The Tecno Spark 2 is not like any other Tecno smartphone that came before it. And all this has to do with the fact that it is Pan Android one device. Well the hardware is well built and the phone case is sturdier like I have never seen before but the actual difference is in the operating system and user interface.
The applications are stock android but if we check the user interface, it has all the brightly coloured HiOS theme all over it. The Tecno spark in comparison had the stock android operating system. I mean everything was stock android from the apps, user interface and the dull coloured drop down menu.
Check this drop down menu. Notice how the settings tab is located at the botton making it easier to reach it using your thumb. This makes this smartphone easier to use with one hand.
The Tecno Spark 2 is a big device, I mean it has a 6″ full screen. To make usage much easier the one hand tab is also located at the bottom row and this makes the one hand interface easier to switch to. You can check this out in the screen recording video below.
Tecno were not joking when they said that the Spark 2 is bigger and brighter. Well I have already explained how big it is so see for yourself how bright it is. Here is a picture of the Tecno Spark 2 and Infinix Hot S3 beside it. All are at full brightness. We can clearly see which device is brighter. And brighter smartphones are easier to use in the sun.
The other feature that is not like your other Tecno Device, the headset jack. It is now located at the bottom of the smartphone next to the microphone jack.
3500mAH battery
Who doesn’t want a bigger battery capacity on their smartphone. I bet it’s no one. Now imagine having a 3500mAH battery in this slim smartphone.
These are the small things that I didn’t like about the Tecno Spark 2. First of all the phone protector gets scratches very easily. It is not because I am careless but that would result in the other smartphones that I have currently getting scratches too. They don’t have, that many scratches.
The fact is that the screen protector gets scratches very easily and just after one week of using the Tecno Spark 2, the scratches were so many that you would clearly distinguish between the smooth touch screen and the screen protector.
The other thing is the missing Boom player music application. I am the kind of person that uses whatever stock music app that comes with a smartphone and I loved the Boom player. The app was one of the Tecno smartphones signature app and because of this many first time users wont be able to enjoy the award points, the free legal music and mixes and not forgetting the coin accumulation. You can argue that downloading the app will resolve this, but its not about me, its about the new users. Why have the boom player card in the box and have the music app missing from the smartphone? It makes no sense.
And finally, the fact that I cannot hide the navigation on screen buttons at the bottom of the screen just annoys me.
Other that those two reasons, I truly love this device. It would make a perfect gift to someone joining the Android smartphone world. Plus its not that expensive, it only goes for Ksh 11,299/- or around 12USD.