In a world before the likes of Apple, Samsung & Huawei ruled the mobile market in the business district of capital cities like London you would see the Blackberry as the phone of choice for many business-focused individuals. This phone offered a screen with a physical keyboard combo so you could get business done.
Fast forward to the present day and the company Blackberry are still massive in the security space but the phones are no more or so we thought…
In this review, we recently got contacted by Unihertz to review the Titan Slim which is very similar to the Key2 you could even go as far as saying identical.
Who is Unihertz?
Unihertz is a team of designers and engineers who believe there should be different types of smartphones for different demographics. Since 2017 they have launched 8 Kickstarter campaigns and are supported by over 30,000 backers around the world. The Jelly Pro was the first and raised over 1.2 million USD. They have since released 2 new devices each year with the latest being the Titan Slim.
First Impressions
The Titan Slim has a QWERTY keyboard just like the Blackberry of old. However, including this physical keyboard means the keys are tiny and you will also notice adding the keyboard does reduce the screen size. This phone has the business user in mind, however, it’s not for anyone wanting to view videos or gaming.
The phone has a 48MP rear camera and an 8MP front-facing sensor but more on that later. The phone is missing 5G connectivity but if you want a trip down memory lane then this phone could be for you. Let’s take a deeper dive into what this phone can do and if it’s worth that £289 price tag.
The Spec
- CPU: MediaTek Helio P70
- GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
- RAM: 6GB LPDDR4X
- Storage: 256GB
- Screen: 4.2 ” IPS TFT
- Resolution: 1280 x 768
- SIM: Dual Nano SIM (No MicroSD)
- Weight: 360g
- Dimensions: 146.8 x 67.6 x 12.7 mm
- Rear cameras: 48MP Samsung S5KGM1 sensor
- Front camera: 8MP Samsung S5K4H7 sensor
- OS: Android 12
- Battery: 4100mAh
Design
The phone design has been brought back from 2018 as like I said it’s basically a copy of the Blackberry Key2 model. The phone size is 15x 7cm (HxW). The phone does come with rounded edges and a TPU bumper for protection and a pre-installed screen protector. The screen protector has floors it covers the access to the dual sim card slots so the protector has to be removed to access the slots. We are a little unsure why they included two slots when you can now use a single frame that could hold two sims or a sim and memory card combo.
When you start looking around the body of the phone you will notice the power button and volume buttons on the right and then on the left a button you can set for what you feel is best.
The stand-out feature is the QWERTY keyboard which has 4 rows of keys. The keyboard also offers shifted options. If you need to insert numbers or symbols they are displayed on the screen just above the keyboard which makes it much easier to press than the actual keys. If you have large fingers avoid this phone!
On the rear of the phone, Unihertz keeps things simple with just that single 48MP sensor with flash. You will also notice on the front of the phone it also has a camera in the shape of that 8MP more on the camera set-up and performance later.
Battery Life
The battery life on this phone is fairly respectable coming in at 4100mAh this phone should provide you with at least two days of use even for the heaviest of users someone who is an average user will get even more battery life.
When it’s time to charge the phone you will notice Unihertz does not provide you with a complete charger only a USB-C cable. This is hardly a game changer as I have loads of chargers for USB-C around the house so charging was never an issue. Unfortunately, this phone is not compatible with wireless charging so make sure you keep a USB-C cable on hand.
Under the Bonnet (Hardware)
The Unihertz Titan Slim uses a Mediatek SoC which provides a decent platform for an Andriod phone. The Titan slim was built around the MediaTek Helio P70 which is ideal for everyday use but not suitable for the gamer in the house.
In addition to the main chip you also have 256GB of storage plus 6GB of RAM without the option of a MicroSD card for extra storage however, when using this phone over the last few weeks I could not see you reaching that level of internal storage.
The Display
The display is very much reduced by the QWERTY keyboard the IPS display is 4.2 inches corner to corner with a resolution of only 1280 x 768. The GPU is not the standard meaning steaming videos will only deliver 480p resolution which is very poor. Oddly enough when filming a video you can capture it in 1080p but can’t display it in that quality.
Performance
When running a series of benchmark tests such as PCMark & PassMark we found the results to be fairly respectable and the Helio P70 provides a decent level of performance. The Benchmark results are on par with devices with the snapdragon 480.
This phone is ideal for someone who wants to keep things simple with the use of Andriod 11 but no information if you can upgrade. This phone is ideal for someone who does not need interactive 3D graphics or mobile gaming from their phone. Where this phone shines is with the internal storage and massive battery life helped by the phone’s modest spec.
CAMERA REVIEW BY JAMES ROBERTSON MILLIGAN @LIFESIZEPHOTOGRAPHY
- Timelapse
- Video
- Normal
- Pro
Verdict
The Unihertz Titan Slim is a phone you would purchase if you really miss the old days of blackberry phones and want that keyboard on your device. The dual SIM cards are a helpful option if you wanted to keep business and personal use separate but why they did not just use a single SIM card slot that allows you to insert 2 SIMs is a little bit of a puzzling moment when it comes to this phone.
Unfortunately, there are quite a few negatives when it comes to the Titan Slim first up the keyboard on the titan slim seems to have been designed with a toddler in mind as you need tiny fingers to use this phone every day. Another issue is the small display and 480P resolution this phone is not ideal if one of your priorities is watching Amazon Prime or Netflix you won’t enjoy the content on this phone that is for sure.
The Camera does provide you with fairly sharp images but the lack of functions, lack of true colours and true tone really does let down the picture’s quality.
Overall, if you want a basic phone that looks like the Blackberry Key2 and having a physical keyboard is important then the Titan Slim with its long-life battery and large storage are both excellent reasons why to buy this phone. However, with the tiny keyboard, limited functionality and small display, the Titan Slim will show you why Blackberry is no longer part of the phone market.
Product Rating
Design: 2.0 out of 5.0 stars
Battery Life: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Hardware: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Performance: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Camera: 2.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value For Money: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall ranking: 2.8 out of 5.0 stars – 2.8-star rating
Thanks for reading this review, please continue to support us and check out our other reviews and follow us on Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter below.
Recent Comments