DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

Like what I’ve predicted a year ago, Android phones will be getting cheaper as we get further. Since most Filipinos wants to have a dual sim plus Android, here’s a good phone that you might like. The DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid. It doesn’t pack an eye popping and unique feature aside from being a dual sim smartphone but the phone is very affordable with a SRP of P4,999. The DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid is running on an Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 plus a Dual sim feature. Quite interesting right?

Before we get down to the review let us first check out the specifications of the phone.

• 3.5″ HVGA Touch screen LCD
• 650 Mhz MediaTek MT6573 Processor
• 5 Megapixel camera w/ Flash
• Front facing camera
• 100mb Internal Storage
• up to 32 GB External storage
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• two 1450 mAh Battery (Yes, there are two batteries included in the box)

What’s inside the box?

Design, Hardware and Construction





Honestly, the phone reminds me of the HTC Desire. Actually, it looks like the HTC Desire. Anyway, the DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid is still sturdy and solid even though that the phone is entirely made up of plastic. The back cover is made up of plastic and it’s like made up of rubber. I have nothing against that and I still think that the phone is still good even though it has a plastic back cover.


At the front we can see a 3.5″ HVGA capacitive screen which is the same size with the iPhone (except that the iPhone has retina display + larger resolution) . Below the screen is the 4 capacitive Android buttons. Nothing special about it. At the top of the screen is the front camera. Which can be used to take on your own pictures. Oh and you can’t use the phone for skype video call which is quite disappointing.



At the back is the 5.0 megapixel camera with LED flash with the speaker on the side which is very very loud but not that quite clear. I really like the back cover. I felt that the phone won’t easily slip in your hand because it has a rubbery-like surface. The DTC Mobile logo is also printed at the back along with the Android logo and some features at the back. They should’ve remove some other prints at the back except the DTC logo. The back cover’s design looks messy because of it.

The 4 sides

At the top of the phone is a 3.5mm audio jack with the power button. I got no problems about it. On the right side of the phone is the MicroUSB port and the keychain hole. Unfortunately there’s no camera button on the side. On the other side of the phone is the volume rocker which is thin but still okay. At the bottom. Ughm. Well there’s nothing except the external microphone.

I got no problems with the body and construction but there’s only a 100+ mb of storage which is not quite enough for some apps and games. But thankfully, we can add a MicroSD card in where the phone can support up to 32 GB. And like what I’ve said earlier, I got no problems with the body and construction. I can hold and use the phone normally.

The display isn’t that great like the one that can be find on the HTC One X or in the iPhone 4s but this one is already good for a phone with a P4,999 SRP. Its sunlight legibility isn’t that great but it is acceptable. I think I just got used to great displays on phones. Battery life? Well the phone last up to a day or less on normal use. around 8 hours on heavy use.

One of its strongest feature is the support for Dual Sim. Well, I have no problems with it. OH FYI, if you’re using 2 sims, then you can change the colors at the notification bar and the names of the sim so that you won’t get confused. BUT there is a very important thing that is missing here. Well, the phone is lacking a 3G/HSDPA radio. So yeah, we’re stuck with EDGE.

The Camera

The DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid has a 5 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a front camera that can be use as a mirror to fix your hair or just take your own vain shots. And just like what I’ve expected, the 5 megapixel camera didn’t fared well. Oh and by the way, you’ll need to have a MicroSD card in order to use the phone’s camera because it won’t allow you to save your photos at the phone’s memory.

Anyway, the camera’s quality isn’t great just like what I’ve said earlier. It lacks in many aspects but you can do a lot in the camera app. You can adjust settings, use effects and the thing that I like the most is that you can use Panorama in it. Everything else is similar to a HTC camera app. Here are some sample shots using the DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid, You’ll be the judge:

Here’s a video at 720×480. It isn’t that great either but hey, this is an affordable dual sim Android phone so don’t expect a HD recording on this device.

Software and Performance

Obviously,  the phone’s UI is very similar to the one that can be found on the older HTC Devices. There’s HTC sense in the homescreen but it wasn’t as smooth as I expected. Almost everything is the same with the HTC sense — from the camera app to widgets. Almost everything and anything. Thankfully, the MediaTek MT6573 650 Mhz can handle most apps really well. Well, not those hardcore and 3D-hungry apps, just the good ol apps that we mostly need in our daily routine like Facebook and Twitter which is already built-in inside the phone.

Apps and games? well, there are already built-in apps like what I’ve said earlier like Facebook and twitter but there are also 3 games that are included in the phone — Fruit Ninja, Devil Ninja 2 and Angry Birds Rio which you can play without much hitch. But if you feel that your phone needs some more apps and games then check out Play Store in where you can download a lot of apps (I can’t install Instagram and I don’t know why). Well not all apps in Android will work on this device but hey, there are a lot more apps that you can download in the Play store.

VERDICT

There are a lot of affordable Android out there but you might want to consider this phone if you are not always into mobile data since the lack of 3G is a big letdown. If you are the type of guy/girl who wants to have a dual sim phone but you also want a taste of Gingerbread. Well, Android Gingerbread then write the phone’s name in your longlist. If you want to get one, check out the nearest Mega stores out there and DTC Mobile Kiosk. The DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid is now available with a SRP of P4,990.00

Here we go folks. The raffle that you’ve been waiting for! By following some tasks in rafflecopter, you can get a chance to win a DTC Mobile GT3 Astroid that we use for review (But hey! At least we’re giving it away!)

• As long as you can pick up the device at Manila City Area, Batangas area and at Calamba, Laguna Area then you are eligible to join.
• You can enter the raffle through the Rafflecopter widget and follow the instructions below
• The winner will be notified via Facebook/Email/Twitter
• This giveaway period starts at July 30 2012 and ends at August 20 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DISCLOSURE: THANK YOU DTC MOBILE PHILIPPINES FOR SPONSORING THIS GIVEAWAY