Review of children's smartphone INOI kPhone (INOI 5i Lite)

Nowadays it is difficult to imagine your life without a mobile phone. Smartphones for children are not only a way to stay in touch with parents, but also a toy.

Most parents will support the idea that an inexpensive smartphone is fine for a child. This is especially true for younger students who can quickly “kill” a new gadget. Therefore, budget models of no more than 5,000 rubles will be ideal for them.

The tested smartphone of the Russian manufacturer INOI kPhone was created taking into account both the convenience of management and the provision of additional control services to parents.

Equipment and design

INOI kPhone is packaged in a small cardboard box with bright inscriptions "INOI kPhone" on the sides. The box is quite difficult to open (you can see this in the video below).

The package includes the smartphone itself, a protective silicone case with a bright print, a charger and a USB cable in the corporate purple color, a user manual and subscription flyers, which we will discuss next.

By the way, on the manufacturer's website, you can order a case for INOI kPhone with your own design. You can upload any image - a case will be made with it and sent to the addressee.

The phone is presented in several colors: red, gold, blue and black. The smartphone is made in the classic monoblock form factor. The case is assembled superbly, there is no hint of even the slightest backlash.

Dimensions are quite compact. They are 147x71x9 mm and weigh 166 grams.

The back cover of the model is removable. Under the cover are a removable battery, two slots for SIM and a slot for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB. In the center of the back cover is a chrome manufacturer's logo. On top of the camera unit with two lenses and LED flash. Below is the speaker grille.

The arrangement of mechanical keys and connectors can be called traditional. On the right are the chrome-plated volume rocker and Power button, which are equally thin but differ in length. There is a microphone on the bottom. MicroUSB and a standard 3.5 mm jack for headphones were placed on the upper end.

This model cannot boast of a complete absence of frames on the screen, but the smooth lines of the curved 2.5D glass give the smartphone an expensive look. There is a small edging around the perimeter, which will protect the display from scratches and chips.

fashion screen

Smartphone INOI kPhone has a bright 5.5-inch HD IPS screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The elongated screen proportions not only enhance the design, but also have practical applications.Narrow bezels will bring more fun when watching videos, photos or surfing the Internet.

Viewing angles are wide. The image on the screen is clear, pleasant color reproduction. The touch layer responds well to pressing. You can turn on the "Adaptive brightness" function - then the brightness level will automatically adjust to external conditions.

cameras

Today, to find a phone without cameras, you need to try. Toddlers can get by with a satisfactory camera. But for older children, having a good camera will become a sore point. Parents must accept the fact that without social networks, selfies and numerous pictures, the children of our time can no longer do.

INOI kPhone has a dual 8MP camera on the back, which allows you to take excellent portrait and panoramic photos. Very surprised and pleased macro photography! The smartphone comes pre-installed with the Google Drive app with an additional 15 GB of cloud storage space, expandable.

The front camera has a resolution of 5MP.

Specifications

The phone supports two SIM-cards, has a large screen with the ability to connect the "Auto Rotate" function.The presence of a capacious replaceable 2850 mAh battery along with an energy-efficient processor will allow you to stay connected longer.

The INOI kPhone is equipped with a MediaTek MT6580 quad-core chipset clocked at 1200 MHz. The graphics accelerator is slow, but the smartphone copes with both undemanding games and demanding fighting games such as Tekken, World of Tanks Blitz and Mortal Kombat X. On the manufacturer's website, you can see the updated list of supported games.

Performance and Software

The INOI kPhone smartphone is built on the basis of the modern version of the Android 8 Go operating system, in which background processes are reduced. This is a big plus for budget-class smartphones with 1 GB of RAM.

The main screen displays four quick access tabs with a selection of children's applications by type: "Education", "Games", "Books", "Videos". The tabs contain pre-installed applications that can be installed and uninstalled. Educational programs are selected for different ages: there are both for schoolchildren and for kids who can develop reading, counting and speech skills. Preinstalled games are not only entertaining, but also educational. The collection of children's applications will appeal not only to parents, but also to children.

As bonuses, the buyer of INOI kPhone receives a subscription to the ivi online cinema for one month for his favorite cartoons; a monthly subscription to the online school for grades 3-11 "Foxford. Textbook", giving access to materials on thousands of topics of the school curriculum and a simulator for testing knowledge; and 30 children's books as a gift from LitRes.

The voice assistant with artificial intelligence Alice from Yandex was displayed on the main screen.The child can talk to him, ask him to tell a fairy tale or answer a question of interest.

When the virtual world sucks your child in, you start to think about safety. Children's smartphone INOI kPhone has a complete set of parental controls: notifications to parents about the location of the child, the ability to listen to the sounds around the child, network filters, battery control and much more.

Google's Family Link app allows you to take full control of your child's phone from your Android or iOS smartphone. Parents will be able to limit the amount of time they can use their phone or set up a shutdown schedule depending on the lessons so that the child does not get distracted. Set up a safe search on the Internet and set the age limit for your account (16+, 18+). Parents will be able to remotely approve or reject the installation of new applications from their smartphone.

If a child needs to put the silent mode on the phone, then as a result it may not be possible to get through to him. Familiar situation? But thanks to the correct parental control settings in INOI kPhone, you can get through to him with a loud ringer even in vibrate mode.

Also find out the time of using a particular program. "Family Link" allows you to connect to the INOI kPhone microphone and listen to what is happening around the child.

If you nevertheless allowed your child to use the phone without restrictions, then playing too much, your baby can “land” the battery. But through the "Family Link" app, you can remotely monitor the battery level.

In the Find My Kids app, you can see the history of your child's movements during the day and their location in real time, as well as the number of minutes in a particular application.The smartphone manufacturer gives a free lifetime subscription to this application.

All “controlling” software is built into the firmware and cannot be removed, even if the child really wants to.

The smartphone is pre-installed with the INOI proprietary application, where the user can use service support, find answers to frequently asked questions, chat with a specialist, order accessories and find information about the nearest service center, which are open all over Russia.

Sound

INOI kPhone supports Hi-Res audio codec for listening to music through wireless headphones.

Video review

Conclusion

INOI kPhone is a worthy representative of children's smartphones! It is perfect for kids of all ages, as it looks quite stylish thanks to the large screen and colorful case. Of course, not all children will be happy with parental control, but adults will appreciate it.

Also, the pluses include the presence of a lightweight Android 8 Go operating system.

INOI smartphones are distinguished by high-quality assembly and good ergonomics.

• large bright screen;
• the presence of a lightweight operating system Android 8 Go;
• developing children's content and parental control applications;
• quality assembly.

The downside is 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of built-in memory. Also, not everyone will like the rear camera that protrudes noticeably above the body. But this is easily solved with a case. There is also a problem with displaying contacts: SDN numbers cannot be hidden. In the settings there is only the possibility of sorting.

• the amount of RAM in 1 GB and built-in - 8 GB;
• Do not hide SDN numbers.

For a price not exceeding 5,000 rubles, the INOI kPhone smartphone can be forgiven for shortcomings, yet we are considering a budget gadget.

Finally, a few shots from the front camera:

Frame from the front camera

Frame from the front camera