So just a week or two ago, in its attempt to position itself as a good quality brand G-tel put up an advert in one of our daily newspapers highlighting its comparability against leading smartphone brands – specifically Sony Xperia L and HTC Desire U.
The core message behind this particular advert was GTel, despite your perception, does hold it own against two trusted brands. Looking at this advert at face value you would believe GTel is in another world in technical prowess but nothing can be further from the truth.
In this comparative matrix the GTel A703i Andy Pro which retails at $145.00 comes out as a far cheaper but technically at par with the Sony Xperia L and HTC Desire U which retail at $390.00 and $490 respectively.
Rightly so, the GTel A703i Andy Pro runs on android 4.1.2 and has a Cortex A7 Dual Core processor that carries more weight than most desktops in our internet cafes. It also carries Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, 8G internal memory and an LCD WVGA Capacitive touch screen.
These specs are impressive for $145 phone but if you dig deeper, you will note that these specs are equally aligned to its value.
Primarily, the Cortex A7 processor is specifically designed to make 2013-2014 entry level smartphones ($100 range) work just as well as high end smart phones ($500 range), made in 2010. To cap it all, this Cortex processor was specifically developed with the developing world in mind.
On the other end HTC and Sony devices run not only on feature rich Android OS, but most importantly on Qualcomm’s Snap Dragon chipsets which are miles away from Cortex in terms of value and performance.
When software becomes open to all (as has been Andoid), its the hardware that calls the quality. Having a Qualcomm Dragonsnap or Cortex A7 hardware determines whether a device is value for money or a pretender. This particular GTel appears to be a high-end device at entry level cost but it merely what it is – an entry level at entry level cost which has no comparison to the Sony Xperia L and HTC Desire U in any way.
I am not saying GTel as a brand is poor, but this particular comparative matrix appears like a naughty attempt to disguise a good entry level smartphone as ultra-cheap high-end smartphone.
It’s high time POTRAZ takes a leaf from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in regulating not only mobile networks, but also devices that enter our market.
It’s easy for South African consumers to differentiate between quality and phony simply because quality has an ICASA Approved seal whilst phony has, – well – nothing! Yes, the South African market also has cheap, low quality devices but buying these is a matter of choice and not misinformation.
I will be patiently waiting for a “POTRAZ Approved” mobile device.
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china, snapdragons are system on chip sets (SOC’s) that contain ARM Cortex CPU’s, GPU, GPS etc all on a single unit. you cannot compare the two because they are not the same thing. and you may want to proof read your articles before you post them.. they contain alot of typos!
You got that right (Dragonsnap) lol
the article is correct,google a7 cortex, even the manufacture of A7 acknowledged that it is designed for low end smart phone and u to research before u post ur comments
fair enough, A7 is a low end CPU. but they were used in the snapdragon 200 and 400 series SOC. what was that you were saying about research?
The author doesn’t seem to fully grasp how ARM chips are made. Things that were missed
– Cortex A7 is design by ARM holdings, which doesn’t manufacture any chips
– Various fabs license ARM designs and make chips based on the designs (Samsung with Exynos, Qualcomm with Snapdragon, etc.)
The natural result is that not all 1 GHz processors are created equal- even if they are based on the same processor design (A7/A8/A15). I expected the author to call out Gtel on that: how does their 1 GHz MediaTek/Rockchip/Chinese processor stack against the competition?
This is like Nissan saying the Sunny performs just like the BMW 318d because it too has a 1.8 litre engine.
here’s someone i share a thinking pattern with
all very true.
End of the day, They all accomplish the same thing (MTK vs Snapdragon). You find though, that MTK SOC’s use lower cost components and materials, lower spec GPU units to significantly bring the overall cost of the device downward. While the GTEL device may sound like a wannabe, im sure its a really good android smartphone that can basically perform the same function as the branded androids. Performance/durability? well, thats another story now…..
overall, kudos to GTEL for attempting to get a fairly decent smartphone out there locally at a fairly affordable price. The cheaper cost of the device has to come from somewhere, and as they say… you get what you pay for.
my friend, the guys from gtel forget to compare FEATURES SUCH AS Scratch-resistant glass,Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR, sweep panorama etc.all the functions above are not found on the gtel phone.THE PRICE FOR THE GTEL IS RIGHT PRICE
besides scratch resistant glass and an image stabilizer.. everything else you mentioned, are based on software applications… and are not hardware dependant. i.e find a cooked rom with all that built in, and you’re good to go.
First of all the Gtel has a mediocre camera. Secondly nothing is known about its GPU which probably is the reason for the low price. It probably wont run some high end apps smoothly if at all. There is also no information on what sensors are on the device e.g ambient light, gyroscope, orientation.
Hi Tendai Shoko are you based in ZImbabwe please do get in touch with me if you are. Thanks 0712 330 617
Mr Shoko, getting to know all that about a phone is simple, Get Antutu benchmark, its an app used in the android community as a standard for bench marking phones. im no fan boy but my gtel (A7000 X1) plays fifa 14 like it was made for it. that said, i feel gtel does hide the truth about a lot of things. eg. their A702 is a 2G only phone yet their site says its 3G capable. i could give many examples.
I hear you Mr Nhari but I doubt any seller would allow me to install a benchmarking app before I have paid for the phone. Do you mind sharing your device’s score and hardware info as revealed bu Atutu? FIFA is not resource hungry. Try Gansgter RIO or GTA Vice City with standard settings.
Anyways, the point I’m trying to put across is that the phones used in the comparison have features not not available in the G-Tel which explain the price difference. For example the sony’s screen is protected by scratch resistant glass, the camera is 8mp with Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR, sweep panorama, 720p video.
There is also the issue of sensors as some apps will not work properly without certain sensors. For example a 2-axis gravity sensor will work well for screen rotation and driving games by is useless for pedometer apps and any app with multi direction motion control
One could argue that the devices are targeted at different audiences but let’s compare apples with apples.
https://db.tt/ukkrWUGR
https://db.tt/5ZfC7kQG
https://db.tt/wXj9kA3G
https://db.tt/XN4uonhc
https://db.tt/0YKpnW46
these are some screenshots from antutu benchmark,
Its not the best device out there but its capable. i can use it for resource intensive apps including games and productivity apps, I’d say the most resource demanding app/game was NFS most wanted 2012, but the lag was first time play lag, now its smooth as ever.
Your device has far better hardware spec than the device in the article. How is the build quality?
build quality is excelent. battery is excelent. 720P video recording.
HI,ARE TENDAI FROM KUWADZANA
The A7 is responsible for less demanding background processing and gtel shd tel the truth.the processor was designed for budget smartphones .this is an extract from gizmag, a tech mag ‘UK-based chip manufacturer ARM has announced its most energy efficient
CPU for portable electronics, called the Cortex A7, which will succeed
the Cortex A8 CPU. The new arrival is designed to work as a stand-alone
CPU in entry-level devices, ” its not proper to compare the two,its lyk comparing chinese wannabe isuzu to an isuzu vehicle
the gtel phone compromised on the processor,camera and screen type…thats why its cheaper than those big two brands
l got a message adivisng me to collect a t shirt from g tel but to my surprise l wasn’t given. they said my name wasn’t appearing on their sheet.