Happy Mobile D-Lite Quick Review

Happy Mobile is just a new entrant into the local scene but that doesn’t mean their offerings aren’t as competitive as the others. The Happy Mobile D-Lite looks like a stunner for its price, but is this a good smartphone overall? Read on and find out.

Design and Construction

Starting off with the design, you can see that the D Lite packs impressive and solid build quality. It’s mostly plastic everywhere, but it’s matte and two-toned. In our case, it is colored blue. The back also features a really unique design with a pattern similar to that of a Nexus 4 without the glass.

The great thing about the D-Lite here is that even with a price below Php5k, the handheld packs one of the best designs we’ve ever seen, not to mention while feeling premium and without not much dirt attraction.

Display

Running the show upfront is a 4-incvh 854 x 400 IPS display, but we’re not entirely convinced about the IPS part. Colors look rather well, and the pixel density is decent as you’d expect, but the viewing angles from above and to the left of the phone bring massive distortion to the screen. Regardless, it’s still manageable and it works for its price.

OS, Apps and UI

The phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with almost a stock Android feel, but it feels more like an older version than an updated one because of the icons and the other design elements.

Only simple apps are also bundled, like to-do and sound recorder, but you’ll not find much here really – not even Google apps (except Play) – and that’s a good thing because it allows for a smoother experience.

Multimedia & Camera

The speakers of the device are clear and decently loud, with the placement found on the back side of the phone. Watching videos on a 4-inch display with limited viewing angles proves to be a hard chore however, so we really didn’t enjoy viewing videos.

For its price, the cameras do rather okay and predictable even. In places where light is very available, the sensor takes good shots, and the video even does great with matching audio quality. Bring it indoors and quality will surely degrade immediately.

Performance & Benchmarks

• Antutu – 10,309
• Quadrant – 3,509
• Nenamark 2 – 44.0 FPS

With a dual-core 1.3GHz CPU and 1GB RAM, and like we’ve mentioned earlier, a really clean UI – the Happy Mobile D-Lite is not fast, but it’s not sluggish either. Considering its affordability, we found the performance of the D-Lite to be reasonably okay without much stutters moving through the interface.

Battery Life

Looping a video with 50% brightness and 0% volume has managed to drain a full battery to none in more or less 3 hours and 45 minutes. It’s below average compared to other phones, but we’re not so surprised considering the device only packs a 1,650mAh battery.

Conclusion

For the price of Php2,699USD 46INR 3,899EUR 44CNY 335, the Happy Mobile D-Lite is a great phone. It has specs that perform decently for its price, great audio recording, clean Android 4.4 KitKat and a beautiful and solid design. Unless you are willing to add more to get things like a better display, the D Lite does just fine.

Happy Mobile D-Lite Specs:
4-inch FWVGA IPS Display
1.3Ghz dual-core processor
1GB RAM
4GB Internal Memory
5MP Rear Camera
2MP Front-facing Camera
Dual SIM/Dual Standby
FM Radio
WiFi
3G Network
1650mAh Battery
Android 4.4 KitKat
Color: White, Black, Red

What we liked about it:

• Affordable
• Beautiful design
• Solid construction
• Decent cameras
• Clean UI

What we didn’t like about it:

• Bad viewing angles
• Sub-par battery life