Going down right now at the Garden City is the launch of Tecno Boom J8, the Tecno Music centric smartphone that is the successor of Tecno Boom J7. Other than the Tecno Boom J8 device, the launch of the smartphone also comes with the official introduction of Tecno HiOS, the new Tecno User Interface that make things like changing the Theme as easy as counting fingers. As promised earlier, we will be running a comprehensive review of the Tecno Boom J8 but in the meantime these are the quick specs that should help you make a decision on whether or not to buy the phone.
Design and Hardware
The phone is a big 5.5 inches device bodied on a 153.3mm by 76.84mm by 7.35 mm – meaning it should be a little bit heavy. The body is covered in plastic and this shouldn’t be a problem as the device belongs to the mid budget category. The metal trimming however gives it a classy look. The colour variants are Super White, Space Grey, Champagne, and Gold.
Connectivity
Tecno Boom J8 supports all relevant Internet connectivity technologies including the GSM 900/1800, 3G HSDPA 900/2100, and 4G LTE 800/1800/2600 in dual SIM. The phone runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop and HiOS User Interface even though it would have been better if the phone launched in Android 6.0 Marshmallow as the latest Android OS has been available since mid last year. Other connectivity features that come with the Tecno Boom J8 are the Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, GPS and microUSB v2.0 through which you can plug the Tecno fast charger that promises to give 8 hours of phones calls after 15 minutes of charging.
Processor and Memory
Tecno Boom J8 is powered by a 64-bit Quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A53 Mediatek MT6753 processor supported by 2 GB RAM. Internal Storage is 16 GB but can be expanded up to 144 GB by use of a 128 GB microSD card.
Camera
The rear camera features a 13 MP shooter at 4864 by 2736 pixels, has autofocus and LED flash. The front facing is above many mid range offerings at 5 MP and it also comes with flash.
Battery and Price
As already mentioned, Tecno Boom J8 supports fast charging where 15 minutes of charge can give you up to 8 hours of phone calls. The battery is a non-removable Li-Ion 3,000 mAh powerhouse and this type of battery should be able to provide up to about 18 hours of normal use, but we will have to test this to find out exactly how much time you can get from full charge. In addition to fast charging, Tecno Boom J8 offers the Ultra power saving mode that usually locks out all phone functions and lets you use the device only to make and receive calls, make and receive text messages, and jot a few items on the Tecno Note. The phone is available from today for Kshs 16,999.
