I won’t lie, I’ve been pretty darn excited about the Millennius Apanda from the moment I first read about it. Why? Because I liked the idea of seeing an Aussie company bring an Android Device to the market, something Kogan couldn’t quite do and let a few people down. Millennius however, have come through with the goods and were kind gave us the Apanda to review for you guys, and that’s exactly what I’m about to do. So let’s get into it!
Editor’s note: This review was re-done after being told it was test software & a wipe fixed the lag I faced.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Android 2.1 (Vanilla)
- Capacitive Display
- Multi Touch
Cons
- Plastic feel doesn’t suit everyone
- No trackball notifications 🙁
Hardware
The hardware design of the Apanda is simplistic and suits the device very well. There are 4 capacitive buttons located below the 3.2″ display that are responsive, although I did find myself sometimes hitting them when typing with the on-screen keyboard. These buttons are Menu, Home, Browser (?) and Back which are the standard on all Android phones, nothing is missing unlike the Galaxy S which only has 3 buttons. Search capabilities are also available when you long press on Menu which is a brilliant shortcut that I find myself using often. There are also call & end buttons, which I believe should be included on most if not all Android phones as most people are used to them coming from other mobile devices, so well done to Millennius for including them!
Another great addition to the Apanda is the trackball, which is far, far better than the optical sensor things in the HTC Desire & Legend as you can easily navigate through text as well as it being crucial for a lot of games on the Android Market. I only wish it would light up when you received notifications, but hey we can’t have everything.
The Apanda also has the dedicated Camera button for people who prefer to use it over the trackball or on-screen shutter button, I found myself using the trackball to take photos as it’s far easier and doesn’t move the phone about when taking shots, but more about the Camera later. Alongside the Camera button is the Volume Rocker which is quite tactile and works even when the display is off, so no need to play about with the phone to turn your favourite tunes up or hated tunes down. Also included is a 3.5mm which is a godsend for all Android devices or just phones in general. The Apanda is a great portable music player, it replaced my HTC Desire which I rooted and sometimes doesn’t recognise my earphones, none of those problems exist with the Millennius.
The MicroUSB slot calls the left hand side of the Apanda home, as it sits under a very, very tight-fitting cover. You’ll never have to worry about dirt or grit getting into the connectors! On the rear is the 5MP Camera with LED flash that works well and you can check out some test shots below, as well as the loud-speaker, that is clear & quite loud, certainly better than that of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
Millennius have done a superb job with the display, first off, it’s not a QVGA display! It’s HVGA (320×480) which kicks some arse compared to that of the X10 Mini Series and the just release HTC Wildfire. This means that it’s perfect for mobile web-browsing as well as using all the available apps on the Android Market, as some of them don’t work with QVGA displays. The screen is responsive and features ‘Pinch-to-Zoom’ Multi Touch feature that people have come to know and love in the iPhone and high-end Android devices. To make things even better Millennius have included both a Proximity Sensor & Ambient Light Sensor to adjust your screen when it’s light or dark, as well as turning the display off when you’re on the phone to someone, so you’re not going to hang up on them.
The Apanda is made for a sleek, black plastic, that reduces the weight of the device so it’s not too heavy in your pocket.
Software
Laggy. Jittery. Sluggish. All these words describe how Android 2.1 performs on the Apanda A60. After getting in contact with both Neerav Bhatt & Millennius, I have found that my Apanda is running test software & after wiping the device, the lag was significantly cut back, yay! So disregard my complaining in the first review, I should have wiped it in the first place, apologies.
The Apanda runs Android 2.1 which is equal to that of the HTC Desire, HTC Wildfire & Acer Liquid E, just to name a few. So the Apanda is certainly keeping up in terms of software and Millennius have even said that they’ll be upgrading the Apanda to Android 2.2 in the future, so you won’t be left behind.
Android 2.1 enables hardware acceleration which on the Apanda means you can play some top 3D games without too much lag, whereas some of the leading competitors fail to do the same. It also includes Live Wallpapers, which surprisingly don’t slow down the system at all. But just remember, the Apanda is powered by a 600MHz CPU, although it feels as though it’s faster than that.
Millennius have also included a custom on-screen keyboard which works perfectly in landscape mode and features a great spell checker. I would have liked to have seen the stock Android keyboard included, but the custom keyboard certainly does the job well. Also included is software that installs when you plug the Apanda into your PC that allows you to tether your internet connection over USB 😀
Camera / Video
The Camera serves it’s purpose well for uploading photos to Facebook and Twitter and the shots are quite clear and have great colour. And you can check them out below 🙂
[nggallery id=48]
Benchmarking
| Linpack | BenchmarkPi | Neocore | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE Xperia X10 | 3.881 | 7061ms | 29.5fps |
| HTC Desire | 6.258 | 3092ms | 28.1fps |
| Nexus One | 7.095 | 3086ms | 28.2fps |
| Samsung Galaxy S | 8.406 | 2793ms | 54.6fps |
| LG Optimus | 2.743 | 10665ms | 41.3fps |
| SE X10 Mini | N/A | 11484ms | 42.9fps |
| Dell Streak | 4.01 | 6751ms | 27.8fps |
| Millennius Apanda A60 | 1.395 | 14377ms | N/A |
Telephony
One thing the Apanda can do is make calls, and I found no major problems in doing so. I was clear, the person on the other end was clear, everything’s good. I think it’s the most important part that your phone can actually make calls, and this phone actually can.
Battery Life
I could cram in a full day of battery life, even after listening to a few Engadget Podcasts & songs. Non-stop music playback you could get maybe 8hrs+ with the screen & everything else turned off.
Thoughts
The Millennius Apanda A60 is a phone that sets out to do the job it’s meant to, and that’s to be a Smartphone. And it does this well, all the needed hardware is there, the software is there and better than that of some of its competitors. The price tag is also less that most of its competitors. It’s just a simple, great phone.
The Apanda can be purchased from the Millennius Online Store:
16GB: http://www.millennius.com.au/store/mobile-phone/millennius-apanda-a60-mobile-phone-16gb-3g.html
8GB: http://www.millennius.com.au/store/mobile-phone/millennius-apanda-a60-mobile-phone-8gb-3g.html
Does this phone have A-Tick certification?
The phone might seem frugal but it is quite impressive, my friend works for Vodafone head office and apparently they are in talks with the manufacturer to take this phone on.
I’m sick of the iPhone and sick of plans. I’m heading for the apanda
I will do a video review of this maybe over the weekend.. I can assure you that this is better then the HTC Wildfire as I have tested it at the shops and sounds like its alot better then the IDEOS. I do know why alot of people would go against what im saying and against the normal brands you see everyday, But all I can say is Dont Be. We are in 2010 and usually these days it doesnt matter what brand it is anymore they all pretty much are made to pretty good quality. It just comes down… Read more »
Hey deano, did you publish a review anywhere of your first weekend with the Apanda?
So far I think the phone is really good, In my opinion the phone is really well built, I swear if you put Apple’s name on this or HTC you wouldnt jusdge it the way you would with a small brand. The build is really good and The company has said that there will be updates to new OS versions in future, they also did mention this phone is made in foxconn same factory as iphone. I wouldnt think the same bracket as the IDEOS, from what im seeing right now, I really would compete it against the top tier… Read more »
Am interested to know how this phone compares to the similarly priced HTC Wildfire. I guess the display is better (?), but case & build quality is not as good. Biggest worry is whether the mob that Millenius imported this from will provide OS updates. I’m tending to think this phone is a bit overpriced and should probably be competing in the Huawei IDEOS bracket.
I have received my Millennius Phone today… WOOP WOOP
Its on charge at the moment and will let you know when Im using it.
It looks so bloody nice.
For some reason I can’t do a reply to Deano’s last response, but I think he pretty much sums it all up with that eloquent retort, I mean, really who could argue with such strong points?
@spoco2 – a) each to their own with what they like. There alot of big brand phones that are also ugly to peoples opinions, but some like it and some dont. It will be the same with this phone to. b) I think the photo shots are fine. You want a real camera go buy yourself a $1000 Canon or something. c) How can you say the buttons are confusing if you have never touched the phone yourself? You could look at 50 other phones with similar setup and ofcourse they would look confusing looking at a picture. Have a… Read more »
I agree Deano. Can’t knock it til you try it.
Geeze Deano… My points are valid: * The photos are not fine, they are abysmal, compare these with many other phones out there now and they are sub par. YES if you want great photos you get a real camera, but you shouldn’t have to have quality this low in a smartphone any more. * The icons are nothing to do with using it, it’s a visual queue. When you look at the phone you should have a good idea what those buttons will do, and triangle thing gives zero clue as to what it is supposed to do. And… Read more »
Well you obviously have no idea. That triangle thing you mention, well if you look at the back it looks pretty simple to me and gives me the impression that it the Millennius apanda home page or settings or something like that. I will tell yo when I get it but I presume that is what it will be. I mean what else could it be. Yes I know people will not like it as well as people dont like apple / nokia / samsung phones. That is why android phones are taking over apple phones. I totally get that.… Read more »
I don’t think you were really critical enough of the phone: a) It’s ugly, the call answer and end buttons are clunky looking to say the least b) The photo quality really is sub par, I mean come on, they’re over compressed, have a lot of bloom, and are comparable to a nokia phone of 5 years ago. c) The touch button icons are confusing as to their purpose (other than back) Do you have a vested interest in NOT pointing out the bad points? This review really does skim over points. Why not include some comparison shots taken with… Read more »
Even if you dont have 3G network for regional areas, Alot of those areas you would be in much anyway, at least you can still call and still use the internet.
Even if not on 3G networks with any phone, the internet is still pretty good.
my bad read it wrong
Hey guys just wondering how you know it doesn’t work outside of metro areas?
Do the other brands like samsung and htc from first models work in regional areas??
It works on all networks, Vodafone, Telstra, Optus, 3, Telstra
Yes, but it won’t work on Vodafone & Optus’s dual-band regional network..
Limited/no data outside metro areas, so as a smartphone it is useless for those of us how want to use it outside metro areas as Telstra has no decent byo deals
What do you mean it wont work on vodafone or optus?
It is a 3G phone so will work on all those networks.
Neerav said it in his Review here: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Review/220510,first-look-the-millennius-apanda-the-mysterious-new-entrant-in-the-android-phone-war.aspx
“We tested our pre-production Apanda A60 with Vodafone and 3 Mobile SIMs and the phone automatically used the correct 3G and data settings for both.”
@Dylan it only costs extra $60 for the extra 8GB
this review is actually making me want this phone even though I have an SGS….. for it’s price and features including vanilla Android 2.1…. very nice! unfortunately it’s only NextG compatible 🙁
Is this phone compatible with Next G and the Optus and Vodafone dual band regional networks?
Here are the specs
WCDMA/HSDPA:850/1900/2100 MHz
GSM/GPRS/EDGE;850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Nope, just NextG. You won’t get Optus of Vodafone’s dual-band regional network.
To get both 3g and dual-band on optus you’d need a phone with 900/2100MHz, right? For example, the SGS has 900/1900/2100 and it works on both, I think. Correct me if I’m wrong.
ah i thought it was 8gb or 16gb internal. my god 150 bucks for 8 more gigs..
Yes it does. You get a 8gb or 16gb micro sd card when you purchase it.
does it have a microsd slot?