What's the point here?
Firstly, this is the first cool-looking Android smartphone in our memory. You (and neither have we) have seen anything like this in the last five years.
Secondly, this is a music smartphone: with a good audio chip , two (yes, yes) headphone outputs, super-powerful speakers and a bunch of gadgets in the firmware for convenient listening to high-quality music. There's even a dedicated player button that's compatible with Apple Music!
Thirdly, it has a powerful battery for two days of real work. The iPhone is resting.
And finally, fourthly, it is made by the world famous Marshall company. Its amplifiers are chosen by famous musicians, and its stylish speakers and headphones will not leave anyone indifferent.
Let's be honest. The gadget was not perfect, but very attractive. The kind that you want to wear as a second phone or even as a first one - especially taking into account the adequate dimensions of the case , which is a rarity these days.
Let's go get acquainted!
What does it look like
Made on a Sony A7 camera
You can now count on one hand the number of smartphones capable of surprising. The same type of faceless bars differ only in the logo and a couple of numbers in the characteristics. But Marshall London immediately makes it clear that it is not like everyone else : a black body with gold-painted elements, a back plastic cover textured like leather, rubberized sides. The smartphone looks amazing, everything is according to the company’s canons.
An interesting find for me was the metal wheel, which replaced the boring volume buttons. It looks very cool and also has several functions. For example, by clicking on it, you will launch the camera, and if you hold it longer, the silent mode will turn on.
But they screwed up the location of the power button: it is located quite high, and it’s not particularly convenient to reach for it. My finger stubbornly rests on the wheel, and instead of unlocking the phone, I turned on the camera every now and then.
The main feature of Marshall London are two 3.5 mm audio outputs, which are located at the top end. An interesting idea, now you don’t have to share headphones if you want to listen to music together. Moreover, you can listen to one track for two or different ones, and even configure them separately. For this purpose, they even allocated a button called M-Button. It is also located on the top end and is designed to adjust the sound, and a long press launches the flashlight.
As shown
Made on a Sony A7 camera.
The screen diagonal is 4.7 inches with a resolution of 1280x720. It is made using IPS technology, there is a decent amount of brightness, but the image quality leaves much to be desired. The main complaints about color reproduction: the picture is faded, black stubbornly fades into gray, white is also not ideal. But due to the compact, by modern standards, screen, the smartphone is convenient to use with one hand.
How he shoots
There are two cameras: the main one is 8 MP and the front one is 2 MP. What can you say about them? They are, which is already good. The smartphone takes mediocre pictures: the picture comes out blurry and noisy. It is clear that London does not claim the laurels of the best camera phone, but a better module could be installed. Examples of photos in front of you:
- Shot 1
- Shot 2
- Shot 3
How does it work
The hardware in a smartphone is, frankly speaking, weak . Its heart was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor and 2 GB of RAM. Such a tandem has difficulty coping with the system, and it becomes clear that the gadget is clearly not for gaming. Why Marshall awarded its first smartphone with such weak hardware remains a mystery.
London runs on almost pure Android Lollipop 5.0.2, no tasteless skins. But there are many branded wallpapers and cool ringtones. There are several pre-installed applications for working with sound. For example, a mixer for mixing music and a special player. It does not replace Google Music, but rather complements it. With it, you can adjust the sound or equalizer, and the settings apply to the entire system. The only thing that interests us is how quickly the smartphone will be updated to Android 6.0 and whether it will be updated at all.
Made on a Sony A7 camera
The battery capacity is 2500 mAh, and this is with a smartphone thickness of almost one centimeter. It would be possible to install a larger battery. However, the hardware here is not particularly power-hungry, and they did a good job on optimization, so it survives until the evening without problems.
The smartphone has 16 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded using a microSD card. This is very good, since such a gadget should simply be filled to capacity with albums in FLAC format. And such music, as you know, weighs quite a lot.
How does it sound?
Made on a Sony A7 camera
Can Marshall London be called audiophile? Alas, this is not entirely true. The smartphone has a Wolfson WM8281 chip, which was also found in the Meizu MX4. It sounds great, loud, but nothing supernatural. Better, of course, than the iPhone 6s or Nexus 6P, but it won’t surprise a sophisticated user.
But why then is this smartphone called a music smartphone? Firstly, where would we be without marketing these days? Marshall specialists did a great job. Secondly, it sounds really decent, for which, I think, we should say thanks to the programmers. It's one thing to solder an audio chip, another thing to install efficient drivers. For example, with the included Marshall Mode, London produces simply excellent sound.
The smartphone boasts cool stereo speakers. The sound is rich, with enhanced bass, a pleasure to listen to. Marshall London can be used as a portable speaker; the volume is enough to pump up a small room.
Conclusion
When choosing this smartphone, you should completely forget the word rationality. Gigabytes and megapixels are not the main thing here. Marshall London has a cool design, excellent sound and is simply imbued with the spirit of rebellion and rock and roll. True, you will have to pay a lot for this beauty - 35,990 rubles. But a smartphone is not for everyone, but only for true rock connoisseurs, for fans of the Marshall brand and just people who love stylish things.
Pros:
- Great design
- High quality sound
- Loud stereo speakers
Minuses:
- Weak iron
- No camera
- Price
Marshall London is sold exclusively at Beeline service and sales offices throughout Russia. I advise you to go in and just turn it over in your hands, listen to how it sounds, and all your questions will immediately disappear.
( 1 votes, overall rating: 5.00 out of 5)
