MyPhone Rio Lite Unboxing and Review

Why MyPhone Rio Lite?

Bought the Rio Lite for my dad. His old Android phone was the Cherry Mobile Cruize which he had for more or less a year. The notification bar and about an inch of the screen above the soft capacitive buttons are no longer responsive. I tried factory reset just in case it was an app that was responsible for the unresponsive touch, but that didn't fix the issue. Safe to say it's a hardware issue (digitizer maybe? Don't mind me, just trying to hazard a guess). Since the camera glass is broken too, dad wanted to have the phone replaced instead having the CM Cruize repaired.

Dad wanted a phone that's bigger than my Cherry Mobile Flare HD's 4.3 inch screen, but smaller than the CM Cruize's 5.2 inch display. At 4.7 inches, the Rio Lite is the best compromise. After checking out the competition, Rio Lite at SRP 3,999 Php is the sulit (best bang for our buck) choice. This is not only screen-wise, but also specs-wise. Let's compare:

Display
- While other local brands at the same price point would also have WVGA with IPS, most of them only have 4 inch screens. The ones with larger screens (around 5") aren't IPS.

Camera
- Most phones that have a 3,999 Php price tag have VGA (0.3 MP) front cameras while the Rio Lite has a 2MP cam.

Battery
- Highest I've seen from most the competition is only 1700 mAh while the Rio Lite has a 2000 mAh battery. The only other phone at this price range that has 2000 mAh batt is the GEO 400q from Cloudfone Mobile.

There are other features that make the Rio Lite a good buy. I'll elaborate more on that later. Let's look at the official poster for the Rio Lite's specs:

MyPhone Rio Lite Official Poster

Meet the MyPhone Rio Lite:

MyPhone Rio Lite

Bought at MyPhone Kiosk at SM City Masinag

I bought the unit last Monday (5th of May) at the MyPhone Kiosk at SM City Masinag. They only had blue units available. While I was there, 3 customers asked about the availability of the Agua Rio, the Rio Lite's big brother, unfortunately the phone was out of stock.

Testing the Unit

Before we proceed to the unboxing, let's talk about testing devices while you're in the shop. Usually, sales agents would help you test your unit. Knowing what to test for could save you from a bad purchase. So here's a list of what I test for in an Android device and how I go about testing them:

Build Quality

- The device should be solid. There should be no creaking. Check for dents and scratches.

Battery

- Make sure the battery is not bloated. Also check for missing/bent connector pins.

After the phone is turned on:

Screen

- Check for scratches, black light bleeds and dead pixels. One way of doing this is installing apps that help you examine your device's display. I've used Blacklight Bleed Test and it doesn't just help check for Blacklight Bleeds but is also wonderful at checking for dead pixels. Most shops would have their own Wi-Fi or you could bring your own. Another option would be backing up the apk on your memory card, then using that memory card on the device you're testing so you can install the apps.

Camera

- Check for scratches. Take sample shots. Don't forget to test the flash!

Touch

- Test the multi-touch capabilities. If the device has no games installed, you can try zooming in and out pictures in the Gallery so you can at least test the 2-point touch.

Audio and Video

- Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to look at it) the Rio Lite does not come with sample Audio and Videos. You can also insert your memory card and use your own media to test the new device. If your device has Radio, don't forget to test that as well. In the Rio Lite's case, I downloaded the YouTube app and tested both Audio and Video in one go. This brings us to the next thing to test:

Connectivity

- Test Data, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Tethering, GPS (Google Maps) and telephony (try sending an SMS and/or calling). I don't always get to test all of these, but I'll do it if I can.

Did I miss anything? What do you test for? Share it in the comments section below!

AnTuTu Benchmark

I posted about buying the Rio Lite on the MyPhone Rio United Facebook Group (you have to be registed to view the post) and someone asked about 2D games and lag. So I decided to get the device's AnTuTu score. I downloaded the app, and ran the test:

Antutu Benchmark Results

I should have screencapped all of the results, but that's all I have on file right now. Remember AnTuTu scores aren't everything. After all the sidetracking let's (finally) proceed with the unboxing:

What's in the (eco) bag?

MyPhone eco bag

What's in the box?

MyPhone Rio Lite box and unit

Front

Back

Side (specs)

What's in the box?

USB cable, Charger, headset, unit and manual

Charger

Front of the manual and the unit

Manual (front)

Back of the manual and the unit

Manual (back)

Back cover and the back of the unit

Screenshots:

Home Screen

App Drawer

If the Rio Lite lacks anything it's bloatware. That's a good thing! The Rio Lite shipped without the Pinoy Apps that MyPhone installs on their other handsets.

MP Rio Lite Custom Settings

Stock camera app screenshot

How to take a Screenshot:
Hold the POWER BUTTON + VOLUME DOWN BUTTON at the same time. 

Sample shots:

Please excuse the sample shots. Not so good at photography.

CM Flare HD

Bougainvillea

The 7-day replacement warranty ends this Sunday (the agent said the day I bought it already counts) and the Rio Lite is in good condition and we haven't encountered an issue so far. He definitely likes his new phone because it's the right size for his hands (and pockets) and he is enjoying the crispier display.

See CM Cruize and Rio Lite comparison pics below:

Cherry Mobile Cruize and MyPhone Rio Lite side by side (front)

CM Cruize and MP Rio Lite (back)

Need more reasons to get a Rio Lite at only SRP 3,999 Php? Here you go:

MP Rio Lite's other notable features (what the specs sheet didn't tell us):

MP Rio Lite is a dual SIM phone with dual standby, take note that SIM2 is actually a Micro SIM slot.

Dual SIM (one regular and one micro SIM)

Dual 3G capabilities:

Dual 3G

Wireless Input Device:

Wireless Input Device

Clever Motion (Gestures):

Clever Motion

Wireless Display:

Wireless Display

The MP Rio Lite has LED notification light:

LED notification (yellow) for text

Yellow LED notification (yellow) for calls

It's located to the left of the speaker grill on the top of the screen. (It got cloudy when I took the first picture showing the LED notification. Prolly why the pic turned out that way. My bad!)

Hot-swappable micro SD card slot

Update 5/10/2014: 

A member of the MyPhone Rio Lite OFFICIAL Facebook Group asked if it's possible to move apps to SD storage:

Moving to Phone storage

This is where the Rio Lite falls short. It doesn't seem that you can transfer apps to SD using Settings. You can only move to Phone Storage or Internal Storage. It should say "Move to SD card" like so:

Move to SD card

Update 5/12/2014:

A member of MyPhone Rio Lite OFFICIAL has discovered hidden feature of the Rio Lite:

Credits to Miss Loreena.

Rio Lite has OTG (USB On The Go)! OTG means you can use USB devices on your Rio Lite. I did a quick test today and found out that while it works on my The Sims 3 USB Flash Drive, it was not able to read my Western Digital External HDD.

What you need: Rio Lite, OTG Cable, USB device

To use OTG, you would need an OTG cable and a USB device. (The Rio Lite does not come with an OTG cable.) 

What you should see when you plug in your USB device

You can now choose External USB Storage as a Preferred Install Location

External USB Storage info, Unmount and Erase options

 Remember to Unmount the USB Storage to avoid corrupting the USB device. Better safe than sorry.

Unmount

USB Storage removed successfully

Update 5/13/2014:

Members of MyPhone Rio Lite OFFICIAL asked for camera flash tests:

without flash

with flash

without flash

with flash

Conclusion

MyPhone Rio Lite is another locally branded phone that's affordable yet doesn't compromise much specs-wise. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this purchase, seeing him enjoying his new phone makes it a worth the money. Now if only he could make this one last at least 2 years... ^_~

Before I go, let me give you the specs sheet:

MyPhone Rio Lite Specifications:

• Android 4.2 Jelly Bean 
• Dual-SIM, Dual-standby 
• 4.7″ WVGA 480×800 IPS display 
• 1.3GHz quad core MT6582M processor 
• Mali-400 GPU 
• 512MB RAM 
• 4GB ROM, expandable via microsd card 
• 5mp rear-facing autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 2mp front camera 
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS 
• 3G, HSPA+ 
• 2000mAh battery 
• Price: Php3,999

and a screenshot of the About Phone under Settings:

Do you have a Rio Lite? Write your review on the comments below! Do you know where I can get the CM Cruize fixed (other than the CM Service Center! Haha!)? Please leave a comment!