[Android General] Corvus Corax:
THL (Technology Happy Life) is a Chinese company which has been manufacturing smartphones since 2002. Even though THL has been selling their products only on the domestic market for many years, today their phones are available in many other countries as well including Europe, Russia, Taiwan, India, the USA and Nigeria. THL has many interesting models to offer, but our attention was captured by a low-budget model, the THL 4000, which markets a 4000mAh battery at a cost of only $100. How can you resist such an offer?

A well-recognized web site specialized in selling mobile phones, tablet computers and accessories, Pandawill, has provided a copy of the THL 4000 for testing and writing this review.

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Technical specifications

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Processor: 1.3GHz Quad-Core Cortex-A7 (Mediatek MTK6582M)

Graphics chip: Mali-400 MP2

Display: 4.7“ IPS LCD 960x540 pixells (sensitive at 5 points simultaneously)

RAM: 1GB

Memory: 8GB ROM (~4.17GB user available, 2GB for apps) + microSD slot

Back Camera: 5.0Mpix, autofocus, LED flash, video 1080p@30fps

Front Camera: 2.0Mpix

Battery: 4000mAh (removable)

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11b/g/b, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB, OTG, GPS with A-GPS

OS: Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)

Dimensions: 140 x 68 x 11.2mm

Network: 2G – 850/900/1800/1900MHz, 3G – WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz

Other: Dual SIM, FM Radio

Package content​

The THL 4000 comes in a solid white textured box. There is a silver “thl smartphone” writing on the top, while the bottom side features detailed specifications of the containing device.

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By lifting the cover, one reveals the phone with a screen protector, while the partition beneath holds its accessories in white – charger of 1A, USB cable, stereo headset with a microphone, short user manual together with spare screen protector.

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As already mentioned, the charger’s specifications are 5V, 1A, thus it requires approximately 4 hours in order for the battery to be fully charged.

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The USB cable seems to be of good quality at first glance, and it is used for both battery charging and PC connecting.

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The phone’s stereo headset will not satisfy an audiophile, but it is adequate to the average user’s needs. Since the phone has the standard 3.5mm audio jack, more demanding users will surely be able to connect whichever headset.

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The short user manual covers the basics of Android use, and therefore will be useful only to beginners.

Quite a large battery (which is not surprising considering it has the capacity of as much as 4000mAh!) is already inserted into the phone, but, in order for it to be used, the user is required to remove the protective foil from the contacts.

Appearance​

The THL 4000 has a very simplistic design, is completely black (but is also available in white) with a silver strip, and is a bit thicker (11.2mm) and heavier (145 grams) than most smartphones. The battery’s big capacity has certainly taken its toll on the phone’s dimensions, and yet, after a short adjustment period, they pose no problem in everyday use. The outer shell is made of plastic, but one would say it appears of good quality considering the phone price range.

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The top phone side holds a 3.5mm audio jack (for headset plug in) and right next to it is a microUSB connector (for charging and PC connecting).

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On the right side there are volume control buttons, as well as an ON/OFF screen button, while the bottom side features only the microphone hole.

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The 4.7” phone display takes up most of the front, whereas 3 capacitive managing buttons are found bellow – Menu, Home, Back. Above the display, one can clearly see the front 2.0Mpix camera, proximity light sensor, earphone and notification LED (with the ability to display only a red light).

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The battery lid has a certain texture and provides great stability in holding and using the phone while being quite print-resistant. The upper part of the phone holds an 8Mpix camera and beneath it there is an LED functioning as flash. The center features a grey “thl” writing, but the bottom has the full name of the manufacturer – “Technology Happy Life”.

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A mono speaker hole can be found in the bottom of the phone back case, which can be considered a drawback if the user has the tendency of holding the device in the horizontal position and, thus, blocking it with their hand. The built-in speaker is very strong and reproduces high quality sound, so the user will rarely find themselves in the position of not hearing the phone ringing, even if it is being kept in its own case.

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Once the user removes the back lid, they can clearly see the famous 4000mAh battery, which is enormous capacity considering present day standards. Above the battery, there are 2 SIM slots – 1 for Micro-SIM, the other for Mini-SIM, as well as a slot for microSD memory card capacity up to 32GB. However, in order to even be able to access the cards, it is necessary to remove the battery from its setting.

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What is interesting is the fact that the SIM slots are set in such a way that the cards are inserted with their contacts facing each other. Also, it is appealing that one slot is not predetermined as 3G, and the other as 2G, but it can be chosen by the user in the software settings.

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Build quality of the THL 4000 model is on a high level, again, especially in its price range. It is solidly built and no cracking is present in the course of using the phone, which certainly deserves a commendation.

Display​

The THL 4000 comes with a 4.7” IPS display of QHD resolution – 960x540 pixels. This is a bit lower resolution for a screen of this size, but it is a quality panel, so the picture can by no means be considered grainy, unless one gets extremely close to the screen. The stock launcher icons are of a somewhat lower resolution, but by installing another launcher from the Play Store one get an even better impression of display quality.

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The screen is highly responsive to touch and can register as many as 5 touch points at any time.

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The only problem that has been noticed was the fact that the automatic light adjustment inexplicably from time to time changed screen brightness in closed quarters with incandescent light. However, that can easily be mended by turning automatic light off or using a brightness controlling app, such as Lux.

Consistent with the IPS technology, display viewing angles are pretty great, even the extremely narrow ones. Back light is quite strong and enables clear display visibility, even in bright natural light (when outdoors).

Software​

The THL 4000 runs the Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) OS version, which is good, since it means that almost every app currently available for this platform is supported. THL has decided to make small changes in the source code, thus one might say that the Android OS available on this particular device is quite similar to those on the Nexus devices, but with noticeable improvements in the right places (which are usually added in custom ROMs).

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Dialing and messaging apps are modified in such a manner to be able to support the dual SIM capability of the THL 4000 – there are buttons for choosing the card to be used to call or send a text message. This approach is highly appealing and allows swift user reaction.

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Aside from such a simple solution, the manufacturer has implemented more detailed selection function in phone settings for which the card is to be used. It is possible to simply preset that the first SIM card will be used for Internet access, video calls and to enable the 3G network, while the second SIM card will be used for calls and text messages.

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What is also present is the support for the option named by the manufacturer “Smart Wake”. It is the ability for the phone to be awoken via a quick double tap on the screen, without using the physical button in order to turn the screen on. Moreover, “Smart Wake” offers speedy run of the apps such as dialer, music player, internet browser, Play Store, etc. by simply drawing characters (c, m, e, o, w…) on the screen while it is turned off.

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“Multitasking Window” is an option enabling the user to run certain apps in a window while doing something else on the rest of the screen (surfing the Internet and simultaneously playing videos in the smaller window).

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In security settings there are also more advanced app managing options which start along with the OS (auto-start). By simply unchecking apps on the list, they are being revoked the permissions to automatically run. What is also present is the option of managing phone function using permissions for each installed app (the Internet, camera, dialer, messenger, GPS positioning, contact access…).

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The THL 4000 has been a pleasant surprise from the software standpoint as well. It used Google’s source code, added options which will surely be appreciated by advanced users, and then optimized RAM memory management. Aside from installed apps used on a daily basis, out of 1GB RAM memory, roughly 500MB is available!

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The phone works fast and fluidly, while multitasking options are in no way limited. Way to go, THL!

Camera​

THL 4000 comes with a 5Mpix back camera, which is decidedly modest in today’s standards, and a 2Mpix front camera for video chatting and selfies.

The 5Mpix camera has autofocus, LED flash and produces photos with the resolution of 2560x1920 pixels. It is interesting that the manufacturer used camera settings to enable the phone user with taking photos up to 13Mpix (for the back camera) and up to 8Mpix (for the front camera). The resolution of such photos is higher than the camera sensor itself permits, and so, they are artificially (via software) enhanced by means of interpolation.

Picture quality is rather good considering the needs of an average phone user. The colors are somewhat pale, but a great amount of detail is present when the conditions are met (good lighting, a steady hand). Photos of remote objects can be blurry to some extent, while macro photos are predominantly of good quality. Bear in mind that camera is not the main feature of this phone, nor it was designed to be.

Photo sample

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HDR photo samples

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Battery Life​

This is the feature which enables the THL 4000 to be shown in all its glory! A 4000mAh capacity battery definitely sounds impressive, and it has been proven as such. Thanks to the economical MediaTek MT6582M chipset, lower display resolution of 960x540 pixels, well optimized software and the 4000mAh battery capacity itself, battery life is exceptional! With both SIM card active (one in 3G and the other in 2G mode), mobile internet turned constantly on, occasionally connecting to WiFi networks, automatic screen brightness adjustment, automatic synchronization turned on, synthetic tests being run for about an hour, taking photos for around an hour and a half, an hour of call time, roughly 20 minutes of playing games (Subway Surfers), surfing the Internet, actively participating on a forum, etc. the THL 4000 achieved 11 hours of screen on time and managed to last almost 48 hours since its previous charging! This is an exquisite result of a phone that costs only $100!

Performance​

As previously said, the THL 4000 is based on MediaTek MT6582M chipset which is commonly found in low price range phones. Quad-core processor at 1.3GHz, stemming from the Cortex-A7 architecture, Mali-4000MP2 graphics chip and 1GB RAM memory give an imposing performance to power consumption ratio.

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Thanks to this chipset, most of the apps and modern games will work fluidly and steadily.

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The manufacturer has also implemented the USB OTG option, and so THL 4000 can connect to USB peripherals (such as USB flash drives, mice, keyboards…). In connecting to USB flash drive, a built-in file manager has the immediate access and file modification possibility on the connected drive.

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There is also the option of charging other devices via USB cable.

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GPS locating is quick and precise – even with cold fix, it only took 10s for the phone to connect to the satellites.

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Benchmark tests results

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Conclusion​

The THL 4000 is a smartphone which provides extraordinary battery life and offers excellent features at a reasonable price. Even though it is of lower resolution, the bright IPS display has wide viewing angles, thus providing impressive viewing quality in all using conditions. Should you be on a quest for a well-balanced smartphone in the price range up to $100, you require long battery life and hold no prejudice against less-known brands, the THL 4000 is a great choice!

Once more, big thanks to the Pandawill web site for providing the device for testing.