Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo Review

Prestigio is a name you may not have heard of before, but it is one which is becoming more popular in central and eastern European countries.  With its headquarters in Cyprus they bring their own unique flare to smartphones.  When you first turn one of their phones on you have the name “Prestigio” spoken to you in a soothing manner, before getting to the home screen which has initially has bright red wallpaper.

This review will be looking at the Prestigio MultiPhone 4500 Duo.  This phone features the latest technology which Presigio offers.  It contains a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4.5 inch IPS display, Android 4.1 and an 8 megapixel camera.  This all sounds good, but when you see the asking price of just £149 + VAT it starts to sound even better.   Traditionalists will like the fact that there is a removable battery and microSD slot, as not everyone wishes to depart from this flexibility. 

Dual SIM Card Slots

Before moving on we should mentioned that the “Duo” section of the product name indicates the phone has dual SIM card slots.  This means you can simultaneously have 2 x SIM cards installed, which is potentially great for business or travel.  For example why have a phone for personal use and another for work when you can have one for both.   It is also worth noting it utilizes standard SIM cards, apposed to micro or nano versions which are commonly used on modern handsets.  Only one slot is able to be used for WCDMA connectivity.  This does at first appear to be slightly restrictive, but it is unlikely to cause many issues.  As the second SIM card slot does provide full GSM features.

Prestigio has done a good job of integrating this functionality into the Android operating system.  Just make a call using the dialler as normal and choose which SIM card to use by pressing the appropriate phone icon.  Mobile network providers are clearly identified by the phone.  In our testing we used a Vodafone and 3 mobile network SIM cards, which were both correctly located.  So there is little chance of accidently using the wrong network when making a call.  The same goes for texting, compose it and when you press to send it you are given the choice of which network to use.

Design

Now we know this phone is affordable, has a great specification and has the ability to use dual SIM cards.  We should now take a look at the rest of it.  Firstly it has a minimalistic design which is attractive, but doesn’t have some of the refined details you see with other product brands.   Yes it does feel plastically, but due to high quality materials being used it is a smooth to the touch and comfortable to use.

Buttons are located in convenient positions with the power on the right edge and the volume of the left.  Both are towards the top of the device so it is easy to use with one hand.  The 3.5mm audio jack and microUSB connector are both on the top of the device.  The first is sensible, but it is often better to have the connector on the bottom of the device for connecting to docks and car cradles.

The camera lens does slightly protrude at the back of the device however this didn’t affect usage, or when carrying it within a pocket.  Prestigio has done a good job of designing the back cover so it takes the camera lens into account and gently curves up to where the camera lens protrudes.

Interface 

Next we have a look at the user interface.  As mentioned the operating system used is Android 4.1 and it appears Prestigio hasn’t made many changes to the standard Android interface.  There are of course the addition of the dual SIM capabilities and a few bespoke apps, but in the main it appears quite clean.  The strange thing is that even through the interface is not cluttered you occasionally encounter delays for no reason what so ever.  This manifests in occasionally have to press on the screen twice to perform an action.  In our testing there was no particular app or action which caused the delay, and it was odd as the 4500 Duo was normally quick to respond.  It could be that  these  delays may just affect the device we had. 

Included Apps

There are additional apps included which cover typical requirements for most Android users.  These include a Flashlight, eReader, File Manager, Media3D, Gameloft Live and Installer Prestigio.  The last two apps provide links for additional downloads.  In the case of Gameloft Live there is a limited selection of games while Installer Prestgio has an even smaller selection of apps.  The others apart from Media3D are useful apps which can be easily downloaded from Play.  Media3D appears to be a convenient method of accessing your media on the device with the ability to convert it into 3D.  This seems strange as the screen on the Prestigio is not 3D and there isn’t any method for connecting it to a 3D compatible TV.

Display

The screen 4.5 inch IPS display is a fair display, as it has a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels.  This produces a 244 ppi (pixels per inch) which is ok, but certainly not comparable to some we have seen recently.  The display does however provide bright and vibrant colours and we didn’t encounter any difficulties using it in direct sunlight.  We additionally found text to be crisp and clear so you can comfortably use apps and enjoy web browsing.

Camera

The 8 mega pixel camera is surprisingly good, it may not have low light capabilities, but in the right conditions you will be pleased with your photos.  It uses the standard Android app to good affect which includes sweep panorama, various filters and HDR (high dynamic range).  The last one HDR takes several photos when you press the camera shutter at different exposure levels and then stitches them together for the best effect.  Using HDR did result in a few moments of saving while the photo was processed.   I have included a couple of photos to show this in action.

               Without HDR                                                          With HDR

Sound

The sound quality of music is ok, providing what you typically encounter with smartphones.  Yes it is a bit tinny, but if you use some good quality earphones you won’t have any complaints.  Call quality is good and didn’t cause any concern when using either SIM slot.

Battery

As mentioned earlier the battery can be removed which many people prefer.  It has a capacity of 1850 mAh and this should be ok for most situations.  We are however concerned that you might not get a full day of usage from the MultiPhone 4500 Duo if you are running intensive apps, or are making extensive use of the dual-sim capabilities.  We found the battery does appear to drain quickly when the device is being used in this manner. 

Conclusion

If you are after a dual-sim phone then the Prestigio is currently the best available.  It doesn’t have the specification of high-end smartphones, but it does give you a lot for the asking price.  Yes the battery life is questionable, but you do get an almost vanilla version of Android 4.1, a 1.2GHz dual- core processor and a 4.5 inch IPS display.  The camera is decent if there is good light available and Prestigio includes a free slip case.   All of this is available at a great price so why not have a look at the Prestigio MuliPhone 4500 Duo.

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