BLU has announced the second generation of monster battery Energy series smartphones, the BLU Studio Energy 2 and the BLU Energy X; both of which are available for purchase on Amazon. In this video, I’m going to go ahead and take a look at the Energy X.
The best way I can describe the Energy X is to say that it’s a budget-friendly version of the budget Studio Energy 2. It still features a massive battery but BLU has managed to shave off even more of the price to bring the device down to only $109 off-contract. So for $109 off-contract, you get quite a lot. You get a 5-inch HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, a 1.3GHz Quad-Core processor with 1GB of RAM, a 4000mAh battery, 8MP rear and 2MP front-facing camera sensor, 4G HSPA+, and Android 5.1 Lollipop. It doesn’t quite feature the large 5000mAh battery of the Energy 2 but it does feature a large 4000mAh battery and it maintains a slim 8mm profile.
But let’s not waste any more time. Let’s see what’s in the box.
The very first item in the box is, of course, the BLU Energy X which I will set off to the side for now. We have a micro USB charging cable for charging, a pair of earphones with removable tips and music playback control buttons. There is also a fast charging US wall wart, kind of similar to the one found in the Energy 2 box, which should ultimately help charge the large battery quickly and efficiently. Underneath, we have a SIM Card Installation Guide, there’s a Quick Start packet, and a silicon case to protect your new device. I always love how BLU includes a protective case in the box. Not a lot of phone manufacturers do that and they’ve even went far enough to include a screen protector which happens to be the last item in the box.
Taking a look back at the Energy X, if we undress all the plastic, in a lot of ways I think this device is more attractive than the Studio Energy 2 even though it feels cheaper. It’s not quite as heavy and the 8mm thickness makes it feel like a pretty normal device. I wouldn’t even know that inside lies a 4000mAh battery without BLU telling me.
The design consists of entirely plastic which makes complete sense considering the price tag. I’m not really surprised there. The back cover is removable, giving us access to dual SIM card slots and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. The battery itself doesn’t look to be removable in the sense that you can’t just pop it out and pop in a new one but it is exposed and it won’t be hard at all to remove some of the connectors and peel off the tape to replace it if you want to or if you need to. So that’s very good.
Powering on the Energy X and we’ll see the 5-inch IPS LCD display with a 720p resolution and a 294ppi index. It’s not as vibrant or saturated as the AMOLED panel found on the Energy 2 but it’s honestly not that bad. I think the viewing angles and the brightness are superior. The BLU Energy X runs a very pure version of Android 5.1 Lollipop. Yes, there is an app drawer and all of the Material Design animations of Android Lollipop are still very much present here. The notification panel and the settings drawer both resemble stock Android. I’m not entirely sure why this device runs a more pure and a more up-to-date version of Android Lollipop while the more expensive BLU Studio Energy 2 does not. But it is appreciated.
As for performance, the Energy X features a MediaTek 6580 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM. Performance is solid for a device that costs just over $100. But don’t expect it to wow you or blow you away. Navigating the OS and switching between applications is all a breeze and it runs very well overall.
The BLU Energy X features an 8MP camera sensor on the rear and a 2MP camera sensor on the front. Here are some sample photos from both the front and the rear-facing cameras. I think that this is one area where the camera quality isn’t noticeably worse than its more expensive big brother.
But overall, the BLU Energy X looks to be a fantastic bang for your buck budget smartphone. If you aren’t completely sold on the BLU Studio Energy 2 for whatever reason, you can save about $70 and go with the BLU Energy X which features very similar specs. It’s kind of interesting to see that on BLU’s website, they claim the 4000mAh battery to last longer than the 5000mAh battery of the Energy 2. They claim it can last 3 days with standard usage and about 36 days on standby, which is about 6 days more than the Energy 2. It may be due to Android 5.1 Lollipop which does have some significant battery saving improvements but I just thought it was interesting.
So if you’re looking for a smartphone with extreme battery life above everything else, maybe you want to side with the Energy X and save a few bucks over the Studio Energy 2. But let me know what you think of the Energy X and how it compares with the Energy 2. I’m really curious to see how it fares against the Energy 2.
