A comparative review of 2-sim Android phones - Highscreen Cosmo Duo and Gigabyte Gsmart G1310

Disclaimer : I think that this article will be interesting to Habr's audience and, in particular, to Android fans, since I have not seen such a comparison on the network yet. Just mentioning Gigabyte in passing in Cosmo Duo's review on Mobile Review. Well, I have not met - you have to do it yourself. In addition, there are not many similar devices on the market of Android smartphones, so we consider what we have. The text is intended more likely to those who for work or for other reasons need to use two SIM cards in the first place. For the rest, it's just my personal assessment of two similar Android-based devices. I do not set myself to compare tasks with top devices on the same platform, these are devices of a different class and for different tasks.
Upd: thanks to hhrhhr for links to comparisons of these devices on the network, there is nothing to compare .

If all of the above is interested - welcome under cat.


So, I managed to test two dual-slot devices on Android - Highscreen Cosmo Duo and Gigabyte GSmart G1310 . Immediately make a reservation, I got GeSmart in the form of an engineering sample, but I do not think that it is fundamentally different from the serial versions.
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Both phones were tested under the conditions of MegaFon-Moscow and Beeline networks (which SIM cards were available).

First a few words about design.

The appearance of both devices is very laconic, both manufacturing companies obviously worked on it and worked well. In Gigabyte, a proprietary round speaker grid and a round button under the screen in the middle immediately catches the eye. In Cosmo Duo - beveled ends behind the device, which gives it the look of a sort of arch and makes it easier to hold in your hand.

On the showcase, both devices look quite solid, without the brightly expressed youth elements, these are rather telephones for business people who need to be in touch no matter what. The sizes of the devices are identical, Cosmo Duo looks a little thinner thanks to the bevels on the back side, which were mentioned above.

We take both phones in hands and ... Here interesting tactile transformations begin. If by sight Gigabyte makes an impression of a neat business apparatus, not an image one, but a sort of “workhorse”, then when using this sensation dissipates. The materials used in the device are cheap, the thin battery cover squeaks, you take the device in your hand - all the charm disappears instantly. And these round things that could be forgiven by making a discount on the corporate appearance, begin to annoy. And the reservation about the engineering sample does not work here, the materials and the assembly do not hold water. The gap between the bottom edge of the screen and the physical (oh, my god, at least something) buttons is terrible, it looks clumsy. By the way, I don’t know exactly how many people tested the device before me, but the call button on the test device was forcing inwards and it was clearly visible that something was not well thought inside, since in half a year such a breakdown had not occurred.

There is a Ukrainian proverb, which loosely sounds something like: “You take in your hand - you feel a thing.” This saying is applicable to the Gigabyte device with the accuracy of “vice versa”. Outwardly it is quite concise and neat (with reservations), when used, it is disappointing. I chose a dual-sim Android smartphone, I would take a gigabyte in the store into my hand and immediately return it to the seller without even including it.

As for Cosmo Duo, the situation is different here. The phone and on the window look impressive, whole, in the hand is comfortable, without causing discomfort. Yes, there are no physical keys for sending a call and a release, but in the light of the comparison with Gigabyte it is rather a plus. For the rest - well built, well stitched, especially to talk about. In dvuhsimochnoy models abandoned diode indicators at the end, in contrast to the odnosimochnogo Cosmo. Well, correctly, the positioning and audience of the devices are different.

By the way, about the buttons. A few words about the remaining controls.
Gigabyte and here seemed to me inconvenient. I met such an arrangement of the power buttons and the camera, for example, on Acer Liquid, but in this case it is implemented extremely inconvenient. The power key is located on the left side of the upper end, the headphone jack is on the right, the camera button is on the right side below. Constantly when unlocking, the camera key is pressed and you have to first exit the application, and only then work with the phone. In Liquid, the power key is located on the left side, so the location of the camera button does not cause inconvenience. Her Gigabyte worth either drown harder or move.

In Cosmo Duo, the camera key is also located, but it only slightly protrudes and no random presses occur. The power button and headphone jack are on the contrary, which is more convenient for the right-handed person.

In general, in general, management in Cosmo Duo is more thoughtful and convenient. Ergonomic, as they say.


And the last stone in the Gigabyte garden by design is the key below the screen. The same, round, branded key. On the Gigabyte GSmart G1305 , which I also reviewed, there was a trackball in this place, which at least made sense, sometimes speeding up the work in the phone menu. In G1310, this is just a physical key that performs an Android function ... ta-dum, yes, just a “menu” function, for which there is already a touch key above the physical block. The only justification for the existence of this element is that it visually separates the call and end keys. Could think up to it more interesting practical application.

Let's go further, let's talk about the internal structure of both models.

Think I'll be scolding Gigabyte again? I will, but less. Here he has a few advantages over the competitor and about them below.

The location of two SIM cards. In G1310, SIM cards are inserted one above the other, a slot just to the right of the camera, to replace the SIM, you will need to remove the battery. Frankly, removing and inserting SIM cards is inconvenient, difficult. Especially the first (lower), because there is no guide on the board itself; there, as seen in the photo, is just a pinout of the slot.
A slot for a memory card at the end and it can be installed only by removing the cover, the battery does not need to be removed.


Now Cosmo Duo. Here I will scold engineers Highscreen. Yes, the slots for SIM cards are separated, it is more convenient to manage SIM cards than in Gigabyte, but why it was impossible to make a slot for a memory card outside, like on Gigabyte? I can not say, but the solution is not the most convenient, you can put an end to a hot KP replacement - you won’t get to it without removing the battery.


If in Gigabyte it does not matter in which slot which SIM card is installed - they are controlled from the menu, then in Cosmo the slots are signed - where is WSDMA / GSM, and where is only GSM.
Is it bad or good? I tend to be that good. My “distribution of roles” was this - MegaFon for data, Beeline - for voice / SMS. Therefore, in Cosmo Duo, I knew for sure that when turned on, the phone would not reach the network via the Beeline SIM card. In Gigabyte, this is set up after switching on - the modes Sim1 (2G) & Sim2 (2G), Sim1 (3G) & Sim2 (2G) and Sim1 (2G) & Sim2 (3G).


In Gigabyte in the settings there is a separate item called Dual Sim, where the behavior of SIM cards and their role is regulated, in Cosmo Duo - a separate section for each SIM. In my opinion, the implementation in the G1310 is more flexible than in Cosmo Duo, but this is dictated by the physical location of the slots, rather than the real need.
Either way, both approaches have the right to life, which is more convenient - you choose.



A curious moment - if in Gigabyte the indication of SIM cards on the screen is located from left to right, then in Cosmo Duo - the opposite. Those. first network 2, and then - network 1. What made Highscreen developers realize it like this - this is a great mystery. It does not interfere, over time you get used to it, but in the first time it constantly catches the eye.

Now about the stuffing.

The Highscreen Cosmo Duo has a Qualcomm® MSM7227-1 ™ processor, 600 MHz, while the Gigabyte Gsmart G1310 has a Qualcomm® MSM7225-1, 528 MHz.
The memory capacity in both devices is the same, RAM 256 MB, ROM 512 MB.
Cosmo Duo has a more capacious battery, 1500 mAh vs. 1260 mAh in Gigabyte.
The camera module, installed in Cosmo, has a resolution of 3Mp, in Gigabyte - 5Mp, which, however, has virtually no effect on the quality of the photo. You can add a flash to the Gigabyte pluses, which can be used as a flashlight (you need to install the program yourself), the camera is not equipped with a flash in Cosmo Duo. However, if my assumption is correct and the devices are aimed more at a business audience, then the Highscreen approach is more justified, it is not uncommon and has many examples in the past. For example, in Nokia E61 there was no camera module at all, although the device was trying to clearly compete with “Yezhivik” in the business segment of the market. In any case, the camera is not the most necessary element in the phone of a business person. It’s enough to take a picture of a contact or fix something, so as not to forget, and let the image or youth apparatuses win the megapixel race.

And the last point is In Use.

Below - only my experience with the use of devices, practically nothing argued and extremely subjective.

Regarding the quality of reception - oddly enough, G1310 wins here. Under equal conditions, he caught the network more confidently than Cosmo Duo, although both provided sufficient level for conversation.

In general, as it was possible to understand from the material, I liked Cosmo Duo more than Gigabyte, first of all with my visible reliability. This is not about actual reliability, nobody would have given me a car by phone, but rather its tactile reliability, at the level of sensations. Gigabytes also caused a feeling of fragility, probably due to the poor quality of the assembly and materials. Filling played a significant role. Cosmo Duo hung up for a couple of weeks and rebooted only once or twice, while Gigabyte did it a couple of times a day.
And the minor roughness in the software outweighed for me the scales in the direction of Cosmo. When the physical “call” button was pressed, the G1310 appeared to have its own call shell, when the on-screen button was pressed, the standard one, but with the changes made. Namely - to the left of the call list an alphabetical index appeared. It seems to be a useful thing, like speed dialing, but it occupied exactly half of the screen space on the left, and the “call” key in the call list is on the right of each contact, and to get to it, you need to make a “slide”, thereby hiding . It is terribly annoying when you need to urgently call back, and you stumble over an ill-conceived interface. As you understand, such an implementation made the set not fast, but quite the opposite.

In Cosmo, they didn’t think up anything and left the standard Froyot interface, which was familiar to other devices on this platform, having implemented only the work of two SIM cards.

In both devices, the possibility of dialing from either of two SIM cards is implemented, more or less the same, there are no complaints to any of them.

Total:

Gigabyte GSmart G1310 - weaker stuffing, weak battery, bad design. From 6 347 to 6 990 rub. according to Yandex.Market.
Highscreen Cosmo Duo - a slightly more powerful stuffing, more powerful battery, high-quality body materials. From 6,347 to 7,190 rubles. according to Yandex.Market.

My personal sympathies - on the side of Cosmo Duo, about yours - you decide. Have a good choice. ;-)

PS It is interesting to observe fasting and karma - fasting in the black, karma is waning, not a single comment. If only they could write who is not satisfied with what. To whom it is not clear - I will explain, add etc.