DTC GT5S Junior Review and A Bloggersary Giveaway

Low-cost mobile device provider DTC had a rather quiet release of their fifth wave units last November. Quiet it may be, but it wasn’t without a bang either. Their latest releases are a smorgasbord of high-performing phablets and smartphones, ranging from single-core to quad cores.

The most affordable of the fifth wave lineup is the GT5S Junior, which is a prototype of their earlier GT5 Astroid Plus released during the last quarter of 2012. The Android Gingerbread 2.3 handset fuses all basic smartphone essentials needed for a decent multimedia experience in one ultra-light, pocket-friendly package.



What’s In The Box?

Contained in DTC’s signature gift box is one Junior unit, a USB cable, charger, hands-free earpiece, one battery, manual, warranty card and a free screen protector.


Design
Like all Android smartphones, the DTC Junior features an all-glass front with three touch-receptive buttons at the bottom for settings, back, and home. Up top  is a 1.3 mp front camera for easier selfies and Skype chats.

The Junior’s design is pretty straightforward, not elegant but not cheap-looking either. The black frame is rather wide, which makes the navigation pane a bit smaller too. The WVGA screen is advertised as 3.5-inch, but placing it alongside the husband’s old Samsung Galaxy S – itself a 3.5-inch phone – the Junior is noticeably smaller, roughly 3.4 inches.

Side panels are all-black, with a detachable glossy rear cover, which is available in white, black, and red. I have the white one for testing, and it looks pretty sleek and chic.

Samsung Galaxy S (left) and DTC Junior (right); both purportedly 3.5-inch

What I like most about the Junior is its ultra-thin, lightweight build. It fits snugly in the smallest of pockets and bags, making it an excellent device for users who are always on the move (and who aren’t huge fans of ginormous devices that require extra bags for carrying). It is slim and is easy to grip and navigate.

Performance
Under the hood is a 1GHz single core processor, 512 MB ROM and 256 MB RAM. I know that’s not too impressive for today’s massive quad core gadgets, but it’s powerful enough to allow no-lag transitions, Web browsing and light gaming. Googled and played Candy Crush here alternately and never did I encounter snail-pace processing. 

The screen responds swiftly, though texting-wise, the small screen can be quite a challenge (the standard QWERTY is a pain), which is common for smartphones with similar screen sizes. Otherwise, I reckon downloading a classic keypad app from the Google Playstore will help. For photos though, there is a bit of lag in the shutter speed, but it is negligible if you’re not a nitpicker.


Graphics and audio
Visual quality is decent especially in well-lit environments. In low-light settings, there is some noise and noticeable lack of sharpness. Pretty understandable since the rear only mounts a 2mp cam (plus built-in flash). Nonetheless, it makes for a passable point-and-shoot device and should be sufficient if you’re not after high-resolution, Nat-Geo type shots. You know, if you’re only looking for something to use for IG and Facebook updates. 


Here are some daytime (outdoor) shots I took with the Junior:

This one’s taken using the 1.3mp front cam:

Audio quality is not too loud even when the volume is amped up to max, but the sound itself is solid, not boomy nor distorted. The headset is pretty standard and the sound quality is kind of muffled when you insert it into the audio jack, but with better headsets, the sound is awesome.


Hardware is supported by a 1500mAh cell. The battery lasts for about 20 hours with normal usage. By that I mean normal calls and texts, Net surfing for about an hour or so, and some gaming on the side.


Memory and storage
512 MB of internal storage is not bad for a basic phone. If you need more space for file storage, the Junior can accommodate up to 32 GB worth of files and apps via a micro SD slot.

Digital connectivity
The Junior is a quad band phone, so it’s perfect if you’re headed out of the country. It is WiFi- and GPRS-ready and offers dual SIM/ dual standby configurations like all DTC builds. Pre-loaded applications include Google Playstore, Facebook and Internet browser.

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