[Update] THL 4000 Review – MT6582M 4.7″ 540p Sub-$100 Phone Done Right

[andthesunrises]

I've had mine for a few weeks. It's been good.

The battery's good, even with my standby battery drain problem (typical of Japanese data-only SIM) I can still go a full day with heavy usage without a problem.

I'll list the rest of my views
-Phone's fast and responsive for most of the tasks I do. Not to the level of OnePlus One fast, but I can totally use it as a daily drive without a prob.
-Rooting is simple, Gravitybox via Xposed framework is easy
-Changed brightness control to status bar slide via GravityBox
-Installed many more features via gravitybox, like Battery Arc, almost as customized as my CM-based phones
-Very stable, stock ROM very rock solid with almost no crashes. With Gravitybox I feel no need to find a custom ROM (which doesn't exist)
-Screen is a nice size with decent resolution.
-QUAD band 3G! This phone will work for most of the carriers. OnePlus One is Penta, but it's in a different range. I'd take this phone to south east asia countries as I travel.

Things I don't like
I can confirm that the light sensor is wonky. A test shows that it can only read 3 levels of lux (0, 1500, 10000, or something like that), which isn't really useful when it comes to indoor condition. This was going to be a dealbreaker for me. I spent time with the suggestion and still wasn't happy with it until I installed gravitybox.

-ROM Volume control is lacking, only shows ring volume on home screen, unless you're playing music, can't bring up the full sound menu to adjust each volume even in setting.
-Heavy (its like holding a wad of battery)
-Case is crap. The case doesn't even intend to protect the edge of the phone. One drop (loaned to a friend) bruised the plastic corner. Another drop crack the case.
-Lack of accessories online. There's no TPU soft case around that's more like a bumper. I've ordered a one-size-fit all rubber band-like stretch bumper to try
-Digitizer not as easy to get used to as my smaller HTC desire HD, or my bigger OnePlus One. Typing is just not as good. I've tried with/without screen protector. Can't say that I type with confidence even with the best keyboard (Swype or Swiftkey)
-Does not charge all that fast with the 4000MAh. Using everything stock cable / charger, it charges in about 4 hours from 0% to 100%. (1Ah / hour) This phone really need 2A charger with a battery this size.

In sum, I like this phone. This maybe the best purchase I've made for under 100 for a phone. I bought this as a loaner to people who visit and I can totally seeing myself using this as a daily driver (which I did for 2 weeks) if I didn't have a OnePlus One.