All-in-one smartphones have completely displaced many convenient types of phones from the mass segment: sliders, clamshells, rotating clamshells. Therefore, many continue to use push-button phones - out of habit, because they cannot be replaced with the usual one.
Fortunately, Korean fashionistas from Samsung have created the first “folding phone” on Android. And the Chinese company Vkworld has released an analogue that is 4 times cheaper. The smartphone called T2 Plus turned out to be extremely successful, durable and productive - this is not a concept, but an excellent working machine.
VKWorld T2 Plus combines seemingly incompatible things for a budget smartphone: a metal body, 2 touch screens, and a modern Mediatek processor. Let's take a closer look?
Appearance and ease of use
Vkworld T2 Plus is a classic clamshell with a non-classical OS. The manufacturer has not come up with anything better than using 2 identical 4.2-inch HD screens at once. One is on the outside, the second is on the inside, as befits a folding bed.
The impressive move is highlighted by an equally impressive finish: the smartphone has a matte steel body with genuine leather inserts.
Despite the almost unique appearance, Vkworld T2 Plus received a standard set of interfaces and controls: on the right side there is a microUSB port and a power button, on the left there is a swing volume.
The SIM card slot is located, surprisingly, in its rightful place - under the back cover. More precisely, 2 slots for SIM cards and 1 for microSD. As you can see, Vkworld T2 Plus, although it is a flip phone on Android, does not violate Chinese traditions.
Smartphone capabilities
The smartphone opens 150 degrees. Another screen is hidden here, exactly the same as outside. And a full set of classic buttons.
The panel with them is also covered with leather, the buttons are flush with the surface. There is a full numeric keypad, a joystick, and movement keys.
Control can be carried out either by tapping on the touch screen or using a hardware keyboard. Everything is completely interchangeable.
With a small caveat: the external screen has on-screen navigation buttons, standard for Android. They are not on the internal screen - you will have to cope either with your hands or with a joystick.
Hardware filling
The Vkworld T2 Plus platform uses a Mediatek MTK6737 processor. Quite economical, but not very fast. Unfortunately, the form factor imposes limitations on battery capacity. Today 2000 mAh is too little. That’s why the company had to resort to such a “life hack.”
Performance is supported by 3 GB of RAM and a fast 32 GB storage. The capacity of the permanent memory can be increased with a memory card up to 128 GB.
The smartphone supports all modern communication interfaces, but without fanaticism. There is GPS, but no GLONASS, Bluetooth - only version 4.1. But the network ranges are not limited in any way - even LTE band 20, so rare for Chinese smartphones, is supported.
Cameras
As the main camera, Vkworld T2 Plus received a 13 megapixel module made by Sony. If you open the smartphone, you can find a 5 MP front camera. The front one is not equipped with a flash, but the main module illuminates the picture with a single-LED flash.
operating system
The OS used is Android 7.0 with all that it implies: Vkworld T2 Plus is a full-size smartphone without any restrictions. Of course, with pre-installed Google Apps and a huge set of system languages (a physical keyboard in English will come in handy).
It feels like the work of the shell is practically unlimited. Applications launch almost instantly, the launcher works perfectly.
conclusions
Vkworld T2 Plus cannot be called incredibly productive and autonomous. Its main feature was the form factor. Therefore, the price of $260 is justified. There are simply no options, no analogues.
We must take it.
