MyPhone Aqua Hail Review

Last month, MyPhone introduced a new  smartphone that’s aimed to cater to those people who are hunting for a device that fits their low budget. The MyPhone Agua Hail is essentially one of the most capable amongst the mass of devices which are specifically tailored for people on a tight budget.

With these countless competing devices on this particular class, what makes this device distinct from the competition? How far does its economical price will take the device’s possible users? Let’s figure it all out on our full review.

What’s in the box?

MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review 13MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review 15MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review 14

The box and its contents are just all right for the MyPhone Agua Hail’s price tag. But it’s worth noting the box’s elegant black finish which is something special in the sub-Php5k range. This is reminiscent of the packaging of their high-end phones – Iceberg, Vortex, and Iceberg Mini.

MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review 11MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review

The whole package includes all the basics: the battery, headphones with mic and one-button control, USB data cable, and the wall adaptor.

Design and Build

Okay, let’s get it straight – this device was manufactured to cater those people who are on the hunt of a budget smartphone. That’s why it’s not too surprising that the MyPhone Agua Hail is crafted with an all-plastic body making it, clearly, an exception to the bandwagon of good-looking smartphones.

MyPhone Aqua Hail Review NoypiGeeks

At the front is where the earpiece sits together with the LED indicator, VGA front-facing camera, capacitive buttons and the 5” FWVGA capacitive touchscreen.

MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review 23MyPhone Aqua Hail Unboxing and Review NOYPIGEEKS

At the top are the microUSB port and the 3.5mm headphone jack, while at the bottom is just occupied solely by the built-in mic.

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At left and right side are the volume controls and the lock/power switch which are surprisingly built in metal-looking material that has a brushed, paralleled lines texture.

MyPhone Aqua Hail Specs, Price, Features

At the rear is where you would find the 5MP main camera with LED flash and the speaker grill. And beneath it is the slot for two regular-sim cards and a microSD card which is capable of up to 32GB of storage.

The MyPhone Agua Hail’s design is distinctly almost the same to other MyPhone devices. Those curvy edges with tiny silver linings look very much familiar to the MyPhone A919i Duo and other recent devices. The whole phone can really look ugly if not well taken care of as both of its front and back surfaces are finger-print magnets. So, regular cleaning is a must.

Display

One of the biggest blessings of the MyPhone Agua Hail is its 5” FWVGA IPS capacitive display. For a device with this particular price tag, a 5-inch display is quite a striking deal as compared with other competing handsets that offers the same at a more hefty price.

MyPhone Hail Price, Specs, Availability

The screen’s resolution is pretty much on the low side in today’s standards. There were really a lot of noticeable pixels on the games that we’ve played and movies that we have watched. Outdoor visibility and viewing angles are also mediocre as the display is made with TN (Twisted Nematic) display which offers washed-out colors and kinda annoying brightness. Operating the phone can really be irritating at certain times as you would really have to struggle in finding the right viewing angle. However, I would say that’s it’s fairly okay for the price tag.

There is nothing so significant with the screen’s resolution. You only get what you have paid for it; nothing more, nothing less.

Performance

The MyPhone Agua Hail is loaded with a 1.3GHz Dual-Core MediaTek Processor with a Mali 400MP1 GPU and 512MB of RAM. Some examples of handsets that have this same chipsets are the Acer Liquid Z3, Alcatel One Touch Idol Mini and the Huawei Ascend Y320.

Benchmarks of MyPhone Agua Hail

The device had garnered a score of 10,000+ on Antutu Benchmark. A decent score for a device with this type of chipset built-in.  Games and other applications that we have tested run fairly decent without the presence of some distinguishably annoying lags. But, it definitely gets a few stutters here and  there – nothing super annoying though.

Multi-tasking is unremarkable on this one, which is quite unsurprising on a device that only sports a 512MB of RAM. But the thing is, you may flawlessly shift from different apps, but the application restarts and you can’t painfully go back from where you have finished.

Software

The MyPhone Agua Hail is powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box, enough just to fit the bill. The stated Android version maybe not be the freshest operating software but it compliment the device’s hardware, and it still managed to suffice our general needs throughout our experience with the device.

Android 4.2.2 Operating System

There is nothing really worth notable on the device’s User Interface as the MyPhone Agua Hail runs on an almost full stock Android experience. The aesthetics of the native applications remain intact and has the same look as what the others have.

MyPhone MyLoadTARA App by MyPhone My Karaoke App - MyPhone

MyPhone also preinstalled some applications on the device. Manufacturer-made and local apps like the My|Karaoke, MMDA, Pouch, my|load, TARA and Pinoy are bundled with the device out of the box. MyPhone also initially included popular apps like Bible, ClickTheCity, PicsArt, Viber and WeChat on the device’s app drawer. What’s worth noting is that, all this preinstalled apps are can be easily uninstalled for the users to comfortably customize their phones according to what they really want and need.

Camera

The device’s camera performance is something that you can actually foresee when you know how the phone is priced. MyPhone Agua Hail flaunts a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera, which, as expected, takes average photos with some washed-out details with a lot of visible noise. At low-light conditions, the photos are not good. If you’re going to take a lot of photos with this phone, make sure that you have decent lighting otherwise it’s not something that share worthy. Take a look at some of our sample shots below.

MP Agua Hail Sample shots Camera of MyPhone Hail Sample camera shots - Outdoors Good lighting, MyPhone Hail camera MyPhone Agua Hail Sample images IMG_20140223_152114 Agua Hail camera apps IMG_20140223_152013 Low light camera sample - MyPhone Agua Hail Review Low light shot MyPhone Hail review - camera MP Hail indoor shots IMG_20140215_143026 IMG_20140215_142653 IMG_20140215_140921 IMG_20140215_140818

Entertainment

  Videos

MyPhone Aqua Hail Videos and Games

You shouldn’t expect too much on watching movies or any kind of videos on this device due to its inferior screen resolution. But, considering the MyPhone Agua Hail’s price tag which is benevolently graced with a 5” display, it’s pretty bearable. You can watch HD videos too.

  Gaming

Download games and apps MyPhone Agua Hail Free games on MyPhone Hail

You can’t expect a superior, for-gamers-like device on a device with such budget price. Though we can play games with high frames-per-second like Crazy Taxi, Dead Trigger 2 and Riptide GP, there were still some noticeable lags and the games’ graphics quality is on the downside.

Connectivity

We have to inevitably start this section with bad news, the MyPhone Agua Hail lacks 3G connectivity. We’re quite not sure why they have decided to remove it; they may have probably thought that since this device is on the budget-friendly bandwagon, the prospective buyers may not have an access to unlimited data plans. But, it’s still quite unreasonable as almost all of the leading network providers today offer prepaid mobile internet subscriptions. That said, you’re only be able to access the internet via WIFi connection. Or, if you’re okay with 2G.

Connectivity - MyPhone Agua Hail

Texting feels fine on this device. You wouldn’t experience that peculiar feeling when you first hold the phone if you came from a device which has either a smaller or bigger screen.  The device’s 5” display is just right about perfect for daily operations and the keyboards are can be easily pressed with a more, unexpected accuracy.

Call quality is satisfactory. You can hear the person you are talking to loud and clear but not as crisp as what you might expect. The call quality just also speaks for the device’s price.

MyPhone Agua Hail Video Review

Verdict

MyPhone Aqua Hail Full Review - NoypiGeeks

The MyPhone Agua Hail undeniably belongs to the category of budget smartphones. But, it is clearly one of the top contenders on this particular category. There maybe a lot of shortcomings that this device has but considering its friendly Php4,598 price tag, it’s still pretty tolerable.

If you’re a user who wants to fulfil fundamental needs on a generous 5” display, the MyPhone Agua Hail is really worth the shot.

Pros
  • Big 5-inch screen
  • Awesome battery life
  • Good processing power
  • Removable Preloaded Apps
Cons
  • Low screen resolution
  • Average viewing angles
  • Lacks 3G connectivity

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8 Comments

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  1. Magkano ang presyo? Ang dami niyo sinabi, hindi man lang naka specify ang exact retail price.

  2. Lol No 3G/HSPA+???
    Bad call from the OEM, why the hell would they not include 3G connectivity?
    It’s like selling a car with no 4th gear lolol