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MagyarElephone P8000 Smartphone Review
For the original German review, see here.
It is easy to make fun of Chinese smartphone builders: Pithy slogans on websites that are often not properly translated to English, poor distribution channels in the West, and brazen iPhone clones dominate the image. However, the makers from the Middle Kingdom are successful, and no one doubts that they can offer premium devices at attractive prices ever since OnePlus' One.
The manufacturer Elephone from the former British colony Hong Kong already lists an impressive portfolio of smartphones on its website. Pithy slogans and the Elephone P8000 that we are testing today are also found here. It is a 5.5-inch phablet with LTE, Full HD screen and good camera equipment for just over 200 Euros (~$226). Our review sample came to us from the shop Pandawill, and thus 18 Euros (~$20) for customs and duty were charged additionally.
The Wiko Ridge FAB 4G, Honor 4X and Microsoft Lumia 640 XL are also in this price range, which we will use for comparison.
Case
Despite the Elephone P8000's low price, it features a metal casing. The rear's shimmering zigzag pattern and speaker's grille that resembles an equalizer display is likely the most striking design detail. In return, the device's front looks quite conventional.
Elephone offers its device in three colors: white, gold, and dark gray. Our review sample was delivered in dark gray. White highlights, such as around the USB port, enliven the design. At first glance, the casing makes a first-rate and nicely designed impression. However, the transition from the metal frame to the display's glass is not as high quality. The back cover can be removed, but the gaps are not absolutely even.
The phone copes with pressure applied to the back quite well, but it quickly becomes visible in the liquid crystals on the front. The P8000 can hardly be warped, and only produces a quiet creaking noise even under high force. The good quality impression is surprising especially for the low price range. However, it is relatively heavy at 203 grams (~7 oz).
Connectivity
The 3 GB of working memory in the Elephone P8000 is imposing even if few apps would really need it. The smartphone's 16 GB of storage is not tightfisted either, and it can even be expanded via an SD card. However, the micro-SD card reader in our review sample did not function very reliably, and the inserted card was often not identified correctly. Apps cannot be moved to external storage media.
The device accepts two micro-SIM cards, and LTE can be used with both although only with one at a time. Besides that, an FM radio is installed, and a special feature is the fingerprint scanner on the back.
Software
Elephone relies on an almost unmodified Android 5.1 operating system. Thus, it offers the latest version of Google's operating system with all its new features. Elephone places some folders on the home screen right away where, for example, the settings are found. New apps are also moved to a folder by default, which takes a bit of getting used to.
Not much software is preloaded, and free themes can be downloaded with unusual topics such as "Catholicism" or "Islamism". It is also possible to copy the iOS home screen from the outset. One problem was the bad German translation: "Kein Herunterladungsinhalt vorhanden" (No downloading content available) is still predictable, but "Zyklische Schiebung starten" (Start cyclical pushing) perplexed us.
Communication & GPS
LTE has become standard in smartphones in the 200 Euro (~$226) price range. The Elephone P8000 provides that and supports three bands for accessing all networks in foreign countries. However, the frequency diversity is limited overall, which should be considered when traveling abroad. The LTE reception in the German D1 networks was good in an urban area. The signal strength of our review sample was lower than that of OnePlus' One.
Connecting with Wi-Fi networks is possible in the 802.11 b/g/n standards, which excludes the 5 GHz network. The reception to the router was still 50% at a distance of 10 meters (~33 feet) and through three walls; it took noticeably longer for websites to open than directly beside the router.
The GPS module could not track us indoors, but it at least found some satellites. A relatively fast GPS localization was set up outdoors, and it traced our position with an accuracy of up to 4 meters (~13 feet).
Telephone & Call Quality
Google's stock version of the phone app that is shipped with Android 5.1 is preloaded. Elephone did not modify anything here.
We very much liked the call quality. We heard our contact very clearly, and it was confirmed that the microphone did not overdrive even when we screamed. We were also intelligible when we spoke quietly. Our only wish for improvement is that the contact would be rendered a bit louder. Otherwise, we were pleasantly surprised with the call quality.
Cameras & Multimedia
13 megapixels on the rear and 5 megapixels on the front are normal resolutions for smartphone cameras in the 200 Euro (~$226) price range today. The rear-facing camera in the Elephone P8000 also features an LED flash and auto focus. Both cameras in the phone come from Samsung.
The Elephone P8000 cannot compete with the image quality of high-end smartphone cams. The rear-facing camera is irritating due to blurriness and overly illuminated edges; it is not noticed as much when the picture is not blown up. The color reproduction is a bit too blue. The colors shot with the front-facing camera are good, but blurriness is also a nuisance here.
Videos can be recorded in 1080p at 30 frames per second. They are quite good, and the focus is also easy to adjust.
Input Devices & Handling
Elephone also uses Google's stock version of the virtual keyboard, which is a good choice since the keyboard's design is basic and clearly arranged on the one hand, and many settings can be changed on the other. Users who prefer another keyboard will find a suitable one in Google's Play Store. The touchscreen also functions reliably at the edges and in the corners.
The menu keys are implemented as touch buttons below the screen. They also function reliably. A standby button and volume rocker are on the casing right, and they feature a clear pressure point and are pleasant to use.
Display
The resolution of the 5.5-inch screen is considerably finer with 1920x1080 pixels than that of the comparison devices. The image impression is correspondingly clear and sharp. On the other hand, the P8000's screen brightness lags behind; an average of only 328.7 cd/m² is much lower than in other smartphones. However, the illumination of 95% is very homogeneous, and thus brightness differences are not visible on large colored areas.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 95 %
Contrast: 939:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 9.38 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.2
ΔE Greyscale 10.33 | 0.57-98 Ø5.4
Gamma: 2.3
| Elephone P8000 Mali-T720 MP4, MT6753, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Wiko Ridge Fab 4G Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Honor 4X Mali-450 MP4, Kirin 620, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 1% | 13% | 30% | |
| Brightness middle | 338 | 460 36% | 522 54% | 501 48% |
| Brightness | 329 | 436 33% | 514 56% | 492 50% |
| Brightness Distribution | 95 | 89 -6% | 89 -6% | 86 -9% |
| Black Level * | 0.36 | 0.68 -89% | 0.62 -72% | 0.44 -22% |
| Contrast | 939 | 676 -28% | 842 -10% | 1139 21% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 9.38 | 6.48 31% | 6.36 32% | 3.89 59% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 10.33 | 7.59 27% | 6.51 37% | 3.97 62% |
| Gamma | 2.3 96% | 2.26 97% | 2.17 101% | 2.34 94% |
| CCT | 10118 64% | 7676 85% | 8044 81% | 6657 98% |
* ... smaller is better
It then looks better again with the Elephone P8000's black level and contrast. Black areas only radiate a brightness of 0.38 cd/m², leading to a deep, dark impression without a grayish tint. Consequently, the contrast of 939:1 is also quite decent.
The analysis with a spectrophotometer and CalMAN software gives detailed information about color reproduction. An evident bluish tint is already visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, the shift from the ideal rates of the reference color space sRGB is considerably higher than in the comparison devices. The bluish tint results in clearly cooler colors in the image impression, and falsifies the color reproduction.
The brightness has to be increased considerably to see something on the glossy screen outdoors. However, it is still difficult especially when looking at dark pictures - the maximum brightness would simply have to be higher. It is usually enough in the shade and indoors.
The IPS display allows seeing what is happening on the screen even from very flat angles.
Performance
MediaTek's MT6753 is a quite new SoC in the upper mid-range, and thus the Elephone P8000 surprises with relatively good performance rates that let most comparison devices look weak. One comparably fast SoC is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 615 MSM8939, which is found in ZTE's Blade S6 and Samsung's Galaxy A7. The SoCs are in fact almost on par in terms of processing speed. The Mali T720-MP4 graphics card installed in the review sample puts it at a disadvantage compared with devices with a Snapdragon 615. However, the other comparison devices cannot compete with the Elephone P8000 here.
Browsing the Internet is slightly faster with the Elephone P8000 than with other devices from this price range. The internal storage is also very swift and sufficiently sized with 16 GB.
| Geekbench 3 | |
| 64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| 64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| AnTuTu v5 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Smartbench 2012 | |
| Productivity Index (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Gaming Index (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| GFXBench 3.0 | |
| on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| WebXPRT 2015 - Overall Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Microsoft Lumia 640 XL | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| AndroBench 3-5 | |
| Sequential Read 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Sequential Write 256KB (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Random Read 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
| Random Write 4KB (sort by value) | |
| Elephone P8000 | |
| Honor 4X | |
| Wiko Ridge Fab 4G | |
| ZTE Blade S6 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A7 | |
* ... smaller is better
Games
We were satisfied with the performance of the Elephone P8000 after our gaming tests. We did not observe any stutters in demanding 3D games, such as "Asphalt: Overdrive" nor in simpler games like "Angry Birds 2". Control via touchscreen and position sensor also functioned very well.
Emissions
Temperature
The Elephone P8000 clearly gets warmer than the comparison devices. The casing temperature reaches up to 46.8 degrees Celsius (~116 °F) on the upper back under load. That is much too warm, and feels unpleasant when touching this area. The device can also get warm during prolonged idle mode with a maximum of 42.2 degrees (~108 °F) on the front. That is also a very palpable temperature increase. Elephone should make improvements here.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46.5 °C / 116 F, compared to the average of 34.9 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 52.9 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 46.8 °C / 116 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F
(-) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 39.9 °C / 104 F, compared to the device average of 32.6 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
The rear-sided speaker is nicely designed under a grille that features a subtle wavy pattern that is reminiscent of sound waves. However, its sound is only middling. It very audibly lacks bass, the trebles sound somewhat tinny, and we perceive a slightly overdriven maximum volume. The speaker is at least fairly loud, and its quality is quite acceptable for sampling music pieces.
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Elephone advertises a gigantic battery capacity for its device. That is true, as we will see in a moment. However, the power consumption also has to be in line to really achieve a long battery life. The Elephone P8000 unfortunately blunders here. While everything is still okay in a turned off state and in standby, the idle consumption climbs up to 3.9 watts. That is, for example, almost twice the consumption of Honor's 4X.
As much as 7.1 watts can be reached under load. The consumption is also considerably higher than in equally sized devices from this category. Thus, another area where the Elephone needs urgent improvement.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle |  2.6 / 3.7 / 3.9 Watt |
| Load |
5.3 / 7.1 Watt |
    
| |
Battery Runtime
Although the back can be removed and the gigantic 15.4 watt hour battery is visible, it unfortunately cannot be removed. We were not satisfied with the battery life, which results from the high consumption rates. Even if the Internet browsing time of 10:37 hours via Wi-Fi is longer than all comparison devices, the battery's massively higher weight has to be accepted. A smaller battery with better consumption rates would have also done the job here.
| Elephone P8000 Mali-T720 MP4, MT6753, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Honor 4X Mali-450 MP4, Kirin 620, 8 GB eMMC Flash | Wiko Ridge Fab 4G Adreno 306, 410 MSM8916, 16 GB eMMC Flash | Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Adreno 305, 400 MSM8226, 8 GB eMMC Flash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 36% | -8% | -12% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 637 | 569 -11% | 588 -8% | 432 -32% |
| Load | 146 | 267 83% | 159 9% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
We would gladly like to give Elephone a list with our wishes for the successor of the P8000 - considerably lower power consumption, much lower waste heat, properly translated software, a somewhat brighter screen, and less weight.
Otherwise, the successor should resemble the P8000 as far as possible. The buyer gets a really jam-packed smartphone package for 200 Euros (~$226): Full HD IPS screen, 3 GB of RAM, dual-SIM, LTE, decent call quality, fingerprint reader and a rigid metal casing. Many things function surprisingly well and surpass the expectations placed on such a low-priced device.
The P8000 will not be a second OnePlus One due to some - largely unnecessary - shortcomings. However, if Elephone continues to develop the numerous qualities and eliminates the flaws, the successor will definitely have to be kept in mind.
Until then, the P8000 can be recommended as a price-performance bargain, but the buyer will have to be indifferent to the casing's waste heat and weight.
Elephone P8000
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08/25/2015 v4(old)
Florian Wimmer
Pricecompare
