In front of me is the recently announced and recently released BLU Studio 7.0 LTE, a very large smartphone, not a tablet—I want to make that very clear. BLU wants to make that very clear. It’s a 7-inch smartphone that features LTE and a fairly compact design that allows you to actually hold the device in one hand. We’ll see about that. Some of the specs include a 7-inch 720p HD display, a Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear and 2MP front-facing camera sensor, a microSD card slot for expandable storage, 4G LTE, and of course Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
So all we need to do to get inside this box is to simply slide off the top cover and voila. We will find the Studio 7.0 LTE sitting right on top. There’s actually a screen protector on top of that, which I’ll put off to the side for now along with the Studio 7.0. Underneath, we do have some accessories though. There’s a US wall wart first and foremost, a micro USB charging cable, a SIM card ejector tool, a Get Started Set-Up Guide and then a SIM Card Installation Guide. That’s it. We don’t have a case included this time around like we usually see included with BLU devices. It could be because this device is a behemoth.
Taking a look back at the Studio 7.0 LTE and removing all of the plastic, this device is a bit chunky. But it is narrow so yes, I can hold it with one hand while using my other hand to navigate the device. In my opinion, the back of the device is pretty hideous looking. But the front is actually very sleek. There’s a very nice balance between the top and the bottom speakers and it’s 100% black, which I really like.
On the left hand side of the device, we have a microSD card slot for expandable storage. On the right hand side, we have a slot for two micro SIM cards. Up top, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro USB charging port as well. On the front of the device, we have a 2MP front-facing camera sensor as well as two speakers. The top is a call speaker and the bottom is just a main speaker. It’s kind of a bummer they aren’t dual stereo speakers but hey, it could always be worse right? On the back of the device, we have an 8MP rear-facing camera sensor and a flash. Once again, I’m not really digging the back cover. It features a Band Aid-like plastic back which doesn’t offer a lot of texture or grip.
The display is a 720p HD LCD panel. For a budget device, it doesn’t look terrible. However, it’s clearly not a very pixel dense display. It features a 209ppi index. The colors are also a little bit faded as well. But just the sheer size of the display will make it a fantastic device for consuming a lot of media.
The Studio 7.0 LTE features a quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with 1GB of RAM. You can’t really expect this device to be fast. In my limited testing, I haven’t noticed any major stuttering or lag. It’s just not a terribly fast device overall especially compared to flagship smartphones or tablets. So opening and closing applications will hang a bit before content is fully loaded.
Here are some sample photos captured from the BLU Studio 7.0 LTE. They aren’t horrible actually. I think they are pretty decent. The detail is lacking but the exposure’s quite good, given the price of this device. I’ve not been able to test the battery life of this device but it does feature a 3700mAh battery, which I think should be plenty to make it last a full day on a single charge.
Overall, the BLU Studio 7.0 LTE is a very, very big smartphone. It barely fits my pocket. It requires two hands to operate. Some people might like that, others might like the fact that it costs only $199 off-contract. Whatever it may be, I hope this mini review helps you form a solid opinion of the device.
