VERTEX Impress Nero smartphone - advantages and disadvantages

Not so long ago, the phrase "budget smartphones" was asked to be paraphrased into "obscene rubbish", the state of affairs fully corresponded to this definition. Now everything is a little different, really good gadgets have appeared, high-quality, and their functionality is slightly inferior to expensive models, but at a price they are much cheaper. And most importantly, something appeared that seemed completely unrealistic 2-3 years ago - the reliability of such devices.

Of course, not all budget smartphones can be characterized this way, the overwhelming majority of them remained the same rubbish, headache and wasted money. The quality leaves much to be desired: low performance, weak battery and constant "glitches", it is clear that in such a situation, there is no need to talk about any reliability. But there are some really interesting and noteworthy examples like the VERTEX Impress Nero, the 2018 model.

What is VERTEX Impress Nero

The review of an inexpensive but remarkable novelty from VERTEX should start with the undoubted achievements of this local brand. At the end of the past year, considering the rating of high-quality and inexpensive smartphones, in Russia its products took 6th place. But the most interesting thing is that the best manufacturers of the last decade are left behind: Sony, Lenovo, Huawei and others. This fact says a lot, in particular about the trust shown to the company's products, it has proven itself well. For example, it is worth citing statistics that speak in favor of the choice of VERTEX smartphones and their unconditional quality. Comparing the named trademarks, we get the following:

If you look at these indicators through the eyes of an ordinary consumer, it becomes clear why the brand, which is little known to a wide range of consumers, managed to bypass more famous manufacturers in sales. It should be borne in mind that the figures are indicated as of the end of 2017, now they may be completely different, and clearly not in favor of the "scammers".

If Impress Luck was still damp, and Tor and Grip lived up to expectations, then Impress Nero exceeded all expectations. In the new model, the GPS module has improved, the screen format has changed, and the back panel has become metal, and these are only visual changes. Globally, the budget B category smartphone outperforms many popular A-brand models in all respects. Which is definitely worth considering in more detail.

Appearance

Of course, one cannot judge by the cover, and there is no worse option than to choose a phone solely for its external appeal. But when it comes to revolutionary changes in the new model, this cannot be passed over in silence. General characteristics look like this:

• length - 150 mm;
• in width - 71 mm;
• thickness - 9.2 mm;
• by weight - 188 g.;
• body materials - plastic / metal;
• body colors - black / gray.

If there is nothing to comment on about the size, the dimensions are quite usual for any brand.Otherwise, there are many interesting details, which are not always paid attention to, but they are important. The updated design has several advantages:

1. There is little revolutionary about the metal back panel, but the detail that creates additional protection cannot be called insignificant. If it were a category “A” phone, they would not have paid attention to this, although the cases of most similar ones remain completely plastic. But for lower-end gadgets, this is undoubtedly a design breakthrough where Impress Nero is one of a kind.
2. Against the background of even budget models, it seems too thick, but on the other hand, this thickness of the case eliminates the usual bulges, the same camera, for example, which is more convenient and pleasant. The weight of the new model is "balanced", too light and too heavy phones have more disadvantages than advantages. The former, it is easy to lose and not feel it, and the latter are terribly inconvenient.
3. Another detail that makes Impress Nero special and unique among its kind is the rounded corners. Against the background of fellows in the shop with only straight lines, it looks aesthetically attractive. This is not the most significant of its characteristics, but the beauty of the smartphone makes sense and it is pleasant to hold it in hand. And you can immediately see that its creators were clearly not going to save on their brainchild.

Summing up, we can say with confidence that the manufacturer, little-known in the world market, has found many successful solutions in the design of the new model, and it seems that he is not going to stop there. The device really turned out to be interesting and worthwhile: it is visually attractive, convenient, practical and deserves close attention of even the most fastidious connoisseurs.

Components

The package bundle looks familiar for any brand and its model - nothing new and superfluous. The box contains:

• the smartphone itself;
• compound charger;
• a clip that removes the SIM card;
• user's manual;
• warranty card.

What is remarkable about this, besides the gadget, of course? An excellent charger, consisting of a MicroUSB cable and an outlet block, outwardly no different from any other. But looking closer, it becomes obvious that the manufacturer did not stint here either. The length of the cord exceeds similar ones by at least 0.5 m, sometimes this is an extremely important point. Although another thing is more important - a 2 A power supply, which is a rarity for inexpensive devices, in most of them using 1.5 A units, or completely useless 1 A. Thanks to this feature, time is saved - a full battery charge lasts 1.5-2 hours.

Display

It's hard to believe that this model belongs to the second echelon of smartphones. The general characteristics of the display are as follows:

• technology - IPS / sensor;
• type - capacitive / multitouch;
• diagonal - 5.5 inches;
• extension - 1280X640 ppi;
• density - 260 ppi;
• in length - 125 mm;
• width - 62.5 mm;
• area - 73.5%;
• ratio - 2: 1/2: 1/18: 9;
• depth - 2416777216 colors.

The modern screen VERTEX Impress Nero, considering its price, simply amazes with its capabilities, if not superior, then not inferior to devices of the premium segment. This is the only budget smartphone with such a widescreen display and features not available to others like it. But first things first:

1. IPS technology and a capacitive type of screen, presents a lot of undeniable advantages, which should be paid special attention to. These characteristics create excellent conditions for using Impress Nero in complete darkness or in the sun, when direct rays hit the screen. It is also important that such screens do not fade, which is typical for inexpensive gadgets, and the eyes do not get tired of them.
2. The advantages of a large display diagonal, its length and width are also quite obvious. Thanks to this, much more information is placed on it, and there is no need to constantly scroll through sites or text files.It is much more convenient to watch videos in high definition, and for avid gamers this is a real gift, the 5.5-inch diagonal is perfect for active games.
3. The screen expansion of 1280X640 pixels, and their density equal to 260 pixels, is already HD quality, which creates a heavy load on the video accelerator. This is not Full HD, of course, but this format is not available for most budget smartphones, and for the latest model from VERTEX, it has become familiar. That creates a certain comfort for watching videos, and for games, and for working with photos.
4. As for the aspect ratio, then Impress Nero simply has no equal, both among budget smartphones and many belonging to the "A" category. The 16: 9 format is hopelessly outdated, but it still remains the main one and is applicable to models that are many times more expensive. But the 18: 9 format allows you to reduce the body and make the phone more compact, because the diagonal of the display occupies almost the entire area of ​​the front panel.
5. The combination of high-quality and quite expensive IPS-matrix, with a variety of colors, is another plus of the phone. Colors differ in saturation and depth, and what is considered a rarity for this category - black in it, it is. However, at default settings, all colors have warm tones, which negatively affects image clarity. But all this is easily and quickly corrected in the settings.
6. The screen itself is protected by durable glass, which is difficult to damage even if cracked. Its surface is perfectly smooth and free from the slightest roughness, which creates excellent sliding for the user's fingers. The only drawback of the display is that it supports only two-point multitouch, which is clearly not enough against the background of the rest, in many respects unique capabilities of VERTEX Impress Nero.
7. But what really distinguishes this model from others is double-clicking on the screen to turn it on. A light tap turns on unlocking, many remember this function in the outdated Nokia model, which was still running on Windows Phone. Now it is very rarely used, the vast majority of manufacturers have long abandoned it, and this function is considered a "trick".

For people who are well versed in IT technologies, only the characteristics of the screen can give a comprehensive answer to the question - which model is better to buy.

Camera device

The cameras of the latest model from VERTEX are another of his indisputable advantages, while many of his fellows in the shop have a weaker main camera than his rear camera. This part is a source of pride and adds even more weight to an amazing machine that never ceases to amaze. Photos and videos captured by Impress Nero are exceptionally clear and free of the slightest blur. Moreover, the quality of the pictures does not differ at all how he photographs in daylight, from how he photographs at night. There is no secret here, it's all about the characteristics of the cameras.

The main one is 13 Mp (4160X3120 pixels). This high resolution allows you to shoot great photos and videos in Full HD-quality, but there the advantages end, followed by continuous disadvantages. Video recording at night leaves much to be desired, and all due to the fact that the flash is represented by two LED-lamps, which are rather weak for these purposes. As for the sensor, it is neither good nor bad - it is a regular CMOS installed on almost all smartphones.

The interface is also quite ordinary, at least for devices using the Media Tek chipset, it is interesting that the two previous versions of Tor and Grip use a more expensive and high-quality Qualcomm. Front camera - 5 Mp (2560x1920). Takes good enough photos if you focus correctly, but you will not be able to highlight something unique or unusual in it, due to the lack of such.

Additional functions:

• normal focusing, using the sensor, autofocus;
• functions of burst, panoramic and HDR shooting;
• white balance and ISO settings;
• the possibility of exposure compensation;
• presence of geographic tags;
• face recognition function;
• zoom and digital zoom.

It should be noted here that if you evaluate the capabilities of cameras as premium elements, you get a rather critical approach. But since VERTEX Impress Nero belongs to a completely different class of phones, the demand for it is less and the assessment of functionality is higher. Considering this accessory and the cost of the device, few people will understand which camera on a smartphone is better, this is already obvious. And for an illustrative example, an example of a photo is given, which best reflects the consistency of the described cameras:

Control elements

There is no need to describe this part of the device in too much detail, the control is of course important in any phone, but this has no effect on the popularity of the models or on the selection criteria.

Actually, noticeable differences from most others, in this regard, are not observed, although insignificant ones are still present:

1. The power button and volume control have been moved to the left side of the case, which, by the way, is not very convenient and unusual at first. The main thing is that they act enough to be easily felt, there are no problems with this, unless, of course, you do not look for them out of habit from the back side.
2. On the right side there are slots for SIM cards, like all modern smartphones have 2 of them (dual sim). This location is convenient - you do not need to remove the back cover, or even pull out the battery to change SIM cards. But the inconvenience is that the slots are combined - you can use either 2 SIM-cards or one + flash drive at the same time.
3. The MicroUSB port is located at the bottom, in the center, between the speaker (the sound is powerful enough and of high quality) and the microphone. Uninitiated users mistake the latter for a second speaker, just the symmetry is misleading. It is difficult to say how convenient such a location of the port is, it seems that it does not make the weather.

It is worth noting the accuracy of the assembly of Impress Nero, which is inherent in premium gadgets, but not in category "B", which involuntarily evokes associations with the iPhone or at least with LG. Thanks to this attention from the manufacturer, it is not for nothing that he is called the first among his kind, which automatically puts this model on a par with the best gadgets of our time, at least morally.

Hardware platform

In this regard, the new model has as many advantages as disadvantages, in principle, the latter are not very significant, except for the work on the Taiwanese Media Tek chipset, which spoils the overall picture. Nevertheless, the device is quite efficient and smart in work, as for this level. Applications are launched almost instantly, without delays and braking.

The rest of the hardware part looks, if not perfect, then quite acceptable, for the average:

• chipset - Media Tek MT6737M;
• processor - ARM Cortex-A53;
• architecture - ARMv8-A;
• limiting frequency - 1250 MHz;
• number of cores - 4;
• bit depth - 64 bit;
• GPU - ARM Mali-T720 MP1;
• limiting frequency - 550 MHz;
• RAM - 2 GB;
• built-in memory - 16 GB.

Yes, the phone was not surprised - the standard set of most budget smartphones, without any surprises from the manufacturer. But it's still worth taking apart the hardware platform structure separately:

1. It is not worth criticizing the chipset too much, even if it is not the most productive, but in general, this does not affect performance too much. For example, the most sophisticated games run quite normally, one drawback is the graphics fail.
2. Not the most powerful processor, overclocking to 1250 MHz, looks quite familiar for gadgets of this level, "in its place" so to speak. Actually from the "hardware" of budget options, nothing else can be expected.
3. The same can be said about the memory of Impress Nero - it looks somehow everyday and without intrigue. Although for his fellows in the workshop, 2 GB of RAM is not the limit, as are the built-in 16 GB, where the worst gadgets, and by all characteristics, often support 4 and 32 GB, respectively.

If you try to describe this side of the device in a nutshell, it turns out that in this he is not a leader, but not an outsider either. Only a dreamer can wait for something more - inexpensive models up to 10,000 rubles, "all look the same."

Means of communication

In this regard, VERTEX Impress Nero has stepped much further than its counterparts, it supports almost all existing connection standards:

• GSM is the standard and most widespread digital format for all mobile operators without exception, adopted by any country in the world;
• UMTS is a more modern and advanced standard, mostly focused on 3G, with great data transfer capabilities and high connection speed;
• LTE is a new generation format, high-speed and practical, often compared to 4G networks, not very well developed in Russian reality;
• VoLTE is one of the most modern technologies supported by a smartphone along with the rest, but it is another matter that it does not always find a response from Russian operators.

As far as Wi-Fi is concerned, the device supports almost all standards, there were no problems with the Internet connection, as well as with the Bluetooth 4 version. It is unlikely that anyone is interested in it now, it has FM-radio and other "antediluvian things". But with navigation it did not work out very well, in fact he copes with it well, but the trouble is that of the satellite systems it supports only GPS, which is widespread in Russia GLONASS, is not available for him.

Work offline

Maybe this wonderful gadget doesn't have the best chipset and processor, but its battery is really good, 3300 microamperes per hour (mAh) is the big league. Batteries of this kind can easily hold a charge up to 48 hours in Internet mode, if we talk about 3D games, then of course this figure will be reduced by 5-6 times. Of course, in practice, as a rule, everything turns out a little differently, but for this level this is an excellent indicator.

For budget smartphones, the battery is, by definition, a sore subject, they are usually used at 2700 mAh, and they do not hold a charge well, and become completely unusable in about six months. In this case, everything is different, if she does not last two days, then 30-35 hours for sure. For any, even more expensive device, this is a fairly good autonomy.

Software

The device runs on the Android 7.0 Nougat platform, which is not particularly fresh, but the software cannot be called hopelessly outdated either, in any case, it remains relevant and widely applicable now. As for the interface, it does not differ too much from the usual basic version, and what is really good about it: the developers did not burden the user base with unnecessary launchers and similar "chips".

Most users rarely use them, and all these proprietary "bells and whistles", remaining unclaimed, nevertheless, pretty much drain the battery and significantly reduce performance. Of the preinstalled ones, it contains only a few applications from Yandex, if they are not needed, they can be easily removed from the RAM. This is another positive point - in most smartphones, factory presets do not allow demolition. In general, the software copes well with the task at hand, and considering how much this device costs, it is absolutely wonderful.

The cost

Many consumers, when buying a new gadget, overlook its most important characteristics and features, but not the cost. This is the first thing that everyone, without exception, looks at, in the case of VERTEX Impress Nero, with a cursory glance at the price tag, you will want to buy it. The average price of the model is 6500 rubles, and it must be admitted that for such a device it is the same as for nothing, much worse in all respects, are more expensive. There is an opinion that this is a clever marketing ploy of the manufacturing company, supposedly after it "hooks" on its products as many users as possible, prices will immediately rise.

The statement, of course, is more than controversial, but nothing can be completely ruled out, at least as long as there is no trend towards an increase in value.It's hard to say where it is profitable to buy such a device. In online markets, its cost is from 6500 rubles, in electronics stores - from 6900 rubles. But it is not a fact that the first option is more profitable: those selling Internet resources are silent about some hidden fees and charges, they become known only after delivery, which, by the way, also costs money. Ultimately, the total amount will grow by 10-15% and will amount to within 7200 rubles.

Summarizing

Like any other, not just a budget smartphone, VERTEX Impress Nero has its own advantages, and there are incomparably more of them, and disadvantages. The latter are too insignificant to pay attention to, especially given the positive characteristics and cost. Taking this into account, the conclusion suggests itself - there is simply no better option, in terms of price and quality, it simply has no equal.

• insignificant percentage of defects in production;
• compact dimensions and ease of use;
• nice design that gives the impression of an expensive phone;
• high-quality body materials - side bezel, back panel, glass;
• good charger included with the device;
• great possibilities of a widescreen display;
• functions unavailable to many more expensive models;
• more than good smartphone cameras;
• neat and high-quality assembly of the device;
• good performance;
• support for almost all existing digital network formats;
• powerful battery;
• low cost.

• not very convenient control;
• far from the best chipset;
• somewhat weak processor;
• poor quality graphics;
• small amount of memory;
• undeveloped navigation system.

It is not for nothing that this model is considered the undisputed leader among similar products of the "B" category. It is productive, convenient, inexpensive, reliable, of high-quality and neat assembly, customer reviews are categorical - this is an excellent choice. If you add to this a presentable and pleasant look, you get a general picture that unfoundedly speaks in favor of such an acquisition.