjoy how quickly photos were taken, with a near instantaneous render. However, I did find touch to expose quite fickle. Some of the included sample photos should show it, but if you touch on one point of a subject, you can get a near perfect shot. But if you focus just slightly off-center of that subject, there was a tendency for blown-out highlights. It was a very odd occurrence and definitely one worth noting. The back camera also records video in 720p with your choices of high, medium or low frame rate quality. I saw little difference in video quality between the high and medium settings, but a noticeable one at the low settings. Unfortunately, no 1080p video recording was included, but overall camera quality for both photo and video were; say it with me…solid.
BRING IT ON HOME: CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS
As customary in each of my reviews, I attempt to answer the question who I would recommend this phone. Over and over I contemplated this and still have no solid answer. I guess the best answer shifts back to that word I used throughout this article: solid. If you are looking for a solid but not spectacular device at a great price, this is a device to consider. If you are not one desiring constant updates and not dissuaded by the possible lack of OS upgrades, this may be the device for you. I see this more as something a parent would buy their pre-teen or teenager as a starter phone, or for someone in need of a “filler” device until the new flagship season kicks off. I also see this as recommendation for someone traveling overseas needing an unlocked and/or dual-sim device, or for someone looking to add another decent phone to their roster. Solid, albeit with some buggy quirks, clearly defines what it is like to use the Blu Life One X. And if you are someone who can live with this, you will be pleased what your $149 buys you. One final note, if current pricing is steeper than what you would like to pay, Blu has a history of lowering prices as a device ages; so be on the look out for that in the near future.
JA3Tech 