I have been sending mails after mails to the Tecno guys in Kenya asking them about their products and such, telling them to inform me of launches and the like but seems like either their mail is broken or they’ve chosen to ignore me. Anyway, they recently unveiled the 2014 Flagship in Kenya after teasing it online for some few weeks. I don’t know where the event was because they didn’t say. However they had a big launch with well known Kenyan bloggers, the more reason you need to like my page, and unveiled their first phone running Android KitKat.

TECNO-Phantom-Z-in-hand

Phantom Z stands out in 4 key areas from other Tecno Phones:

Android Version – it runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat
Cameras – It has a 16MP back camera with dual flash plus an 8MP front camera with flash
Processor – It has an Octo-core Processor clocked at 2.0 GHz
5200mAh Power Bank Accessory

With such major specifications, Tecno will be looking to sell the phone as an high end device, it’s second big device after the Tecno R7 which hasn’t been in the market for long. I myself look forward to knowing how well (good or bad) the device will sell in Kenya where Tecno Mobile Phones have slowly taken over the low-end smartphone market. Tecno feature phones have also dug deep into mobile phone users in Kenya.

Full Specifications

Screen and Display

Phantom Z has a 5.2 inch Full HD AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. Some reviews claim the screen is made of scratch proof Corning Gorilla Glass. The phone’s dimensions are 71.9mm x 144.5mm x 7.9mm meaning it is not as thin as you would expect. Since I haven’t touched it physically, I wouldn’t know how heavy/light it is. Tecno phones, like my current M7, tend to be very very heavy when compared to Samsung devices. Maybe it is the material… If I get to use the phone, I will show you guys a screenshot to test the 1920×1080 resolution.

Cameras

The back camera is 16MP with dual flash. I haven’t read any review yet saying whether or not the camera has Auto focus or OIS or BSI or any additional features. Therefore it as now stands as 16MP dual flash and nothing more. The front camera however is something we don’t normally see. It is 8MP and as if that isn’t enough it has flash! I really wish the 8MP isn’t but a waste. I have seen horrible 8MP and perfect 5MP so the fact that it is 8MP should not qualify it as the best selfie phone yet until someone tests it.

RAM, Processor and Storage

The phone promises 16GB internal Memory expandable with an external SD card up to 32GB. It has 2GB of RAM which is very good. I would love to see how it performs on Antutu Benchmark and see how it compares to other phones at its price range. The Processor is a Mediatek Chip, the kind that the upcoming Android Ones will be running. The Octo-core (yes octo not octa) processor is clocked at 2.0Ghz meaning extra fast speeds. By the way for those who may not know, octo-core means it has 8 cores. Somebody who has the phone should show us the benchmark scores quickly. I haven’t seen any review mentioning the usual 8GB Tecno SD card so I can’t tell you whether or not it is included.

Connectivity

The phone obviously supports WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth. However I don’t know what version of Bluetooth it runs. Maybe Bluetooth 4.0 considering it is a flagship phone. No review has mentioned the USB version but I personally doubt it will support USB 3.0 since the pictures only show the normal USB port.

Battery

The phone comes with a non-removable 3030mAh battery. Non-removable batteries are not something good to many people and probably that is the reason why you get an accessory of a 5200mAh power bank. Some reviews claim the battery can withstand 24 hours talk time…

Accessories

I would be lying to you if I claim to know all the accessories in the huge box the phone comes in. I haven’t seen them. However I know there are earphones, a Smartview cover to case your phone, a charger plus the Power bank which I’ve already mentioned. The phone’s audio is by Dolby Digital and you’ll find the Dolby branding at the back of the phone.

And that’s it. There’s nothing necessary on the Internet about the Phantom Z that I have failed to mention. The phone is to be available in Kenya around this month (maybe it is already) and will be selling at around Ksh. 37,000.

Is it worth your cash from the specifications?

There’s now a Tecno Phantom Z Mini! Read all about it –> Here.