[Device Reviews and Information] Alberto96:
Review

Introduction

Even if OUKITEL devices are already cheap, this time they broke the rules again by releasing an ultra-cheap low-end device with pretty decent specs and quality hardware (e.g. Screen made by AUO)

This is the OUKITEL C3.

Hardware

Just like most of low-end devices, also this one features a low-end SOC, MT6580, that is just enough for basic tasks and for ultra-light gaming, supported by 1 GB of RAM. Both Camera sensors are made by OmniVision, but there is a good-quality HD screen made by the well-known AUO.

Unboxing

Packaging comes with basic accessories: 1x Micro-USB Cable, 1x 5V/500mAh USB Charger (the device charges at maximum 500mAh), 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Warranty Certificate and the Smartphone (of course). No Headset included.

As regards its design, it looks pretty stylish with a nice back cover texture. It feels solid enough, but don’t expect extreme toughness, it is still a cheap device, don’t forget it.

It is just 14.3x7.3x0.89cm and weights 156 g. A compact device that can be handled easily in your hands.

On the front side there is the standard (not 2.5D) Display Glass while on the upper front side of the device features a Front-Facing Camera, an Earpiece and the Sensors hole that includes Light, Proximity and Gesture Sensors.

The lower front side of the device there are the Soft-Keys Navigation Buttons.

On the back side, there is the unibody, and removable, Plastic back cover. The upper rear side of the device features a slightly protunding Camera supported by a single flashlight.

The lower rear side of the device features a noticeable Brand Logo with some Certification logos and a nice, patterned, Speaker hole.

Chassis is slim enough and well-built with all keys on the right side. There is no serious key rattling here.

Device

Screen

As already said before, the device has an IPS Screen made by AUO, and it seems to be pretty good. Screen Brightness is decent, good enough to be used under direct sunlight.

I have used my Galaxy S4 Light Sensor to measure its maximum brightness. I don’t have a professional Lumen Meter, so this (Lux) is the only value that I can provide you.

About Viewing Angles the screen behaves pretty well, impressing considering its price, but there is a noticeable banding issue.

Image Contrast and Saturation are accurate enough.

Camera

Back Camera (OmniVision OV5670) seems to decently, but, this is just a 5 Mpx Camera Sensor with Photos interpolated to 8 Mpx, so you can’t expect great photos.

With (left) & Without HDR (right), photos under direct sunlight aren’t extremely bad.

Flashlight is powerful enough for mid-low light shots.

About Videos, there is no Optical Stabilization here. Maximum Supported Resolution is 1080p (named as Video Quality – Fine). Even if it reaches 1080p, quality isn’t good, neither I think it could be optimized because the camera sensor isn’t powerful.

[YOUTUBE]Z2mzPNBSNnU[/YOUTUBE]

Audio

Speaker is pretty loud, much better than expected, and it has also decent quality. Well Done OUKITEL!

Unfortunately, it is positioned on the back, and, as I have already said for many other devices, if you place the device on a table you could experience volume issues, but this doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. As always, what matters here is the quality.

Nothing negative to say about the in-call/telephony quality.

Telephony, Mobile Network & WiFi

Being a low-end device, there is no 4G support. 3G Signal Reception is accurate though, with no issues at all with Mobile Data speed or Signal Stability.

Built-in Wi-Fi supports 2.4GHz networks, and using my Home internet connection I didn’t manage to obtain full speed, neither half of my broadband connection speed. It seems that there is a bug that limits WiFi Download Performance. (I have a 100/20 VDSL connection, WiFi gets connected to 65mbps)

Battery Life

Battery seems to be pretty good, Real Capacity is higher than Declared (positive), and it seems to handle enough screen-on hours to reach the end of the day.

This is a PCMark 8 Battery Test

Declared Battery Capacity is lower than Real Capacity, as you can see here. (2100mAh vs 2000mAh)

Software

Following its nice way to develop the OS, OUKITEL choose to use an almost completely clean version of Android 6 Marshmallow, with usual Mediatek features and nothing else. Smooth and Lightweight.

Just like other last-gen Mediatek Devices, there are some typical features such as Gestures, Scheduled Power On/Off, etc…

The UI is always responsive, and the hardware has been properly configured for best performance.

Benchmarks

I have used 3DMark, Antutu Benchmark, Epic Citadel, GeekBench 3, GFXBench, AndroBench and PCMark (Work) to stress the device to the limit. I won’t test Games or Video Playback because there are already some related tests included in these Benchmark suites.

3DMark – GPU Performance isn’t too bad, but you have to consider that there is no OpenGL 3.0 support here so only OpenGL 2.0 tests can be executed.

AndroBench – eMMC Performance is much better that expected, pretty good considering the low-end SOC.

Antutu Benchmark – I won’t say a lot about this benchmarks, this isn’t as reliable as others. I’m providing this just for benchmarks lovers.

Epic Citadel – As you can see, Gaming performance isn’t extremely low, there is enough power to handle games without major issues, you just won’t get ultra-high framerates.

GeekBench – CPU Performance is as good as other CPUs with the same configuration (4x Cortex-A7), probably also a bit better.

GFXBench– GFXBench result is….ultra-low. You have to forget heavy games on this device.

PCMark – Except for Video Playback Score, it isn’t pretty bad.

Summaring all results, I would have expected lower performance but I was wrong. Device’s performance is good enough for basic tasks, and it can be used also for some light gaming without having to deal with major issues.

Conclusions

OUKITEL managed to release a device that seriously can beat any other low-end device, especially for its ultra-low price and decent performance. Camera Performance is….poor, but you can’t expect something better.

I can recommend it if you want an ultra-cheap, and essential, device for basic usage.

Pros:

Good-Quality screen

Thin bezels

Loud Speaker

Lightweight

Ultra-Cheap

Real Battery Capacity higher than Declared

Cons:

No Notification LED

Poor Camera Performance

Screen has a slight banding issue

Rating: 8.0

Packaging and Accessories: 7.5

Design and Materials: 8

Performance and Heat Dissipation: 6.5

Screen: 8

Camera: 6.5

Sound: 8.5

Battery Life: 8.5

Software: 9

OEM Support: 8

Price: 10

You can find full-res images (I know, Quality isn't excellent) here:

http://imgur.com/a/gyLNT

Official Website

http://www.oukitel.com/product_detail.php?ProId=47

The device is now on sale on many e-shops.​