4G is a new generation of networks that are an integral feature of most advanced smartphones. Midrange gadgets, and even more so flagships, today allow their owners to transfer data at speeds previously unavailable. But not everyone can afford an expensive smartphone. And the developers met the users halfway by starting to produce budget devices with support for LTE networks. The product from MTS Smart Sprint is deservedly considered one of the best budget smartphones that provide the ability to work in 4G networks. We'll talk about it today.
Appearance
This 4G smartphone is made of fairly cheap plastic, so it is very soft to the touch. The white color strongly collects dirt and after just a few weeks of use it loses its presentable appearance. The black version of the case is slightly better in this regard. There is almost no dust or fingerprints on the back cover, but the front panel and screen “smudge” very quickly.
On the front side of the model, under the screen, there are three standard touch keys. Above the display you can see the warning light indicator and a small peephole of the front camera. Next to them is a speaker. On the right side of the device there is a power button for the smartphone and a key responsible for the volume. The left side is empty. At the bottom of the device there is a microphone, at the top there is a headset jack (3.5 mm) and a compartment for mini-USB. The rear panel houses the main camera and LED flash. There is a microphone at the bottom. By the way, reviews say that its location was not particularly well chosen, since while holding the device in his hands, a person closes the sound hole with his palm.
General dimensions: 136x68x11 mm.
Screen
The 4G smartphone from MTS has a very decent screen for its class. The 4.5-inch display is equipped with an IPS matrix and a resolution of 960x540. The color rendition is quite bright, but the viewing angles are far from ideal, but quite acceptable. It's nice to play or watch videos on a smartphone. Of course, the 720p resolution is severely lacking, but let’s not forget that the gadget belongs to the budget category. In general, judging by the reviews of the owners, there are no complaints about the screen: the sensor works properly, the colors are saturated, and the brightness is high.
Tariffs for mobile phones
For 2021, MTS 4G Internet tariffs consist of 4 main offers. Some of them have unlimited traffic at night and limited during the day, and some are completely unlimited. Three tariffs are combined into the Smart group.
- Tariff
- My Smart.
- Smart
- Our Smart
- X.
The latter is the most interesting and is positioned by MTS as an unlimited MTS 4 G LTE tariff, but in fact this is not entirely true. You are limited to spending no more than 7 GB per month, but such popular services as: VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Apple Music, Google Music, Yandex Music, Youtube, Zvooq, App Store, World of Tanks and many others. Tariff cost: 500 rubles per month
In addition to these tariffs, Internet is also provided by others. The most interesting among them is “Smart Top”, which for a subscription fee of 1950 rubles will provide you with 20 GB of Internet throughout Russia.
In order to connect a single Internet to all your devices (up to 5 pieces), you can use the one of the same name, which allows you to pay for traffic for several smartphones and/or other gadgets at once.
To connect a new device, you need to send it an invitation through the personal account of your main gadget and confirm. The cost of the service is 100 rubles per month.
Specifications
The smartphone is equipped with a dual-core MediaTek MT6572 processor. Each core operates at 1.3 GHz. 512 MB of RAM are responsible for working with applications, and the Mali 400 video accelerator is responsible for the graphics component of the device. For data storage, the MTC Smart Sprint 4G Sim smartphone has only 4 GB by default. But experienced consumers say that they can be expanded using microSD memory cards. The MTS 4G smartphone recognizes flash drives up to 32 GB.
Speaking about networks and wireless modules, I would like to note Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and, of course, the operation of LTE networks. The average data reception speed is approximately 48 Mbit, and transmission speed is 7 Mbit. The indicators, as you can see, are quite good. As we can see, LTE support is installed here not just for show, since the networks have fairly good speed, which is why the smartphone provides worthy competition to gadgets from the budget price segment.
Unblocking operators
To unlock the device at the MTS sales office you must present:
- phone in original packaging;
- receipt of the completed purchase;
- statement written according to the sample.
The consultant can unlock the gadget or create a special service request - in this case, the unlock code will be sent later in the form of an SMS or an email message. The received code must be entered after installing a SIM card from another operator and turning on the phone. The service is provided free of charge. The operator has no right to refuse it.
Each person can unlock the gadget independently - using a special program Root Explorer, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. After downloading the application, you need to open the file and click on the “Mount R/W” button. Then you need to allow access to “root” and click on the “Copy here” button.
In the menu, you need to go to the “Permissions” window, and then select “Enter Octal” here. Here you need to enter the number 1, and then press 6 3 times. To confirm the operation, press “OK” 2 times. After rebooting the device, you can connect SIM cards from any operators.
The “Symlock” is also removed after entering the command *#*#3646633#*#* on the device. Here, in the “Simme Lock” item, go to the “Network Personalization” sub-item, where the “Unlock” option will immediately be visible. After this, the combination 12345678 is entered into the field, and the operation is confirmed. Finally, press the “Unlock Permanently” button.
An inexpensive phone with a stable 4G connection can be used for Internet surfing and work purposes. It is not fast, but it supports a large number of mobile applications.
Camera
The MTC 4G smartphone has very mediocre optics, but still, if necessary, the device can be used as a camera, but only if there is good lighting. The 5 MP camera has autofocus and LED flash. The photos come out quite good when shooting outdoors during the day or indoors, but a lot of noise appears on dark objects. When there is a lack of lighting, the optics distort colors, there is an indecent amount of noise, and the flash, judging by the words of users, copes poorly with the backlight. You definitely can’t take pictures with the device in the dark.
Speaking about video shooting, it is worth mentioning that the smartphone allows you to make videos with a resolution of 720 p at a frequency of 30 frames/sec. Here the situation is exactly the same as with taking photos: during the day you can shoot a good video, but in the dark the image quality becomes simply terrible.
The front camera has only 0.5 megapixels and is installed here, most likely, just for show, since it will not be possible to take a decent picture with it. If on a relatively small gadget screen a photo still looks more or less tolerable, then on a large monitor it becomes completely unpleasant to look at. If you wish, you can post such a photo on a social network - nothing more.
There’s not much to say about the functionality of the cameras, since all the options are standard for devices of this type, and the developers, alas, do not offer us any interesting solutions.
Advantages and disadvantages
As a result, we can summarize the main positive and negative aspects of the new mobile device from MTS.
This is a plus | This is a minus |
1. The clock speed of the processor and the amount of RAM allow the device to quickly respond to user commands 2. The display conveys the image very clearly, there is no color mixing or distortion when viewed from a large angle 3. Both cameras of the device cope with their functions, taking a shot and processing the image under different weather conditions 4. The battery holds a charge for a long time with continuous use and the activity of several functions (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.) 5. GPS standard navigation accurately determines the location of the gadget owner 6. The device works in all modern mobile network formats | 1. Annoying Android shell when you first start the phone 2. Inability to use for full-fledged games 3. 1 megapixel for the front camera instead of the stated two 4. Work only with MTS SIM cards |
User reviews
To present a complete picture of the use of this phone model from MTS, below are several reviews from device owners.
- Hactyon: “The stylish slim body of the model attracted me with its appearance. It is not bulky in size and fits nicely in the hand. I will note a good display matrix - absolutely EVERYTHING is visible on it. It can distribute WiFi, which is so necessary for me on the road. The downsides are a sluggish touchscreen, standard firmware and locking only for MTS-e SIM cards. True, if you dig deeper into the system settings with root rights, you can find a solution to this problem.”
- dodik5: “Of the budget models, this is perhaps the most balanced device that can be found in the cabin. After the purchase, I didn’t install any applications on it for about a week. I just disabled the firmware with advertising from Android. Overall a good, thin and light phone for those who want to constantly use the Internet. After installing a couple of heavy programs, it began to freeze a little. In the summer the battery gets very hot, but the rest of the year it works as it should, charging for about 4 hours.”
- Vladislav: “On the good side, I can highlight a good screen with good color rendition. But the battery and front camera leave much to be desired. A lot of advertising garbage in screensavers, useless software and other crap from different sellers.”
- Ankor: “I was choosing between Alcatel and this smart - I liked the design and the screen with the motherboard. The sound is a little weak, the speaker does not work at 100. It’s perfect for communicating on social networks and small toys.”
Based on the results of the tests, the Smart Surf 4G mobile phone meets the requirements and successfully copes with its functions. The ultimate question of whether to buy it or not is determined by the buyer's preferences. This smartphone is clearly not suitable for powerful media applications and bulky games, but for Internet surfing tasks it turns out to be an ideal tool. The announced price of the model is 3,490 rubles. instead of 5990 rub. the predecessor of this gadget from 2016.
Sound
According to the owners, this 4G smartphone has very mediocre sound. When holding the device in your hand, as mentioned above, there is a risk of covering the speaker with your palm, which muffles the sound. This phenomenon turns out to be especially inconvenient when watching videos or games. As for the quality of the melodies, it doesn’t stand out as anything interesting here. In principle, the device can be used as a player, but it cannot become a full replacement for an MP3 device. The kit comes with a very weak headset, so it will most likely have to be replaced immediately with more expensive headphones.
games and applications
The device's good hardware and good screen allow you to use many popular applications. Resource-intensive software is unlikely to work properly on a smartphone, but mid-level programs are processed perfectly.
As for games, the gadget is quite capable of running fairly high-quality products, but not at the highest graphic settings. Of course, the MTS Smart Sprint 4G smartphone is not able to play games from the TOP category correctly. But still, it is unlikely that anyone will purchase this device as a portable multimedia center or game console.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main positive and negative aspects of a mobile device are given to summarize the issue of purchasing a device. The smartphone has the following advantages.
- Supports 4G LTE up to 150 Mbit/s, which is several times faster than the usual 3G.
- Two SIM cards of the microSIM standard, which can be both a plus and a minus of the model.
- Modern hardware, which gives the operating speed one and a half times greater than that of the previous MTS Smart Sprint model according to test results.
- The sensitivity of GPS navigation gives good accuracy, equal to 5-6 meters on a clear sunny day (as tested by the GPS Test utility).
- Four possible colors for the case back.
- An excellent starting price for the device - from the start of sales, the Smart Sprint 4G cost 3,990 rubles when paying for mobile communications several months in advance.
Users named the following qualities as disadvantages of the device.
- The predecessor had an IPS matrix, but this gadget has a TN display, which gives color distortion when viewed from different angles. Multitouch does not support more than 2 touches.
- The back wall and screen are slightly soiled.
- Not very good photo quality.
- Both holes for SIM cards are configured only to work with MTS cards. But this shortcoming can always be corrected on your own.
Reviews of the new product
Here are reviews from mobile operator subscribers about the new smartphone model who have used the gadget for different times.
- Alexey, Samara. “The rating cannot be higher than 3 due to the worn-out case and a glitch with the sensor. The battery holds a charge well and lasted me almost three days of use. Incomprehensible charging indication - if now there is 2% left, then an hour ago the charge could be 40%, this is when the device is almost in standby mode.”
- Alina, Nizhny Novgorod. “I liked this model, and I immediately bought it - an excellent phone for little money.”
- Valery, Astrakhan. “After purchasing it, I immediately unlocked it. I don’t understand why make a smartphone dual-SIM if these two SIM cards can only be MST??”
The Smart Sprint 4G mobile device from MTS stands out from its competitors, primarily due to its price, pleasant appearance and balanced technical data, allowing it to be used not only for work and surfing, but also to spend time playing an enjoyable mobile game.
Battery
A lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1800 mAh is responsible for autonomous operation here. If you believe the reviews, you can watch videos on your smartphone for 3.5 hours. The combined use of social networks and music will eat up the battery in about 6.5 hours. Moderate use of all energy-consuming options (music, Internet, games, video, communications) led to the device requiring a charge after only 5 hours of use.
Conclusion
The MTC Smart Sprint 4G Sim smartphone performed well. Excellent performance of LTE networks, high-quality screen, good build, good photos in daylight conditions, decent battery life, an excellent set of modern applications and options. Among the minuses, we highlight terrible shooting in low light conditions, a body surface that collects dirt and fingerprints, a frankly weak front camera, a fairly small amount of RAM and only 4 GB of data storage by default. As you can see, the only significant disadvantages are the lack of RAM and weak selfie optics, but as for everything else, the product from MTS was pleasantly impressive: for 4,280 rubles we get a good gadget with high-quality operation of new generation networks.
Tariff plans for other devices
MTS has a separate offer for tablets. This is a variant of MTS Connect-4, which is built on the basis of . As is easy to understand, the main feature is the flow rate of up to 4 Mbit/s.
This MTS 4G tariff plan is designed for tablets and modems. It operates throughout Russia. Internet unlimited.
Another offer is the MTS Tablet tariff. It includes traffic up to 10 GB. At the same time, you can choose a direction - outgoing or incoming - which will not waste traffic. That is, you can either download files unlimitedly or upload them to the network. What exactly is needed is something everyone decides for themselves.
But MTS offers also cover other devices. Thus, “Smart Device” is an option designed for smart watches, alarms, and smart home technology. It will cost 490 rubles per year, for which you will receive 300 MB of Internet.
4G smartphone: reviews of MTS's brainchild
The smartphone received positive reviews about its design. Most users liked the assembly of the case: the design is quite well made. There are complaints about low-quality material, which retains dirt and fingerprints. Moreover, many note that it is very difficult to erase them later, and subsequently they still appear soon.
Users came in handy with the technical specifications. The owners believe that for such a price, 4G and a dual-core processor are a real gift for those who need a 4G LTE smartphone. Nubia is unlikely to be able to create such a cheap and high-quality device that supports 4G networks. As for performance, the gadget does not cause any complaints: applications and games run perfectly. The color rendition and good sound of the speaker completely immerse you in the gaming universe, from which you will not be able to leave for a long time. In addition, the device runs most modern options, which makes its use more productive. Many were also impressed by the fast performance of 4G networks.
Now about the cameras. The MTS Smart Sprint 4G Sim smartphone has received mixed reviews. According to the owners, using the main optics, you can take good pictures provided there is sufficient lighting. Night photography was criticized. Also, most users criticize the front camera of the device, which is frankly weak.
But the people who purchased the smartphone we are considering were satisfied with the battery life. The battery lasts for several days without recharging with moderate use. At the same time, the owners are quite active in surfing the Internet, making frequent calls and regularly listening to music. In this regard, the smartphone did not disappoint.
The best 4G smartphone in the budget category (according to many) has received mostly positive reviews, since the device from MTS has a good price-quality ratio and almost completely meets the expectations of its owners.
Smartphone MTS Smart Sprint 4G
This device operates only with SIM cards from the MTS operator. According to the company, this decision was made in order to provide subscribers with the opportunity to use a personal and service SIM card in one smartphone. Users noted the 4.5" screen diagonal - the device is compact in size and fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, like the once familiar iPhone 4s gadgets.
Controlling the device with the Android 5.1 operating system allows you to use all modern applications from the Play Market. The first owners assessed the battery life of the device as acceptable for long-term use. Below are the full technical specifications of the model.
Technical qualities
Detailed technical characteristics of the new device from MTS are presented in the following table.
Are common | |
Device type | smartphone |
Housing version | classic |
Case color | dark grey/ gold/ white/ steel grey |
Total SIM cards available | 2 pcs. |
operating system | Android 5.1 |
Control type | touch buttons |
Product weight | 140.5 (g) |
Dimensions (WxHxD) | 65x131x9.5 mm |
Operation of multiple SIM cards | variable |
Equipment | smartphone, User Manual, 1 A power adapter, headset, connection cable |
Manufacturer | China (Haier Electrical Appliances) |
Screen | |
Display type | TN, color, touch, 16.78 million shades |
Sensor type | capacitive, multi-touch |
Permission | 480x854 |
Diagonal | 4.5 « |
Pixel Density | 245 ppi |
Screen Format | 16:9 |
Processor and memory | |
Processor type | MediaTek MT6735M |
Clock frequency | 1 GHz |
Number of cores | 4 |
Video accelerator | Mali-T720 (400 MHz) |
ROM capacity | 8 GB |
RAM capacity | 1 GB |
Memory card hole | There is |
Card type | microSD |
Maximum SD card capacity | 32 GB |
Cameras | |
Main camera | 5 MP |
Rear camera | 0.3 MP |
Video recording support | There is |
Main camera video resolution | 1280 x 720 (HD) |
Front camera resolution | 640 x 480 (VGA) |
Front camera autofocus | There is |
Frame rate per second | 30 |
Digital Zoom for photos | 8x |
Main camera flash | Yes |
Flash format | LEDs |
Multimedia | |
Built-in audio player | There is |
Audio formats | WAV, FM radio, MP3, AAC |
Headphone jack | 3.5 mm |
Connection | |
Communication standards | GSM, 4G (LTE), 3G, 2G |
GSM band | 1800, 900 |
Internet | Cat 4, 4G LTE, DC-HSUPA, DC-HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE, HSUPA, HSDPA |
UMTS band (3G) | 2100, 900 |
Wired communication | microUSB |
Wireless type | Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n |
Navigation systems | GPS, A-GPS |
Total SIM cards available | 2 pcs. |
Only MTS SIM cards | Yes |
Nutrition | |
Battery Type | Li-Ion |
Capacity | 1800 mAh |
In standby mode | up to 250 h |
On the internet via Wi-Fi | until 20 o'clock |
Talk mode over 2G | up to 8 hours |
In music playback mode | up to 30 hours |
Charging time | 3 hours |
Charging connector | micro-USB |
Other functions | |
Device control type | voice control, voice dialing |
A2DP profile | available |
Airplane mode | available |
Sensors | proximity, display orientation, compass |
Flashlight | There is |
Note. Before purchasing a mobile device, it is recommended to check the package contents and technical specifications with the seller
It is worth noting that the Android OS for this gadget is filled with the Celltick shell - a special widget installed on all MTS devices. This add-on is designed for the locked screen. It adds to the screen, in addition to the standard functions of unlocking and volume control, a clock, the percentage of battery remaining and the MTS logo.
There are also six bookmarks to access basic functions - weather, social networks, photos, etc. In addition, there are several standard programs from MTS: “MTS Service”, “Where are the children”, “2nd memory”, “SIM menu”, “Easy payment”, MTS TV, “MTS Locator”. When a call or message is missed, another indicator appears - an event notification. This addition consumes about 2% of the battery capacity during one cycle. If the subscriber does not need such a widget, then you can always disable it in the following simple way.
- Click the menu icon at the top right of the screen.
- Open the “ Settings ” section.
- Scroll down to the bottom, find Celltick and deactivate the add-on.
To understand the operating principle of the main elements of this gadget, it is advisable to provide a review and analysis of the performance of these components. The following components deserve attention here:
- Display.
- Cameras.
- Accumulator battery.
- Design and construction.
Below is a study of the main software and hardware features of a mobile device.
MTS TV support service Withdrawing money from an MTS account to a card
Screen
The developers equipped the phone with a 4.5" TN matrix with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. The viewing angle for viewing is not too wide. With a large tilt to the left or right, a blue-grayish tint, characteristic of a TFT matrix, is slightly noticeable. The light sensor is also not very good. When setting automatic brightness adjustment, in sunny weather it may jump, making the screen periodically darker or lighter. But the adjustment is very smooth and imperceptible in feel. The screen is easy to read in cloudy conditions and indoors.
The screen itself is made of plexiglass, so it is not durable. The Multitouch function can only accept two simultaneous presses. The fonts on the screen are a little blurry and this can be noticeable, incl. in images from the Internet. However, most applications support this screen resolution, so the user does not have to adapt the display to modern software through settings. It is also difficult to explain the fact that there is emptiness at the top of the screen - space free from application icons and widgets, allocated for no clear reason.
MiraVision technology smoothes out many of the display's imperfections, allowing you to adjust the level of sharpness, brightness, contrast, color temperature and other graphic properties. For easy setup, MiraVision works in real time, displaying two pictures - “was” and “has become”
Cameras
The device has two cameras: the main one with a 5 megapixel module, LED flash and autofocus, and the front one with a 0.3 megapixel module, giving a resolution of 640*480 in VGA format. Considering the latest trend of video cameras for budget smartphones, the quality of the images is not surprising. In low light conditions, the main camera does not take good pictures - the images look blurry. But the white balance of this lens is excellent. As a result, excellent shooting conditions for such a camera are cloudy weather and a large object in the frame.
Regarding the flash, in the dark the pictures are obtained without purple tints and this is not bad, considering that its range of action is no more than one meter. The ideal use for this lens is photographing documents, small avatars for instant messengers and social networks.
The front camera works well and gives a clear image for its 0.3 megapixels. VGA video can also be recorded, for example for a short film or a small animated avatar. It is clear that selfies are not of ideal quality, but for Viber or Skype such a photo will do.
Battery
The smartphone from MTS Smart Sprint 4G has a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 1800 mAh. According to the manufacturer, this is quite enough to work with music playback for up to 30 hours and in standby mode for up to 250 hours. Testing the battery with the BatteryWidgetReborn test program showed slightly different results. Using this tool, device operating parameters were obtained under different energy consumption modes and continuous use of the gadget. They are listed below.
Playing video | Listening to music, using social networks | Music, social networks, games, videos (combined use) |
3.5 hours | 6.5 hours | 5 o'clock |
It should be noted that, according to this application, the battery reaches a full charge after 5 hours and 13 minutes of connection to the electrical network. But in fact, the device takes 3 hours to charge from a 1 A adapter, and 2 hours from a 2 A adapter. The second power supply is more bulky, the 2 A adapter takes up less space and is more convenient to take with you.
Design and construction
The appearance of the mobile phone is not much different from other models in this price segment. But what is characteristic here is that the device is available in four different colors. The case looks like it’s cast - a smooth back, a small operator logo, and doesn’t slip much in the hand.
The metal-colored side buttons are made very ergonomically and enliven the overall picture of the case. It looks very neat, especially when applied to white. In a composition with other colors, these elements will also look neat.
There are no questions about the build quality. All elements of the body fit tightly to each other. Removing the back cover is easy with a few movements, and removing the battery is also not difficult. The speaker grille is not very conveniently located. When lying down, the sound may be muffled. Jacks for charging and headsets – 3.5 mm and microUSB – are located on top. Overall, the device looks aesthetically pleasing and fits very comfortably in the hand.