Zanco Beetle Miniature Smartphone

There are many miniature phones hitting the shelves these days. The demand for tiny, basic mobile phones is at an all time high. The new Zanco Beetle is just one in a long line. Some people want to buy one because they think it looks really cool, others want one to use as a second phone, and a few people even want them for sinister reasons. To hide things like having an affair, or trying to sneak it into somewhere that does not allow the use of mobile phones. Many of those locations, such as a Prison, use a metal detector to scan for these devices.

Check out the full specification (USA)
 

Or view here for UK interest

Whatever the reason, the one thing that gets quite old after a while is that every time a new mini phone comes out it’s automatically given the title as the “Worlds Smallest Phone“. It’s a good marketing trick, but it’s not really the truth. Most of them have different dimensions and are different shapes. Some, like the Zanco Fly and the J8 Long CZ, are longer and thinner. While the Beetle is wider but shorter. Does it really need to be the smallest phone in the World? As long as it’s small enough, right.. Saying that, for the people smuggling them into places like Prisons, I guess they really do need to make sure they have the smallest nano phone possible.

Anyway, they are all tiny, so what does the Zanco Beetle have to offer. Well, it has a screen that’s a little over 1.5 Inches in size, and takes a micro SIM card. The big difference between this phone and its many competitors is that this is a touch screen phone. Some are calling it a fully fledged Smartphone. And at this moment, maybe it does hold the title for being the smallest touch screen phone.

Not sure how people with sausage fingers will fare using it though. I’d say they would probably find it quite annoying to be honest. Maybe using something like a matchstick would be a good idea. It’s capable of playing music in MP3 or MP4 format and even has a camera! With flash. There are not many details regarding the pixel count quality of the camera.

However, the numbers 3 and 7 seem to be paired together on a few websites giving the specification. So that either translates to 3 mega pixels, 7mp, or 3.7mp. I’d tend to go with the latter. This phone also has a flash light. A really fun feature that the Beetle has, and one that other similar phones also have, is the voice changer. You can choose some really funny voices. A few include, rude man, rude woman, Asian man, Black man and bad child. Messing around with those would be a laugh.

The new Zanco Beetle also has Bluetooth. Can it be used to browse the Internet? No, I wouldn’t have thought so. It’s just a basic, miniature mobile phone with some cool little features. And if it could, it won’t provide the best user experience. It won’t work on 3G (Three) but should be just fine on most other UK Networks. Battery life is also reported as being pretty good.

Will it pass the detector test? The real question is how sensitive is the detector. A good way to find out is to get your hands on a metal detector, put it on high sensitivity (In all metal mode) and scan the phone at close range. Does the detector make any noise? Then do it again with the micro SIM inside. That’s the best test you can do.

However, nothing is guaranteed, so the risk is in the carriers hands, or ***. Personally, I believe the Beetle will not pass through undetected. But, all in all, a good novelty phone for the cheap price tag. Excellent to take with you for exercises like running while simultaneously using it to listen to music, rather than carrying that spaceship we call a (full sized) Smartphone.

The Jivi X3i Dual SIM Mobile Phone

The Jivi X3i is quite a strange mobile phone. On the one hand, take a look at the list of features this phone has and you will be thinking, wow, that’s sounds really good. Then, when you see how cheap it is to buy you will probably think, what’s the catch. There is no denying it, on paper the Jivi X3i has many excellent features and functions. So it’s very surprising to find out that the makers of this Candy Bar phone have left out some of the most basic things you could imagine. What do you want first, the good part of the specification or the bad?

Jivi Good, Bad and Ugly

Let’s start with the good. It's not a  Smartphone. The X3i is Quad Band (GSM + CDMA) and has Dual SIM functionality. This means you can have two SIM cards, that are fully operational, in the phone at once. Both will work alongside each other. Two SIMs in one phone is convenient for many reasons. One being if you have a works phone and a personal phone. No need to carry two phones around with you anymore! Check it out Amazon. Actually don't buy it from Amazon UK, buy it from eBay UK instead.

It also has Bluetooth, call recording, LED torch, Camera, SD card slot, Radio, MP3 player and a good battery life. So you can see, for the low price this phone has a lot to offer. It still looks like a basic phone but has some nice little features going for it. So what’s not so great about this phone.

The Jivi X3i Dual SIM Mobile Phone Is Confused

The Bad: By most accounts there is no vibrate built into this phone. Conflicting reports. Some manuals state that there is a vibration alert, but end users can’t seem to find or activate it. Lack of built-in ringtones seems to be of some annoyance to users also. Numerous reviewers claim they could only find one ringtone. Silent mode is present. However, to the frustration of some users, ringtone volume also seems to be an issue, only offering either low or really loud.

Is it worth the purchase? Well, firstly. For how cheap it is to buy, and considering all the good points, it’s still a decent phone for those looking for a no frills mobile with a few tweaks. Just don’t expect to get a Samsung Galaxy S6 or Note 9 level of quality and refinement. This is a super cheap, non-smartphone phone. The bad points may not be that important to some, but to others they might be deal breakers.

Jivi or Divvy

Considering how crowded this price range is, and with there being some really good competitors, like the cheap Samsung’s and Nokia’s, it’s hard to recommend this phone over the more well-known but less feature rich leaders at this price point. But if you want something a bit different and you see a feature in the Jivi X3i that you could really do with, go for it. You could do a lot worse than a X3i. Personally, I’d go with a Brick instead! But I’ve got a soft spot for retro models. The old UK saying, I’ll be there in a jiffy springs to mind..Instead, with this phone, it’s, I’ll be there in a Jivi!