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Home > Android Phone Reviews > verykool S470

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verykool S470

Editor's rating (1-5): rating starrating starrating star
Carrier: Unlocked GSM, works well with AT&T
Manufacturer: verykool
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What's Hot: Good features and build quality for a low price, no contract required.

What's Not: Limited 3G bands make it best suited to AT&T, no 4G LTE, small internal storage.

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Reviewed November 13, 2013 by , Editor in Chief (twitter: @lisagade)

Not everyone is up for a contract renewal or wants to jump on those new monthly payment plans that let you get a new phone every year (or even more frequently) for a price. So what happens if you break or lose your phone, or you simply want to move up to an Android smartphone without breaking the bank? Maybe you need a decent smartphone for global travel, and you don't want to buy a pricy flagship. Google Nexus smartphones are some of the lower cost alternatives that are sold unlocked and without contract, but the Nexus 5 costs $350, and that's still too much for some folks. The verykool S470 "Black Pearl" is just $230 with no contract or commitment. It's compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and overseas GSM networks, but not Sprint or Verizon that use CDMA networks. The S470 is solidly built, in fact it's a bit heavier than most phones in its class, and it has a good feature set for the price: a 720p IPS display, 1.2GHz quad core CPU, dual SIM card slots (full size SIM cards), 3G HSPA+ 42Mbps and an 8MP rear camera. Not too shabby.

VeryKool S740

The verykool S470 comes to us from sunny San Diego, and it's a nice enough looking phone with the usual glass front and a matte black plastic back. The back is curved and feels good in hand, and the phone doesn't look or feel cheap. The back is removable and it grants access to the SIM card slots, 2,000 mAh battery and microSD card slot. Since the phone has just 1.3 gigs of available internal storage you'll need that card for media storage (Android 4 doesn't allow app installation to cards unless customized by the manufacturer to do so, and this runs stock Android).

VeryKool S740

The phone runs Android Jelly Bean 4.2.1, and verykool hasn't stated OS upgrade plans, but typically in this price range you shouldn't count on OS upgrades. Like Nexus phones, this is pure Android with no UI customizations, and verykool has added only a handful of apps: Backup and Restore, Cell Broadcasts, a file manager, FM radio, SIM Toolkit, Sound Recorder, Wireless Input (for managing Bluetooth connections) and NoteBook. This is a fully sanctioned Android phone, so it comes with Google Play apps including the Store, Music, Gallery, Chrome, Photos, YouTube, Google+ and Maps. A few regional carriers including Cellular One, GCI and ACS offer the verykool S470, and those may have carrier apps and customizations.

VeryKool S740

The phone has a 4.7" IPS display with 1280 x 720 resolution. Viewing angles are good, color saturation is decent though not stellar and we noted a cool color bias and a tiny bit of light bleed along one edge of the display. But for the price, it's a perfectly acceptable display and it's bright enough to view outdoors. Other features include single band WiFi (2.4GHz only), Bluetooth 3.0 and a GPS. The S470 has a decent 2MP front camera and a rear 8MP camera that takes sharp and colorful shots in good light. Low light shots are noisy and unevenly exposed, though video is less noisy. The camera app is intuitive and has the basics like geotagging, HDR, panorama, color effects, scene modes and exposure control.

VeryKool S740

 

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verykool s470 Video Review

 

You won't get a cutting edge CPU in this price range, so the S470 has a MediaTek 1.2GHz quad core CPU with PowerVR SGX 544MP graphics. That's a middle of the road CPU with a 2 year old graphics chip, but it's still good enough to play games like Dead Trigger and casual games like Plants vs. Zombies 2. The phone has a gig of RAM. The upside is good battery life since the CPU isn't power hungry and the phone lacks 4G LTE, another energy consumer. We had no trouble getting through the day with power to spare when using the phone for calls, web browsing, playing music and streaming 30 minutes of YouTube HD video.

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Benchmarks

  Quadrant GFXBench 2.7, 2.5 Egypt Offscreen AnTuTu Sunspider JavaScript Test
verykool S470 4017 10 fps 13,339 1480
Google Nexus 5 8808 59 fps 27,017 718
LG G2 19,762 57 fps 32,990 823
Samsung Galaxy S4 12,276 41 fps 24,776 826
HTC One 12,252 37 fps 24,589 1155
Sony Xperia Z 7916 32 fps 20,403 1306
Moto X 8357 43 fps 21,377 1097
LG Optimus G Pro 11,994 28 fps 18,561 867
Samsung Galaxy Note II 6001 66 pfs (v.2.5 used) 14,056 1052
LG Optimus G 7235 59 pfs (v.2.5 used) 11,087 1289
Samsung Galaxy S III 5102 51 fps (v.2.5 used) 7011 1825

3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Test: 1546

Call quality was good on AT&T's network, where the S470 is best suited thanks to its 850/1900 3G bands. Those are the bands that AT&T uses for its 3G HSPA+ network, while T-Mobile uses a bit of 1900MHz but relies primarily on 1700/2100MHz for 3G. The phone supports 42Mbps HSPA+, currently the fastest form of 3G on GSM networks. The verykool S470 is a quad band GSM world phone with voice and EDGE 2G data that will work worldwide, but it also lacks overseas 3G bands (900, 1800, 2100MHz), so it's not a great choice for those who want fast data when traveling overseas. The phone lacks 4G LTE, which is to be expected in this price range. We're a little mystified that verykool would make an unlocked GSM phone that's really only well matched with one carrier: AT&T. Perhaps they first designed the phone for a regional carrier that uses the same bands as AT&T and decided to offer an unlocked version too?

Conclusion

If you're on a tight budget and need an Android smartphone, the verykool S470 is hard to beat at $230. With no contract or commitment, the S470 makes a great emergency replacement phone or a handy world traveler as long as you don't need fast data. The display is sharp and easy on the eyes, performance is adequate and voice quality is good. It's also one of the few dual SIM phones you'll find in the US. But we're a little mystified that verykool didn't use a wireless radio with more 3G bands to make this an appealing purchase for T-Mobile US customers and for those who need 3G overseas.

Price: $229.99

Website: www.verykool.net

 

VeryKool S740

 

VeryKool S740

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Specs:

Display: 4.7" IPS display. Resolution: 1280 x 720. Has ambient light sensor, accelerometer and proximity sensor.

Battery: 2000 mAh Lithium Ion Polymer rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable.

Performance: 1.2GHz MediaTek quad core CPU (ARM-7). 1 gig RAM and 1.5 gigs internal storage with ~ 1.3 gigs available.

Size: 5.39 x 2.79 x 0.41 inches. Weight: 5.66 ounces.

Phone: GSM quad band world with with EDGE 2G. 3G HSPA+ 42Mpbs on the 850/1900MHz bands. Two SIM card slots, uses full size SIM cards. Has WiFi hotspot feature.

Camera: 2MP front camera and rear 8MP camera with LED flash and HDR.

Audio: Built in speaker, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack.

Networking: Integrated single band WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.

Software: Android OS 4.2.1 Jelly Bean.

Expansion: 1 microSD card slot.

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