Over the past few years, Highscreen has significantly updated its range of models. Moreover, each new smartphone is produced with some original twist. Take, for example, the Boost 2 SE gadget, which still holds a leading position in the segment of long-playing models.
The subject of today's review is the Highscreen Spider smartphone. Let's try to figure out what the highlight of this gadget is and outline all its advantages along with the disadvantages, taking into account the opinions of experts and reviews of ordinary users.
The main feature of the "Spider" was the support for fourth generation networks (LTE). In general, the Spider model is a mid-range gadget with a price tag of 11,000 rubles, a five-inch screen, a quad-core processor and a gigabyte of RAM.
Judging by the characteristics, the offer looks more or less interesting, but how it corresponds to its price tag, let's try to find out in the Highscreen Spider LTE Black review. Reviews about the model are very flattering with an overall score from users of 4.0 out of 5.
Appearance and construction
The gadget comes onlyin black, and the company does not provide other color solutions yet. The appearance of the device is standardized - a rectangle with bevelled corners, and the Highscreen Spider model does not have any design tricks.
Dimensions:
- height - 145 mm;
- width - 72 mm;
- thickness - 9 mm;
- weight - 165 g.
Due to the wide bezels on the sides of the smartphone, the device looks a bit larger than other smartphones with the same diagonal. You can’t call it light, and where such a mass comes from is not entirely clear. If it's all about the battery, the question would be removed, but given that the gadget has only a 2000 mAh battery, you have to sin on the design features of the device. Nevertheless, the Highscreen Spider fits well in the hand without any rolls and inconveniences - although the developers went too far with the weight, they evenly distributed it throughout the body.
The case of the device is made of matte plastic, so you don't have to worry that the smartphone will collect scratches and prints abundantly during operation. If you do not work as a welder and your hobby is not clay modeling, then you can use the gadget without a case at all.
The back of the case is covered with a special soft-touch coating, thanks to which the device does not slip out of hands and is pleasant to the touch.
Build Quality
The overall build quality is at a high level: the gaps are minimal, the parts fit one to one, squeaks, backlashes and crunches were not noticed on the Highscreen Spider. User reviews notea positive reaction to the assembly of the model: dust does not get into the cracks, because there are none, the cover is removed without any problems and is also installed in place, fingerprints can be left, but rather difficult.
Some smartphone owners report problems with one-handed operation due to the size of the device, but after a few weeks of use, the hands get used to the device, and the discomfort is reduced to zero.
At the top of the Highscreen Spider, at the end, there is a headphone jack, a little lower - a camera with LED flash. At the bottom is a microphone, and on the reverse side are the main device control keys. The cover of the smartphone can be removed without problems, and you will not have to make any special efforts to gain access to the battery and SIM card slots.
Display
Highscreen Spider 5 is equipped with a 5-inch touch screen with IPS-matrix supporting a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The pixel density is quite high at 294 ppi, so it is visually impossible to see individual dots even from a very close distance. If you work with the device at the recommended distance of 30-40 cm, then the picture looks complete and bright.
The device's touch screen can support up to five simultaneous touch points. The display sensitivity is good, so the touch response is correct in more than 90% of cases. The gadget has good viewing angles, which is typical of the entire line of Highscreen Spiderblack. User feedback notes small problems with automatic brightness adjustment, sinning on the sensor in stock firmware, but the manufacturer has already released a fix in updates 4.4x.
In bright and sunny weather, display problems may occur due to the low level of maximum brightness. The contrast of the device allows you to comfortably work with the gadget in a dark room. The ratio is at 900:1 with a wide range of adjustment, which is quite good for an inexpensive Highscreen Spider.
Overview of color channels showed positive dynamics and stability, although the performance does not reach the sRGB standard. It is almost impossible to notice this disadvantage by eye, especially since the uniformity of the screen backlight eliminates any issues with overexposure.
Performance
The device is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 MSM8926 quad-core processor with a maximum clock speed of 1.2 GHz and 8 GB of RAM. The Adreno 305 accelerator with one gigabyte of memory is responsible for the graphics component.
Due to its technical characteristics, the smartphone is able to meet the requirements of the average user. The speed of the OS and menu navigation works without issues, turning pages and changing desktops has no delays. Also, web surfing does not cause any difficulties. If you do not open more than 8-10 tabs at the same time, then the browser can easily cope with the load without twitching and additional time for switching between tabs.
Games
As for gaming applications, the gadget shows quite the expected results. With small and casual games, no problems were noticed at all: applications start quickly and install almost instantly. With more “heavy” games, the Highscreen Spider smartphone (reviews and results were studied by us on PlayMarket) proved to be more or less tolerable. Modern games run without delays and subsidence in FPS, but at low graphics settings. At maximum settings, there are noticeable delays and discomfort.
Multimedia
As multimedia support, a regular audio player is installed in the smartphone without any chips and other functionality. The speaker has a very good sound quality without obvious complaints: the interlocutor's audibility is excellent, the location is convenient, the "conversation angle" is not to be caught.
The volume and characteristics of the main speaker are very mediocre and at a stretch reach the average level: there is a clear lack of bass, but there is more than enough hoarseness and metallic tones.
The headphones that come with the device are only suitable as a headset, and they are not suitable for watching movies or listening to music. Alternatively, you can use third-party headphones or even connect speakers.
The video player that is installed by default, in the long tradition of Android, does not play flv and mkv formats, so it's better to immediately install additional software in the form of any powerfulplayer.
Autonomous work and batteries
Highscreen Spider has a standard 2000 mAh rechargeable battery. The device is charged with a regular device in about two and a half hours. If you use the USB interface for charging, then 2.0 will fill the battery in three hours, and 3.0 in two hours.
If you use the "Spider" only as a phone, the charge lasts an average of a day with a little, music with headphones will discharge the device in a day, and without them in five hours. You can continuously watch video files for no more than four hours, and you can play games for three hours. Numerous user reviews that they do not have enough device time even before evening recharging are for some reason not heard by the company, and the developer continues to equip its models with low-capacity batteries.
Camera
The smartphone is equipped with two types of cameras: front and rear with a resolution of 8 megapixels. There are no questions about the work of the first one - the interlocutor is clearly visible in video chats and is easily recognizable, but the main camera, judging by the reviews, has some drawbacks.
If you can still put up with the quality of photos taken in good weather, then it is difficult to do this with problems in video shooting. Even if you keep the device still in your hands, autofocus is constantly lost, so you can’t talk about shooting in a dynamic state at all.
Summing up
In general, the Spyder smartphone is a competitive, but very controversial product. One of his mainadvantages is stable operation in 4G networks. This also includes a good design, tangible performance and a high-quality HD display.
Therefore, if you are outside the coverage area of G-networks or you don’t need LTE at all, then you can find a more interesting device with similar characteristics and price tag from the same manufacturer (Alpha R, Thor or Boost 2 SE).
Pros:
- LTE and GLONASS networks;
- HD display and viewing angles;
- build quality;
- performance.
Cons:
- low battery capacity;
- the quality of the main camera does not allow you to shoot decent video.
