We unbox the MyPhone my28!

Yesterday Smart announced their partnership with MyPhone with their budget device, the my28. If you’re not a fan of back-reading or was away from internet this weekend, savoring the last few hours of freedom before work started again, the my28 is a budget device being offered by both Smart and MyPhone, costing just Php 888. At that price point, you’re already getting a fully functional 4-inch Android smartphone that comes packed with freebies like 100MB worth of free internet, top-up rebates, free Facebook, Instagram and Viber for 7 days.

Essentially Smart has subsidized the cost of the my28 for buyers, as MyPhone says you save up to 1,279 when you buy the my28. Pretty good deal. Let’s take a look at the specs before we dive into the phone:

MyPhone My28 Spec Sheet

• 1.2GHz Quad-core Spreadtrum SC7731 Chipset
• 512MB RAM
• 4.0-inch WVGA Display
• 8GB Internal Storage, Expandable via MicroSD
• 5.0-megapixel primary camera
• 2.0-megapixel secondary camera
• 3G, 2G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
• Android 5.1 Lollipop
• 1450mAh Battery

Packaging and contents:

The my28 comes in your typical MyPhone box, but it does have a couple of additions thanks to their tie-up with Smart. There’s a carton sleeve on the box that announces to the world Smart’s partnership with the pinoy brand. Inside you’re getting the free Smart SIM with all the freebies that we mentioned, and the total savings that you get with the Android kit from Smart and MyPhone.

The actual box itself is pretty plain, which is not suprising given the budget nature of the phone. What is surprising is the fact that MyPhone also throws in a “sport watch” in the package as a freebie with every purchase.

Inside the box lies the headphones, the phone itself, charger, USB cable and a pre-applied screen protector. Another freebie that we were not expecting was the Talk N’ Text SIM card – you’re getting two SIMs for free, though only the Smart SIM has the freebies that we mentioned earlier. The phone is locked to Smart, Talk N’ Text and Sun, according to MyPhone.

Budget phone, not so budget specs

The my28 sports an all plastic build and is available in multiple colors, though our unit came in nice bright red. The phone has a raised plastic frame and a removable back. Up front, you’ll see the 4-inch WVGA display, with the physical Android navigation keys right below it. There’s a small coencentric design on the chin that’s right below that. Up top, you’ll see the 2-megapixel camera that surprisingly has an LED flash beside it, which is pretty uncommon for budget phones.

The display is surprisingly good as well, and while it’s not an IPS display (we think) the viewing angles are quite generous. The display is also rather bright. Unfortunately the screen only detects two touch points.

As far as controls go, all of the physical buttons are on the left side of the phone, with the USB and 3.5mm jack on the top.

Flip the phone over and you’ll see the iconic MyPhone PH map design on the back, with the 5-megapixel camera on the upper left side of the phone. The back is removable and when you do remove the back cover you’ll see the two SIM cards already inside the phone when you buy it. The phone has a rather small 1450mAh battery so it would be good to pair it with a power bank if you are thinking of buying it.

While most Android vets would probably laugh at the idea of an Android phone under 1K, the my28 has plenty of pleasant surprises under its belt. For one, it has double the RAM of most Android phones under 1K – 512MB as opposed to 256MB. Another is that it doesn’t have a single core processor which is typical of the phones in its price range- instead, it has a quad-core 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SC7731 processor, the same one that’s also present in more expensive smartphones in the 3K above segment. That’s a pretty big leap in terms of specs to price ratio compared to its competitors, and when you factor in the added freebies that Smart is bundling with the phone, then the already good my28 becomes a fantastic deal.

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to run AnTuTu on the phone because the 3D Bench segment of it refused to download, but you can expect equivalent performance to more expensive smartphones in the synthetic test. As for actual performance? Well the my28 isn’t as fast as other phones we’ve tested over the past year but then again for the price it’s perfectly fine for the normal user.

Smart’s tie-up with MyPhone for the my28 couldn’t come at a better time. There’s really no more excuse not to have a smartphone nowadays, and with more and more people looking to make the jump from featurephone to smartphone, the my28 is the perfect starter device. Demand has been so high that we actually had to go through a couple of stores to buy it since it was already sold out. Both Smart and MyPhone is selling the my28 at their stores, and again it’s just Php 888. There’s no sign ups, no recurring fee, no requirements for you to buy – just show up, hand over your cash and enjoy the most affordable and value-packed Android device you can get today.