Smooth, mostly square, single-weighted. Choosing one among them is already so problematic that many simply leave the store with a headache from the ripples in their eyes. But Highscreen Ice 2, a review of which we offer you in this article, compares favorably with modern smartphones. And there are several reasons for this.

The main feature

The smartphone reviewed here has one distinctive feature- second screen. Not like the Russian YOTA gadget, but small, on the back panel. But very necessary! The mini-display with a running line shows the most basic data that users so often require: time, date, battery charge, basic data from selected applications, notifications of missed calls and messages. Such simple thing, which many smartphones lacked so much! Now there is no need to constantly turn on the backlight on your phone in order to find out all this data.

A little about the company and brand

Highscreen is a Russian-Chinese brand that has been actively developed relatively recently. In 2009, the company began producing budget smartphones that appealed to many users around the world. Stable operation and high-quality gadgets compete with famous and long-known brands.

Screen

The screen diagonal of Highscreen Ice 2, a review of which will be of interest to everyone potential buyers, - only 4.7 inches. This is slightly less than the usual five for 2015. But the lack of these 0.3 inches pays off with the presence of a second screen. It is located on back cover, which is made of high-quality non-slip plastic coated protective glass. The color rendition of the device is simply excellent, according to experts. All colors are rich, bright, but at the same time natural. No yellowness or undue acidity noted. Everything is pleasing to the eye. In addition, the viewing angles of the Highscreen Ice 2 Galaxy are extremely good: no darkening or color drops are observed.

Setting up Oled

This refers to the small rear screen. The user can independently choose what information and with what frequency will be shown on the display. It itself is small - 23 by 5 mm. But this is quite enough. Moreover, this does not drain the smartphone’s battery. That is, the second display is very ergonomic, even if the data transmission frequency is set to maximum. Highscreen Ice 2, reviews of which will be presented below, is precisely thanks to the second screen that distinguishes it from competitors in its price category.

Design

All users unanimously come to the conclusion that the Highscreen Ice 2 smartphone, a review of which is useful to study before purchasing, looks very unusual and beautiful. The rear one (Corning third generation) allows you to protect your smartphone from damage if used carelessly. For example, when falling. By the way, not many companies use Corning Gorilla Glass for the back cover. The front glass is also made of this material. The color scheme is presented in four shades: blue (noble dark), white, gray and black. The speaker is located at the bottom of the rear panel, in the middle. This ensures uniform and fairly loud sound. The main camera is located in the upper left corner, which is also very convenient. The entire back panel features the brand name. And since it itself is rather large, it looks very beautiful and stylish. The Highscreen Ice 2 smartphone really looks very different from its competitors.

CPU

But it is far from perfect. Manufacturers installed a somewhat outdated eight-core MediaTek MT6592 processor with a clock frequency of 1.7 Hz on the device. By the way, it smoothes out such an unpleasant moment. Due to the high frequency, the gadget works perfectly. All modern demanding games and applications run quickly and without lags. It is noteworthy that the Highscreen Ice 2 Galaxy smartphone performed well in multitasking. Applications even in background work stably without causing discomfort to the user. And all the necessary alerts can be seen on the second display if desired.

Device memory

The Highscreen Ice 2 phone has 2 GB of RAM. This is already a standard indicator for 2015. Modern applications and games require more and more RAM, so its presence is really necessary. And here the Russian-Chinese smartphone did not disappoint. Even games that are very demanding in terms of settings work without any problems. Yes, and apps too. Although some still have to be manually “lowered” a little in the settings. 16 GB of built-in information storage in the smartphone. And this is also a standard indicator. For those who do not have enough stated 16 GB (of which about 14 GB is available), a memory card slot will help. More precisely, the slot is dual - it can be used either for an SD card or for a second SIM card. At the user's discretion.

External camera

Here, too, everything is quite standard and expected - 13 megapixels. The camera itself is slightly recessed into the back cover, but the metal edging protrudes above it so that the pictures do not turn out to be overexposed. Next to the camera there is a noise suppressor and a speaker. Everything together works great. The pictures are obtained high definition, without unnecessary noise and distortion. Of course, it cannot be compared with flagship cameras, since the Highscreen Ice 2 does not have the strongest matrix. But the pictures are still high quality and beautiful. Autofocus works smoothly, without braking or freezing, and there are plenty of shooting modes to choose from. Those who need more effects should pay attention to photo editors.

Front camera

But it’s a little small - 2 megapixels. Highscreen Ice 2 Blue, like any other in this series, does not allow you to take the clearest selfies. But this is enough for video communication. And with a steady hand and the right lighting, selfies turn out to be of sufficient quality for 2 megapixels. Photo editors can give blurry photos a special charm. And by the way, standard settings This is quite enough for this.

Communication standards

Well, this is also not very modern - there is no support for 4G and LTE. All previous ones are supported without problems. Of course, new communication standards are not yet working everywhere in Russia, but this moment is just around the corner, so the lack of 4G can be considered a serious disadvantage for Highscreen Ice 2 (Gray, Blue, White or Black). This will be missed in a year or two.

Battery

Its capacity is 2500 mAh. Overall, a good result considering that there are still two screens. Let alone and very ergonomic. With such a processor and maximum screen brightness, the battery is quite sufficient. It is noteworthy that with the Internet always on ( wireless Wi-Fi or built-in 3G) and the phone is under average load, charging lasts all day. This means you won’t have to rush around looking for an outlet if something happens. Well, for those who play games constantly, we can advise you to purchase external storage, which will always be at hand.

Equipment

Many modern manufacturers have begun to save significantly on this. But Highscreen Ice 2, reviews of which will help you make your choice, compares favorably today. So, in the branded box there are:

• Detailed instructions in several languages ​​(including Russian).
• A paperclip for opening the memory card and SIM card slot.
• Stereo headset (more on that below).
• Charger (the “plug” itself).
• USB cable (aka wire to the “plug”).
• Smartphone.

The box itself is made of thick cardboard, which depicts a model in an icy haze (Ice, after all). It looks impressive and presentable.

About the headset

Most often, users save on it. But not Highscreen. This is a really high-quality headset that you don’t want to exchange for another. It fits comfortably in the ear and provides good sound. And if done correctly in the media player it turns out quite good music player. And this is also very important for many users. Replacement ear pads can be purchased separately for the headset.

The mobile device market is overcrowded with similar smartphone models. It is almost impossible to find a truly original model, and many buyers give up this idea without achieving any results. But with a more detailed study of the model range of smartphones, you can still find a device, although not completely unique, but which compares favorably with other gadgets. This is exactly what Highscreen Ice 2 is. This smartphone has one feature - the presence of a second screen. Is this his thing? Yes. However, one can argue about the originality of the technology. Leading manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple have this solution in their arsenal. But, unfortunately, neither South Korea nor America have provided such devices to date. But the Vobis company announced its new development at the end of 2014. The Highscreen Ice 2 smartphone can rightfully be called a flagship.

Scope of delivery

The manufacturer decided to present this model smartphone in a fairly simple package. It is decorated predominantly in white. It is a small rectangular box. Material - thick cardboard. The manufacturer completely abandoned variegation and brightness. On the front side there is a photograph of the gadget the entire length of the box. The number of inscriptions is kept to a minimum. According to users and experts, the packaging has only a utilitarian purpose; no marketing ploy was used in the design.

Looking inside, the buyer will not see substrates or additional compartments. All the components are simply piled up. At the bottom of the box there is a 5-volt power adapter, a micro-USB cord equipped with an LED, a rather weak wired stereo headset (vacuum), an original metal key and a user manual. Considering its initial cost (in the range of 15,000-17,000 rubles), according to most buyers, the component set could be much richer.

Design

How will buyers see the Ice 2 smartphone? Its external design can be called discreet. However, the main advantage is such qualities as aesthetics and accuracy. Designers have succeeded significantly in this matter, releasing a truly presentable Highscreen phone Ice 2. The back cover is protected by tempered glass Gorilla Glass 3. The same coating is used for the front panel. This solution for Chinese products is innovative, but it has been widely used by world-famous brands (Samsung, Apple) for a long time. But is this coating so high-quality and practical? According to most owners, the phone is very slippery, so you need to use both hands when operating it. Also, the disadvantages include the soiling of the coating. Fingerprints collect very quickly, which causes aesthetic inconvenience.

The body of the Ice 2 gadget is distinguished by flat shapes and straight lines. The frame running along the entire perimeter of the side edges is made of plastic painted with matte paint. Outwardly, this solution looks quite impressive, but it cannot be called practical, since after a short period of time chips and abrasions appear on the surface.

According to most experts, the dimensions of this smartphone are optimal: 13.8 x 6.7 x 0.87 cm. The weight of the phone is pleasant, as it is only 135 g. The owners believe that if the device were somewhat heavier, it would be extremely inconvenient to use. On the back cover, in addition to the standard elements (camera, speaker, flash), there is a second screen. It is quite small - 2.3x0.5 cm. Display type - OLED. The information reproduced on it is configured individually by the user.

There is an alert indicator on the front panel. It is built into the circle of the central button located under the screen. The front camera “window”, sensors and speaker hole are displayed in top part phone. The control panel is original. It consists of touch keys that do not have any labels or icons. All the user will see are small dots glowing white. A rather advantageous solution was to provide settings for these soft keys in the menu. The owner will be able to arrange the “Back” and “Menu” buttons to suit his taste.

Like any other smartphone, Highscreen Ice 2 is not without mechanical elements. At the top end there is a power button and an audio jack. There are two SIM card slots on the left side. They are removed using a special key included in the kit. On the right side, the user will see a port for a microSD card. It is protected by a special plastic plug. Next to it is a volume rocker.

To diversify the range, the manufacturer has released 3 color solutions for this model: Night Gray (gray), Arctic White (white) and Galaxy Blue (blue).

Screen

Highscreen Ice 2 display turned out good quality. The device is equipped with a touch matrix made using IPS technology. There is no air gap. The screen diagonal is slightly smaller than the usual 5 inches, 4.7 inches. Its height is 103 mm and its width is 58 mm. As for quality, the resolution of the displayed information is limited to 1280x720 px. The density of the latter is 312 ppi. These figures suggest that graininess and pixelation will not be noticeable to the naked eye.

The display is framed by a black frame. Its thickness on the sides is approximately 5 mm. The increase occurs in the upper and lower parts, where the dimensions reach 16 and 19 mm, respectively. Unfortunately, due to such a thickness of the frame, this gadget can hardly be called elegant. Multi-touch supports up to five simultaneous touches. Thanks to the proximity sensor, which is located above the screen, there is no need to turn on the lock during a call, as it is activated automatically. The owners have no comments regarding the anti-glare properties and brightness level. In any weather outside, using the phone will be quite comfortable. The color balance is optimally selected, the display supports 16 million different shades. The viewing angles are wide, the black contrast changes only when tilted very strongly.

Battery

The developers have selected a typical battery for Highscreen Ice 2. Its capacity will not please the buyer very much, as it is 2500 mAh. It is made using lithium-ion technology. Duration battery life no different from other Android devices. With average activity, the user can expect approximately 10 hours of operation without recharging. The battery life is consumed unevenly (up to 70% drains quickly, the remaining 30% is much slower). If you play on a smartphone at the maximum brightness level, you will have to connect it to a power source after two hours.

Communications

The Highscreen Ice 2 gadget supports second and third generation networks. Users can create wireless points, thanks to the presence of a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module. It is possible to connect a flash drive via OTG cable. The phone has a built-in magnetic field sensor. It provides electronic compass functionality. Thanks to it, you can install navigation programs on your smartphone. GPS support is also provided. NFC is not supported.

Highscreen Ice 2: camera characteristics

The developers installed two digital cameras on the smartphone. The first (main) has a module with a resolution of 13 megapixels. Located on the rear panel. Sensor type - BSI, manufacturer - Sony. To guarantee quality, the developers have included a flash and autofocus.

The resolution of the front camera is much inferior to the rear one. It is based on a 2-megapixel matrix. The quality of the photos is not very high, since there is no autofocus and the resolution is frankly quite low. However, a significant advantage is the ability to recognize gestures, which allows you to take pictures automatically.

Memory

A significant advantage of Highscreen Ice 2 is the amount of RAM. The developers have provided 2 GB. System files Only the 3rd part is occupied. According to experts and owners, this figure can be considered above average. There is native memory for installing third-party software. Its volume is 16 GB. This storage is quite enough for several resource-intensive programs. It is proposed to save music, photos, and videos on a microSD memory card. The device works with 64 GB flash drives.

Performance

It runs on a single-chip system based on an eight-core chipset from MediaTek, the Highscreen Ice 2 phone. Performance characteristics are at the highest level. Each computing module has a complete configuration. During the work process, they are capable of accelerating to 2 GHz. Core type - Cortex-A7.

The MT6592 chipset is paired with a Mali-450MP video card. There are no comments regarding the data processing speed. All graphic images, including animated ones, are displayed on the screen quite quickly. According to experts, the performance of this smartphone deserves a score above average. The smartphone copes well not only with everyday tasks, but also with modern software.

Hardware platform

Highscreen Ice 2 receives rave reviews mainly due to the popular Android OS. The developers installed version 4.4.2 on the gadget. There is information on the Internet that it is possible to upgrade to 5.0. The manufacturer did not use a proprietary shell. According to most owners, this is a huge plus, since it is possible to enjoy a “clean” platform.

Those who have already encountered Android devices will not have any problems setting up the gadget. The menu organization is standard. On the main screen there is a Google bar (at the top). Below are icons of frequently used applications. There is a “curtain” with basic settings. By logging into it, you can get quick access to functions such as Wi-Fi, sound profiles, brightness adjustment, geodata transfer, auto-rotate, and more. When you long press the lock key, a menu appears that prompts the user to turn off the power, reboot the device, take a screenshot, or activate airplane mode.

Conclusion

Over several years of operation, this smartphone has proven itself well. According to experts, the peculiarity of the model is the use of Gorilla Glass 3 by the developers for the front and rear panels, as well as the presence of a second screen. In terms of performance and other characteristics, the device confidently occupies a position in the middle segment.

As for quality, Highscreen Ice 2 can function for a long time without breakdowns. Repairs are carried out only in specialized service centers. Any penetration into the housing will void the device's warranty.

12649

Product mentions 3

Hello, dear readers of my blog on the website of the online store for computer and household appliances DNS!

Today in my review - quite an interesting smartphone Highscreen Ice 2. He is interesting primarily for his extraordinary appearance and the presence of an additional OLED display located on the opposite side of the main screen. Plus, of course, the smartphone has quite powerful electronic components and a good screen based on a liquid crystal matrix made using IPS technology.

Brand Highscreen belongs to the Russian company Vobis, and the production of electronics under this brand is carried out in mainland China. Until recently, the pattern of relations between Russian customers and Chinese manufacturers was as follows: manufacturers offered electronic kits or blanks, from which the Russian side put together a kit, which later turned into a smartphone with the Highscreen label. Of course, the Russian side made adjustments to the existing blanks in accordance with the set of characteristics that it needed. Russian customers could, for example, ask manufacturers to increase the processor frequency, install a different screen or graphics chip, or supply more powerful battery. There have also been more breakthrough ideas designed to make Highscreen smartphones “the most, most” extraordinary. Let's remember, for example, the wonderful Boost series smartphones with two batteries included, one of which has a capacity of 6000 mAh! Now the relationship between customers and manufacturers has changed somewhat, moving to an ODM cooperation scheme. Now Russian designers and constructors completely develop the design and layout of devices, order the characteristics of the electronic filling, and the manufacturer does what the customer needs. As a result, we have an inexpensive final product produced on a market with cheap labor and a fairly developed culture and production technology. It is also worth saying that Highscreen does not install its own shells and applications on smartphones, limiting itself to pure operating system Android, which has a beneficial effect on the stability of devices and requires less hardware resources during operation.

In general, this is my first experience with Highscreen and I am not at all disappointed with its results.

PACKAGE

In the smartphone packaging Highscreen Ice 2 The manufacturer has moved away from its tradition of delivering smartphones in yellow cardboard containers with a monochrome drawing. This smartphone is sold in colored cardboard boxes, the color of which matches the color of the device body. So far, smartphones have been on sale Highscreen Ice 2 white, gray and blue body colors, but on the official Highscreen website I found a limited edition of gold-colored smartphones on sale, produced in an edition of only 2000 pieces and at the same price as other colors. One way or another, in this review I have a gray smartphone and its box is also dark gray. About the box we can say that it is very small and made of durable cardboard. In terms of style and tightness of opening, it reminded me of a brand with a bitten fruit, but the quality of the packaging of that brand is, of course, higher.

On top of the box is a smartphone with ice crystals scattered on its screen.

There is no information on the sides of the package, except for a sticker with serial number smartphone and IMEI.

But the bottom of the box is more interesting - it contains the main technical characteristics of Highscreen Ice 2 as well as information about the bonus - free 128 GB of storage cloud storage 4SYNC. After registering on the 4SYNC website, you are given 1 TB of free storage for a period of 30 days; time will tell how much will actually be available with a smartphone later.

The bottom of the box is sealed with two branded stickers, indicating that no one has opened this box before you.

The smartphone inside the package is in a plastic bag.

DELIVERY SET

Package Included:

2. power adapter,

3. micro-USB cable,

4. stereo headset,

5. compartment removal tool micro- SIM cards and microSD cards,

6. user manual,

7. warranty card.

The tool is very tiny and easy to lose, but even if it gets lost, you shouldn’t despair, the compartments can be opened with a paperclip or any thin object.

The HKC0055010-3A charger is essentially the most common and interchangeable with any similar device. It provides a constant voltage of 5 V with a current of up to 1 A. When it is new, all its glossy surfaces are covered with a special film in order to avoid accidental scratches.

The Micro-USB cable is not quite ordinary and has one interesting feature: it lights up near the micro-USB connector when voltage is applied to the cable. The color of the backlight also changes: when charging is in progress, it lights up in red, and when the smartphone is fully charged or the cable is not connected to the micro-USB connector, it turns blue. Agree, it’s an interesting design solution that even many famous brands don’t have!

The headset is quite remarkable in appearance because it has bright red wires. The wires have a flat cross-section, which is why they do not tend to twist, and their insulation, in its softness, reminded me of rubber. The telephone headset has a 4-pin plug, this is explained by the fact that it also includes a microphone located in a small black box on the wires, which also contains a button for answering calls. phone call. Agree that this is quite convenient, since you don’t have to take your smartphone out of your pocket while listening to music.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Operating system: Android 4.4.2;

CPU: 8-core, MediaTek MT6592, 1.7 GHz;

Video processor: Mali-450MP4, 700 MHz;

Screen 1: 16 million colors, 4.7" 720x1280, HD IPS, OGS;

Screen 2: monochrome OLED;

Number of SIM cards: 2;

SIM card type: Micro-SIM;

Battery: Li-ion 2500 mAh, non-removable;

Networks: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz), 3G/HSPA+ (900/2100 MHz);

Main camera: 13.0 MP, AF, flash;

Front camera: 2.0 MP;

Volume of permanent memory: 16 GB;

RAM capacity: 2 GB;

Expansion slot: microSD (SDHC compatible);

Audio jack: 3.5 mm;

Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, access point;

Bluetooth: Yes;

Navigation: GPS, A-GPS;

FM tuner: yes, with RDS support;

Equipment: Smartphone, charger with detachable cable, telephone headset, tool for removing SIM card trays, user manual, warranty card;

Additionally:

Proximity sensor

Light sensor

Dimensions: 138x67.6x8.7 mm

Weight: 135 g

Analyzing the characteristics of the smartphone Highscreen Ice 2 we can say with confidence that it turned out to be quite powerful and will fully satisfy the needs of its owner in the next couple of years, especially considering that the manufacturer did not skimp on the amount of RAM, installing it at once 2 GB (which is typical for smartphones and tablets with screen resolution 1920x1080), and also equipped it with 16 GB flash memory. Unfortunately, I cannot say this about my first Lenovo smartphone P770, which has already occupied almost the entire system area of ​​​​non-volatile memory and now even updates are not downloaded.

The eight-core MediaTek MT6592 processor installed in Highscreen Ice 2 is capable of processing a huge number of operations per second and at the moment this is one of best processors in terms of productivity/energy savings. If processor resources are not in demand, then the “extra”, unused Cortex-A7 cores go into sleep mode. The Mali-450MP4 graphics processor is by no means top-end, but it still copes quite well with graphics in games and any applications. However, you shouldn’t hope for complete compatibility of the hardware with the software - I downloaded and installed one of the games, which eventually informed me that it was not compatible with this device.

APPEARANCE

A protective transport film is glued to the front and back surfaces of the new Highscreen Ice 2 smartphone, which must be removed before using the device.

Top and bottom surfaces of the smartphone Highscreen Ice 2 covered with third generation Gorilla Glass, which has increased resistance to scratches and impacts. This is definitely not something you see often budget smartphones. The coating does not collect very many fingerprints, but the smartphone reminded me a lot SONY model Xperia Z, which I also had the chance to test once. Just as thin and slippery, it tends to slip out of your fingers in cold weather. The mirror brand logo is located under the glass on the back side and looks very neat.

Highscreen Ice 2 In general it looks very elegant and is made very carefully - there are no cracks or creaks in the case, the quality of the plastic parts is also excellent.

On the right side there is a volume rocker and a slot for a microSD card, covered with a decorative cap. On the left are two slots for micro-SIM cards

At the top there is a power on/off button and a headset jack, and at the bottom there is a micro-USB socket for charging or transferring files and a miniature microphone hole.

On the back side at the top there are: a 13 MP camera, an LED flash, a second microphone hole for implementing an external noise suppression system and a speaker slot. Yes, I almost forgot the most important thing! Here is the same second OLED display that I talked about at the very beginning of the review. It periodically displays information about time, date, battery charge, weather and temperature, as well as the presence of unreceived messages email. During a telephone call, the name of the subscriber is displayed in a creeping line, if he is included in your contact book, or simply the phone number. This screen is the main feature of the smartphone Highscreen Ice 2, which is not found in any other smartphone, unless, of course, you compare YotaPhone 2, which has a screen of a completely different type and purpose. This screen is, of course, a great idea from the designers, but it would be even cooler if it were colored and not bluish-gray.

On the front side, in addition to the main display, there is a light and proximity sensor, a selfie camera eye and a speaker covered with a protective metal mesh.

Below the screen there are three touch buttons with white backlight, the central one looks like a circle, and its backlight color changes depending on the events that have occurred.

The color and speed of the pulsation can be changed through the menu, assigning your own backlight color to certain events and applications. If the phone is charging, this indicator glows red; if the battery charge level reaches 90% or higher, it turns green. When there is a missed call, it flashes blue by default.

Due to glass and additional display Highscreen Ice 2 It looks very stylish and is clearly more expensive than its cost.

The mini-SIM cards I had, which I wanted to install in the smartphone, naturally did not fit into it.

I had to install a working MTS SIM card and get a new Beeline SIM card.

Smartphone screen Highscreen Ice 2 It is made using IPS technology; moreover, it does not have an air gap between the protective glass and the liquid crystal matrix. Due to this, it looks darker than a regular IPS screen, and in bright sunlight it glares less and the information on the screen is quite readable. Gorilla Glass 3 with oleophobic coating collects fingerprints much less than regular ones protective films, and they are easier to wash. When viewing the screen from different angles, no color distortion occurs, only the brightness changes. The screen resolution is not very high, corresponding to the HD standard (1280x720 pixels), but I did not notice any pixelation on the 4.7-inch screen. The pixel density per inch is 230.

Checking the screen for operation with multiple touches confirmed the possibility of simultaneous operation with 5 points.

INTERFACE AND SOFTWARE SHELL

The Highscreen Ice 2 smartphone has the bare Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat OS installed, so initially the number of applications is minimal.

They take up only two desktop screens.

Of course, you can set any existing photographs as wallpaper, as well as moving screensavers.

If you pull down the top of the screen with your finger, the notification area opens, which provides easy access to quick settings communication, screen and sound options.

In addition to the usual Android settings, they contain additional options, which are unique to Highscreen Ice 2. First of all, this is the Oled tab. Here you set the interval for turning on the display, the speed of the running text, settings for displaying temperature and weather in your city, as well as turning on the display of caller names. The display, I must admit, is very pleasant, although I would like to use it more often and for more options.

The options that need to be displayed on the OLED screen are also included here.

The audio settings have toggle options to improve the sound quality of the headphones and increase the speaker volume.

There is an interesting item in the screen settings - “Wireless monitor”.

If you have a smart TV at home with a Wi-Fi module that supports this function, then you can easily display a picture from your smartphone on its screen. I easily displayed an image from Highscreen Ice 2 on TV SAMSUNG UE55J5500, and at home I was able to connect to the WD TV Live set-top box and see the picture on the monitor from it.

Returning to the topic of multi-colored light notifications under the main display, I will say that their settings look like this:

The number of colors is limited, but in fact you don’t need more, since it’s simply not possible to make out subtle shades of color on a small luminous ring. I just wish the backlight level of this indicator was a little brighter.

The smartphone really has enough space for almost any application, and if there is still not enough space, you can use a microSD memory card with a capacity of up to 32 GB, however, it is possible that a larger card, for example 64 GB, will work. These screenshots show data on free and used memory after I downloaded and installed some utilities for testing the performance of the smartphone.

Some information about the phone can be viewed in the settings.

More detailed information can be found using special utilities; for example, the 3DMark performance test produced the following data:

The Hardware Info utility provides even more detailed and interesting information.

For example, I was interested in the information about the sensors installed in the smartphone, among which was a digital compass.

Determining location via GPS, by the way, in Highscreen Ice 2 it works simply excellent, satellites are located literally in a matter of seconds (about half a minute), providing very high accuracy in the region of 2-4 meters. Those who talk about problems with GPS in processors manufactured by MTK have probably not tried this smartphone, or, most likely, the company has simply done some kind of work on the mistakes, since the smartphone easily and confidently finds 8-10 satellites in urban conditions developments.

CAMERAS

There are two cameras, as expected in a normal smartphone. The one that is usually used to take photographs and videos is made on the basis of a 13 MP CMOS sensor SONY IMX214, and the one intended for Skype conversations and selfies is very simple and has only 2 MP.

The camera settings are very rich.

Light sensitivity can be increased to 1600, although it is not clear who will need this, since already at ISO 250 the camera is ungodly noisy, which is clearly visible in night shots.

The resolution of the main camera can be changed from QVGA and VGA to 13 MP.

Video resolution is low, 480P, 720P and 1080P, in the same tab for video you can enable the electronic image stabilizer EIS.

If you enable the gyroscope option, the screen will display a yellow stripe, which will turn purple when the level coincides with the horizon, as well as a blue stripe, displaying the vertical angle of the smartphone relative to the horizon point.

During shooting, you can turn on the HDR mode, as well as special effects, such as: sepia, negative, contour... To take a picture in HDR, you need to hold the smartphone longer than usual, the picture in the shadows is highlighted and becomes a little clearer, but moving parts due to the overlap of two frames may become translucent.

On a bright day, the main camera takes good pictures and has decent detail, but at the same time, the so-called “watercolorization” is observed, leading to blurring of details on darker monochromatic surfaces. Video is shot at 30 frames per second (24 for FullHD) with an audio sampling rate of 48 kHz in MOV format. There are not many examples of pictures and videos, but I hope they will help to compose general impression about the level of cameras and software used. For quick shooting of unexpected events, a smartphone is quite suitable.

Shot on a clear day:

Shot in low light conditions (1/10 sec is the longest exposure):

Photo with 2 MP camera:

Shooting indoors with artificial lighting:

Shooting on a bright day with a lot of deep shadows:

HDR shooting on a bright day with a lot of deep shadows:

One of the processing effects when shooting:

Examples of videos shot with FullHD resolution day and night:

TESTING

To test the performance of the smartphone, I used several well-known utilities, including, of course, 3DMark, in which Highscreen Ice 2 scored 4830 points.

In the test AnTuTu Benchmark v5.7.1, it was difficult for the hero of our review to compete with the leaders from well-known manufacturers and he expectedly lost to them, but there is no reason to be upset, in general the smartphone scored 30513 points, which the majority of budget Android devices never dreamed of.

The AnTuTu Video Tester 3.0 utility did not please me with the full compatibility of Ice 2 with all possible codecs, but I did not expect this.

NenaMark 1 and 2 graphics benchmarks with a screen resolution of 1280*720 showed the same number of frames per second – 60.8.

In PCMark, the smartphone scored 2757 points.

In the test, Vellamo Highscreen Ice 2 also produced average results relative to the leaders.

In the Geekbench 3 test in single-core mode, the smartphone was clearly weak, but in multi-core mode it almost caught up with the leaders with a score of 2401 points!

Testing the speed of the device's internal flash memory.

Speed ​​check Wi-Fi work. Despite the available Internet channel of 100 Mbit, the program is not designed for speeds above 50 Mbit/s, which is also very good for a smartphone.

Games on a smartphone run smoothly, even those that are quite resource-demanding, let alone games like Tetris, but some games may not be supported at the hardware level.

Plane Simulator.

AUTONOMOUS OPERATION

The autonomy of such a powerful smartphone, equipped with a not very capacious battery, was expectedly not high. With active use of the smartphone and Wi-Fi turned on, it will last a day; with a gentle mode with periodic email checks and traffic enabled via 3G, the Highscreen Ice 2 lasted me 2 days and 15 hours. Although the Wi-Fi module was disabled in the menu, it is shown as enabled in the battery usage diagram.

In AnTuTu Tester Highscreen Ice 2 scored 4792 points (battery discharge from 100 to 20%), the test duration was about 2 hours 45 minutes.

RESULT

It's time to sum up the Highscreen Ice 2. I can say that overall I really liked the smartphone, primarily in terms of design and its consumer qualities. Its software interface is completely lag-free, and the screen is very good in terms of picture quality. The camera is quite good for third grade, it is convenient and nothing more.

The telephone headset included in the kit is suitable only for conversations and testing functionality, since it does not have sufficiently pronounced high frequencies, and the rest of the frequency response is more prone to mid-frequency and high-low frequency sounds. Overall, it has a bit of a booming sound. I can’t say that the sound is completely bad, but even the cheap SONY MDR-EX50LP headphones sound cleaner. While testing a smartphone with a headset, it turned out that Play program Music, if you scroll the list of songs on the screen, you hear an unpleasant noise in the headphones, reminiscent of a faint crackling sound. There is no interference during music playback.

Capacity battery Still, I would like more, at least 4000 mAh, and if the manufacturer supplied its sweetie with a 6000 mAh battery, then the joy of users would know no bounds. After all, you must admit that it is nonsense to equip a sports Ferrari with a 20-liter gas tank.

Pros:

Excellent build quality,

Covering the screen and body with Gorilla Glass 3,

Good screen quality,

Interesting discoveries of designers using a second OLED screen, light notifications and illumination of the USB charging cord,

Complete absence of interface lags when working in the menu and with applications.

Cons:

Insufficiently capacious, and non-removable battery,

When scrolling the screen in headphones, noise is heard in the background of music,

The quality of the cameras could be better, albeit at the expense of resolution.

The Ice 2 display displays 1280x720 pixels and is an IPS matrix without an air gap. Considering the cost of a smartphone, many users would like to see such a Highscreen Full resolution HD, but technological realities make their own adjustments. Oddly enough, in smartphones with a diagonal of 4.6 inches and above, the resolution of 1920x1080 offers only HTC One M7 and a few Vertu smartphones. Neither the Xperia Z3 Compact nor the iPhone 6 bothered to fit the coveted 1080p into compact smartphones.

Therefore, the Ice 2 display should be considered in comparison with its “classmates”. In this regard, it performs well: the picture clarity is excellent, the anti-reflective coating and the above-mentioned absence of an air gap minimize the amount of glare on a sunny day, and the brightness level is approximately the same as the HTC One M7. The viewing angles are great, the picture only gets slightly darker when the tilt of the smartphone approaches the maximum values.

The only unusual thing is the obvious shift of the picture towards warm colors, and some users will be upset by the multi-touch indicators - the display supports only 5 simultaneous touches.

Iron

Highscreen Ice 2 is based on the MediaTek MT6592 chip. The “people's eight-core device” was presented back in November 2013: it became a high-profile event in the mobile industry, after which Qualcomm “strained itself” and even released an anti-advertising notice video with criticism of its competitor and eight-core technology in general.

The guys from California really had a reason to be nervous - already at the start the MT6592 was on par with the Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T. Previously, mobile eight-core processors used big.LITTLE technology, when 4 economical cores were used in low load mode, and in energy-intensive applications they were replaced by a quartet of productive cores. MT6592 was one of the first mobile processors, capable of using all 8 cores at once. But there has still not been any meaningful optimization for such a number of threads in Android, so the muscular MediaTek chip has become “good” and settled in smartphones in the mid-price segment.

The eight MT6592 cores are based on the cost-effective Cortex-A7 architecture and operate at 1.7 GHz. The video accelerator is a quad-core Mali 450MP operating at 700 MHz - a mediocre solution in terms of gaming performance. But the video accelerator received hardware support for video playback up to Ultra HD resolution in H265 format.

The chip does not support operation in 4G networks - the corresponding modification with the index MT6595 MediaTek was released only in mid-2014, and it is still poorly distributed among smartphone manufacturers.

Smartphones running MT6592 are approximately equivalent in terms of performance to modifications Samsung Galaxy S4, Xiaomi Mi2S or LG Nexus 4.

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