We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of unknown mobile phone manufacturers entering the UK market in the past few years, but not like the days of old where they were poor-quality knock-offs.
No, companies like OnePlus for example, have come out of practically nowhere to launch mobile phones which don’t substitute quality for the price, making their phones so affordable you’d be stupid not to buy them. Their initial phone, for example, the OnePlus One, better known as the original Flagship Killer, was a phone that competed in spec with the latest iPhone at the time, whilst costing less than half of its retail price.
Another company are now looking to do the same. Blackview is a relatively new company on the SmartPhone scene in the UK; they were established in Hong Kong in March 2013 with a look at making SmartPhones for everyone at affordable prices. We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on their BV6000s model to see what all the fuss is about.
FUNCTIONALITY: 3.7/5
The main function of any phone is for it to make and receive both calls and text messages. On this ground, the phone would score 5/5. The phone comes unlocked so you’ll have no hassle picking up your 4G signal as long as you’re within range of a mast, and what’s more the BV6000s is also dual-sim. That means if you have a secret number for dealing drugs, hiring ‘escorts’ or maybe just for work, you can pop it in with your normal sim even if on a different network and use both at the same time from the same phone.
My favourite OS is OnePlus’s Oxygen OS, simply just a modified version of Android, but a lot less buggy. Unlike One Plus, Blackview has decided to use the bog standard Android OS 6.0 to run their phones on rather than creating their own. This is by no means a bad thing because I much prefer it to iOS or even Windows Mobile, and if you’re really into your tech you can bring up the developer settings and really customise your phone however you like.
These aren’t the things that make the phone stand out from its competitors, though. No. The thing that makes the BV6000s stand out is that it’s almost unbreakable, like Bruce Willis in the film of the same name. I’ll discuss this in more detail later on in the review, but essentially Blackview claim the phone is dustproof, shockproof and waterproof. Unfortunately, as good as the features are that I’ve listed, there is one area where the phone lets itself down massively, the camera.
The BV6000s boasts having an 8MP camera to the back and a 2MP camera on the front, however, despite having what should be capable of taking clear, detailed pictures, it just isn’t the case. The images took an age to show up after snapping them due to poor software and if you moved they blurred a lot, but even from a standstill photo, they come up on the screen and it is like someone rubbed vaseline over the lens. At first, I thought maybe it was a smudge on the lens, but no, the software was just that poor.
That aside though I can’t fault the phone elsewhere really, although to keep it water proof any ports have little covers on which screw down, to stop liquid seeping in. Great in theory, but having to unscrew them everytime you want to charge your phone is annoying, although I guess if you knew you weren’t going to throw it in a lake that day you could leave the covers off. Same goes for the headphones port too, but that can be combatted by getting some Bluetooth headphones.
COMFORT: 4/5
Most phones have no issue with comfort, although it is all down to personal taste. Some people don’t like the bigger sizes and others don’t like them being too skinny because they break too easily, essentially if that’s you stay away from the iPhone Plus models. The BV6000s isn’t overly big with its 4.7″ screen, but in order to be indestructible, it has to have a protective case on the outside, increasing the size quite a bit (in terms of mobile phones).
This makes it quite bulky and so is not great if going in your jeans pocket when you’ve put on a few pounds over Christmas as it will feel tight, but if you work on a building site and wear high viz jackets with deep pockets, it’d be no issue at all. Still, the rubber grips on the outside mean it won’t slip and slide out of your hand, and even if you do drop it, it offers great protection.
BUILD QUALITY: 5/5
We’ve all had those days where you wish you could launch your phone into a wall or throw it out the nearest window, but before we do we usually realise we’d only be throwing away our lives with it. It’s a shame that we’ve become a slave to technology before some kind of terminator robot uprising, but at least this way there is a lot less bloodshed.
The BV6000s though is a phone that is built to last, the only thing that could be any tougher is Hulk Hogan and Mike Tyson’s love child, or maybe a Tank. There is no point just writing about it though because why would you believe us? Instead, we’ve got a small video below showing the phone cracking nuts, being drilled, hammering nails into wood and being used to slice vegetables on.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4.5/5
This is an area of real importance for some people. I mean go back to OnePlus and their original Flagship Killer phone, it essentially knocked the ball out of the park, offering a phone of similar spec compared to models that cost around £300 more. So what does the BV6000s have to offer? Well buy from the manufacturer directly on Amazon and it will currently cost you £139.99, although it can be found cheaper elsewhere.
For that, you’re getting a phone with a 1280×720 display, powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz processor, 2gb RAM, 16gb of internal storage (expandable with micro SD), a 4500mAh li-ion polymer battery and which is built to survive the new Trump administration and maybe even a zombie apocalypse.
It is difficult to compare this to other phones as nothing else is really certified to IP68 standards, but just looking at the phones internal specs you could be paying prices up to £199.99 for alternative models. There are some which are just as cheap, but if you threw them at a brick wall or used it as a temporary chopping board, you’d likely have to go buy another.
Blackview BV6000s SmartPhone Overall Score: 4.3/5
Having evaluated most aspects of the phone, I have to say this is an excellent first impression that Blackview has given of themselves. The work that has gone into ensuring that the phone is not easily breakable like many others deserves its plaudits and just watching the video above of it hammering nails into wood without so much as a scratch on the screen is amazing. It needs tweaks here and there, especially when it comes to the camera software but apart from that, it’s surprisingly fast and very responsive.
The uniqueness of the phone means it is more suited to those who enjoy extreme sports or work in places where there is a high chance of your screen smashing like on a building site. It’ll be interesting to see how well Blackview does in the UK following this release.
If you’d like to see more of the specs and further information of the Blackview B6000s, you can find it on their official site HERE. And you can find more of our hardware reviews HERE.
