"BALMUDA Phone" can be said to be one of the most popular smartphones in 2021 (at least in Japan), but how is it received overseas?
Overseas reviewer Michael Fisher reviews and evaluates this unit on YouTube.
Fisher said he couldn't ignore the story that a high-end Japanese kettle and toaster maker developed a smartphone. It seems that I immediately bought one out of my own pocket. In recent years, most smartphones have become cliche with flat back and side designs, he said, expressing his impression of the trend in recent years, which is the reason why he is interested in the BALMUDA Phone.
The design is reminiscent of early smartphones such as the first iPhone, and is compact and has a curved design that fits comfortably in your hand. The textured plastic body fits just right in the palm of your hand. The design, in which the speaker, notification lamp, logo, etc. are all concentrated on the back, seems to have been designed on the premise that the back is basically placed face up. Fisher said it has an "old-school charm," citing what his Twitter followers said. The design, which is a collection of classic smartphone beauty, is highly appreciated by Mr. Fisher.
BALMUDA Phone's diagonal split line UI is also unique. You can customize not only the function when you slide diagonally, but also the color and location of the line. Suitable for left and right handed people. Widgets are useful and highly functional, such as a calendar widget that allows you to adjust the display range with a pinch, and a memo pad widget that is light and easy to open and use. The home screen has a stitch-like mark running along the edges, a design reminiscent of a passport stamp. The ringtone also has a Lo-Fi-like melody that brings out a sense of nostalgia for the old days.
Customizable diagonal split line UI
Pinch to zoom calendar widget
"The unboxed design is very well thought out for both hardware and UI." Overall, the concept is conveyed with a strong sense of classic theme.
Home screen design that looks like a passport stamp
That's all I've been praising. Criticism begins at a stretch after talking about the front design.
Despite the wide bezel front panel, the camera has a huge punch hole on the right edge of the screen, and there is no front speaker. The sound quality is poor and the volume is low because the audio output is only left to the rear speaker.
Different from organic EL, it is said that the black color will be slightly dark gray due to the liquid crystal display.
The battery is 2500mAh, which is about half that of high-end models, and it is said that it will always decrease to single digits in 16 hours of activity per day.
The SoC is "Snapdragon 765" and is equivalent to the midrange. There are more stuttering and catching than the "Motorola Razer 5G" that uses the same SoC, and there are fatal bugs such as widgets disappearing, not returning from sleep, and suddenly locking the screen.
The image quality of the camera is so low that it cannot be compared to the "Galaxy Z Flip 3". Low illuminance requires camera performance, but during the daytime you can take good pictures even with a relatively low-performance device camera. However, the BALMUDA Phone can't say that the image quality even during the daytime is good.
Left: BALMUDA Phone Right: Galaxy Z Flip 3
Left: BALMUDA Phone Right: Galaxy Z Flip 3
"If you don't care about the quality of the camera, you'll be fine. The price is only … $900 (100,000 yen) (laughs)," he jokes and gets to the point. Mr. Fisher's frank impression is, "Why wasn't it released as a mid-range smartphone?"
If you look at the "Motorola Moto G" series, it costs just $300 (35,000 yen) and has performance equivalent to or better than the BALMUDA Phone. However, he pointed out that smartphones in this price range would have been very attractive if they had competed here, as they are all models with unmotivated designs and only the minimum functionality required.
If the price was at least around $500 (58,000 yen), it would have been a very good one, and I'm proposing an improvement plan.
"However, Balmuda is a manufacturer that sells lanterns for $150, so I don't think they will release such a mid-range smartphone. If you think about it, it's not a smartphone, but rather a design based on the president's commitment. It was a product that was closer to saying.” “Some models remain on the grave of many failed models, and smartphones are difficult, especially high-end. BALMUDA Phone is too expensive to defend.” says.
There were many similar voices in the YouTube comments for this video. "If it comes with a toaster for $300, maybe I should buy it." "Until I heard about the price of $900, I thought it would be nice to have a beautiful design even if it had some flaws." "It was my first smartphone." It wasn't the level of software I was hoping for." It seems that the opinion that the design may be wonderful but is too expensive is almost universal.
I am also a traditionalist who liked the small design of the iPhone 4 the most, so I was very sympathetic to the design and concept of the BALMUDA Phone. But a smartphone is a smartphone. There are many weaknesses, including the price, and I personally cannot give it a high rating.
