Smartphone BQ-5300G Velvet View: a review of the device with its advantages and disadvantages

BQ Mobile is a Russian company with factories in China that entered the market in 2014. It is known for the production of budget models of smartphones, some of which quite often fell into the quality ratings. The company pursues a moderate pricing policy to make gadgets available to people of any income.

Among the products there are options both with a simple and concise design, and very original models with advanced functionality. The most popular BQM models are: BQ-5516L TWIN with Full HD screen, BQ-5512L STRIKE FORWARD with a large amount of internal memory and a good camera and BQ-5301 STRIKE VIEW, which attracts with its appearance.
The range of prices for goods from the manufacturer is from 3-4 to 15-17 thousand rubles. Below we will talk about another interesting device of the brand - BQ-5300G Velvet View.

Review of the smartphone BQ BQ-5300G Velvet View

Design

The body type is classic and made of plastic. In appearance and to the touch, it is very heterogeneous and resembles bubbles. On the back surface, you can see the rear camera and LED-backlight highlighted in an oval. Under them is the name of the company, and at the very bottom edge is the name of the model and speaker. The fingerprint scanner is missing. The back surface itself is rough and forms a pattern. The smartphone is comfortable in the hand.

Above the display on the front side are earpiece and front camera with flash.The screen itself, unlike the latest models of smartphones from different manufacturers, is flat. It doesn't flow to the borders. The bezel between the display and the edges of the screen is not too big.

The power on / off button and the volume rocker are on the same side - the right one. This is convenient, since you can use your thumb to press the keys, but with a blind switch, you can make a mistake and press the wrong one. On the top side of the case is a headphone jack and a USB port for charging. On the bottom is a microphone.
The color palette is wide: green, gray, blue, purple, red, orange, magenta and black.
Dimensions: 146.5x72x10.1 mm. Weight is 152 grams.

Screen

Color TN with multi-touch option. A good diagonal of 5.34 inches provides an image size of 960x480 dpi sufficient for an average smartphone with a density of 201 pixels per inch. The picture quality is good. The detail, clarity and sharpness of the image are average, but for a budget model with an average price of 4000 rubles, it will do. The color depth is 24 bits, that is, there are 256 possible shades and halftones. This is enough for a normal photo.

The screen is covered with protective glass, but there are no additional oleophobic coatings (due to which fingerprints would not remain on the surface).

Operating system

The gadget runs on software from Android 8.1 Oreo Go Edition. It differs from its previous versions in the structure of the OS and the optimized size of applications embedded in the smartphone. This can significantly reduce file download time.

This software is a lite version of Android 8 Go. It takes up little space on the built-in memory and this is a good advantage of the smartphone.

Processor Specifications

CPU (central processing unit)

Quad-core with ARM Cortex-A7 chip, powered by Mediatek MT6580M clocked at 1300 MHz. It processes information quickly, so the smartphone responds to commands quickly enough. According to the reviews of the owners, there were few “glitches” and “stickings”, or all of them were not so terrible. Some, however, said that the phone is not as fast as we would like.

GPU (graphic processing unit)

Dual-core processor based on ARM Mali-400 MP2 chip. It is considered obsolete, so the performance is less than desired.

The amount of GPU RAM is small and equal to 0.5 GB.
The amount of internal memory is 8 GB, which is also not so much.
There is a slot for memory cards up to 64 GB.

If we talk about whether this device is intended for games, then most likely not, it is not suitable. On it, you can play simple games that do not heavily load the GPU RAM. You can’t install augmented reality applications on a device either - the processor is not designed for this.

cameras

The rear camera takes pictures with a resolution of 5 MP. You won’t be able to shoot professionally with such a device, but for normal use it will do. The camera settings are no different from many other models, and this is also one of the reasons for such a low price for it. The camera also shoots video at 720p @ 30 fps, which is also quite acceptable for non-professional shooting.
The front camera shoots 1.9 MP photos and 480p @ 30 fps video.
Both cameras have flashes and autofocus, which is the advantage of a smartphone.

Connection

For mobile communications, a standard connection for Russia is used - GSM 800/850/900/1800/1900 and 3G.Satellite navigation is carried out at the expense of GPS and GLONASS. Connection to Wi-Fi occurs through Wi-Fi 802.11n interfaces. For wireless data transfer, the smartphone has Bluetooth.

The smartphone does not support fourth-generation communications, that is, 4G and LTE, so some users do not like it.
Some indicate that the device has an A-GPS application. It sends signals to several satellites, thereby increasing the accuracy of positioning.

SIM cards

The device supports Dual SIM technology, by which both cards are in call waiting mode. This is convenient, since it is possible to switch the receiving SIM card without turning off the device itself. Now this technology is already firmly established in all smartphone models, even the most budget ones.
Card type - micro-SIM.

Battery

Its capacity is average - 2150 mAh. This is enough for 8-12 hours of continuous intensive use. With moderate loads, it can last for a day, but in comparison with other models on the market, this is not so much. Generally speaking, the device is strongly tied to the outlet. You will have to constantly monitor the battery charge, which is very inconvenient.

USB

Wired communication version 2.0. It's an old technology that's been around since 2000. Now there is a newer version on the market - 3.0, according to which data can be transferred in two directions. In the case of USB 2.0, data is transferred only in one direction, but for smartphones, more is not needed.
The cable connects to the device via a mini-USB port.

Media

Audio is stored in MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA formats. Video format MP4, AVI and others.

Other features

The device has built-in radio, voice control and voice dialing.

Equipment

The delivery set is as modest as possible - the smartphone itself, a silicone case, charging, a warranty card and instructions. Due to such a small configuration, the cost of the product was also reduced.

Outcome

• Low average price - 4000 rubles;
• standard functionality acceptable for everyday use;
• smart enough (if you do not set difficult tasks);
• autofocus;
• screen diagonal 5.34 inches;
• chips MediaTek MT6580M (quad-core) and ARM Mali-400 MP2 (graphic);
• rich coloring.

• Cannot photograph in bright sunlight;
• photographs weakly at night;
• small battery capacity;
• only suitable for simple games;
• small amount of RAM - only 512 MB;
• a modest built-in memory of 8 GB, most of which is occupied by embedded applications;
• budget-friendly;
• dim display;
• poor performance;
• works well with third-generation networks, but the fourth (4G) is no longer supported;
• lack of oleophobic and anti-reflective coatings;
• autofocus malfunctions;
• the screen cannot recognize more than two simultaneous clicks;

The phone is included in the rating of the most budgetary and that, in general, says it all. For its price category, it has a good set of features, but is not suitable for games on the device. Beautiful views from the 5 MP camera are definitely not to be captured, especially since some consumers point out severe problems with autofocus. The small capacity of the battery, even in the battery saver mode, does not allow using the device for more than a day.

Overall, this smartphone is very average. Many features meet the needs of the average consumer, but poor performance, short battery life cancel everything out.
User reviews say that this smartphone is well suited for a child, but people who actively use the device and need higher performance will not like it.

Where can you buy cheap?

On the BQ Mobile website, promotions are often held where you can buy a phone cheaply. It is better to take the 5300G Velvet View model there, as in this case good quality is guaranteed. You can look at Aliexpress, but the price will be about the same. On other sites, the cost is also not much different.