Kingcom released a new seven-inch phablet dubbed as the Pi Phone Venus last month, and it surely piqued our interest. Our unboxing and first impressions come right after the break.
The box is pretty unsecured for the package that it holds inside. The only thing that holds everything together is a paper folded onto the insides of the box, and it’s rather loose.
Inside are contents you would normally find and some additional treats: USB and USB-OTG cables, a bulky charger adapter, a pair of in-ear headphones, a screen protector, the usual manuals and warranties, and the phablet itself.
The device itself is pretty sleek, and you might mistake it as a premium-priced phablet based on its appearance. The metal trims on the sides give a classic feel along the gold back finish and trims. The white bezels on the front might feel a little bit out of place with all the gold and metal finishes, though.
It’s good to hold with one hand, and it doesn’t feel too heavy for its size. It exudes a premium feel considering some parts are made from polycarbonate, something we found out while fiddling around the phone to look for the SIM and microSD card trays.
As for where the common controls and ports are placed, the 3.5mm headphone jack is at the top of the phablet, while the microUSB port and the microphone are down at the bottom. On the right side are three similarly-sized and evenly-spaced buttons. You might confuse them at some point but the power/lock button is at the topmost, followed by the volume rockers below it.
Flip the device over, and we have the 5-megapixel rear camera along with the speaker grills at the bottom. The battery is not removable, and KingCom has put the trays at the top through a covered section. I find it odd that the NTC stickers are placed outside, and it affects the overall aesthetics of the phone. It can also be susceptible to possible wear and tear, given this is a huge phablet and people are likely to hold this from the center to bottom sides.
Kingcom left the loaded Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS mostly untouched but installed a few preloaded apps. Upon the first run, the device feels snappy and fluid. Here are the initial benchmark scores we ran with the device:
Antutu – 38,540 (unverified)
Quadrant Standard – 13,466
Vellamo – 2,072 (Browser), 1,470 (Multicore), 978 (Metal)
KingCom Pi Phone Venus specs:
7-inch Full HD WUXGA IPS display, 1920×1200, 324dpi
1.7GHz Octa-core MediaTek MT6592
Mali 450-MP
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
expandable up to 32GB via microSD
5MP rear AF camera with LED flash
2MP front camera
Dual-SIM (Mini + Micro), Dual-Standby
3G HSPA+
Bluetooth 4.0
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Android 4.4.2 KitKat
3,000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery
Dimensions: 184.5mm x 106.2mm x 8.2mm
Weight: 460g
The Pi Phone Venus has a price tag of Php7,998 and is available exclusively at e-commerce website Lazada. Does the golden beauty run skin deep? We’ll find out in a few days as we take the phablet for a spin, and a full review.
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