W.D Fone W92 Review
The first thing you might notice is that the W.D Fone W92 looks an awful lot like the Lenovo S960/ Vibe X. I’ve never owned the Vibe X but it appears the W92 is indeed the same phone but with a Mediatek MT6592 octa core SoC clocked at 1.7 Ghz, and a 2800 mAh battery. The other big differences are the ROM and the much lower price. I bought the phone for about $200 and for such a low cost device it has a lot of promise. Let’s take a look at how it handled itself.
Specs
Unboxing
I bought the W.D Fone W92 from Merimobiles and had it shipped by DHL. It took a few days for the order to process and ship, and then about 4 days to get it from DHL. The phone was well packaged to ensure no damage occurred.
The box was silver and was nothing too fancy. Inside were headphones, manuals, micro usb cable, and a wall adapter.
Check out the unboxing video here.
Check out the full video review here.
Physical feature
The W.D Fone W92 has a comfortable feel with it’s 145 x 73 x 8.1mm dimensions. At 104 grams it’s also a very light device making prolonged use very easy.
The back has a nice textured back plate that aids with grip. On the back top left corner you’ll find the 8 MP camera and flash.
On the front right hand side is the 2 MP camera.
On the right hand side is the power button.
On the left side is the volume rocker.
Micro USB connector is right in the centre on the bottom.
3.5mm headphone jack is on the top.
Display
The W92 has a 5 inch 1280 x 720 IPS display, but no Gorilla Glass, so you’ll have to be a little more careful. For scratches and blemishes I always recommend a screen protector since they are so inexpensive to put on. The screen has a good feel to it and is fairly responsive during use. Although the screen quality doesn’t stand out as amazing, it is quite bright and looks more than acceptable for a 720p display. Of course the big benefit with a 720p display, especially with the MT6592 SoC is the added battery life.
Software
I’ve seen this phone advertised with Android 4.4 but didn’t think much about it. Upon further investigation, the official W.D Fone site talks about 4.4, the box is labelled as 4.4, and the settings screen has it listed as running Android 4.4 KitKat.
The default ROM runs just fine and the launcher has minimal lag. I haven’t run into any significant glitches, but the appearance of the UI is a bit generic and boring. Of course that is a very simple fix by downloading something more to your liking from the Play Store.
Boot time is only 11 seconds which is very nice to see.
WiFi
The W.D Fone W92 has 2.4 and 5 Ghz WiFi. I tested the phone by taking both a 2.4 and 5 Ghz reading:
By the router
At the furthest point on my upstairs level
At the furthest point in my basement level
5Ghz
Router = 28.17 mbps
Upstairs = 7.71 mbps
Downstairs= 1.35 mbps
2.4Ghz
Router =32.99 mbps
Upstairs =21.38 mbps
Downstairs=11.96 mbps
Call quality
The call quality was average. For some reason all of the Mediatek powered devices I’ve tested have ok sound quality but it is set very low. The quality is not bad but can be harder to hear. Luckily this is an easy fix. You can root the phone if not already rooted, and then install MobileUncle from the Play store. In that app you can access the handset volume portion and raise the volume to your preferred level.
Speakers
The rear speaker on the W92 does an ok job. It’s not an over achiever but gets the job done. It has descent volume but seriously lacks bass and often distorts when the volume is set to full.
Video Playback
Video playback has been good on all MT6592 powered phones I’ve tried. All formats play well and the nice thing about having a 1280 x 720 display is it helps out with frame rate/ FPS. I tried YouTube clips as well as several movies in different formats and did not experience any issues.
Web Browsing
The W92 like other MT6592 phones I’ve tested does very well with web browsing. Page change overs are quick as are load times. Expect general online performance to be on par with higher end devices.
Cameras
The W92 has pretty much what I expected out of a $200 phone. The 2 mega pixel front facing camera does an ok job under normal conditions and the 8 mega pixel is for capturing spontaneous pictures but would certainly not be my first choice for a camera if I knew I was going into a situation that I would be taking pics. The flash was bright enough but overall there is too much noise in the pictures.
GPS
The GPS is always an uncertainty with many of these less expensive Mediatek devices. I’m pleased to say the GPS worked fairly well on the W92. I tested it on a clear, sunny day using Google maps(with data), and NavFree(no data) and both worked with no issues.
I obtained a cold lock with the phone in airplane mode to eliminate the data assistance and got a lock in
25 seconds with subsequent locks in less than 3 seconds.
Actual use of the GPS while travelling was also good with no issues to report.
Benchmarks
It’s often easy to forget that for such an inexpensive SoC, the Mediatek MT6592 offers very good performance. The W92 is not exception and with the 720p display the results only looked better.
Antutu
27,205
This puts it pretty much on par with the Samsung Galaxy S4
Nenamark 2
60.5fps
This is a great score in this test. 1080P display with this SoC score on average around 48fps.
CPU Prime
6432
This put the device 432 points ahead of the LG G2
Bottom line, lots of CPU power.
Vellamo
HTML5
2109
Metal
658
Battery
With the specs listed, one would think the battery life of the W92 would be exceptional. Unfortunately it wasn’t. With light use the phone can easily last a full day but don’t expect much more than that. To test the on screen time I put the phone on a video loop playing a movie with the brightness on auto. It managed a rather weak 4 hours and 43minutes. This leads me to believe the battery isn’t actually 2800 mAh.
Gaming
I tested the device with: Into the dead, Dead Trigger 2, and Front Line Commando 2. All 3 worked very well with no lag but the responsiveness is just not at the same level as Snapdragon devices using Adreno 330 graphics such as the Lenovo Vibe Z I reviewed. Also trying to enjoy games on a 5 inch display is more of a challenge as in my opinion it feels just a tad cramped.
Final Thoughts
The W.D Fone W92 is a solid offering at the $200 price range. It has a good feel to it and performs well overall. I was surprised how well the GPS worked as several recent Mediatek powered devices I’ve used, have still exhibited poor GPS results. The MT6592 performs well as usual and the addition of Android 4.4 KitKat is a welcome addition. Weak areas of the phone are the cameras, and the battery life.
The cameras will only satisfy those that are looking for mediocre results. If you want quality shots, this phone is simply not capable.
I thought the battery life might be a huge pro for this device with it’s 5” 720p display and 2800 mAh battery. but it ended up being rather disappointing. While it will easily make it through a full day for a light user, power users will certainly need a a top up charge.
Those looking for something similar to an updated version of the Lenovo Vibe X at a reduced price might want to take a look.
The first thing you might notice is that the W.D Fone W92 looks an awful lot like the Lenovo S960/ Vibe X. I’ve never owned the Vibe X but it appears the W92 is indeed the same phone but with a Mediatek MT6592 octa core SoC clocked at 1.7 Ghz, and a 2800 mAh battery. The other big differences are the ROM and the much lower price. I bought the phone for about $200 and for such a low cost device it has a lot of promise. Let’s take a look at how it handled itself.
Specs
- 5 inch 720p display
- Dual SIM
- Mediatek MT6592 octa core processor clocked at 1.7 Ghz
- Mali 450MP4 GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB storage with expansion slot for up to 32GB cards
- 2MP front and 8MP rear cameras
- 2800 mAh battery
- Android KitKat 4.4
Unboxing
I bought the W.D Fone W92 from Merimobiles and had it shipped by DHL. It took a few days for the order to process and ship, and then about 4 days to get it from DHL. The phone was well packaged to ensure no damage occurred.
The box was silver and was nothing too fancy. Inside were headphones, manuals, micro usb cable, and a wall adapter.
Check out the unboxing video here.
Check out the full video review here.
Physical feature
The W.D Fone W92 has a comfortable feel with it’s 145 x 73 x 8.1mm dimensions. At 104 grams it’s also a very light device making prolonged use very easy.
The back has a nice textured back plate that aids with grip. On the back top left corner you’ll find the 8 MP camera and flash.
On the front right hand side is the 2 MP camera.
On the right hand side is the power button.
On the left side is the volume rocker.
Micro USB connector is right in the centre on the bottom.
3.5mm headphone jack is on the top.
Display
The W92 has a 5 inch 1280 x 720 IPS display, but no Gorilla Glass, so you’ll have to be a little more careful. For scratches and blemishes I always recommend a screen protector since they are so inexpensive to put on. The screen has a good feel to it and is fairly responsive during use. Although the screen quality doesn’t stand out as amazing, it is quite bright and looks more than acceptable for a 720p display. Of course the big benefit with a 720p display, especially with the MT6592 SoC is the added battery life.
Software
I’ve seen this phone advertised with Android 4.4 but didn’t think much about it. Upon further investigation, the official W.D Fone site talks about 4.4, the box is labelled as 4.4, and the settings screen has it listed as running Android 4.4 KitKat.
The default ROM runs just fine and the launcher has minimal lag. I haven’t run into any significant glitches, but the appearance of the UI is a bit generic and boring. Of course that is a very simple fix by downloading something more to your liking from the Play Store.
Boot time is only 11 seconds which is very nice to see.
WiFi
The W.D Fone W92 has 2.4 and 5 Ghz WiFi. I tested the phone by taking both a 2.4 and 5 Ghz reading:
By the router
At the furthest point on my upstairs level
At the furthest point in my basement level
5Ghz
Router = 28.17 mbps
Upstairs = 7.71 mbps
Downstairs= 1.35 mbps
2.4Ghz
Router =32.99 mbps
Upstairs =21.38 mbps
Downstairs=11.96 mbps
Call quality
The call quality was average. For some reason all of the Mediatek powered devices I’ve tested have ok sound quality but it is set very low. The quality is not bad but can be harder to hear. Luckily this is an easy fix. You can root the phone if not already rooted, and then install MobileUncle from the Play store. In that app you can access the handset volume portion and raise the volume to your preferred level.
Speakers
The rear speaker on the W92 does an ok job. It’s not an over achiever but gets the job done. It has descent volume but seriously lacks bass and often distorts when the volume is set to full.
Video Playback
Video playback has been good on all MT6592 powered phones I’ve tried. All formats play well and the nice thing about having a 1280 x 720 display is it helps out with frame rate/ FPS. I tried YouTube clips as well as several movies in different formats and did not experience any issues.
Web Browsing
The W92 like other MT6592 phones I’ve tested does very well with web browsing. Page change overs are quick as are load times. Expect general online performance to be on par with higher end devices.
Cameras
The W92 has pretty much what I expected out of a $200 phone. The 2 mega pixel front facing camera does an ok job under normal conditions and the 8 mega pixel is for capturing spontaneous pictures but would certainly not be my first choice for a camera if I knew I was going into a situation that I would be taking pics. The flash was bright enough but overall there is too much noise in the pictures.
GPS
The GPS is always an uncertainty with many of these less expensive Mediatek devices. I’m pleased to say the GPS worked fairly well on the W92. I tested it on a clear, sunny day using Google maps(with data), and NavFree(no data) and both worked with no issues.
I obtained a cold lock with the phone in airplane mode to eliminate the data assistance and got a lock in
25 seconds with subsequent locks in less than 3 seconds.
Actual use of the GPS while travelling was also good with no issues to report.
Benchmarks
It’s often easy to forget that for such an inexpensive SoC, the Mediatek MT6592 offers very good performance. The W92 is not exception and with the 720p display the results only looked better.
Antutu
27,205
This puts it pretty much on par with the Samsung Galaxy S4
Nenamark 2
60.5fps
This is a great score in this test. 1080P display with this SoC score on average around 48fps.
CPU Prime
6432
This put the device 432 points ahead of the LG G2
Bottom line, lots of CPU power.
Vellamo
HTML5
2109
Metal
658
Battery
With the specs listed, one would think the battery life of the W92 would be exceptional. Unfortunately it wasn’t. With light use the phone can easily last a full day but don’t expect much more than that. To test the on screen time I put the phone on a video loop playing a movie with the brightness on auto. It managed a rather weak 4 hours and 43minutes. This leads me to believe the battery isn’t actually 2800 mAh.
Gaming
I tested the device with: Into the dead, Dead Trigger 2, and Front Line Commando 2. All 3 worked very well with no lag but the responsiveness is just not at the same level as Snapdragon devices using Adreno 330 graphics such as the Lenovo Vibe Z I reviewed. Also trying to enjoy games on a 5 inch display is more of a challenge as in my opinion it feels just a tad cramped.
Final Thoughts
The W.D Fone W92 is a solid offering at the $200 price range. It has a good feel to it and performs well overall. I was surprised how well the GPS worked as several recent Mediatek powered devices I’ve used, have still exhibited poor GPS results. The MT6592 performs well as usual and the addition of Android 4.4 KitKat is a welcome addition. Weak areas of the phone are the cameras, and the battery life.
The cameras will only satisfy those that are looking for mediocre results. If you want quality shots, this phone is simply not capable.
I thought the battery life might be a huge pro for this device with it’s 5” 720p display and 2800 mAh battery. but it ended up being rather disappointing. While it will easily make it through a full day for a light user, power users will certainly need a a top up charge.
Those looking for something similar to an updated version of the Lenovo Vibe X at a reduced price might want to take a look.
