AIS is offering a sub-5,000 baht smartphone with 4,000 baht of talk time — a great choice for 'my first phone'
AIS's new deal is hard to ignore. The service provider is retailing a 5-inch quad-core Android phone for 4,790 baht, with 4,000 baht free talk time. A pretty bold bargain, because it is like getting a phone for 790 baht. But is the phone any good?
The Lava Pro 5.0 is part of AIS's house brand phone series that looks premium with it's glossy exteriors and steel-like edges all round. Although it doesn't feel like that. The phone is heavy for its size and flimsy when you squeeze it (with moderate pressure). This could be because the phone's glossy exterior and metallic edges are made of plastic. There's nothing wrong with plastic phones, however. Samsung uses plastic to make most of their phones, mind you. It just feels less durable.
Handling Facebook, Line and all major social media apps or news apps is a breeze with this phone, but dealing with modern-graphic-intensive games, like Kotor or Godfire, may be a bit much. You will often get a nagging message saying it's not compatible.
I've tried quite a lot of phones but, oddly, the quad-core on this phone may not be worth comparing to dual-core CPUs on other phones in the market. I guess having four small brains is still not as good as having two big ones.
In general, the phone isn't outstanding in any particular feature: OK design, typical one-day battery life, mediocre speed and an average camera. But it's still hard to deny that you're still getting an adequate phone that can do all essential tasks — 4G capability, social media ready, takes good-enough selfies and makes calls.
If you've been accustomed to phones with a price tag of more than 15,000 baht, this one will not give you goose bumps. But if you're aiming to get a good-enough phone that suits most people's needs with a price that's kind to your wallet, this is the best deal to grab at the minute.
