Hands-on: Starmobile Knight

Yesterday, we finally get to meet Starmobile’s upcoming flagship handset, the Knight, which was the rebranded i-Mobile IQX. And while we’re at it, we thought of giving you guys a tour of this highly-anticipated Android handset.

Right from the get go, we noticed something peculiar about this smartphone; it exudes the same look and feel as the iPhone 5, at least from an arm’s length that is. And no, we’re not talking about the make here, rather the svelte and slightly elongated profile of the Star Mobile Knight that gives it that premium-like feel, not to mention its rather flat front and back panels that are also similar to Apple’s current flagship handset.

For a 4.7-inch handset, the SM Knight actually feels lighter than other handsets on the same league that we’ve used thus far. Factor in its slim body and you got yourself a sizeable smartphone that’s well built from an ergonomic standpoint and also very easy to navigate using one hand.

Apart from the HD screen, the OEM was able to make room for three capacitive buttons at the bottom portion of the front panel, as well as an 8MP secondary camera mounted at the top with the earpiece and a slew of sensors.

All three buttons, which includes the Power and Volume rocker, are placed on the right side of the handset and are easily accessible through the thumb or index finger. Meanwhile, the micro-USB and audio ports are located at the top most portion of the phone.

Flip the phone on its back and you’ll be greeted with a glossy white cover that houses some of the other key components of the Knight such as its 2,000mAh battery and trio of slots for two SIM cards and micro-SD card. Another feature that’s found on the back is the controversial 18MP BSI camera with a pair of LED flashes which is situated at the upper left corner of the phone’s posterior.

During our time with the handset, we were able to snap a handful of pictures using the front and back cameras. Judging from what we saw, we have to say that it’s one of the more decent stills we’ve seen from a dual-SIM Android handset. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to transfer the pictures we took with the Knight as we had some troubles pairing it with our handset through Bluetooth.

Due to the lack of speedy internet connection and the limited amount of time we spent with this phone, we also weren’t able to do our usual benchmark test with the SM Knight. However, we managed to weave through different areas of the device and try out apps that are already installed on the phone. Of all these basic tasks, we’re glad to report that Starmobile’s new handset was able to give us a decent user experience.

Summary

Though our first encounter was rather brief, we can definitely say that Starmobile got a strong contender in their hands; one that sets the bar a notch higher for its upcoming competitors. But then again, the good traits we saw earlier might just be the tip of the iceberg and what lies beneath may either disappoint or impress us even more. Well, we’ll just gonna have to wait until Starmobile lend us a unit and see if this handset is indeed the real deal.