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Johannesburg - Amid a wave of Chinese electronics manufacturers like ZTE, Huawei and Xiaomi entering the South African market with smartphones at competitive prices, UK-born brand STK is offering a refreshing take on the mid-level smartphone in the same price bracket.
From 1993 the company focused primarily on its role as an official accessory manufacturer for devices for brands such as Motorola and Nokia, which were popular at the time.
It has recently ventured into the feature phone and smartphone space.
Would you buy an STK smartphone? Tell us.
One of the devices entering the country from the manufacturer’s stable is the STK SYNC5e - essentially a premium smartphone from about two years ago incorporating high-end features from a device of that time, at a competitive price.
While entering the market in the lower-end price bracket, the SYNC5e's design helps it maintain a premium look and feel.
The device features a metal rim around the edge with a soft shell rear that can be opened and a removable battery.
The face of the SYNC5e is neat and reminiscent of devices like older LG smartphone models.
READ: New smartphone player quietly enters SA with cheap devices
Three buttons for home, menu and return also feature on the front of the device with the company trying to maintain the “epitome of luxurious London design”.
The SYNC5e is one of the manufacturer’s high-end offerings in the country featuring a 5-inch display, 13 megapixel camera and 1.5GHz processor running the Android Marshmallow operating system.
The SYNC5e’s primary camera is able to shoot high-quality images while the 5 megapixel camera for selfies is able to capture photos even in low-lit conditions.
The device is responsive to touch and offers a vanilla version of Android, making it very easy to use. However, icons could have been skinned better, as the menu exudes an outdated appeal.
The SYNC5e features an 1950mAh battery, sufficient to power the device for up to 10 hours' talk time and 96 hours on standby.
The device is also dual-sim enabled and offers a removable storage upgrade of up to 32GB.
With all its features,the SYNC5e comes into the market at a very competitive price of about R 999.
Bryan Mansfield, global mobile head of sales for STK, previously told Fin24 that the company is looking to become the number one tier two smartphone brand in South Africa.
