[Android General] MobileInkSlinger:
THL T11 – Review

One of the first Mediatek MT6592 octa core devices that hit the market was the THL T100. Although it did well on the market it did have some issues. One of the biggest criticisms was the poor battery life. This time around THL have taken the same popular design and transformed it into something a little lower spec’d, a little less expensive, and hopefully a little better as an all around device.

Unboxing

I bought the THL T11 from 1949deal and had it shipped with EMS. It took a few days for the order to process and ship, and then another week and a half in the mail. I’m O.K waiting a little longer as I find EMS works better for me in the area where I live. The device was extremely well packaged to make sure it arrived safely.

The box for the T11 was a fairly plain white box but it did have some specs on the bottom. What I did see was WCDMA listed as 850/1900/2100, which is what I had hoped. Inside was the device, a manual in English, NFC card, a set of standard headphones, a micro-USB cable, and the wall adapter. I also found a screen protector had been installed on the device with a spare in the box, a hard snap-on case as well as a flip style case. I don’t know if the screen protectors and cases came from THL or 1949deal. Regardless, it was a nice gesture and was noticed.

Check out the Unboxing video here.

Specs

5″ 720p display with Gorilla Glass 3

Mediatek MT6592 octa core clocked at 1.7Ghz

2GB RAM/16GB storage

expansion slot for up to 32GB cards

8MP rear and 5 MP front cameras

2750 mAh battery

Check out the full video review here.

Physical features

The THL T11 measures in at 70.4 x 144.3 x 8.4 mm and weights 145 grams.The design is identical to the THL T100 with it’s well known sharp corners. Although it looks very sharp the sides on the back have a nice radius which makes the phone very comfortable to hold.

On the right hand side is the power button.

On the left is the volume rocker.

The 3.5 mm headphone jack and the micro-USB port are both found on top.

As you look at the front the 5 MP camera is on the left.

As you look at the back of the device the 8 MP camera and flash are on the top left with the speaker being on the bottom left.

Display

I think the 1280 x 720 resolution that was chosen for the T11 was definitely the right thing as it still gives 294 ppi. It looks crisp on the 5 ” sizing, is plenty bright, as well as perfectly responsive.

Software

The T11 comes with Android 4.2.2 and is a fairly basic ROM. Depending on what you like it can be a good or a bad thing. If you are looking for fancy, you’re out of luck. If you are looking for basic, fast access Android, then you’ll be right at home.

During my time using the device I didn’t notice any glitches or issues with the ROM, and the stock launcher was smooth enough that I never felt a need to change it.

Wi-Fi

I tested the THL T11 ‘s 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi by taking a reading beside my router, then taking another at the furthest point of my upper level, and a third at the furthest point of my basement.

Router= 27.16 mbps

Upstairs= 25.34 mbps

Basement= 20.08 mbps

These are good results and I didn’t have any issues web browsing, streaming music or videos in any location within my home.

Call quality

The call quality is good on both ends with the T11. With some Mediatek devices people complain about the quality but what I’ve found is the device is usually just quiet and the volume can be raised by accessing engineering mode. I felt the T11 was fine as is.

Speakers

The speaker for the T11 is on the back of the device and does a good enough job, but I would call it average. I tested it with various types of music, video clips, and movies and it did alright. It could have been a touch louder though.

Video Playback

I threw all sorts of video at the T11 and it handled them all with ease. Some people feel the Mali-450MP4 is slightly under-powered but I find it consistently does a great job with all kinds of media. I have to admit I had a hard time enjoying videos on the T11 because I love large screen devices. I had been using a 7″ display so going back down to 5 inches was painful for me.

Web Browsing

Another consistent positive result with MT6592 devices is the web browsing. I used Maxthon browser and found web browsing quick and smooth just as I expected. I opened a bunch of apps and tried to bog the device down, then opened the browser and starting surfing again with good results. Score for the octa core.

Cameras

The T100 had dual 13 MP cameras so one of the down grades with the T11 is in the cameras. The 5 MP front camera did a good enough job with selfies but the 8 MP rear camera was just ok. In bright light it was fine but as soon as the environment became dim, noise started to creep into the shots. Not high quality results, but fine for general use.

GPS

Even thought the MT6592 SoC’s seem to have a better track record with working GPS’ than previous Mediatek chips I still find there are a number of devices that struggle. Luckily the THL T11 is not one of them. I was very surprised at how quickly it got its first cold lock and subsequent locks were always within seconds. To make sure the app tests were accurate I took the T11 for a drive and it performed well on our trip. I used Navfree which works from pre-downloaded maps so there was no data being used to help out.

Benchmarks

As you read through these benchmarks keep in mind that this phone costs just a little over $200, unlocked.

Antutu

27,921

This score puts the device ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and less than 7,000 points behind the brand new Snapdragon 801 Samsung S5, and HTC M8 flagships.

Nenamark 2

59.8 fps

CPU Prime

6441

This score shows the strength of the CPU portion of the MT6592 by placing the T11 ahead of the Samsung s4 and LG G2.

Vellamo

HTML5

2122

Metal

678

As can be seen by all of the results the T11 scores better than many devices that cost 2-3x more.

Battery

This is were the 5″ 720p display benefits the T11. I figured with t a 2750 mAh battery the device should do quite well, and I was right. The phone can easily make it through an entire day, even with fairly heavy use. When I put it on a video loop with the brightness set to auto the phone made it to the 7 hour mark and still had 5% battery life left.

Gaming

The MT6592 with it’s Mali-450MP4 has proven that it does well with media playback and it also does well with video games. Simple games are a breeze, and even graphically demanding games play fine. High end games like Dead Trigger 2, Front Line Commando 2, and Asphalt 8 get defaulted to mid level graphics settings but still look and play well. Once again the 720p display paired with the 2750 mAh battery will help with allowing longer game play times.

Final Thoughts

Pro’s

Good performance especially considering the reasonable price tag

Very good battery life

Expandable storage giving you up to 48 GB with the combined internal plus expansion card

WCDMA 850/1900/2100 is awesome for people in North America

Fairly strong, reliable Wi-Fi

Con’s

Loud speaker could be a little louder

Cameras are just O.K

Ships with Android 4.2.2

No LTE

The THL T11 is an affordable device that still offers high levels of performance. Many companies are pushing the device screen sizes up to 5.5 inches and beyond. Inevitably this creates a larger device and there are still a lot of consumers that don’t want to go beyond a 5″ display. The T11 respects that and offers a fairly compact device that performs fairly well in all areas. If you are looking for a good all purpose device with good battery life then the THL T11 certainly deserves a closer look.