MyPhone Storm: A 4 Inch Smartphone for Under Php3k

When it comes to smartphones, there are some features that you have to pay a premium for. The size of the display tends to be one of them, so the larger and sharper the screen, the more expensive the phone will tend to be. However, the recently announced MyPhone Storm is a bit of an anomaly as it manages to include a 4 inch screen on a phone that doesn’t cost more than Php3k. What kind of corners had to be cut to get the phone priced this low? Let’s take a look.

The MyPhone Storm features a 4 inch capacitive touchscreen, which is large for the price. There’s no mention of resolution, although it’s probably an HVGA (320 x 480) screen if the actual resolution isn’t mentioned. It’s also powered by a fairly respectable 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6572 processor and Mali 400 GPU.

The RAM and on-board storage is pretty limited though. You’re only getting 256MB RAM and 512MB internal storage. While I don’t mind the RAM so much, the limited storage reduces the number of apps you can actually install.

In the connectivity department, you’re only getting 2G connectivity, but there’s WiFi for convenient browsing as long as you’re near a hotspot. There’s also GPS and Bluetooth if you need them. Imaging-wise, you’re getting the bare basics. There’s a 3.2mp shooter on the back and a VGA camera on the front.

While the MyPhone Storm comes with a screen that’s larger than anything else you can get at its price point, the limited internal storage is a huge disappointment. After all, the MyPhone Rain 3G managed to include both 4GB of internal storage AND 3G connectivity on a smaller 3.5 inch screen, so why couldn’t the MyPhone Storm come with at least one or the other?

A smartphone is only as powerful as the apps that you can install on it, and if you only have 512MB of storage, only 100-150MB of which is user-accessible, you’re really just getting a feature phone masquerading as a smartphone. In my opinion, you’re better of with the MyPhone Rain 3G at close to the same price.

MyPhone Storm Specs

• 4″ capacitive touchscreen
• 1.3GHz dual core MediaTek MT6572 processor
• Mali 400 GPU
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 256MB RAM
• 512MB internal storage
• WiFi
• Dual SIM/dual standby
• 1,600mAh battery
• Price: Php2,988