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Yay, more affordable 5-inchers - Blu Mobile announces new additions to its Blu Life series, price cuts, and KitKat updates

By Luis D.

Published: Jan 08, 2014, 10:25 AM

9comments

Android

Yay, more affordable 5-inchers - Blu Mobile announces new additions to its Blu Life series, price cuts, and KitKat updates

Young Miami mobile maker Blu Mobilerevealed the new additions to its budget-conscious series of Androidsmartphones and tablets - Blu Life. The flagship model is the LifeOne X, followed by the mid-range Life One M, Life Play X, and LifePlay S. A tablet, the Life View TAB, completes Blu's lineup for thenext six months.

According to Blu CEO, SamuelOhev-Zion, the company has continued the principles of the originalLife Series by using high-quality materials and components, whilekeeping an affordable price. More good news is that updates toAndroid 4.4 for devices from the entire Life One, Life Play, and LifeView series are planned to appear before the end of Q2 2014.

Additionally, the original Life Seriessmartphones - Life Play, Life View, and Life One will receiveimmediate price cuts. The Life Play now costs $199, while both theLife View and the Life One now cost $269. They will remain inproduction until the end of the first half of 2014.

All new Blu Life products are targetedtowards the US market and will be sold unlocked without contracts.The Life Series handsets support multiple band HSPA+ for all carriersin North America, including 850, 1700 and 1900MHz. Unfortunately, LTEis not in their list of abilities. The Life One X and Life Play X areshipping now, while the Life One M, Life View Tab and Life Play Swill be shipping before the end of January.

Below you will find more details, along with complete specifications and prices for the new Life Series products.

Life One X

The flagship models boasts a 5-inch LCD 1080p display from Sharp with a striking pixel density of 441ppi. Its internals are not exactly sport-car like, but a quad-core MediaTek MT6589T 1.5GHz CPU with PowerVR SGX544 GPU and 2GB RAM is nothing to frown at. It also has a 13MP rear camera, along with 16 or 32GB of storage and a 2000mAh battery. It costs $279 for the 16GB and $299 for the 32GB version.

Network	2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps) 850/1700/1900, or 850/1900/2100
Display	5.0 inch HD 1080 x 1920, with OGS and Full Lamination Scratch Resistant Touch Panel
Processor	MediaTek MT6589T Quad-Core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
OS	Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera	13.0 megapixel, BSI Sensor, autofocus with LED Flash, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera	5.0 megapixel, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Connectivity	WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v4.0, Hotspot, micro-USB, FM Radio
Memory	32GB or 16GB internal memory, 2GB RAM
Dimensions	128.3 x 71 x 8.6 mm, 133 grams
Battery	Li-Ion 2000mAh
Colors	Steel Blue, White
Price	$279 (16GB), $299 (32GB)

Life One M

The Life One M is a more modest version of the Life One X. Its display is 720p, while the quad-core MediaTek CPU is coupled with 1GB RAM. The camera is 12MP, and the battery is 2000mAh. Strangely, the One M is slightly heavier and thicker than its big brother, coming in at 9mm and 144 grams, which is not what we'd expect considering its reduced battery capacity. Still, at $199 unlocked, this is one solid Android smartphone.

Network	2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps) 850/1700/1900, or 850/1900/2100
Display	5.0 inch HD 720 x 1280, with OGS and Full Lamination Scratch Resistant Touch Panel
Processor	MediaTek MT6589T Quad-Core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
OS	Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera	12.0 megapixel, BSI Sensor, autofocus with LED Flash, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera	2.0 megapixel
Connectivity	WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v4.0, Hotspot, micro-USB, FM Radio
Memory	4GB internal memory + microSD slot expandable up to 64GB, 1GB RAM
Dimensions	144 x 74 x 9 mm, 144 grams
Battery	Li-Ion 2000mAh
Colors	Steel Blue, White
Price	$199

Life View Tab

The Life View Tab tablet is an alright 8-incher with a resolution of 1024x768, quad-core MediaTek CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB RAM and 4500mAh battery. Priced at $199, it's not exactly a Kindle Fire killer, but every train has its passengers, right?

Network	2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps) 850/1700/1900, or 850/1900/2100
Display	8.0 inch HD 768 x 1024, Scratch Resistant Touch Panel
Processor	MediaTek MT8389M Quad-Core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
OS	Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera	5.0 megapixel, autofocus with LED Flash, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera	5.0 mega pixel
Connectivity	WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v4.0, Hotspot, micro-USB, FM Radio
Memory	16GB internal memory + microSD slot expandable up to 32GB, 1GB RAM
Dimensions	205 x 138.5 x 8.95 mm, 404 grams
Battery	Li-Ion 4500mAh
Colors	Steel Blue, White
Price	$199

Life Play X

The Life Play X is another 720p droid commando, but it's display diagonal is a more reasonable 4.7 inches. Its internals are largely the same as the Life One M's, but its camera sensor is 8MP, and its battery capacity is set an at even lower 1800mAh. However, this model is 7.9mm thin and weights only 125 grams. The $219 unlocked price doesn't seem half bad.

Network	2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps) 850/1900, or 850/2100
Display	4.7 inch HD 720 x 1280, with OGS and Full Lamination Scratch Resistant Touch Panel
Processor	MediaTek MT6589T Quad-Core 1.5GHz Cortex-A7 with PowerVR SGX544 GPU
OS	Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera	8.0 megapixel, autofocus with LED Flash, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera	2.0 megapixel
Connectivity	WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v4.0, Hotspot, micro-USB, FM Radio
Memory	16GB internal memory + microSD slot expandable up to 64GB, 1GB RAM
Dimensions	137 x 68.4 x 7.9 mm, 125 grams
Battery	Li-Ion 1800 mAh
Colors	Sleek Black
Price	$219

Life Play S

The Life Play S is the most budget offering. Basically, it's the Life Play X with less internal storage (4GB) and a 1.3 GHz CPU, paired with the good old Mali-400 GPU. According to Blu, it weights a miniscule 109 grams. Its price unlocked is $199.

Network	2G (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps) 850/1700/1900, or 850/1900/2100
Display	4.7 inch HD 720 x 1280, Full Lamination Scratch Resistant Touch Panel
Processor	MediaTek MT6582 Quad-Core 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 with Mali-400 GPU
OS	Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Rear Camera	8.0 megapixel, autofocus with LED Flash, Video Record 1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera	5.0 megapixel
Connectivity	WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth v4.0, Hotspot, micro-USB, FM Radio
Memory	4GB internal memory + microSD slot expandable up to 32GB, 1GB RAM
Dimensions	137.5 x 67.5 x 7.8 mm, 109 grams
Battery	Li-Ion 1800 mAh
Colors	Steel Blue, White
Price	$199

source: Blu Mobile via Android Authority

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Luis D. has a multitude of news, features and review articles written for PhoneArena. He adeptly demystifies complex technology topics, such as the development of advanced materials for bendable device displays and the evolution of chipset manufacturing.