Budget smartphone company BLU’s latest phone is a $100 handset with entry-level specs… but entry-level specs in 2015 aren’t all that bad.
The BLU Studio C has a 5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel IPS display, a quad-core processor, and it’s also the company’s first phone to ship with Android 5.0 software out of the box.
The unlocked phone supports GSM HSPA+ networks including AT&T, T-Mobile, Cricket, and Straight Talk. You can pick up a BLU Studio C from Amazon for $100.
The phone features a 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor with ARM Mali-400 graphics, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of built-in storage. It has a microSD card slot, an 8MP rear camera, and a 2MP front-facing camera. The Studio C has a removable 3,000 mAh battery.
It supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, and has dual micro SIM card slots which let you use the phone on more than one wireless network.
Don’t expect miracles from a $100 phone: the BLU Studio CÂ won’t support 4G LTE networks and it doesn’t have the fastest process or the most RAM or storage available. Android Police reports it offers decent performance… for a dirt cheap phone. But if the $199 Asus Zenfone 2 seems too pricey, it’s nice to have an alternative that sells for half the price.
At around half the price, that includes half the RAM size, half the storage and half the performance: https://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2024365?baseline=2170624 that sounds about right.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this phone has a removable battery, at least not according to the prnewswire story referenced. It is a popular feature that I hear many folks clammoring for that the market seems unwilling to provide. The joys of the “free” market.
A removable battery tends to add cost, weight, and size to any smartphone design. It’s not surprising they tend not to be included in what is an increasingly competitive market.
This might be nice for Tracfone actually. My Dad uses Tracfone, which is more than enough for his casual use and quite cheap to maintain. I hooked him up with a series one Moto E a few months ago to move him to a smart phone and off his old feature phone.
As I understand it though Tracfone will not use any phone which has LTE. So most of their phones they offer are older ones running Android 4 or something. Not enticing.
The Moto E is fine for him. But it would be nice to see more up-to-date selections as far as the software they are running.
Blu needs to move on to a better processor provider. I had a Blu (Life Play) and liked it but Mediatek is way behind the industry leaders. Even the budget Qualcom chips would be better.
Mefiatek as a company is not. This specific soc is.
My turn to be the typo-police. Unclocked phone? 😉
You’re right about 2015 specs. The biggest problem with these phones if you don’t need current specs might be finding a decent case, but at that price, maybe it isn’t worth a case?