First impressions of the Tecno Y2; Budget phone, not so budget specs

We were gifted earlier this week with a unique low end Android smartphone – the TECNO Y2. I was a bit surprised, because, TECNO has a surfeit of low end devices, but I never anticipated something like the Y2 existed until now.

MTN Uganda and Tecno Mobile partnered to sell this smartphone at a price of only UGX 170,000. You’ll be getting a fully functional 4-inch Android smartphone that comes packed with specs you won’t see coming. It also comes with 300 MB free internet bundle for 1 month, MyMTN App and Open Signal App already pre-installed.

Inside the box

The TECNO Y2 comes packed charmingly in a slim yellow box, almost the size of a 500 page novel, with the Tecno Mobile branding and an MTN logo. Inside the box lies the earphones, the phone itself, 3 pin charger (only limited to the MTN TECNO Y2), USB cable, battery and a screen protector film. Also included quite visibly is a 13 month warranty card for the Tecno Y2 smartphone in case of any damages.

The Phone

The TECNO Y2 sports an all plastic build with a raised plastic frame and a removable back. Up front, you’ll see the 4-inch WVGA display, with the physical Android navigation keys right below it. There’s a small concentric design on the chin that’s right below that. Up top, you’ll see the 2-megapixel camera that surprisingly has an LED flash beside it, which is pretty uncommon for budget phones.

On the left hand side, you find the volume buttons, then the power button is placed on the right hand side.

At the top is the earphone port and below is the USB v2.o charging port. The 4 inches screen is centralized somewhat in its black frame, so the bezels are not so big.

Quick Specs

• 4 inch screen, 480 x 800 pixels
• 2 MP/0.3 camera combo with rear LED flash
• 1.3 GHz Dual Core MTK chip
• 8 GB (5.8 GB usable)
• 512 MB RAM
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 2800 mAh battery (compared to most entry level smartphones at 1400 mAh ~ 1500 mAh)
• 3G Network

How to buy

The Tecno Y2 will be available for sale starting 18th April at all MTN stores countrywide and also online at the MTN Shop in Jumia.

We will do a more detailed review of this smartphone in our next series after testing it out. Till then…